Korg NTS-3 Kaoss Pad – a build-it-yourself effects box you play with one finger

By Ricardo de Jong ·

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A finger on the touchpad of the black Korg NTS-3 Kaoss Pad kit, cabled to other small synths on a red table

Most effects pedals ask you to turn six tiny knobs while playing. I have two hands and both are usually busy. That’s why I’ve always had a soft spot for Korg’s Kaoss Pads: you drag one finger across a square and the sound goes wild.

The Korg NTS-3 Kaoss Pad kit is a small effects unit that you build yourself, with that famous XY touchpad on top. Plug in a synth, a drum machine, your phone or a microphone, then smear delays, filters and reverbs over it with a fingertip.

It’s part of Korg’s Nu:Tekt line of DIY kits, and on paper it might be the most fun Kaoss Pad for the money.

The Korg NTS-3 Kaoss Pad kit seen from above, with four effect knobs, a red LED display and a large gold-edged touchpad

What is the Korg NTS-3 Kaoss Pad?

The NTS-3 takes the KAOSS touchpad and Korg’s KAOSS effects and squeezes them into a kit you assemble at home. Korg says it takes less than 20 minutes and needs no soldering, so a screwdriver and some patience will do.

The box comes with two sets of side panels, metallic black and a red one that nods to the classic Kaoss look. You pick, you screw, you’re done. Korg also shares schematics and 3D data, so tinkerers can mod the hardware too.

How does it work?

Sound goes in through a 3.5 mm input and comes out of a 3.5 mm headphone/line output. In between, you choose effects and play them on the pad. Here’s what Korg’s spec sheet says:

  • 35 built-in effects: filters, modulation, delays, reverbs, mastering effects, and oddballs like a looper, a grain shifter and a vinyl break.
  • Up to four effects at once, and you can save combinations as programs (100 presets and 100 user slots).
  • The pad also handles Mute, FX Depth and tap tempo. A Latch function lets you control several effects separately at the same time.
  • Sync in and out to lock to other gear, plus USB-C for power.
  • It’s tiny: about 4 by 4 inches and 119 grams.

The fun extra: Korg’s logueSDK is open on GitHub, so programmers can write their own effects and load them with the Librarian app.

The good and the not-so-good

What I like:

  • Playing effects with one finger is the whole Kaoss idea, and it’s here at a kit price.
  • The build is part of the gift. Twenty minutes of screwing things together, then you own something you made.
  • German site Bonedo gave it 4.5 out of 5, praising the easy assembly, the four-effect combos and the sound.
  • It runs on USB bus power, so there’s no special power adapter to lose.

What could be better:

  • Bonedo missed visual feedback: there’s no meter for FX depth or for input and output levels.
  • Some owners on forums report knobs (potentiometers) coming loose from the circuit board. Be gentle.
  • There’s no speaker. You need headphones or something to plug it into.

Who is the Korg NTS-3 for?

People who already make music with small gear like Korg Volcas, Teenage Engineering’s Pocket Operators or a Stylophone, and want a cheap way to make it sound bigger and weirder. It’s also a great gift for the friend who likes building stuff and might get into music because of it.

If you’d rather make sounds than mangle them, Korg’s NTS-1 synth kit is the sibling to look at. It’s in our list of fun music gadgets for musicians. And for sampling without any assembly, the Teenage Engineering EP-1320 Medieval is wonderfully strange.

Where can I buy the Korg NTS-3 Kaoss Pad?

You can get the NTS-3 on Amazon. It was about 160 bucks when I checked (October 2026), though the price moves around.

A gift you build, then play with one finger. Take my money.