Korg's nanoKEY Fold is a hinged 25-key MIDI controller, offered here in Sand Beige. It carries a silent keybed, scale and chord assistance, an arpeggiator and a pair of touch sliders in a body weighing 126 g. Producers who write wherever they happen to be will get the most from it.
A controller that halves
Unfolded for playing, the body runs 282 x 73 x 14 mm. Fold it and the footprint drops to roughly the size of a paperback, thin enough for a laptop sleeve at 147 x 73 x 17 mm. It slips into a jacket pocket.
Quiet under the fingers
Membrane buttons form the playing surface, shaped to give a little resistance while making no sound at all. Neighbours and sleeping households stay undisturbed. Thirteen velocity settings mean the response can be tuned to a light touch or a heavy one, which matters on keys this size.
Guidance from the LEDs
Fifteen scales live on board, and the LED row shows which notes sit inside the one you have chosen. Switch on Easy Scale and wrong notes stop happening. Every press is pulled into the scale you set, so the guesswork goes. Point a scale at one of the touch sliders and passages can be run with a fingertip rather than played.
Chords and arpeggios
Chord mode puts one under every key, built from the scale and root you have chosen, so a progression takes a single finger. The arpeggiator sits alongside it with a broad choice of types and fifteen rhythm patterns, all adjustable from hardware controls rather than a menu. Combining the two is where it gets interesting.
Sliders, splits and scenes
Two touch strips cover pitch and modulation by default, and either can be pointed at a specific CC value instead. Split mode divides the keyboard so the left and right halves run separate modes, chords on one side against a melody on the other, or one half given over to control and program changes. Fifteen scenes store what you build.
Ports and power
Power arrives over USB-C at 500 mA or less, and the same port carries MIDI to a computer, phone or tablet. Hardware without USB is covered by the 3.5 mm MIDI OUT jack, with the type A TRS to DIN converter supplied. Korg also includes a USB lead and a quick start guide.
See it in action
Specifications
| Keyboard | 25 keys. Velocity 1 to 13. Octave shift -4 to +4 |
|---|---|
| Scenes | 15 |
| Arpeggiator | 15 rhythm patterns |
| Chord mode | 15 scale types |
| Jacks | USB port (Type-C), MIDI OUT connector (3.5 mm stereo mini-phone jack, use a type A MIDI TRS to DIN converter cable) |
| Power supply | USB bus power |
| Current consumption | 500 mA or less |
| Dimensions (W x D x H) | Folded up 147 x 73 x 17 mm / 5.79" x 2.87" x 0.67". In use 282 x 73 x 14 mm / 11.10" x 2.87" x 0.55" |
| Weight | 126 g / 4.44 oz |
| Included items | USB cable, MIDI TRS to DIN adapter cable, Quick Start Guide |
Specifications from Korg. Appearance and specifications are subject to change without notice.
