Introduced in 2007, the Kenton Killamix Mini is a new solution for those DJs and live performers looking for a small, but flexible controller to pair with their computers.  The unit itself is almost the exact same width of an Apple MacBook, so it will likely fit in well with any DJ set up, especially in cramped DJ booths.

Currently, the Killamix Mini (and honestly, WHO thought of that name? We’ll call it the Kmx from here on out) is only available directly from Kenton online at:

http://www.kentonuk.com/kenton/killamix/killamix.html

The first thing that may shock you is the price of the unit.  At the time of this writing, it’s £229.95 (including VAT) or $391.92 + shipping.  Compared to other controllers on the market, that can seem very expensive at first glance.  However, unlike the cheaper alternatives on the market, the Kmx is handmade to be a rugged device that will stand up to the rigors of live use night after night.

In person, the Kmx is easily one of the most beautiful controllers I’ve ever seen.  Housed in a sleek, brushed aluminum case, it’s much lighter than you’d expect by looking at the pictures online.  The top of the unit has 9 push-button endless rotaries with LED rings surrounding them.  These are machined out of aluminum as well, and though they look smooth, the brushed finish offers more than enough grip.  The LED rings around each knob light up to show you the current setting of that knob, and there’s enough of them per control to give you a pretty accurate indication of this as well.  The encoders have a very smooth and precise movement to them, you can easily feel and hear each ‘click’ as you turn the knobs.  When you press the knobs to use them like buttons, they respond with a positive click as well.  In short, they feel nothing short of quality.

Turning the knobs slowly transmits single continuous controller messages, turning them faster transmits values much more quickly.  This allows you to be precise when fine tuning a control, or quickly scroll through the entire controller range with a quick twist.  In use this largely works as expected, there’s only been a few times that I did not get the full range of values when I thought I had twisted the knob fast enough.  The knobs can also be set up to transmit MIDI CC’s in various ways, from the normal range of 0-127, or as an up and down encoder.  A quick read through the 5 page, downloadable manual can explain it better than I can.

Below each knob is a small, lighted push button.  These can be set up in various ways to change they way the lights function.  For instance you can make the buttons toggles, so that one push turns the light on, and another turns it off.  You can set them up as momentary so they only light while you are pressing them, or you can just leave it at the default setting where they are always lit.  The status of the lights reflects how MIDI cc’s are sent when you actually press or release the buttons, so be sure to read the manual for more detailed explanations of how these can be configured.

There’s also a small joystick control to the far right, which sticks up roughly 1cm or so above the rest of the knobs.  This is actually one of my only minor complaints about the Kmx, why make the most slender and easily snagged control higher than the rest of the unit?  I’m getting mine shortened by a local machine shop for cheap, just to avoid this issue in the future.  I’m not saying the joystick is particularly flimsy mind you, just that it’s the least rugged of all the controls.  A quick workaround might be to simply pull it off when packing up the controller, though then you have to worry about misplacing it.  Regardless, the joystick by default transmits different CC’s for it’s X and Y axis, though you can configure it to send 4 different CC’s if needed, one for each compass direction (up, down, left, and right).

In use, the Killamix is a breeze to use, as there’s almost no set up involved.  Each encoder, button, and the joystick sends fixed CC values, so you need to do any mapping in your software of choice.  When you push an encoder, you are not only sending a MIDI CC, but also changing the MIDI channel the Kmx transmits on as well.  In effect, this means that all of the controls can send unique MIDI CC’s on different MIDI Channels.  For instance, pressing the first encoder means all controls transmit on MIDI Channel 1, pressing the second encoder makes all controls transmit on MIDI Channel 2, etc.  A separate LED above each encoder shows you which channel is currently selected at a glance. 

The really cool thing, is that the status of all controls is remembered when you switch channels.  So if you go from MIDI Channel 4 to MIDI Channel 8, the Kmx remembers all the settings for Channel 4 and recalls them correctly when you reselect that channel.  No more unexpected parameter jumps when you switch channels!   This makes it very simple to control multiple devices from only the few controls on the Kmx.  If you prefer to always work on just one channel however, there is an option to disable channel switching and just have the buttons send CC’s, though personally I think this limits the functionality of the unit.

Speaking of setting options, with no onboard display, how do you program the few available user settings on the Kmx?  This is done by holding down combinations of encoders while connecting the USB cable (the only connection on the Kmx BTW, no midi ports or external power supplies needed).  The LED rings and buttons light up to show you the state of any setting you are changing, and as you’d expect, this entire operation is rather cryptic and requires the manual to make sense of it all.  This is also how you calibrate the joystick, should that ever be required after much wear and tear.  As changing the settings of the Kmx is not something you’ll likely need to do often, I don’t think this is huge deal, and the manual is easy enough to follow when you do need to do it.

Obviously given it’s relatively high price, the Killamix mini is not for everyone.  Some people will be more than happy enough using a cheaper controller that might offer more controls for the money.  However, the Kmx really packs a lot of controls into a small form factor, and it does so with style.  The whole unit feels like a quality device, and it’s obvious these are hand made (and I mean that in a good way!).  I would like to see a slightly shorter joystick on it, but honestly that’s my only minor complaint other than the price. On a personal note, I’d also love to see Kenton release a companion controller in the same form factor, this time with buttons instead of knobs. In short, the best praise I can give the Kenton Killamix Mini is that it’s now my main DJ controller, and I couldn’t be happier with it.

For more information on the Killamix Mini:

Here’s a video of Martin Delaney demonstrating the Killamix Mini:

The Killamix Mini manual and latest software update:

http://www.kentonuk.com/software/kmxm.zip

Review by Tarekith

http://tarekith.com