The XY matrix
Drag anywhere on the pad and both axes do something: X sweeps the effect parameter - cutoff, delay time, crush depth - while Y sets how much of it you hear. Lift your finger and the effect releases, or hold to keep it locked in.
DJ effects · Web Audio
Kaoss Matrix
Kaoss Matrix
Pro
One pad, two axes, ten effects. Drag anywhere on the matrix and the X position sets the parameter while Y sets the depth - filters, reverbs, delays and bit crushers all played the same way. Underneath sit three-band kill switches, tempo-locked beat repeats and loop rolls, and a crossfader between two decks.
10 EFFECTS
3 FX BANKS
3 KILL BANDS
8 BEAT REPEATS
2 DECKS
XY TOUCH PAD
Under the hood
Two decks in, one pad over the top
Both decks meet at the crossfader, pass through the three-band kill section, then hit whichever effect the matrix currently holds. The XY pad is not a separate toy - it is the parameter control for that effect.
What you get
A performance surface, not an effects menu
Everything on this page is meant to be moved while the music is playing.
Filter bank
Lowpass, highpass, bandpass and a three-band isolator. The isolator is the one you want for transitions: it removes a band entirely rather than rolling it off, which is why it cuts cleanly against a second track.
Space FX and modulation
Reverb, delay and echo for depth; flanger, phaser and bit crusher for damage. Nine of the ten effects sit one click apart, so switching character mid-phrase costs you nothing.
Three-band kill switches
Kill low, kill mid, kill high - momentary or latched. Hold-to-cut drops the band for exactly as long as you press, which is the difference between a stutter and a mistake.
Beat repeat and loop rolls
Beat repeat runs from a full bar down to 1/64 with a triplet mode beside it; the loop roll bank covers 1/4 to 1/32 plus one-touch FILL and BUILD macros. Everything is locked to the running BPM, so walking a repeat down to a 1/64 builds a riser without an automation lane.
Two decks and a crossfader
Load a deck each side, cue them independently, set gain, then blend with the crossfader. The BPM readout is shared with the rest of the GOONS studio, so the pad stays in time with whatever else you have running.
Moves that work
Four things to try in the first five minutes
None of these need setup - they are gestures on the pad plus one switch.
BUILD
Bandpass on the matrix, drag X upward across eight bars while Y climbs. The track narrows to a whistle, then you drop the pad and the low end returns all at once.
FILL
Hit the FILL roll for the last bar, or walk beat repeat from 1/8 down to 1/32 yourself. Kill the low band on the final beat and let it back in on the one.
TRIP
Reverb on the matrix, Y high, X pushed long. Hold it under a vocal for two bars and the whole track goes weightless.
CUT
Isolator selected, hold-to-cut on the mids. Short presses on the offbeat turn a flat loop into a rhythm part.
Getting started
From silence to a working performance rig
Load the decks
Put something on deck A, something on deck B, set the gains so neither clips, and park the crossfader in the middle while you learn the pad.
Choose an effect
Start in the filter bank - lowpass is the most forgiving. Pick a bank first, then the effect inside it; the matrix always drives whatever is currently selected.
Learn the two axes
Move only horizontally to hear what X controls, then only vertically to hear what Y controls. Once that mapping is in your hands, diagonal moves stop being guesswork.
Add the switches
Kill switches and loop rolls layer on top of whatever the pad is doing. That combination - a held filter plus a rolling 1/16 - is where most of the good transitions live.
Specifications
The full sheet
| Type | XY performance effects controller with dual playback decks |
|---|---|
| Filter bank | Lowpass, highpass, bandpass, three-band isolator |
| Space FX | Reverb, delay, echo |
| Modulation | Flanger, phaser, bit crusher |
| XY pad | X sets the effect parameter, Y sets depth - mouse and touch, with live coordinate readout |
| Kill switches | Low, mid and high bands, momentary hold-to-cut or latched |
| Beat repeat | 1, 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, 1/16, 1/32, 1/64 and a triplet mode - locked to the current BPM |
| Loop roll | 1/4, 1/8, 1/16, 1/32, plus FILL and BUILD macros |
| Decks | Deck A and deck B with independent play, cue and gain |
| Mixing | Crossfader, master gain, master filter and FX mix |
| Tempo | Live BPM display, synchronised with the shared GOONS transport |
| Metering | Waveform display, matrix canvas and reactive visual canvas |
| Requirements | Any modern browser with Web Audio. Touchscreens supported for the pad. |
A Kaoss-style pad without the hardware
The idea behind an XY effects pad is simple and hard to beat: put two parameters under one finger so you can play an effect instead of setting it. Kaoss Matrix Pro rebuilds that idea on the Web Audio API - ten effects, one surface, tempo-locked repeats and three-band kills - and puts it in a browser tab where the hardware would have needed a bag and a power supply.
Made for the moments between tracks
Most of what a DJ actually does with effects happens in eight bars: narrow the outgoing track with a bandpass, repeat the last beat down to a 1/32, kill the low end so the incoming kick lands alone. All three of those are single gestures here, and they layer on top of each other without menus in the way.
In time with the rest of the studio
The BPM readout is shared across GOONS, so the pad repeats in time with the drum machines, sequencers and samplers running in other tabs, and its output feeds the same visualisers. One subscription covers the whole catalog, and a 7-day free trial covers the deciding.
Questions
Frequently asked
What does the XY pad actually control?
The horizontal axis sweeps the main parameter of the selected effect - filter cutoff, delay time, crush amount - and the vertical axis sets how much of the effect you hear. Because both are continuous, a diagonal drag changes character and depth at the same time, which is what makes the gesture feel musical.
Which effects are included?
Ten, in three banks. Filter bank: lowpass, highpass, bandpass, isolator. Space FX: reverb, delay, echo. Modulation: flanger, phaser, bit crusher. Only one is on the pad at a time, and switching between them is a single click.
Are the beat repeats and rolls in time?
Yes. Beat repeat runs from a full bar down to 1/64 with a triplet mode, and the loop roll bank covers 1/4 to 1/32 plus FILL and BUILD macros. Both are locked to the BPM shown in the header, which is shared with the other GOONS apps, so a riser built here stays in time with everything else running.
Does it work on a touchscreen?
The pad is built for touch as well as mouse, so a tablet makes a genuinely good controller for it - you get the same drag-and-release behaviour, and the kill switches respond to momentary presses the way hardware buttons would.
Can I use my own tracks?
Yes - load a deck each side and use the crossfader between them. The effects section processes the mixed output, so the pad, the kills and the rolls apply to whatever combination is currently coming through.
Is Kaoss Matrix Pro free?
It is part of the GOONS Studio subscription (€9.90/month), which unlocks every app in the catalog, the 5000-sample library and cloud projects. New accounts get a 7-day free trial with full access and no card required.
Keep exploring
Other apps in the studio
Ready when you are
Put a finger on the matrix
Kaoss Matrix Pro comes with the GOONS Studio subscription at €9.90/month, alongside every other app in the catalog. Start with the 7-day free trial - no credit card, cancel whenever.
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