I got one of these from a pile of production equipment a while back. I just finally got around to plugging it in. I've installed the latest Kore 2 Drivers that support up to 10.9, I've checked in system profiler and the unit is listed under the USB section. However when you first plug it in, it lights up red then just the LCD display shows KORE in a dark background with no backlighting and none of the buttons do anything. I've installed the Controller Editor 1.7.4 which has support for this unit but the connect button is dark and can't be selected. Will this Kore 2 work with this OS? Secondly once I get the drivers working (if I get the drivers working), can I only use it as a MIDI Input or can I still get software for the hardware?
"However when you first plug it in, it lights up red then just the LCD display shows KORE in a dark background with no backlighting and none of the buttons do anything." That is normal behavior. You will need a license to run Kore. Finding a unit in a pile of production equipment or 2nd hand won't work without a license or license transfer. Have you watched the Kore tutorials to understand what Kore really does? You need the software. Ebay is a good place to look since Kore is sadly discontinued.
Hopefully someone else will chime in here about what the hardware controller can do without a license. I don't know. You might be able to use it as a controller. Since it sounds like you don't know what Kore is about or haven't watched the videos, I would suggest selling it on Ebay? There are licensed users who could use just the controller as a back-up. It isn't worthless, but you need a license.
It should work as a MIDI controller with the controller editor - if the drivers installed ok not sure why it's not working unless you got a dud unit or installed the wrong drivers. Is it Kore 1 or 2? You do need to press the F1 button to put it in midi mode, I suggest reading the manual.