Get an e-mail It will cost 2800€.

Yes, it was obvious this is the step sequencer 😉 Ergonomics does not really apply as a reason here, since the encoders are aligned differently. It’s more symmetrical aesthetics, less functional, but then again, I don’t know how the UI works. The GUI may be high contrast, but I am talking about the layout, not pixel density or contrast. Elektron boxes have less pixels than an NES and a terrific GUI.

But in the end this toy with it’s funny layout and colorful buttons will find it’s buyers. It’s just not gonna be performing musicians.

There’s a reason step sequencers go from left to right and show you one bar most of the time. If I wanna now the play position, with every bar, it’s another visualization with the top (or lower) one, wherever this thing starts, running backwards. I fail to see this worse than indicating the loop Elektron style with a page LED or having a follow mode like on machine.

Yeah, it’s a prototype, but hiw much do you think they are gonna change the step sequencer, if it’s already in this configuration.?

I thought the 16×4 square grid was actually a pretty brilliant way to visualize a step sequencer. 4 measures of 16 steps in this configuration makes more sense to me than the typical 64-button configuration, or Elektron’s 16 steps configurstion. Will be curious how that works with odd meters, though.

As for the other complaints – this is a prototype, right? Production hardware always looks different than prototypes.

The pads around the device appear to be four 16-step sequencers. It’s quite a clever way to integrate them in a space saving way. The buttons left and right to the encoders are likely not misaligned, but placed like this for ergonomics. Their placement also reduces the risk of confusing them with the nearby sequencer buttons when relying on muscle memory when playing live. The GUI appears to be a high contrast design geared towards readability in live performance scenarios. Overall, these design decisions indicate that the people who made this know what they are doing.

Exactly the expression I was looking for. This looks more like a DIY project, with a horrible looking UI. What’s the purpose of the pads / steps moving around the device? Why are the buttons left and right to the knobs misaligned? Why does the UI on the screen look, like an engineer from the 90s did it? Why are these guys even bothering with WiFi AND LAN, instead of just choosing one (just use LAN for audio streaming and BT for connectivity and be done with it). I’ll stick to Maschine. Still the GOAT.

not from Stephan Schmitt, he is still at Nonlinear Labs