I had a play, it’s interesting and different but IMO way over priced.

ya, i guess i have to stop looking at it that way… i keep thinking “pre-configured monome with japanese aesthetics”.

and no USB.

The review by Nick on SonicState had me understanding that the MIDI capabilities were not that extensive. It would still make an interesting but very pricey controller.

let me ask - do the ‘dots’ serve just as buttons and/or more of a visual thing, or does it offer continuous touch, rather than ’stepping’ as you drag around them? i do admit the both-sides thing is cool, but i still like actually playing my keyboards.

i do understand the innovative aspects, but maybe it just boils down to that it’s not for me. i think a lemur-type thing is still my ideal… multi-touch continuous control, completely configurable, visually appealing. but of course prohibitively expensive (to me).

i dunno. i mean i’m not trying to knock anyone for liking or wanting this, it just strikes me as an expensive toy with some fairly cool features. once it’s gets on MTV or wherever videos are played these days, or shows up on stage in too many performances, the novelty will wear off and they will be on ebay for $200.

but again, once i actually touch one that could all change. but for now, it looks to me about a half-notch more exciting than watching the guy on stage check his email - now he’s playing a speak&spell with lots of neat lights. mebbe you gotta jump around and steer it thru the air too?

My favorite use for the thing (don’t have one yet - I’m daydreaming here), apart from its own sonic capabilities, is as a controller and sequencer for modular software or other hardware. It’s potentially a handheld Ableton Live for other gear, giving the same kinds of nonlinear, phase-shifting sequencing possibilities.

BTW, I cleaned up some of the photos I took at the launch and posted them on Flickr. Sorry for the mediocre picture quality - my little pocket size Canon doesn’t work well in low light.

Have fun tonight in Brooklyn, Mr. K.

I feel the same way Peter. I still want to get one tho.

1. It’s got lots of lights/buttons. LOTS of them. That’s actually quite an expensive proposition (hardware costs in that regard tend to increase geometrically in complexity) — and you get feedback on both sides.

2. It integrates a sampler — a real sampler, internal, making it function as a standalone device.

I’m personally very disappointed that the most innovative aspect of the prototype, the promised networking/collaboration capabilities, didn’t make it to production.

But I think the other way to look at this is beyond immediately, concretely at what’s there, and at what the design means to people … it’s become a kind of banner object for the transformation of musical instruments and controllers. That’s what excites it about me: that I think it could be the first of many in a category of new objects, and not simply one of a kind.