We first heard about the Mawzer modular control surface over two years ago. In CDM time, that’s like the Bronze Age. The idea was appealing enough: assemble controller layouts by plugging in different modules in whatever combination you like, Lego-style. (See below for someone using actual Legos; that’s another story.) Building specialized music hardware from scratch and dealing with production issues takes time, though, so for quite a while the Mawzer has been off the radar screen. Surprise: the Mawzer is nearly here.

The modular controller prototype has been making the rounds in performance. As of last month, the Mawzer’s creators began taking preorders for the device. And starting this week, the MAWZER is touring Europe in a series of workshops in the device. If any of you Europeans happen to be a stone’s throw from one of the workshops, we’d love a hands-on report! Do take photos!

Mawzer to Launch [Matrixsynth]
Mawzer Controller Demo bei Schneidersbüro [Sequencer.de; in German]
Mawzer News

In the intervening time, I have to admit I’m somewhat less interested than I was originally, just personally. If you want to go custom, it’s not just custom layouts that matter, but changing the form factor and controllers themselves. And since 2005, an increasing number of people have begun forming communities around building such truly custom controllers. I also notice that you can’t hot-swap modules; there’s a warning printed on the inside of the module bay. But those things said, I still love the concept, and I’d love to see the actual unit — if the overall form factor makes sense, this could be ideal. (It also looks especially nice for visualists; one of those performances involved VJing with Resolume.) If you are interested, here’s the preorder pricing, which I imagine looks less scary if you’re in Europe and aren’t suffering from an insanely weak US Dollar:

Prices are intented for first batch of production due July 2007 :
M1610 (empty case) : 627,40 €
Case to hold 16 modules with core system and LCD
M3210 (empty case) : 770,20 €
Case to hold 32 modules with core system and LCD
POTv410 / POTh410 module : 46,35 €
4 potentiometers in horizontal or vertical position
FADv110 module : 43,40 €
1 fader 10cm
ENCv410 module : 49,75 €
4 endless encoders
BUTv410 module : 48,25 €
4 push buttons with leds
XFDv110 module : 51,35 €
2 push buttons with leds + 1 fader 6cm
BLANK module : 6,00 €
Empty module

Related Project: stekgreif: Build Your Own Modular MIDI Controller out of Legos

If you’ve ever dreamed of a custom controller you could assemble in modular, Lego-like fashion, you’ll love the idea of the Mawzer custom control surface. Adrian Anders points our attention to a new online configurator, so you can try out your own controller creation. (The link is at the bottom right of the page, labeled “Demonstration.”) See Adrian’s 1380 Euros (1621.50 USD) design below, and if you come up with anything you’d like to share, send it in.

Previously:
Musikmesse: Customizable, Modular Mawzer Control Surface
More on Mawzer: Modular, Custom Control Surface

We had an early look last week at the upcoming Mawzer Control Surface, a modular box that lets you combine faders, knobs, and controls via plug-and-play modules to form whatever control box you can imagine.

Since then, the Mawzer folks have gradually been feeding us more details. Finally we have a high-res image to drool over (also shown at right; click for full version), which shows a configuration for DJs and laptop musicians. Looks like top-quality gear if they can pull it off. Mawzer has also posted a preliminary module list:

Want to go Sasha one better and customize your own modular control surface for all of your software? The Mawzer gives new meaning to the term plug and play.
You start with a simple backplane and plug in various modules such as
faders, buttons, and knobs, assign MIDI controls and you're good to go.
Even better is the ability to tear down and reconfigure the surface
as needed. Enclosed in a flight-case, the Mawzer looks rugged enough
for gigging. Cost of entry is high at around $700 for the backplane,
while individual modules range from $30 to $180 for an X-Y touchpad
controller. Works via MIDI and USB. Expect it in the second quarter of this year.

Ed: We'll dig up some more on this very cool box as soon as we can — working on better photos,
for one. If you're not afraid of some actual building, you might consider
alternative products like Midibox (link | CDM story), or Doepfer (link | CDM story). But unlike those solutions, with the Mawzer you can change your mind and easily rearrange your surface.