MIDIpal is an Open Box for Doing Stuff with Notes and Sequences and Things

Musically, compositionally, we think in notes and rhythms and patterns. MIDI may be a simple way of describing those elements, but it can be surprisingly expressive. And so, just as we have all sorts of boxes for adding effects to sound, there’s clear appeal to boxes that do stuff with musical patterns and information – a bit like a MIDI stompbox.

We saw one example last week in the form of the MCP. Here’s another appealing “magical MIDI box” – and it’s also open source hardware. Created by Olivier Gillet, maker of the open source Shruthi-1 synth, it’s an affordable and versatile musical companion to other music gear. (Comparing the MCP with MIDIpal: MCP is more expensive, but does add extra hands-on controls in the default case and a bigger LCD. The idea is similar, though for now MIDIpal also has more firmware options, and you can augment its controls by adding your own pots, sensors, and the like.)