Is DJ Sasha's custom MAVEN controller,
as plugged in promotions for the artist, built from a free open-source
DIY kit? (Sasha uses this custom hardware to control Ableton Live on
his iMac G5 during gigs.)

MIDIbox users are speculating the MAVEN is based on the MIDIbox platform in a forum discussion. MIDIbox
is a hardware platform and operating system for building your own MIDI
hardware; I'll cover it more soon for CDM but in the meantime, check
out those projects. People have built everything from custom synths
using the SID hardware employed by the Commodore 64 to sequencers and
controllers. It seems one of the creators of Sasha's box (not
identified publicly) asked one of the team members for info.

Sasha and his promoters have been mum on details of the MAVEN. I'll be
looking into this, but in the meantime, whether you love or hate Sasha,
hardware controllers will make your computer music-making a lot
happier. Stay tuned for a custom and pre-built controller roundup
tomorrow.