What’s in the box?

Starting at an event in Berlin in the fall, the folks at Elektron have been teasing new hardware, hiding it inside a padlocked, frosted-plexiglass case. Today, they opened the case.

Inside is what appears to be an anticipated new Elektron drum machine – though various readers tell us this latest drum machine from the company will use analog drum synthesis. (That’s unconfirmed.) The obvious addition is given away instantly: you get a colored 4×3 grid of pads, looking a bit like Maschine and Machinedrum had a love child. (Then again, that love child doesn’t sound like a bad thing.)

Updated: readers do tell us it’s an analog drum machine. So expect a new machine with a new workflow – a kind of analog Bride of Machinedrum.

Oh, and in good news for lefties, you get your transport on the right and pads on the left — even if that has some people online complaining. (I’m a rightie, but it’s about time the Leftorium got its own drum machine. They do tend to be disproportionately creative, the left-handed population, and they did make up a disproportionate number of the early astronauts, so quit whining.)

Other than that, we know precisely … nothing. In fact, we probably know more about Roland’s leaked Aira line than this. But while I expect the Aira will run much cheaper, fans of the Swedish groovemakers’ pulse just went up substantially from earlier this week.

Speculate away.

(answer: pain?)