This is the Ableton Move update we’ve been waiting for. Ableton’s compact controller/standalone now gets proper MIDI implementation and slices up samples. Plus, you get the Auto Filter from Live 12.2. That’s in addition to other recent updates. Here’s your guide to what’s new.

It’s about time for a new granular dream module, and the Intellijel Multigrain could be a real contender. Available now, it packs stereo morphing granular powers into 20HP and US$479. (And yes, USA, you can import this from Canada!) I’ve had an advance look at the manual and I’m ready to wrap my granular brain around this one.

Ableton quietly released an update to the Move mobile standalone instrument, and it’s got a surprise: you can now sample directly from the USB-C port.

It’s a drum machine. It’s a sampler. It’s got a rechargeable battery. It’s got… some space inside the case. So hacker DIYDSP (Noah Vawter) added his own amp and speaker, modding the handheld with the self-contained speaker Roland left out.

The iconic monome grid just got native support from Cycling ’74’s RNBO, the patching tool for exporting Max sounds on other hardware and software environments. There’s a fun, free example patch to get you started, too.

Ableton Move is compact, standalone, battery-powered hardware. It’s got all the synth, drum machine, and effects functionality of Ableton Note, but without the iPhone. And it means you get an easily portable Ableton Live instrument, with built-in MIDI sequencing and sampling. Price: 449 EUR / USD.

Roland’s latest handheld boutique synth is a departure. Instead of a synth or drum machine, it was inspired by the SP-404. Here’s the skinny on its onboard sampling, effect, and sequencer features, direct from the source.

Teenage Engineering was apparently worried we’d stopped thinking they were bats*** insane. So they’re here with a fully Medieval edition of the EP-133 drum sampler/composer, complete with lute and farm animal samples and a silkscreen inspired by illuminated manuscripts.

How about Commodore AMIGA-style sampling – complete with pixel UI, lo-fi sampling styles, vintage time-stretching, and both modern and Amiga file support – in a plug-in? It’s Amigo Sampler, it’s got a price point from a fish and chips shop, and it sounds wicked. (The plug-in, and the music from the folks making it, too…)

It samples! It slices! It dices! The legendary Sampleslicer was due for reinvention with current-generation chips. Now the MKIII is up on crowdfunding site IndieGogo, with a load of new features and an all-new USB keyboard companion.