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.

Cycling ’74’s Max 8.6 is out now, bringing a ton of fun, musical stuff to the open-ended music and media toolbox. That includes major updates for anyone working with Ableton Live, but plenty for everyone else, too. And if you’ve got a gamepad, you can plug that in and start playing right away.

If you need sonic architecture to hold emotions beyond words, look no further to this poignant sampler by the underrated Facade Electronics, the label by FAX out of Mexicali, Mexico. It’s brought together by feeling as much as something superficial like genre. I had the same sense of connections to producers I care about in contributing a mix this fall.

The Synthstrom Audible Deluge, a grid-based synth/sequencer/sampler, has its first official open-source, community-developed firmware – “and it’s huge,” the makers say. There are new views, new effects, new modulation, and more.

Finally, Teenage Engineering looks set to hit the sweet spot we want. Their new box has the stylish Braun-like industrial design of their high-end gear – but it’s $299 and builds on the fun of the Pocket Operator line.