Casio’s SXC-1 handheld sampler is packed with fun, coming to Japan

Memory may be vanishing, phones and laptops may be getting downgraded specs. But we’re enjoying an unexpected renaissance of mobile samplers. And of all of these, Casio might pack the most fun into a single package. The SXC-1’s Japanese preorder was announced and sold out this week, and with good reason: this looks like the most fun we’ve had with Casio since the 80s and 90s.

Devious Pocket: standalone, simple digital vinyl from any turntable

Skip the laptops and loads of proprietary hardware with an ultra-simple, portable, affordable add-on that turns any turntable into a digital vinyl turntable. That’s the pitch from NAP Works for crowdfunded, compact hardware built on open-source tech. It might do more than just impress digital vinyl DJs: this has the potential to win over even the CDJ crowd.

Peter Kirn - April 16, 2026

Intellijel made Swells a playable reverb with faders, rise, fall, ebb, and flow

Let’s hear it for reverbs you can play, morph, squash, and swell — not just set and forget. That’s Intellijel Swells, the “Multi-Model Reverb Module with Swell Generator,” or perhaps more aptly, “a lush reverb with a bunch of faders you can jam on.”

Peter Kirn - April 14, 2026

Akai’s pint-sized MPC Sample has already gotten a couple of updates

Peter Kirn - April 13, 2026

Synth Days in Kyiv: inside the wartime Ukrainian modular scene

Kaximia - April 12, 2026

Bastl’s new Déjà vu is the 4HP module for when you need to fader stuff

Peter Kirn - April 10, 2026

Massive power, every format: the BB-777 brings back a boombox icon

Peter Kirn - March 27, 2026

Akai’s MPC Sample is compact, $399 — let’s compare it to an original MPC60!

Peter Kirn - March 24, 2026

Native Instruments issues a statement; likely closer to acquisition

Peter Kirn - March 19, 2026