WORLD OF MUSIC ; PORTABLE KEYBOARD - Latest Portable Music Keyboards, Synthesizers and Music News

In recent years, LA-based instrument brand 1010music has made a name for itself with its Nanobox range – an assortment of ultra-compact digital instruments that includes the Razzamatazz drum machine, Lemondrop granular synth and Tangerine sampler.

Its latest release, Bento, is something altogether more substantial. Described as a ‘flagship music production lab’ Bento is a self-contained sampling instrument that aims to replace your DAW and become the focal point of your music making setup.

At Superbooth 2025, being held May 8-10 at the FEZ-Berlin, 1010music today introduced Bento, a portable sampling production lab that lets you sample, sequence, and perform with expressive control.

“Bento is everything our users have been asking for in a flagship sampler – more power, more control, and more performance tools, all in a portable package,” says 1010music founder Aaron Higgins. “It’s designed to replace your laptop and become the brain of your setup.”

The device itself is focused around a 7-inch color touchscreen, which comes accompanied by 16 velocity and pressure sensitive pads and eight endless rotary controllers.

Bento can create fully-fledged compositions using a scene-based workflow, capable of real time recording, step sequencing, piano roll input and equipped probability tools. It can sequence eight tracks, each with four sequences, allowing users to build full sequences or launch clips for DAWless jam sessions.

Bento offers a range of sample playback modes, capable of hosting chromatic multi-sampled instruments, pad-based drums, one-shots and loops. It also features beat slicing and granular capabilities inherited from 1010’s Lemondrop.

The instrument is also designed to play nicely with your other bits of studio hardware. There are three stereo inputs, three stereo outputs, dual TRS MIDI I/O and USB-C host/device ports. The instrument has an effects engine with per-track delay, reverb, chorus, flanger, and phaser with automation, as well as an internal mixer that allows the user to process external sounds.

Features:

• 7” diagonal color touchscreen
• 16 velocity and pressure-sensitive pads plus 8 endless encoders
• 8 flexible tracks for sampled instruments, slicer, loops, granular or external MIDI
• Scene-based sequencing with real time, step, piano roll and probability tools
• Over 5 GB of samples and 165 patches of fresh new sounds including deeply multi-sampled instruments from pianos to classic synths by Samples from Mars, Soundtrack Loops and Drew Neumann
• FX engine with per-track delay, reverb, chorus, flanger, and phaser with automation
• Extensive modulation system with LFOs, envelopes, and step sequencers
• 3 stereo inputs, 3 stereo outputs, headphone out, USB-C host/device, dual MIDI I/O
• Internal 24-bit resampling, sample streaming from microSD
• Compact and battery-powered for up to 3 hours of portable creativity

1010music Bento Walkthrough Video:

Bento will ship with 5GB+ of sample content, including multi-sampled synths and instruments created by Samples from Mars, Soundtrack Loops and Drew Neumann. It also offers Internal 24-bit resampling and sample streaming from its microSD.

Bento is completely standalone thanks to its onboard battery, which 1010 tells us offers 3 hours of wireless use.

Bento is available to order now priced at $899, shipping in mid May 2025. Visit the 1010music website for more.

At Superbooth 2025, being held May 8-10 at the FEZ-Berlin, Arturia and Native Instruments are introducing NKS integration for KeyLab MK3, KeyLab Essential MK3, and MiniLab controllers.

The collaboration builds on NKS Hardware Partner Program, announced at the 2025 NAMM Show. That means owners will soon be able to audition and select sounds from Native Instruments plugins and those from fellow partners such as Best Service, Big Fish Audio, Ohm, Spitfire Audio, Sugar Bytes and more – all directly from their Arturia keyboard. This enables third-parties to create NKS devices that give you more immediate and tactile control over your virtual instruments and effects, without the need for you to manually configure how your hardware maps to your software.

“This collaboration gives producers, performers, and composers a streamlined creative workflow – where software and hardware speak the same language, right out of the box,” said a statement from Arturia.

“Arturia is committed to designing universal MIDI controllers, built to inspire creativity without limits.” says Martin Dutasta, Product director at Arturia. “We’re thrilled to partner with Native Instruments on NKS integration. This initiative brings greater connectivity and a more fluid workflow, benefiting creators who rely on both ecosystems.”

“This reinforces our commitment to an open and connected music industry,” adds Simon Cross, Chief Product Officer at Native Instruments. “We’re giving musicians the freedom to explore sound without workflow limitations.”

This will be a free update for anyone using the KeyLab mk3, KeyLab Essential mk3 and MiniLab 3.

NKS lets musicians use compatible hardware devices to intuitively access and control over 2,000 NKS-compatible instruments and effects. You can learn more about NKS at the Native site.

If you are attending Superbooth, you can see this in action at the Arturia and Native Instruments booths.

Komplete 15 Select Added To Arturia Lab Controller Bundle

To celebrate the launch, newly registered owners of supported Arturia controllers will receive Komplete 15 Select (valued at $99/€99) free. The offer is valid for new activations only.

KORG berlin is previewing the final design of the phase8 at Superbooth 2025, being held May 8-10 at the FEZ-Berlin.

phase8 is an eight-voice electro-acoustic instrument, with envelope control, sequencing, waveshaping and audio modulation. It synthesizes sound using eight independent electro-mechanical voices, where the sound is generated using electronically controlled metal resonators.

The company previewed the instrument at Superbooth 2024. Now, they’re showing the phase8 synthesizer in its final form.

Here’s what Korg shared about the new phase8:

“Ever since the beginning of KORG berlin we’ve been experimenting with ways of making sound by hitting objects. Hitting things to make sound is such a primitive act and when done right, it can be the most expressive form of performance. Look at all the amazing musical instruments across millennia that have perfected this art.

We dreamed of making such an instrument, but in the familiar format of a synthesizer and we’ve cracked it. The result is an instrument that feels, acts and sounds alive, as well as being a box full of fun knobs to twiddle.

The demo units shown at Superbooth this year are made using tooling samples. If you’re not familiar with tooling, it’s basically the molds that you need to manufacture the product many times repeatedly—think cookie cutters for making many cookies. Tooling is a big step towards gearing up to production, but there’s a whole bunch of other stuff like software, electronics, procurement, production engineering, quality assurance, certification etc. etc. before we can start series production reliably.”

Korg expects for the phase8 to be available starting in Q1 of 2026, priced under € 1000.