So the other half of this week's sampler drama: Behringer's KICK, a prototype standalone groovebox that looks an awful lot like an Akai MPC One, except the firmware is open source and the target price is around $150.
The resemblance is not subtle. Same pad layout, same touchscreen position, same Q-Link knobs, with the right-hand buttons slightly changed. Under the hood it is a different story: no MPC OS here. It runs Linux, and Behringer is leaving the firmware to the community, with the code on GitHub. You build the OS, or at least the features you want on it.
What is on the spec sheet so far: 16 RGB pads across 8 banks, 4 assignable knobs, a jog wheel, a touch strip, a sampler with sample editing, a step sequencer, a looper, and over 300 built-in effects. Connections cover 5-pin MIDI in and out, USB-C and USB-A, stereo I/O, headphone, an SD slot, and 4x CV/gate. Oh, and a built-in AI camera for gesture control, which is either cool or slightly dystopian depending on your mood.
Two honest caveats. First, this is a prototype: Behringer's own listing says availability and price are TBA, so treat the $150 as a target, not a confirmed price. Second, Behringer announced a similar MPC-style box called the JAM six years ago and then went quiet on it, so a prototype is not a product yet.
Still, paired with Akai's SampleKey teaser yesterday, open firmware is suddenly the story of the week in hardware sampling. Full writeup from SynthAnatomy here: https://synthanatomy.com/2026/10/behringer-kick-an-mpc-one-clone-with-open-source-firmware.html
And the open-source project lives here: https://github.com/MusicTribeOpenSource
Would you trust a $150 community-built MPC, or is this one to watch from a distance?
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A lot of great music tech is still being created!!!
Right, and the open-source firmware on the KICK is the part that really has me curious, a 150 dollar box you can tinker with is hard to beat.
" a 150 dollar box you can tinker with is hard to beat."
Just like a hooker!