The HapsBox portable music system has the look of a toy spaceship, but it's a powerful mobile music-making machine that's newbie-friendly while also being attractive to pros. It features its own carry handles, has built-in Bluetooth speakers, runs on battery power and puts a wide selection of instrument sounds at a player's disposal.
The musicians, sound designers, industrial designers and engineers behind the HapsBox have crammed more than 160 instrument emulations, and over 200 percussion rhythms and styles, into one portable music machine that's designed for ease of use and high quality sonic output.
Sitting on a matte charcoal top with subtle beehive motifs are a bunch of backlit five-sided pads, along with gamified control buttons, while a knob on the left side controls volume and another on the right is used to adjust balance. The designers say that the device's Bluetooth audio system delivers "jaw-dropping sound spreading in every direction" from two angled speaker modules mounted to the sides, and resonant chamber inside.
Internal lithium batteries provide portable power, and though no play time per charge is given, it can be used while charging. As well as Bluetooth, connectivity also comes as USB ports, 3.5-mm auxiliary in and out jacks, and a headphone jack for private listening.
There's a companion app too, which mimics the device's layout for tappy touchscreen composing, but also allows for button reassignment and settings tweaking as well as loading in songs, sharing compositions and more.
The 3.8-kg (8.3-lb) music creation machine is reported easy to pick up and play out of the box, but with features like MIDI over Bluetooth and the ability to cable it to external MIDI hardware included to keep the pros happy.
The HapsBox has undergone pre-launch testing by over 2,000 people, and is currently raising production funds on Kickstarter. Pledges start at HKD 3,480 (about US$450), which represents a 55 percent saving on the expected retail price. If all goes to plan, shipping is estimated to start in October. The video below has more.
Source: HapsBox