Dreadbox has been killing it lately…
Looks inspired by TE Pocket Operator FX. I’m sure Jukka has already found these descriptions by now but for convenience:
Video 1
Medusa’s Grid is a powerful tool. In this example of use, we’ve recorded a nice chord progression in the middle row of the Grid. The pads on the bottom row don’t hold any notes only parameter modulations (each can hold up to 118 parameter flags). The six-voice chord are modulated while they’re being played, both released by hand and sequenced on the top row of the Grid. You can even use the Grid as a source of modulation when you’re playing the Medusa with an attached external MIDI keyboard. Hope you’ll enjoy this short video. Best regards to our friends from Dreadbox
Video 2:
Medusa’s Grid modulators can also be sequenced. Turned on and off as a modulation layer on top of a note sequence. Here you can see a short example of such use on a sequenced six-voice chord progression. Ciao @ Dreadbox !
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Good news everyone, I just got an email from the Greek retailer saying that they have some Medusas in stock and ready to ship! Shouldn’t be too long before they reach the rest of the world!
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sounds promising
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Looking forward to the initial reviews. and sseriously considering buying one.
The only weird thing is the decision to not build in any FX. I mean Dreadbox put FX in their boxes and polyend side is digital so why not include a few decent reverbs and delays easily modulated by touch etc?
Maybe they used up all the available processor power for the digital synth engine and sequencer; as well as reading XYZ data from all 64 pads, leaving none for the FX (or at least FX that would satisfy their standards). I don’t know what processor they chose or anything - just out of my butt speculation.
Unfortunately, I lost interest in this one when I saw the $1200 retail price tag.
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Not justifying the price increase at all, but not surprised either, given recent trends.
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Now that you mention it, both the Dreadbox and Polyend sites have always posted the price in Euros, never US dollars. So from the perspective of EU customers, there is no price increase - as of yet.
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Hopefully Chuck Levins will get a unit or two so I can audition one in person. Guitar Center lists some Dreadbox products on their site, but no mention of Medusa at the moment.
I was expecting it to come under the $1000 mark because I thought the 999€ included VAT. I still think it looks great, but it’s hard for me to justify the >$1000 on something like this right now.
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With recent trends in trade policy and economics, I’'m guessing the days of Euro and US dollar prices being nearly identical are coming to an end.
I’d be more tempted to pick one up on impulse, if I hadn’t had some unexpected expenses pile up of late.
Weird that it could actually happen, right? I figured as long as France and Germany were both on board… but now that’s no longer a sure deal for either.
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I don’t want this to stray too far into politics, but I don’t think currency conversion rates have anything to do with it because the dollar has actually been gaining strength on the euro lately. The euro was at about $1.18 or so months ago, and was at $1.14 yesterday. I know this because I recently bought an Acidlab Drumatix direct from Klaus 
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Yeah, I"m actually thinking of factors other than the conversion rate, but I also agree that discussing those factors would lead down the politics path, more than just mentioning the EU and a couple of EU countries.
by VIP’s you mean you tube people ?
i mean , they’re good for publicity and getting word out , but VIP ? …
ive nothing against any of them , its a viable revenue stream , part of todays thing of being a musician , i’d be doing the same in their position , i’m too cynical for these things . many of them put in a great deal of effort on their channels so it does them both a bit of good .
In general i really hate the term ‘influencer’ , social media , youtube , twitter , twitch , etc … anyway i wont start ranting about that.
a goal of 999 euro is reasonable , its one of those price points that people seem happy with , 1000 is a big no no , but 999 is ok and if months later its a little higher it seems ok.
what id like to point out though , is how good yiannis / dreadbox has been in replying to support emails , ive got a nyx which had a fault when i bought it 2nd hand , they’ve been quick to respond to mails , suggested fixes and its been very refreshing to get a response and such good support , if those extra few $$$ mean they can continue to do their thing then its all fine with me (ive had good reponse from elektron and novation recently too ) … those few $$ could make a big difference to a small team like dreadbox.
I’d hate to predict a price right now dealing with the euro , dollars , greek economy , tariffs …
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Speaking of VIPs, lol, AutomaticGainsay appears to be on deck to do a video.
I like the idea, but I’m right-handed and logically it’s back to front for me.
The bit that needs real-time dexterity is the pads, and they need to be on the right for my strong hand.
agreed! unfortunate design choice for the right handed.
MPC Live has the pads on the left, so does the Analog RYTM for that matter; never mind that most drummers (finger-drummers or otherwise) tend to use BOTH hands (wink).
Cheers!