The more I use the Polyend Tracker, the more in love I am with its “keyboard”. It has a simple 12x4 grid of non-velocity-sensitive silicon pads, each column being a semitone higher/lower than the one next to it, each row being an octave higher/lower than the one below/above it.
My only complaints:
- I’d like 8 rows instead of 4.
- It’d be nice it it were a stand-alone MIDI controllerwithout the Tracker bits on there (not a knock on the Tracker, mind. Still my favorite find of 2020!)
Does something like this exist? Here’s what I’ve found:
Polyend Seq
Obvious choice as its pads are similar if not identical to the Tracker’s. But I think it’s a sequencer only? I haven’t found a way to play it as a keyboard, anyway. And there are way more pads than I’d need making it larger and more expensive than I’d like.
Novation Launchpads
Probably closest to what I’m looking for. Playing on a Circuit was my previous favorite MIDI controller experience. I don’t need the DAW stuff or the pressure sensitive pads, but I can turn all that off. The big deal killer is it’s only 8 pads wide. Having the full 12 of the tracker made a world of difference for me.
Linnstrument 128
I’ve never had the pleasure, but this looks promising. It’s a MIDI controller, first and foremost. It has 8 rows. On the down side the pads have all of that proprietary Linn expressivity, which I’m not skilled enough to use and would feel bad about paying for, but maybe I’ll grow as a musician? 
It also looks like the pads are laid out like a fret board — the pads directly above/below are a 4th rather than an octave? But I think this is configurable. Anyone have experience with this? Overall, this also falls into the “overkill” category, but in this case I’m willing to believe Roger knows what I want better than I do, so maybe worth it?
Monome Grid
Right number of pads. Proper lack of expressivity 
. Lovely size. But doesn’t do MIDI without going through some sort of host app or appliance. And all that walnut and aluminum, while gorgeous, puts it within spitting distance of the much more capable Linnstrument?
Something Else?
With all the hardware experimentation going on right now I feel like there must be more I’m missing. Any other ideas?
