I’ve had an OXI One for a few weeks and just got my hands on a Hapax today. Here are some quick first impressions:
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Build quality – both are well made but I think the build quality of the OXI is better overall. The all metal case and the lack of screws on the top panel looks very slick. The Hapax feels pretty solid but doesn’t feel nearly as elegant.
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Buttons – the grid on the OXI one feels more grippy / rubbery than the Hapax, which are harder and lower profile. For playing “live” I like the OXI grid better, but for entering sequences and automation data I like the Hapax better.
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Navigation – I find navigating within patterns much easier on the Hapax than on the OXI. Having to turn a dial to move vertically or press separate buttons to move between pages on the OXI feels kinda tedious. Hapax’s up, down, left, right cluster of buttons is very natural and well placed. Hapax’s right hand screen giving the overview of your patterns is also very helpful.
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Sequencing – being only a few hours into my explorations of the Hapax I can’t give provide a particularly deep analysis, but so far the Hapax feels very natural to me. Because there’s more buttons and knobs on the Hapax there’s less menu diving, shift clicking, etc. as compared to the Oxi. Most of what I want to do when sequencing feels “at hand” on the Hapax, more so than compared to the OXI.
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Effects – the Hapax’s 8 effects per track are super powerful generative tools. This is one of the features that really attracted me to the Hapax and it doesn’t disappoint.