Introducing UNA: a hands-on hardware composer for keyboard players

video upload by midicake

CHAPTERS 0:00 Intro & capturing a melody 0:16 Parametric sequences: mutes, steps, direction 0:46 Sequencing every parameter 0:57 Chords & chord progressions 1:14 Mixer & rhythm track 1:30 Bass variations with probability 1:41 Modulation 1:57 Soloing over the top 2:13 Patches & patch chains 2:30 Finale: MIDI CC output 2:45 Order UNA"

Midicake UNA Sart MIDI Arpeggiator - SonicLAB Presentation

video upload by sonicstate

"Chris joins us in the studio to show us the new *midicake Una*, a compact MIDI processor and sequencer that takes ideas from MIDI Cake ARP and puts them into a smaller keyboard-focussed format with three intelligent parts driven by MIDI input.

Note: UNA has gained a number of new features and UI improvements since this was filmed, including the Patch Chain and Program Change features mentioned in the video. Head to https://midicake.com/una for what's in the shipping firmware.

UNA is designed to be a musical idea capture device. It uses incoming notes as a harmonic source for three parts: chord, melody and bass. The chord track drives rhythm and harmony, the melody track works as a more complex arpeggiator/sequencer, and the bass track adds generated or edited bass movement. It reverse-engineers played ideas into its parametric sequencing engine rather than simply recording MIDI. It can also be attached to a low cost Android tablet directly for a larger interactive UI to expand control options.

Key features include per-parameter sequencing for pitch, gate, velocity, slice, octave, MIDI channel and delay. It supports ratchets, trills, swing, Euclidean-style mutes and accents, probability-based variation, chord chains, chord suggestions and live play with sustain. Luna also has two MIDI outputs and can route or sequence across multiple MIDI channels.

Una early bird launch offer £399 / $519 / €479 for the first 150 units and sells direct from https://midicake.com"



"Meet Midicake UNA, a hands-on hardware composer for keyboards, synths, and the people who play.

Capture a melody, then play the keyboard. UNA's rhythm, melody and bass tracks follow your chords. Every sequence is parametric and deterministic, so you shape it hands-on and the same settings always give you the same pattern. A pattern is only yours if you can repeat it.

In this video:
• Capture melodies by step recording or in real time
• Change mutes, steps and direction without touching a note
• Step-sequence every main parameter and slice notes
• Chain chords into progressions, and UNA keeps every track in harmony
• Mix tracks and pick from the factory patterns
• Add controlled variation to the bass with probability
• Modulate internal parameters and MIDI CCs with waveforms and step sequences
• Solo over the top with pitch quantisation
• Switch patches on the fly and chain them into patch progressions

Order UNA at https://midicake.com

Designed and built by hand. Free firmware, forever."