1010music nanobox lemondrop

A great tool for timbrical experimentation. Lots of interesting textures out of the box, plus all the samples you might want to add. The ability to granulate live audio allows for some nifty tricks, such as making a mono audio signal both polyphonic and stereo. The small form factor may be a put-off for some people and a bonus for others. In my case it was meant to be part of a portable setup, so it's OK. The small box means audio and MIDI ins and outs are 3'5'' jacks, which is workable yet not that ideal. Having said that, the tiny screen it is very responsive and makes the most of the synth (and I have big clumsy fingers), which is totally usable standalone and in a live situation. Of course most parameters are midi-controllable anyway. Given the fatness of the sound, 4 voices of polyphony are enough. Easy to learn and control, and tons of inspirational sounds.

The good: great sound, amazing possibilities, line in granulation, can be used as an effects processor for line in signal, portable, small footprint, cute

The bad: interface navigation is clumsy, switching presets requires 3 steps (4 if you want to get to the sequencer to trigger a note and hear the preset you selected), preset switching is not smooth, there is a glaring half second gap and the previous sound is interrupted abruptly, no usb midi, no bluetooth midi.

For the price, I would have expected usb midi and a smoother preset switching.
Hopefully the interface navigation can be improved in future firmware updates and usb midi added.

Conclusion: I love it, I’m keeping it, I use it everyday and it brings a smile to my face, but I don’t know if I can justify buying it again if it were stolen. Maybe if it were 80 to 100 euros cheaper?