Expressive MPE + CV Controller

US Exquis controller and app launched on Kickstarter 19/10/22

Recently launched on Kickstarter, Exquis is a controller and an app that together form a new electronic instrument which developers Intuitive Instruments say is expressive, intuitive and modular, for music beginners as well as professionals. Here's more details in their own words...

The result of 15 years of experience in developing intuitive instruments, Exquis is based on Intuitive instruments's unique, patented and award-winning hexagonal keyboard. This layout puts notes that sound well together right next to one another, so harmony falls under the fingers, and one can quickly improvise with or without theoretical background on the backlit keyboard.

Thanks to Exquis and Exquis app's unique and spontaneous creative workflow, it is easy to pick a sound, play, record your own loops and create a full song in minutes.

Exquis's expressive keys are designed to be mastered in minutes while offering a huge potential for expert gestures. Very sensitive, Exquis keys provide a 2-axis control per key, allowing to hit, press and bend keys independently thanks to the MIDI Polyphonic Expression protocol (MPE).

Exquis comes with a USB-C MIDI port, MIDI IN and OUT mini jack 3.5mm connectors and CV pitch, gate and mod mini jack 3.5mm connectors. It also provides 4 endless clickable potentiometers, a tactile slider and 10 boutons. Every control will be fully configurable.

While Exquis keyboard and Exquis app works in symbiosis to become the easiest way to compose music, they are both independent and widely compatible with existing music production ecosystems.

The app acts like any other DAW, allowing you to plug any MIDI devices and to host any VST/AU compatible plugins. The app is running on Windows, Mac OS, iOS, Android, linux and even on Raspberry Pi OS.

The Exquis keyboard is designed to be hacked, augmented and customized, to extend its possibilities and to adapt to any configuration and use cases, so to maximise its lifespan. In accordance with our eco-responsibility approach, Exquis's casing is made out of mostly sustainable and recyclable materials.

Knarf, chief editor of French music making media Les Sondiers had the privilege to try the latest prototype. He said "Insane expressivity! And the keyboard layout is so smart, I can just focus on the emotion in my sound."