I’ve been playing with a Yamaha SEQTRAK a bit for the past week.

This device is incredibly cool. It’s a mobile idea station designed for both power and portability. It features a multitrack sequencer, a wide variety of synths, effects, and a sampler. With about four hours of battery life, it’s fun to carry around the house or on the go. The build quality is solid, and its design is stylish. The touch strips are highly responsive.

A complimentary app lets you control the entire device through a graphic user interface. The app also includes eye-catching visualizers that sync with your music. I have a feeling some of my general music students will enjoy it—the focused form factor could serve as a great introduction to sequencing.

If this sounds interesting, there are plenty of demos and tutorials available online, one of which I embedded below. I just wanted to share that I think this wave of portable beat machines is a great trend—and the SEQTRAK gets my thumbs-up!