Over the years, I’ve gone through quite a few iterations of my DAWless setup, everything from multi-device MIDI chains to live looping experiments. But life has changed. In 2023, I became a parent, and through 2024, I’ve been figuring out how to balance creativity with this new phase of life. Studio time is rare now, and when I do find a moment, I don’t want to spend it troubleshooting cables or re-learning complex gear chains. So, I’ve simplified. Radically.

The SP404 MK2’s looper is a fun and fast way to sketch out ideas, but it's always had one major limitation: once you stack layers, like...

I first got hands-on with the Yamaha SEQTRAK back in January at NAMM 2025, and it immediately stood out to me. As someone who usually leans more toward samplers than grooveboxes in my dawless workflow, I didn’t expect to be as intrigued by it as I was.