This Tech Squib is all about sensitivity, and it’s feeling very vulnerable right now.
The QuNeo from Keith McMillen Instruments is a large pad controller with completely adjustable functions assignable to every key. It’s perfect for musicians, DJs or anyone else who needs to assign specific functions to keys and buttons that can be pressed, punched, tapped, etc. — with some speed and urgency.
But, the QuNeo’s keys add what the manufacturer describes as “the power of touch recognition in other dimensions.” That means each of the device’s 27 pads, sliders and sensors are pressure, speed and touch-location sensitive. In addition, the 17 switches included respond to pressure how hard they’re pressed, while the 16 square pads provide 127 levels of speed response, X-Y location and continuous pressure.
The description goes on like that: Two rotary sensors allow the user to scrub, trigger, stretch, pinch and play phrases and sound files. Each rotary sensor measures angle, pressure and distance from the center. Nine touch sensitive sliders are trackable to fader and effects controls. LEDs within each slider act as meters.
Finally, it communicates via USB, MIDI or OSC – all in a device about the size of an iPad.
All of that piles up into an immensely adaptable device. Once I had the chance to play with it — to assign functions and experiment with the controllers — its sensitivity shines through and promises an almost infinite potential for functionality. For $199, the QuNeo becomes more than a controller. It’s a creative device limited only by the user’s needs and imagination.
