Donner’s latest hardware instrument manages to pack a surprising amount of functionality into a tiny handheld unit. MEDO is a portable synth, sampler, looper and MIDI controller, and even features a built-in speaker.
The instrument, which was originally revealed at Music China in October 2023 following a successful Kickstarter campaign, has been designed to provide a compact standalone solution for anyone wishing to create music on the go. A built-in battery offers up to three hours of use, and an onboard speaker means it can be used without needing any additional equipment.
A collection of onboard sounds are included, with over 50 preset tones offering a range of sampled basses, chords, lead and drum sounds — there’s also a built-in subtractive synthesis engine. A built-in microphone can be used to capture samples of up to five seconds, and the unit boasts automatic frequency shifting and instant playback that allows users to quickly create and trigger their own custom sounds. Thanks to its looper functionality, MEDO can also build up sequences of up to 128 bars, with an automatic quantise feature helping to ensure everything stays in time.
A grid of top-panel buttons offer access to the instruments functions as well as serving as keys to trigger notes and samples, but there are plenty of other ways to interact with MEDO thanks to a range of additional gestures. As well as clicking and tapping the top panel, its also possible to slide or wiggle a finger across multiple buttons, as well as physically tilting, shaking, moving, or even slapping the casing!
Although it has primarily been designed to function as a completely standalone device, Donner have included MIDI over Bluetooth, allowing it to be used as a controller.
Pricing & Availability
MEDO is available now, priced at $179.99£179 including VAT / €199.
uk.donnermusic.com/products/donner-medo-multi-function-portable-synthesizer
