16 Step Buttons Need To Be Purposed as Track Mute/Select/Delete

this is something which no other machine has done since 2001 which was the e-mu command station

i waited all these years, secretly laughing at all other machines (mpcs/sps/maschine/ren etc)

why? because they use the midi pads to do double duty for both note playing and track muting/selecting. never both at the same time, press a button and the sounds are here, press another button and now there are no sounds just track mutes

this is the equivalent of a car using only one pedal and a shift button to change between it functioning as a gas pedal and a break pedal

command station got it right. they made a machine with a midi pad section, a 16 button track mute/select/delete etc section, and a transport all within a small space and everything in that sequencer from top to bottom can be done without pressing stop

now after 15 years the wait is over, the toraiz also has a midi pad section, a 16 button section and a transport all in a small convenient space!

but.......the 16 buttons are only programmed for step sequencing and maybe(?) a few other things!

please i hope you understand when i tell you, over the years i have mentioned the importance of having both a track mute/select/delete button section and a midi pad section next to each other, as opposed to only having pads which must be switched between the two

in live music creation, playing notes in real time, there is no other way forward. there is no logical argument why not and the kicker is few people have ever tried it because the command station was only short lived

the creative process requires this functionality, where the 16 buttons are physical representations of their respective tracks, and can be muted and unmuted, jumped to and/or selected, and deleted all on the fly. not only this but the midi note pads are left unto themselves for what they are best used for which is playing notes, and now one can seamlessly track mute/unmute and play notes at the same time with total control and no confusion

also you can skip to tracks instantly while still playing notes on the midi pads, you can delete a track instantly while still playing the midi pads, you can record onto a track instantly while still playing midi pads etc etc

the humor is not lost on me that this has been left behind by manufacturers over the years. and now most people have not had the chance to experience making music with this powerful setup

the great thing is is these buttons were made for step sequencing, so if only for that reason they came to fruition, the fact is they came to fruition! for that i am excited about the future and that things will catch up in regards to live note playing/recording

so to sum up this feature request, which in my experience will be a step (no pun intended) forward that will be leading the way for other manufacturers for this most intuitive functionality in midi sequencing devices, all that needs to be done for this request at this stage is:

allow the 16 step buttons to also act as track mute/unmute, track select (where a shift button is pressed and the track can be selected with one of the 16 buttons), and track delete (where any of the 16 tracks can be erased by holding down the track button and another button(s))

i have been making beats since 1988, and have seen various features in some otherwise ancient and severely limited samplers and sequencers over the years get lost in the shuffle in favour of the new trends and feature requests/music, only to see years later manufacturers finding their way back towards these features

i will makes some videos if you like, to show the workflow of the command station and the midi note pads plus the track mute buttons in action in the recording, editing, playing process. be forewarned as i said though, this old machine will do everything described above without ever pressing stop ; )

sincerely