Orbit - Space age wireless MIDI controller with accelerometer

One of the most exciting pieces of kit we saw at NAMM was the world’s first wireless hand-held MIDI controller with accelerometer. It’s by Numark who make a ton of kit for DJs but we think it has huge potential way beyond DJs, and the ‘game-controller on steroids’ approach makes it really easy to use.

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The pocket-size gizmo is designed as a performance tool and lets you control everything from samples to filters and lighting effects. It’s easy to use and so compact you can even wear it. You can assign colours to the pads - it has 16 backlit pads and 4 selectable banks with 16 virtual knobs per bank. The touch-sensitive central control wheel controls the selected virtual knob to allow instant tweaking.

There’s a two-axis accelerometer with shoulder trigger controls that mean you can manipulate your samples and filters by tilting your Orbit forwards backwards, left or right. It can be used handheld, strapped to your belt or hung around your neck.

The central control knob is also lit and you can assign things to it such as volume. All the controls are fully mappable, so you can customize their settings for effects control, transport control, volume control, or any other MIDI parameter.

It works wireless or wired, with the USB cable that also charges it. The 2.4 GHz ultra-low-latency wireless performance control means it is ‘impervious to interference’ say the Numark team.

The Orbit gives you 8 hours of action, running off a long-life rechargeable lithium ion battery.

When Numark asked us to guess the price we were way out! It comes in at a remarkable $99.