News
Forget the desk: this one-handed MIDI controller lets you make music anywhere
The best musical ideas rarely strike when you’re sitting in front of your studio setup. Capturing them before they disappear, however, is another story altogether.
Enter MIDIGo, a handheld MIDI controller that aims to make music production genuinely portable.
Developed by New York-based product designer Phillip Höltgen, MIDIGo is built for making music on the move. Its ergonomic design fits comfortably in one hand, allowing producers to trigger sounds, tweak effects and record ideas without needing to stop and set up at a desk.
- READ MORE: This clever little touch board can turn fruit, spoons and even pencil drawings into MIDI controllers
The device features eight programmable buttons that can trigger instruments, samples or other sounds, with “octave mode” expanding the interface to as many as 64 playable sounds. Four additional buttons, meanwhile, handle recording, playback, undo and octave selection.
Flip the controller over, and you’ll find assignable potentiometers built into the underside, letting you tweak effects like delay or volume without changing your grip. This configuration also allows users to adjust sounds with their fingertips while simultaneously adjusting parameters.
Bluetooth connectivity ties everything together, allowing MIDIGo to pair with a smartphone for MIDI mapping, audio management and controller customisation so you don’t need to be tied to a desk to get ideas down.
Höltgen says the goal was to rethink what portability actually means for music production: “Portability should mean more than carrying a device from one table to another. I wanted to rethink the controller into an instrument that could be held, played, and used to capture an idea wherever it occurs.”
Notably, MIDIGo also puts strong emphasis on repairability. Unlike most devices in the market, the controller can be completely disassembled using a standard screwdriver, allowing individual components to be repaired or replaced instead of throwing out the entire unit.
The concept has already picked up a 2025 Red Dot Award: Design Concept in the category Hobby, Leisure and Games through the Red Dot: Next Gen Award program. It was also named a 2025 European Product Design Award winner in the Consumer Electronics / Audio Category.
Learn more at Philip Höltgen’s website.
The post Forget the desk: this one-handed MIDI controller lets you make music anywhere appeared first on MusicTech.