the wooden sequencer and sampler that’s already smashed its Kickstarter goal by 20x

Music technology company Musical Beings – founded by former employees of Google, Waves Audio, Wix, and Simply – has launched Tembo, a new child- and beginner-friendly step sequencer, sampler and drum machine with an intuitive, game-style interface.

Looking like something akin to a draughts board, Tembo is made entirely of wood – a decision taken by Musical Beings to make the unit more inviting than other drum machines and samplers in the category that are often metal or monochrome.

“We chose to make Tembo out of wood to get people feeling natural next to it,” says co-founder Ayal Rosenberg. “This is something I want to keep on the dining table, because it’s inviting and pleasant to look at. Wood integrates naturally into any room.”

Beneath its exterior, Tembo houses a five-channel, 16-step sequencer, with sequences created by placing circular magnets – or “Beats” – on the user’s chosen positions.

You’ll notice, though, that the grid is only eight blocks across. That’s because you can position your Beats in specific ways to make use of 16th note subdivisions, too. By placing a Beat on the first position it will trigger the first 16th note, while stacking two Beats on the first position triggers the first two 16th notes of the sequence. You can flip a Beat over to add a step to the second 16th note alone.

Tembo’s deceptively comprehensive set of controls is completed by dedicated pitch and volume knobs for each of the five channels – plus a send for adding delay and reverb effects – as well as global tempo, swing and pattern length controls in the bottom left corner of the unit.

In terms of onboard sounds, Tembo has eight sample packs, with the ability to add your own samples via either its XLR/TRS input or built-in microphone. There’s also dual USB-C/MIDI connections so more seasoned musicians can connect the device to their DAW or external instruments.

“We’re not professional musicians but music is huge in our lives,” reflects Rosenberg, Musical Beings co-founder.

“We’ve been playing and making music our whole lives as amateurs. But we never felt truly good at it or highly musical. We want to change this. We want everyone to feel musical, especially the youngest musicians.”

“If you search for step sequencers or drum machines, they look complex and intimidating, even if they are also beautiful,” he continues.

Tembo is live now on Kickstarter, with nearly £700,000 pledged, well over its £37k goal. A number of tiers are available to get your own, ranging between $369 and $549.

 Learn more at Musical Beings.

Sam is the Associate News Editor for Guitar.com and MusicTech. Thoroughly immersed in music culture for the majority of his life, Sam has played guitar for 20 years, studied music technology and production at university, and also written for the likes of MusicRadar, Guitar World, Total Guitar and Metal Hammer.