Monome

Monome is an Upstate New York-based company, founded by Brian Crabtree and Kelli Cain, that produces sound modules and MIDI controllers.

"[5] A core design principle of the Monome is that it is not intended for any one specific application — the function of each button and the decision as to which lights are lit are completely up to the software communicating with the device over the Open Sound Control protocol.

[9] Some critics of the Arc have said it should be positioned as a complement to the Monome rather than a "complete control paradigm" that can stand alone, and that its overly-simplistic design can be seen as a limiting factor for independent use.

Despite being produced irregularly in small quantities since its introduction in 2006, the Monome button-grid controller has had a significant impact on electronic music.

[13][14] Together with the physically similar Yamaha Tenori-On, which was released a year later in 2007,[15] the Monome inspired interest in minimalist, grid-based music controllers throughout the industry.

That interest spawned hobbyist projects like the Arduinome and commercial products like the Akai APC40,[16] the Novation Launchpad,[17] and the Livid Instruments Block and Ohm64.