Released in 2023, Chompi is a cutesy hardware sampler with a playful, beginner-friendly interface. Equipped with a two-octave mechanical keyboard and built-in mic, the screenless instrument offers seven-voice polyphony, tape-style stereo looping and a range of digital effects.
This week, Chase Bliss – the boutique pedal company that acquired Chompi last year – has announced the release Tempo, an alternative firmware that, rather than updating the instrument's existing workflow, offers users a completely different one.
Reimagining Chompi as a groovebox and sample-slicing pattern generator, the Tempo firmware is said to transform Chompi into an "entirely new instrument". Tempo is designed for tempo-synced, rhythmic beatmaking, whereas the existing Tape firmware takes a more loose and freeform approach based around a tape-style looper.
Tempo's workflow revolves around a newly-introduced Pattern Generator, described as a "a quick and intuitive way to build pattern-based music with your samples", which is based on a multi-mode arpeggiator with note probability and multiple per-engine rest patterns that insert pauses between notes for variation.
The Pattern Generator is used to trigger Slice, a new sample engine that automatically slices audio files into 16 segments, mapped across Chompi's white keys. Several new per-sample effects are available, including sample rate reduction and a multi-mode resonant filter.
Tempo also introduces a completely redesigned effects engine that's been rejigged to complement its pattern-based workflow. At its core is a tempo-synced Dual Delay effect that can be routed into a diffusion reverb or spiced up with randomized pitch-shifting, panning and reversing – like everything Chompi, this looks like tons of fun.
Thanks to Tempo, Chompi can now be synced to external MIDI clock or act as the master clock for other gear, making it possible to hook up with external instruments via its 3.5mm MIDI jacks, or your DAW via the USB-C port, and get your tempo-synced jam on.
Chompi's Tempo firmware is completely free for existing users. If you don't have a Chompi and this has piqued your interest, the instrument is currently priced at €699.
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