Turns out CME’s “inspired by Behringer” SWIDI controller was a joke… but now it’s real (probably)

We’re so confused. Last week, CME told us that it was working on a Bluetooth MIDI keyboard/step sequencer - SWIDI - that was inspired by Behringer’s Swing, which itself is very similar to Arturia’s KeyStep. Now we discover that the whole thing was a wind-up, but now - as of 1 April - it’s real.

Go figure.

Anyway, apparently SWIDI is now an actual thing - or “the joke that isn't a joke about a clone of a clone that isn't a clone,” as CME puts it - or rather it will be if 3,000 people register their interest to get a 50% discount during the presale. The target retail price is $79.

CME is calling SWIDI a “crowd creation project,” which means that it’s inviting feedback on what features it should have. You’ll be able to offer yours once you’ve registered.

All we know for sure is that the controller will feature CME’s WIDI technology, a highly configurable, low-latency wireless Bluetooth MIDI standard.

That’s assuming that SWIDI really does become a reality, of course; at this point, we really don’t know what to believe.