NAMM 2014: Dubspot and Livid Instruments unveil mixer-style DS1 MIDI Mixer controller

NAMM 2014: Certain new controllers, you might argue, have a tendency to over-complicate things, but the new DS1 MIDI Mixer - a collaborative effort between electronic music school Dubspot and Livid Instruments - promises to keep it simple.

Sporting a mixer-style design and constructed from "the highest-quality parts and materials," the DS1 is designed for mixing, production and performance.

Built from light but heavy-duty aluminium, the controller has nine 60mm faders, 44 rotary knobs with single-colour backlighting, one push encoder, 25 RGB buttons and an expression pedal input. It offers class-compliant MIDI over USB.

There's no price or release date as yet, but Dubspot says that the aim is keep the cost to less than $500.