Behringer KICK Announced: $150 Open-Source Sampler Groovebox
6 hours ago
5 min read
Behringer has announced the KICK, a standalone sampler groovebox with a target price of $150. The KICK's software and firmware are open source and the code is already on GitHub, so users can write their own features and firmware. The prototype is specified with a 7-inch touchscreen and 16 RGB pads, along with four CV/Gate jacks and an AI camera for gesture control. Below you'll find what it does, how it fits the move to open-source firmware, why it looks familiar and what is still unknown.
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Table of contents
How open is the Behringer KICK?
Behringer says it is opening up the KICK's hardware and software platform so users can create their own features and firmware. The company announced the Behringer KICK in a Facebook post and calls it a "Professional Standalone Music Production Center". The post also says AI tools will let people with no coding experience turn their ideas into new features and firmware. The code is already on GitHub, although Behringer has not announced a release date.
The same post tells a story about Uli getting kicked out of a music store because he couldn't afford anything. Behringer says that experience led him to start a company to bring music technology to more people, and the story may also explain the name. The open code is presented as the next step, with the line "We build the hardware. YOU create the possibilities."
Is this the era of open-source firmware?
It is starting to look that way, although these products don't all open up by the same amount. Behringer isn't the first company to go this way. Customers wrote their own firmware and synth engines for the M-VAVE FM-1, M-VAVE then released an official SDK, and Xfer Records Shrub brought a stripped-down Serum to the FM-1. Akai has since announced the new Sample Key and an update for the existing AKAI MPC Sample, both open to community firmware. Erica Synths has also made its LXR-02 drum machine hackable.
The newest example comes from Polyend. On November 2 it announced that it is publishing the firmware source code for the original Polyend Tracker, Tracker+ and Tracker Mini on GitHub, together with Tracker Community Edition 1.0, which owners can install on all three, change and share in their own version. Our news on Polyend Tracker Community Edition 1.0 has more on that release. Behringer has also promised that the firmware of the POLYKEYS 61 will be open source. Our news on the Behringer POLYKEYS 61 covers that keyboard and its $199 target price, and so far it has no public code, license or documented way to install modified firmware.
These three products show how different the stages are. Tracker owners can install Polyend's update now, the KICK's code is public before anyone can buy the hardware, and the POLYKEYS 61 is still a promise. Polyend's update also includes a recovery system meant to stop a faulty build from permanently disabling the instrument. That is the kind of safety net to look for on the KICK too, since a failed flash is an obvious worry with community firmware.
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What will the KICK do, and what does it connect to?
The KICK is a sampler with sample editing, a step sequencer, a looper and more than 300 built-in effects, according to its GitHub page. It runs software the repository calls Music Tribe JAM DAW; no release history or further official details have been published. The repository identifies a separate KICK application and a Buildroot Linux image, but does not explain exactly how JAM DAW fits into the software stack.
The hardware list below is what the KICK is projected to offer, so treat it as the plan for now. The AI camera is the odd one out, since all we have is that it's meant "for gesture control" and nothing on how that works in use. With a step sequencer, MIDI Out and four listed CV/Gate jacks, the KICK is intended for hardware setups, although Behringer has not yet documented the direction or functions of the CV/Gate connections.
7-inch touchscreen and a touch strip
16 RGB pads with eight banks
Four assignable knobs and a jog wheel
AI camera for gesture control
5-pin DIN MIDI in and out, four CV/Gate jacks
Stereo in and out, headphone out
SD card slot, USB-C and USB-A
Why does the KICK look familiar?
The KICK looks familiar because Behringer announced a very similar-looking product called Jam back in 2020. The Jam name later went to Behringer's recent MIDI controller series. The KICK also looks a lot like the AKAI MPC One, and the current G2 version of that sampler is available at Thomann.
The questions that remain are practical ones. How the open-source side will work on a real unit is still unknown. Nothing so far says who helps you if a community firmware goes wrong or a flash fails. If you'd rather read about a sampler that is already out, we have our news on the Akai MPC Sample.
Price and Availability
Behringer gives the KICK a target price of $150. There is no information yet on when it will be released, so you can't buy one today. That price will probably get a lot of people interested, and we would still wait for real units and the first reviews before making plans around it.
For now, the official place to look is Behringer's KICK GitHub page.
Want a community firmware sampler sooner?
The KICK has no release date yet, so you can't plan around it. The AKAI MPC Sample is already out, and Akai says it plans to open the firmware to community modification. As of November 2, Akai has not published the promised open-firmware program or source code, but unofficial, unsupported mods already exist.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Behringer KICK available to buy yet?
No. Behringer has given a target price of $150, but there is no release date yet. The code is public on GitHub, but you can't order the hardware.
Do I need to know how to code to modify the KICK?
Not according to Behringer. The company says AI tools will let people without programming experience turn their ideas into new features and firmware. How well that works will only be clear once people have the hardware.
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