The Bento, 1010music’s touchscreen pocket sampler and groovebox, takes a real step up with firmware 1.5. This free update drops in the Shredder engine first seen on the blackbox 2, a DJ-style multi-FX section driven by two XY pads, and audio over USB-C. Together they push the little box closer to being a genuinely standalone sampling studio.
A sampling studio that fits in a gig bag
Launched in spring 2025, the Bento distils the DNA of 1010music’s blackbox into a compact, battery-powered format. You get a 7-inch touchscreen, sixteen velocity-sensitive pads, eight endless encoders and eight freely assignable tracks. Each track handles several content types: sample banks, multisamples, loop slicing, granular synthesis inherited from the lemondrop, loops and external MIDI.
Everything records and plays back at 24-bit, projects live on a microSD card, the unit runs around three hours on battery, and it talks to the outside world over USB-C, three stereo in/out pairs and two MIDI sockets. In short, a machine built to compose, sample and perform with no computer in sight, from the sofa to the stage.
The Shredder engine is the headline feature
The standout addition in firmware 1.5 is the Shredder engine and its dedicated track type. First introduced on the blackbox 2 at Superbooth 2026, it merges two approaches usually kept apart: on-the-fly loop slicing and granular playback of multi-samples. In practice you load a loop, chop it into segments, then work those segments with the flexibility of a granular engine: stretch, density, playback position, scatter.
The result bridges the gap between classic beat-slicing and granular texture. On a drum break or a pad, it opens up ground that was sorely missing from the original release, and moves the Bento onto the same turf as reference grooveboxes when it comes to sound reconstruction.
A multi-FX section built for live play
Firmware 1.5 also adds a DJ-flavoured multi-FX section controlled through two XY pads. On the menu: repeater, gater, filter, bitcrusher, echo, echo with high-pass filter and flanger. The point isn’t the effects list so much as the gestural, real-time control, finger on the screen, to mangle a loop mid-performance.
USB audio, multisample editing and tighter sequencing
Less flashy but just as significant, audio over USB-C turns the Bento into an interface: you can now stream its audio to a computer or tablet and record straight into your DAW. Multisample handling improves too, with per-WAV editing inside a set and a settings preview in the recording wizard.
On the sequencing side, one-shot tracks gain a step mode, loop groups are easier to manage and MIDI implementation has been fleshed out. These are exactly the kind of details that save time once the machine is folded into a daily workflow.
What firmware 1.5 brings to the Bento
| Addition | What it changes |
|---|---|
| Shredder engine and track | Loop slicing and granular multi-samples in one place |
| DJ multi-FX (2 XY pads) | Repeater, gater, filter, bitcrusher, echo, flanger for live play |
| Audio over USB-C | The Bento doubles as an audio interface for computer or tablet |
| Multisample editing | Edit individual WAVs inside a set |
| One-shot sequencing | Step mode, loop groups, expanded MIDI |
What it means in practice
Having lived through the shift from analogue to computer-based production, I spent years treating these little boxes as fun but hobbled toys. A standalone machine that samples, sequences, carries a proper granular engine and now works as an audio interface over a single USB-C cable is no longer a toy: it’s a complete workstation that needs no computer to exist, and that makes one an accessory when you want it. 1010music’s strategy of trickling its flagship engines down to the Bento through free updates is exactly what you want from a serious maker.
For more on recent pocket instruments, see the open-source Mach Devices MD-7 or the hybrid Isla Electronics Caladan. Firmware 1.5 is a free download from 1010music.
