Just to drop in my 10 cents on this horrifically old thread. I am about to build a monome 64 clone. It will cost maybe $150 and will have the best build quality (my own). For example, the faceplate is built from .475″ thick acrylic that was laser fabricated. I will also have an extra set of the components that built it so that I can always repair the device if I need to.

Because the specs are entirely open I can program it to do anything that I want and interface with any application that I want (through midi if nothing else).

However, I will not stand on it.

I’m only posting this because it seems like the people talking about monome above don’t entirely grasp the benefits that it offers.

The monome was an idea that was shared with the world so that people like me could build the device that they wanted. It’s not menu order rubbish that you find on a dollar menu. And as such people value them, that is why they are so expensive.