Native Devices and Ableton have had unimaginable success with their customized MIDI controllers that combine with their DAWs (digital audio workstations), Maschine and Dwell, respectively. Native Devices’ Maschine (sure, it’s the title of the {hardware} and the software program) and Ableton’s Push are just about the gold normal for integration between music-making software program and {hardware}. Serato is hoping it will possibly seize even a sliver of that magic with its pairing of Slab and Serato Studio.
Loads of others have tried their hand at constructing (or having others construct for them) customized controllers for his or her DAWs — FL Studio, Studio One, and the MPC desktop suite have all gotten devoted {hardware} in some unspecified time in the future. Success, nonetheless, has been combined. What Serato has going for it’s that Studio is a comparatively younger and streamlined DAW with minimal bells and whistles. Meaning the place Push and Maschine might be intimidating (and costly) with their sprawl of buttons, pads, knobs, and sizable screens, Slab is far more approachable and reasonably priced at $329.
Design-wise, Slab bears greater than a passing resemblance to Maschine. It’s not simply that each are constructed round a grid of 16 pads; it’s additionally the format, label placement, and font selections. Should you informed me Slab was constructed by Native Devices as a substitute of AlphaTheta (Serato’s companion), I wouldn’t second-guess it.
It’s a good-looking sufficient piece of {hardware}, although. The grey-on-gray colour palette might not be thrilling, and a little bit laborious to learn beneath sure lighting, however the matte texture and clear traces keep away from feeling purely utilitarian. Slab is all plastic, nevertheless it doesn’t really feel low-cost. Encoders have an excellent quantity of resistance, the buttons aren’t mushy, and the large dial has agency detents. The display is kind of small, and whereas it provides you some visible suggestions, you’ll by no means be capable of compose a beat on Slab with out your laptop. That’s to be anticipated of a controller on this worth vary, although, just like the Atom SQ or MPC Studio controller.
The speed-sensitive pads are respectable, if nothing spectacular. They’re adequate for some finger drumming, however Akai’s MPC nonetheless reigns supreme on this discipline. I’ve discovered the response to be a contact inconsistent and, whereas AlphaTheta lists “adjustable aftertouch” as one of many options of Slab, Serato Studio doesn’t at present help aftertouch, which is a bit surprising in 2025. The RGB lighting, although, makes it a breeze to shortly color-code your chops and drum hits so you possibly can establish your kicks, as an example, by making all of them purple.
Consistent with its finances worth, connectivity is barebones right here — only a USB-C port for connecting to your laptop. There’s no built-in audio interface or MIDI outputs, such as you’d discover on Maschine and Push.
What issues most is how Slab integrates with Serato Studio. The excellent news is that many of the DAW’s important options are at your fingertips. I’m new to Serato Studio, and I’ve solely had Slab for about two weeks, however I had little hassle shortly getting the fundamentals down pat. It’s simple and intuitive to sequence a drum sample or play a bassline by hand. You even have fast entry to the stem separation tech that has made Serato Pattern so profitable.
Slab means that you can browse your library of samples or hearth up plugins with out reaching in your mouse or keyboard. That being mentioned, relying on the dimensions of your assortment, it is likely to be sooner and simpler to go for the mouse anyway.
It was easy and fairly enjoyable to tug in a drum break, chop it up, and begin crafting a beat with out leaving Slab. By the top of my first day, I’d already put collectively a few (admittedly fairly horrible) beats. Whereas the standard of my output was questionable, I had a blast making them. A part of the rationale I hadn’t actually delved too deeply into Serato Studio earlier than is that it wasn’t a very tactile expertise.
That’s the enchantment of {hardware}. Whereas it is likely to be simple to cut samples or draw a melody with a mouse, it’s simply much more enjoyable to hit pads and switch knobs. Slab additionally places a number of performance-focused results in simple attain, like a pitched looper and wah. They’re not fairly as sturdy as what you would possibly discover on a standalone machine just like the SP-404 or one thing from Teenage Engineering, however they nonetheless boost a jam properly.
The place Slab loses factors is in its number of modes and shift features. These extra aware of Serato Studio may need a neater time than I did, however I often discovered myself confused about which mode I wanted to be in to alter the be aware repeat price, or by the dearth of visible suggestions when looking results and pattern chopping modes. And every factor has its personal “mode,” from the dial, to the encoders, and the touchstrip. Preserving all of it straight can get a little bit cumbersome.
Regardless of Serato Studio being a comparatively easy DAW centered totally on drum programming and pattern chopping, Slab can really feel menu-divy at occasions. And whereas Studio does help VST and AU plugins for enjoying your favorite software synths, Slab provides restricted management over them.
Slab is unlikely to win over many new converts. However in case you’re already utilizing Serato Studio and have been eyeing Maschine and MPC homeowners with jealousy, the Slab is likely to be an honest funding. It provides you an identical hands-on expertise at an affordable worth.