Those familiar with 1010 Music’s Blackbox and Bluebox units will recognize the Bento’s lineage, like a confident older sibling that's just come back home from an extended backpacking excursion. Where the Blackbox offered minimalism and immediacy in loop-based composition, Bento takes that methodology and expands it across eight fully programmable tracks that can load sliced samples, multi-sampled keys, granular pads, loops, or control MIDI instruments. Treat it as an integrated part of your setup, the brains behind the whole operation, or as an all-in-one creative vessel.

Performance is seamless and immediate with thoughtful design considerations. The 16 velocity- and pressure-sensitive pads are deeply expressive interfaces, tied to per-pad control over pitch, pan, level, and modulation. The 8 encoders are context-sensitive, a feature that has been baked into the 1010 DNA, and the 7-inch touchscreen brings a piano roll, step grid, probability settings, and live looping together without even a whisper of clutter. It's not trying to replace your DAW, rather showing you how much of it can be folded into a single, intentional object.

Sonically, the 24-bit engine delivers the kind of clarity and dynamic response you'd expect from a proper audio interface. However, the FX engine and internal routing really let the Bento shine. Each track can be sent through delay, reverb, chorus, overdrive, and more—with real-time modulation and resampling options that make creative abuse not only possible, but encouraged. Need to print an FX-heavy version of a loop mid-set? Tap a few times. Want to stack textures from three tracks into one? Done. Useful, inspiring, and it's all neatly sorted and accessible.