The Story of Mortrix

 

 

The Problem That Needed Solving

One day I bought a synth pedal—the Future Impact by Panda Audio—and was immediately captivated by its 99 patches, each offering a lush, synthetic soundscape waiting to be explored. But there was a catch: switching between them meant endlessly tapping a footswitch, cycling through presets one by one, always one step behind the music. I needed a better way to control it. So I did what any curious musician would do: I went shopping.

But i was disappointed with the options.

MIDI turned 40 in 2023. In those four decades, we’ve seen computers shrink from room-sized to pocket-sized. Phones became full recording studios. Amplifiers learned to perfectly emulate vintage gear. Yet when it came to controlling all this power, most options still felt like they were designed for engineers rather than musicians. Complex menus, unintuitive workflows, and steep learning curves had become the norm. It seemed like the industry had accepted that powerful tools had to be complicated tools.

I’d spent over a decade working at the intersection of computer science and interaction design, refining and perfecting human – computer interaction. And the MIDI controllers and tools i was presented with all fell short of my ideals.

So I decided to build something different.

 

From Frustration to First Prototype

I started with a few core principles:

  • No computer required. If I needed to boot up a laptop to make changes, I wasn’t solving the real problem.
  • Immediate response. A tool should feel like an extension of my hands and feet, not an obstacle.
  • Thoughtful simplicity. Not every possible feature, but the right features, refined until they felt effortless.

The first version was just an app on my phone, connecting to MIDI gear through a USB interface. It was basic, but it worked. Then I added foot pedals—physical controls that let me trigger patches without breaking my creative flow. That’s when the pieces clicked into place: the app and the pedals weren’t separate solutions, but parts of a single, cohesive system.

I kept the touchscreen for quick adjustments, added Wi-Fi for seamless updates, and built in flexibility to work with MIDI, OSC, and whatever might come next. Because music keeps evolving, and our tools should evolve with it.

When I showed early versions to fellow musicians, their reaction was always the same: “Why doesn’t this exist already?”That’s when I realized this wasn’t just my personal solution—it was something other players needed too.

 

Bringing Mortrix to Life

Turning a prototype into a real product meant diving into unfamiliar territory: circuit design, manufacturing processes, and the complexities of a global supply chain. I handled nearly every aspect myself—hardware, software, interface design, and backend systems. Throughout the process, Peter Kenney’s insights were invaluable, helping me refine details and challenge my own assumptions.

But the central idea remained constant: Technology should adapt to how musicians work, not the other way around.

Mortrix isn’t just another MIDI controller. It’s a platform built to grow alongside the musicians who use it. While MIDI remains at its core, OSC support is already here, and we’re just getting started. It’s for players who want to focus on making music rather than programming their gear. For anyone who’s ever looked at a pedalboard full of potential, only to be discouraged by the complexity of controlling it all.

 

Why “Mortrix”?

Peter suggested the name, combining three concepts:

  • Morten – That’s me – Morten Mortensen. (Henning Pauly still laughs at the redundancy.)
  • Tricks – Because Mortrix handles the technical complexities in the background, letting you focus on playing.
  • Matrix – A central hub that connects your feet, hands, and other devices to your gear, translating inputs into MIDI, OSC, or other signals. The invisible connection that ties everything together.

 

Looking Forward

This is only the beginning and there’s so much more to explore—new features, deeper integrations, and innovative ways to make the creative process smoother. But no matter how much Mortrix develops, its purpose stays simple:

To give musicians easy-to-use tools that opens up more creative and expressive options.