Yaeltex V3 rebuilds its custom MIDI controller platform and adds full-colour displays

Yaeltex, the Argentine company that hand-builds MIDI controllers to each customer's layout, has released V3. It is a ground-up redesign of the platform it has run since 2020, covering the mainboard, the configuration software and several physical modules (Rekkerd).

What is new in V3?

Displays. You can now place up to 16 full-colour 0.96-inch screens anywhere on a controller. They can show real-time feedback, VU meters and dynamic labels, and switch views from internal or external triggers (Rekkerd). Co-founder Mateo Ferley Yael told Rekkerd displays were "by far the most requested element since V2 came out." Yaeltex's own page pitches them as putting "track names and parameters right under your hands."

A bigger board. The new Kilomux V3 board handles 64 endless encoders (up from 32) and 128 analog controls (up from 64). It also has upgraded microcontrollers, dual USB-C for MIDI routing, redundancy and extra power, and TRS MIDI in, out and thru. Rekkerd says it is retro-compatible with V2 controllers.

New software. Kilowhat, the configuration editor, is now a standalone app for Mac and Windows. It shows an on-screen model of your controller before it is even shipped, supports bulk editing across banks, and jumps to whichever control you touch on the hardware. You can also develop Ableton Live control surface scripts in it. Support for V2 controllers in the new Kilowhat is planned for a later update, not available now (Rekkerd).

New parts. A smooth endless pot with RGB feedback and a push switch, an Innofader capacitive crossfader for DJs and VJs, and a new long case in lenga wood.

What does it cost and when does it ship?

The Factory, Yaeltex's browser designer, is open to V3 with no waitlist and shows a live price as you drag parts on. Base case prices are $276 (Small), $310 (Long), $334 (Medium) and $408 (Big); the final price depends on what you put in it. Shipping is a flat $80 to $150 by case size, with duties and taxes extra (Rekkerd). Yaeltex builds in batches; its site shows Batch 55 open with shipping estimated for late December 2026 (Yaeltex). For scale, its ready-designed models on the same page run from $693 (Mixtakt) to $1,828 (Live 15).

What we think

Displays were the missing piece. A custom layout is great until you have eight banks on 32 knobs and no idea what any of them does; labels that follow the bank fix the main thing that made bespoke controllers harder to live with than a Push or a Launch Control. That is why we think this matters more than the bigger encoder count.

The catch is software. A controller is only as good as its mapping, and V2 owners won't get the new Kilowhat until a later update, so check that before assuming an upgrade path. Built-in script development for Live is a smart move, since generic MIDI mapping is where most custom builds lose to dedicated hardware. Compare the opposite approach in Novation's FL Studio-only FLpad: one DAW, zero setup. Yaeltex is the inverse bet.

Also worth noting: these controllers speak MIDI 1.0 over USB and TRS, as far as the launch details say; nothing mentions MIDI 2.0, which we covered in our MIDI 2.0 explainer. Treat that as a question to ask before ordering, not a confirmed gap.

Who should order: people whose rigs are odd enough that no off-the-shelf box fits, and who can wait until late December. Everyone else should price a full build in the Factory first, because the base case price is only the start.