While talent isn't required to play Alkex Instruments unique
eight-step sequencer, you will need a set of steel balls to lay
down the beats. Forty-eight steel balls, to be exact, which
trigger the optical sensors the machine uses in place of
physical buttons.  The Ball Beats sequencer's interface looks
like one of those labyrinth marble mazes, with an 8x6 grid of
holes cut into a see-through plastic panel. But instead of
navigating a half-inch steel ball between the obstacles, every
hole you fill triggers a specific sample or sound effect. Since
the Ball Beats works as a standard midi trigger, the sounds that
are produced are completely dependent on what software you have
it connected to.  The $199 kit comes with fifty steel balls
(enough to fill the grid with a couple of spares) and the
required interface hardware to make it work with your PC or
electronic instruments. As for the Daft Punk levels of fame and
fortune? That part's up to you. [Alkex Instruments via The
Verge]