yeah, there is quite alot of inspiration around, monome, ableton push, deluge, circuit - so many grids with well thought out UIs.
the thing you have to decide is…
do you write patches for them? or do you write something more general that works with existing patches?
I tend to (for the most part) go for the later… (at least as the first step)
which means I do things like write a sequencers/scales as part of the ‘control layer’, that can then integrate with existing things … so if I were to do this on the Organelle/PD, Id probably put in the mother patch…
(this is not what Im actually doing, im putting it in MEC for push2, but thats because i want it abstracted away from the Organelle!)
the disadvantage, and why sometimes nice to create custom modules, is generic interfaces are generic… so you are able to integrate the UI with the patch as much…so sometimes you have to make ‘special versions’
its a fun topic, one thats in the back of my mind a lot… and funnily enough, ONDA brought it forward again, as that can in some ways be considered a one 1x16 grid
as for grids usage - probably the thing I like most is having scale lighting, so setup as chromatic, but the pads show you whats in scale/key… I love this because it means Im far more likely to use a different key that when using a keyboard, just because it ‘breaks a habit’
sequencers, definitely… a basic step sequencers is great.
( though its a bit of a pity more grids are not 16x8 , which i think is better for sequencing)
… but again, a good visualisation on a grid can make polyrythms very easy to use.
I also quite like the ‘rain drop’ sequencers - in practice, these are basically polybeats, but easier to get an overview. (this goes down the route as keymanpal mentions of Tenori-on)
just one thing to mention when you start coding this… be aware when you start updating the grids leds, you can quickly end up sending a lot of midi data - so you need take a bit of care of this in the design phase, if you want the UI to feel responsive.
(also you’ll find some special calls for the launchpad to do things like setting lots of pad colours in one go - use them )
so yeah I think grids are great fun, and very flexible… definitely a good pair up with the Organelle.