Yaeltex Just Doubled the Encoders on Its Hand-Built Controllers. And Finally Gave Them Screens.

Buenos Aires workshop Yaeltex has spent years building its reputation one hand-soldered controller at a time, the kind of gear that shows up on riders for Richie Hawtin and Arca precisely because it isn't mass-produced. V3, released this week, is the first rebuild to put displays on that hardware.

What actually changed in V3?

The headline addition is visual: up to 16 full-color 0.96 inch screens can be placed anywhere across a controller's layout, each one independently configurable to show VU meters, real-time parameter feedback or custom labels, according to Synth Anatomy. Underneath, new Kilomux mainboards double the platform's core capacity, 64 endless encoders instead of 32, and 128 total analog controls (pots, faders, joysticks) instead of 64. Yaeltex also added an Innofader capacitive crossfader, dual USB-C for MIDI routing and power, and TRS MIDI in, out and through, while keeping the system backward compatible with existing V2 units.

"We added displays, by far the most requested element since V2 came out. The hard part isn't adding a display. It's making it part of a flexible, modular system."

That's co-founder Mateo Ferley Yael, quoted by Synth Anatomy. It frames V3 less as a spec bump and more as solving the integration problem that kept displays out of Yaeltex's earlier builds.

Why does a custom-controller company matter to house and techno?

Yaeltex doesn't sell off a shelf. Every unit is built to a performer's own layout, in Argentina, in limited batches, which is exactly why it has become shorthand gear for artists whose live sets are built around deep, idiosyncratic control surfaces rather than a stock Pioneer or Ableton push setup. Fred again and King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard are also named users, per MusicTech, putting Yaeltex across a wider spread of electronic and live-band performance than any one scene.

Pricing for V3 runs from $277 for the small case up to $409 for the big case, duties and taxes not included, with the long case available in lenga wood. The first batch is estimated to ship late December 2026.