Hardware

Physical layout, connections, controls, and specifications of the tbd 16.

At a glance

The tbd 16 is a compact desktop instrument. All controls sit on the top, all audio and sync jacks on the right side, power and computer connections on the left side, and the SD card slot on the bottom.

Where to find it Section
All connections (audio, MIDI, USB, SD, power) Connections
Every button shortcut in one place Button Reference
Measured audio performance & hardware specs Technical Specifications

Top — controls

tbd 16 — top view

Area Controls
Upper left / right FUNC1 (Project) and FUNC2 (Global) with status LEDs
Below the display 4 rotary push-encoders (KNOB 1–4)
Center left D-Pad (↑ ↓ ← →)
Center REC, PLAY, SHIFT, HYPER
Center right FUNC3–FUNC6 (Sound, Pattern, A, B)
Bottom rows 16 RGB-backlit step buttons

A 2.4″ OLED display sits in the upper centre. A dedicated volume wheel sits on the right side of the top panel.

Right side — audio and MIDI

(placeholder image — right side of the device)

  • Stereo line in (TRS 3.5 mm)
  • Stereo line out (TRS 3.5 mm)
  • Headphone out (TRS 3.5 mm)
  • TRS MIDI 1 In / Out
  • TRS MIDI 2 In / Out (TRS MIDI 2 In doubles as Eurorack Clock/Reset input)

Left side — power and computer

(placeholder image — left side of the device)

  • USB-C — power and connection to a computer (MIDI, web interface over USB network)
  • USB-A — host port for class-compliant USB MIDI controllers (Launchpad, Launchkey, etc.)
  • Secondary USB-C ports for additional power / development use

Bottom — SD card and MIDI/Clock switch

(placeholder image — bottom of the device)

  • SD card slot — all project data, presets, and samples are stored here
  • MIDI 2 / Clock switch — toggles TRS MIDI 2 In between standard MIDI and analog Clock/Reset for Eurorack sync

LEDs

The tbd 16 has 21 RGB LEDs that provide visual feedback:

LEDs Position Purpose
1–16 Under the step buttons Step state, playback position, track activity
17–18 Above FUNC1 / FUNC2 Configurable status indicators
19–21 Internal System status

Brightness and colour theme can be adjusted in Settings → Display.