There have been a lot of "boxes" that solve one midi problem or so. And they are pretty much that...for eternity.
Then things come along that are awesome, but the company that made them holds all the cards.
Since 2015, the Novation Launchpad Pro has been out with Open-Source firmware that can turn it into an amazing range of MIDI solutions.
I got mine in November 2017 and have been programming it to do cool things since.
There have been a few cool projects built with it but nowhere near the amount this magic-box deserves.
Its probably because its not every musician's cup of tea to code in C Language. I've coded in at least 8 languages so its not a big deal for me.
So, I've been working on it with a very focused feature-set for Multi-timbral synths, Elektron Digitakt, and any MIDI synth could utilize it really.
Some really nice features like PolyFORK have been added.
I'm really just scratching the surface of what could be done.
If you have the Launchpad Pro, you can download my work for free at
https://www.patreon.com/fenixsong
and if you can become a Patron then there are lots of extra possibilities, other downloads, and features for you.

The MIDI IN jack also works as a THRU but could be used to do all sorts of Midi Manipulation...but that's a new area I haven't got to yet.

What are some of your thoughts on this and any other potential hardware that allows this kind of flexibility?