With the production of the minichord taking shape, it is time for me to give a brief update on the project advancement 🗓️.
I have just received pre-production circuit boards from SeeedStudio and could confirm that they are perfectly functional 🎉. This is an important step towards release, and gives me great confidence in our ability to put the minichord on sale soon. There is still a few unknowns which could affect the release date or the final price, but less and less everyday.
In addition, I built and sent close to 15 minichords to artists around the world to beta test the project 🎸🎹. I got an overwhelming positive response and some useful feedbacks. Some of them were kind enough to record short videos of them using the minichord [1][2][3]. Even more kind, Hainbach published a video of the project, which, as a long time fan of his channel was a great honour 🤩.
For the practicalities and common questions, head down to the FAQ below. If you'd like some more frequent updates and videos of the minichord being used, you can also find me on Instagram.
Regards,
Benjamin
FAQ ❓:
When will the minichord be released?
There is no final date. Our current target is end of march, and we are doing everything to stick to that date.
How to know when the minichord is released?
This newsletter will be used to do the first announcement of the release. I’ll then also relay it on Instagram.
Will I be able to order from ___ ?
The minichord fulfilment will be done by Seeedstudio, so their standard conditions will apply. They have warehouses in China, USA and Germany for worldwide fulfilment.
How much will the minichord cost?
The pricing is not yet definitive, but current estimate is less than 130$ for an assembled version and around 100$ for the kit version.
What will be included in the kit version?
The kit version will include a fully assembled PCB, and it will be left to the user to 3D print the enclosure and source the keycaps.
As an artist, can I get a minichord from last month’s batch?
January’s batch has run out and I’ll rather now focus on making the minichord available to all as soon as possible than to handcraft a few of them.
➡️ 📬 If you have any unanswered questions, feel free to reach out, either by email, or through Instagram.
Changelog ⚙️ :
✅ Following requests from beta testers, I have added a MIDI sync in feature
✅ There is now a Kicad Template on the Github, to allow user to design custom touchplates.
To ask for any additional feature, you can use ➡️ the issue tracker on Github
Fine print:
I’ve used a privacy-friendly newsletter and disabled all tracking options;
I’ll never share your email or use it for any other use than the stated one;
I won’t send more than an email every two week (and you can actually expect a lot less until the project is launched);
Once the project is fully available for purchase, I’ll delete this mailing list and all data related to it.
To express your right, feel free to contact me by email.