A couple of our lovely customers have produced some great video of their StringTheory synths; one a build video of a StringTheory module and the other an audio demo of the stand-alone version of StringTheory – check them out!
Tag: MIDI
As we head into August (and towards our 100th sale! Who would have guessed?) we’ve got some stuff to announce! We’ll start with the important bit, though… prices.
Price changes
We’ve updated the pricing and shipping in our Etsy store. We’re now offering free standard shipping on all items (we’ll be adding tracked shipping as an option soon, too) and we’ve rationalised how our prices are calculated across the board. This is for a number of reasons:
- Etsy have changed the prices that they charge us; we run to the bone on margins so we had to work to incorporate this.
- Our PCB costs have increased over the past few months.
- Our original pricing was, to be honest, pretty much made-up-as-we-went-along; we’ve improved that to reflect our costs-of-sale and a known, uniform margin across the range.
The bottom line is: some things have gone up a bit, some have gone down. On average our prices will increase by less than GBP 3.00 across the board – and there’s no longer a shipping charge to add to that!
New products
You may have spotted some new stuff floating about on the site…
StringTheory Synth
Finally it’s here – the stand-alone version of our popular poly string module. Featuring it’s own power supply and big-boy MIDI connectors, this is otherwise pretty much identical to our StringTheory Eurorack module.
NiceBottom
We’ve built StringTheory Synth to the same form-factor as our ThruBox MIDI splitter (that is, it’s designed to dock in a widely-available aluminium stompbox enclosure). But we wanted something simpler that we could ship flat-packed, too, so we’ve come up with this simple kit that puts a really nice bottom on your ThruBox or StringTheory Synth.
DummyLoad
While we were designing a DIY Eurorack power supply (more about that later in this post) we knocked out a really simple little module that just consumes power and turns it into heat – so that we could measure how our PSU performed under different loads and be brutally honest about its capabilities. We thought this might be useful to DIY-ers out there so we’ve turned it into a kit. If you’re going to blow anything up whilst messing about with the supply in your rack, make it one of these instead of one of your precious modules.
StringTheory Software Update
We’ve updated the software for the original StringTheory, improving note-handling and adding a (much asked-for) MIDI offset feature.
Details are in the owner’s manual; the hardware remains as it was.
Owners who can burn their own ATMega chip can get the software now, for everyone else we’ll be adding a chip replacement item to the shop.
All of the above are already on the site and will be in the shop this week.
Yet more products
As if all the above wasn’t enough, here’s what’s currently on the bench for release during August…
Dualist
Our dual power supply for Eurorack is based on the tried-and-tested MFOS wall-wart supply designed by Ray Wilson. Designed to integrate seamlessly with our ThirdRail and MiniBus products, this unit provides ample, stable power for a handful of modules.
Also in the pipeline is a matching 4HP front panel, with AC inlet, main power switch and an indicator LED for each rail. Ultimately, we’ll be selling a complete set of Power panel, Dualist, ThirdRail and MiniBus, all securely mounted on MakerBeam rails for instant integration into your system (we’ve already got the prototype powering our test rack!)
In development
Meanwhile, when we’re not packaging and shipping all this lovely stuff, we’re busy designing new things. Here’s what’s currently in the development pipeline…
TimePiece
One clock to rule them all – a system master clock that outputs MIDI and a range of analog clock signals, for tying all your lovely kit together. We’ve included 1, 2, 24 and 48 ppqn analog outputs, plus a MIDI in and MIDI out, so that you can inject the clock signal into your MIDI chain. Currently being prototyped, we expect to have the final PCB design and software ready by the end of the month. This will be available in both Eurorack and stand-alone formats.
Telegraph
A Eurorack module that fires out pseudo-random gates, based on Morse code. Clock in, morse out, happy days. This one’s a bit of a way off from a finished piece (we’re trying to incorporate an elegant way of the text that the Morse is generated from being user-programmable) but it’s definitely going to happen!
That’s everything for now – see you in the Autumn (if you survive the heat, of course!)
Our latest module, MidiAccess, has been released to the store!
You can read all about this 1-in, 5-out MIDI Thru module for Eurorack on the MidiAccess product page. This low-cost, easy build is available as a PCB/Panel, full DIY kit or pre-assembled and ready to go.
In preparation for the release of MidiIn, our cheap-as-chips, glorified (but very pretty) 4HP MIDI adaptor is now in store! See the MidiIn product page for full details!
This will be the first of our products to be available to buy fully assembled – we’re just working out the shipping prices, watch the store for details as they arrive.
Here’s what we’re cooking up for release this month:
ThirdRail: For those of you with just +/-12V in your modular, we’re releasing a 5V supply, to the same form factor (and with the same modular edge connectors) as the MiniBus power bus.
ThruBox: We’re re-stocking this very popular build right now (the first production run sold out in under 2 weeks!)
StringTheory: The “Revision A” boards have arrived and the first prototype will be assembled, tested and recorded this week. In this revision to the original prototype, we’ve improved the output RC filter and added a “gate-to-bus” feature; we want it to be as good as it can be before we release it. Not long now! StringTheory will be available as
- PCB & panel
- PCB, panel & pre-programmed ATMega chip
- Full kit
MidiIn: Dead simple, dead useful, 2 components. A 5-pin DIN MIDI socket with a pin header on the back; use this to add a “big” MIDI socket to your StringTheory module, or to receive MIDI into an embedded ThruBox via your Eurorack’s front panel. Available as
- PCB & panel
- Full kit
MidiAccess: The daddy of Eurorack MIDI distro. One full-size DIN MIDI IN, 2 x THRU and, on the back, 3 sets of pin headers for sending MIDI behind the scenes to other modules (StringTheory, for example). And you can daisy-chain them for even mo’ MIDI. This module sets you up to interface with lots of future developments that we have planned! Available as
- PCB & panel
- Full kit
Bundles: There’ll be cost-saving bundle options for adding a MidiIn or MidiAccess to any StringTheory order.
All of the above should be in store around the middle of the month – we’ve just got a lot of building, photography and document-writing to do first!
Towards the end of the month, we’ll be releasing StringTheory Synth, a stand-alone version of StringTheory which will run from a 9 to 12V DC supply, with DIN-format MIDI In and MIDI Thru. StringTheory for everyone! We’ve designed this to exactly the same form-factor as the ThruBox – that is, you can drop it into a Hammond stompbox for road-ready toughness.
Phew – busy times!
Make Synths Not War 