Beatbox by Rhythmo - DIY Cardboard MIDI Controller Kit

Sequencer First Look
over 4 years ago – Thu, Apr 30, 2020 at 02:51:06 AM

Yo, Ethan here again, with an update on the sequencer section. Enjoy!

To recap the video:

1. You can change the length of the pattern from 1 - 32 bars, and have 16 patterns per group, 4 groups per project, so 64 patterns per project;

2. Sequencer buttons can be played live and you can record live actions into the pattern;

3. Sequencer steps are accessible from the 16 performance buttons on the BeatBox hardware.

There are some features here that aren't finished and some improvements we intend to release via app updates in the future, and they are:

1. As of right now, sometimes when you make changes to the pattern while it's playing back, the app delays for a bit to process the change. We intend to fix this very soon since it does affect the playback experience a bit;

2. Live recording quantize needs a bit of refinement;

3. Looper integration - we planned on making a 4 layer looper function in the main page to mimic a loop station, and make it possible to translate the looper recording into a sequencer pattern, but it's not a prioritized task and might not be finished before app launch;

4. Half bar and 1/4 bar long patterns - this is going to affect the pattern layering a bit so we are putting it off for now;

5. Tempo swing - this is also going to require a bit of testing to get it just right and it's really difficult to do when all of our developers are remote.

Let us know if you have suggestions in ways we can improve the sequencer, and we might actually work on those changes. Anyways, until next time!

Production Prototype Testing
over 4 years ago – Sun, Apr 12, 2020 at 03:30:31 PM

Hi all,

Ethan here, haven't had to write anything in a while (not the greatest writer here), but since everybody in the company is now remote, I'm kind of the only person that's allowed to come into the office, so it makes more sense for me to be writing an update regarding this unit which only I have seen and tested. 

As of right now the whole team is not coming into the office until May 1st, and even that might be extended since the University of Texas area has recently became a COVID-19 hotspot (bunch of kids got sick by not giving up on their spring break plans), and our office is very close to the area. The good thing though, is although our marketing content production has come to a halt completely, the guys in China are now completely back on full capacity. Our contact person did get fired from our supply chain management partner though since he's a first year employee, so everyone please press F to pay respects. We are requesting one last round of modifications to the hardware, and according to the updated schedule, shipping will occur on May 6th. Sorry for the additional slight delay, but we really want this batch of BeatBox to be perfect.

ANYWAYS. Lengthy video alert! We received the manufacturer prototype from China last week, and we've done some testing over the weekend. All functionalities proposed are in place, but there are some details to tweak. Check it:

To recap the video (or if you don't want to watch the video), here are the problems we found with the unit:

1. Amplifier emits a noise that's about twice as loud as 3rd party amplifiers, this is not very audible from a normal distance but it's there when you get close enough;

2. The BeatBox, when not connected to a mobile device, is functional as a speaker; but default volume of the soundcard when not plugged in is too low, needs to be bumped up (this is already fixed on the manufactuer's side);

3. Arcade buttons on the default kit has too much of a tactile click feedback, some modifications on the spring plate can eliminate this click;

4. This wasn't mentioned in the video here, but we are changing the battery indicator LEDs to smaller, 1x1mm LEDs. This prototype used 5mm throughhole LEDs, which I thought were way too big and distracting.

We haven't been slacking on the app development either. The Sequencer is pretty much good to go, and we've made a Slicer function since we last updated you. I've briefly shown these functions at the end of the video, and I'll make some videos in the coming weeks that go into details on these functionalities.

We are also working on reskinning the mobile app for launch, which should be implemented by the end of next week. This is how the app is going to look like:

Also, now that we've finalized board layouts, we've finished up our final chassis print design. Let us know what you think!

Anyways, that's that. Thank you all so much for the support and patience, this has definitely been a difficult journey for us but it feels like the struggle is about to be over. Let us know if you have any questions!

-Ethan Jin

Scam and Manufacturing Update
over 4 years ago – Fri, Feb 28, 2020 at 02:29:45 AM

Hi guys!

As you may have seen on our social media, we have become the target of a scam. Here’s a breakdown of what happened.

A couple weeks ago we started getting Facebook messages linking us to a few pages that were running ads on Facebook claiming to sell the BeatBox for a much cheaper price through their third party websites. The pages were difficult to get taken down because when you run an ad on Facebook as a page it doesn’t show up on your page, it just shows up in the feeds of those it is targeted to reach. When you would click on the pages themselves that were running the ads they looked pretty innocuous. There would be two or three photos of an animal or a sunset and the page would be listed as Home Supplies. Since the ads only appear to those who are targeted, we could only see them when people sent them to us. We started reporting the pages as we became aware of them but as soon as one got taken down another would pop up in its place.

It's bad enough they are using our product to scam people, but the fact that they are using that still of me from our Kickstarter video as the face of the scam adds insult to injury. Is this what it feels like to be used to catfish people? I mean, now that I think about it, it's a little flattering, but still wrong! 

We started commenting on the posts we were tagged in to warn people it was a scam. We posted pictures and videos about it on our own page, but everyday we would get messages from people who had already fallen for the scam.

The BeatBox has not been manufactured by us yet. It is impossible for it to be distributed by a third party vendor. It is only available for pre-order on our Indiegogo page.

Here’s how the scam listing works. Shopify websites were made listing our product for a low price. The listing used pretty much all of our Kickstarter page's copy and graphics to make themselves look more legitimate. The vendors used PayPal to complete the transactions. With PayPal, as long as the vendors send out something the transactions are approved. This means the people who order from them will receive something in the mail. THEY WILL NOT RECEIVE A BEATBOX! Some people have gotten nails, some a little bean bag.

We’ve talked with Facebook support, they offer little to no help. We’ve sent DMCA take down notices. We’ve made some progress but the problem is not eradicated. We have reached out to one of the website’s servers and have received no response. We are working on reaching out to the server's data center.

We will continue to keep you all updated along the way.

Manufacturing

Another thing we need to update on is some bumps in the road we’ve had in regards to manufacturing. We want to be honest, so we are going to list out all of the specific issues we’ve faced that have resulted in delays.

Early on, we had miscommunication with our manufacturers about where the USB hub was supposed to be located and issues arose with the microphone input hardware. Other problems were found relating to the processing rate on our original model. There was a bout of misunderstanding about the mode flip. It took time to explain the MIDI modes. One is streamlined for our app. There is another mode for 3rd party DAWS to switch MIDI values.

We were able to meet face to face with our manufacturers at CES in January to work out misunderstandings and miscommunications.

Other factors unrelated to finalizing our product design have caused setbacks. Our manufacturers are based in China, where due to the corona virus most people are working from home for their own protection. In addition, the celebration of the Chinese New Year affected the production timeline.

We are currently waiting on an updated timeline map. Thankfully, we’ve come to an understanding about the hardware.

App Development

We are making great headway on our app! Developing a DAW from the ground up was a more expensive and difficult task than we had originally expected. However, we have an amazing team dedicated to it and support from people who believe in us.

Here’s a clip of our newly updated sequencer page with the finished framework. You can edit the sounds on the main page. Every beat is 4 steps with a 16 step sequencer with up to 32 sequences.

We’ve been working on the display for smartphones and tablets. The UI you see in the update videos is not the final iteration. The UI we have developed for it is coming together beautifully. On the smartphone there will be some minor differences due to the condensed size, but the functionality will be the same as the tablet version. There will just be some pop up menus and other things like that.

In other good news, we have received more funding which will help a lot to boost the app development. Yay!

One thing to look into for our users is this webpage of Juce mobile audio quality. All devices will be supported, but there will be some audio differences and some web store and compatibility differences based on your device.

We want to thank everyone for being patient and understanding. We want to be transparent about our progress and roadblocks. We are dedicated to getting a well-made and functioning product to your doorsteps in a timely manner. 

RhythmoLab App- First Look!
almost 5 years ago – Tue, Feb 18, 2020 at 01:47:04 AM

Hi y'all!

We just wanted to give you a quick video demo of what we've accomplished on the mobile app so far. In this video, we go over the live triggering/sampler pages of the app. Later this month we'll go over the sequencer part. The app is still in beta but it is all coming together awesomely. We're looking forward to providing you with more updates and sneak peeks! Keep reading for a breakdown of everything we go over in the video.

 What we go over in the video:

The app is called RhythmoLab and is available to download for free from the app store on to your smartphone or tablet and is compatible with iOS, Android, and ChromeOS. 

The main screen functions as a performance page for live finger drumming. It features effect volume controls. Each project can store four groups that can each hold 16 samples that are controlled by the 16 big buttons on the BeatBox. 

You can fill in samples and change which ones go where as you need by hitting shift and then edit group. This will pull up your sample library. You build your library by uploading samples from any cloud based drive.

You set up your choke groups by hitting shift then edit choke group. You can have four choke groups and in each choke group only one sample can play at a time.

The sampler page is where you can record your own samples. There are two modes, manual and detect. In manual mode it will start recording as soon as you hit shift record. In detect mode, you still hit shift-record, but it will not actually start recording until the volume detected reaches a certain threshold. You can go to the trim tab to clean up the sample by editing out parts of the sample you don't want to use. 

That's all for the sneak peek, but we will let you in on what we are working on right now. As far as the main screen goes, we are finishing the looper and beat repeat functions. The sample library is getting a new file tagging system for optimized organization. Lastly, we are working on sample slicing, sample quantizing and pitch shifting. Next time we’ll go over our 16 step sequencer as well.

Convention Time!
almost 5 years ago – Fri, Jan 03, 2020 at 01:25:54 PM

Greetings, fam. We’ve got a big announcement to make! We will be making an appearance at CES and NAMM 2020 and we’re so excited.

For those of you who have never been, CES (Consumer Technology Association) is an annual trade show where some of the coolest tech companies show off their latest innovations. NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants), similarly, is an annual trade show showcasing creative music tech that hugely impacts the music industry.

CES is taking place in Las Vegas from Jan 7 - Jan 10 and NAMM in Anaheim from Jan 16 - Jan 19, so if you happen to be in town, bring some friends and come say hello!

For CES, our booth is in the Sands Expo in Tech West, Hall G, 51773.

For NAMM, our booth is in Hall A, 10406.

Thank you to all of our backers for playing such an instrumental role in bringing the Beatbox to life. Without your support, we wouldn’t be able to attend these amazing conventions and show our passion for making beats.

On top of all this excitement, our Chinese supply chain management partner has kicked off production of the Beatboxes. You’ll get your Beatbox in no time. What a wonderful way to end the holiday season!