greetings again friends,

trying to make this quick so i can get back to work on a new
application...

i'm sorry that some people are disappointed by the lack of velocity and
multi-color leds in the new series. however i stand behind our (kelli
and my) decision to stay with binary on/off for both leds and
keypresses. to clarify a bit:

1. the feel of the buttons (personal opinion, but it's a shared
opinion). i wouldn't want to mix "switch" and "velocity" pads. the
"switch" (snap feeling) interferes with velocity-style playability
because there's a lack of smooth travel, like a midi keyboard or mpc
pads. (side note-- the new pads are a bit smaller as well.)

2. i couldn't find a simple/elegant electronic/mechanical solution to
the problem-- VS with backlighting and small keypads. i spent a
substantial amount of time researching and the electronics are *nothing
like* what we're currently using. midi keyboards, for example, use two
switches which are physically separated-- the time difference between
these switches determines the velocity. that's pretty much impossible to
accomplish with anything similar to our current design. the other option
is a huge multiplex of piezo triggers? i have no experience with the
design of anything like this, not to mention the manufacturing.

3. price! i envisioned a few really complicated solutions-- there's no
way we could afford any of them. part of why we're using binary on/off
is because of the simple, elegant implementation-- conductive pills on a
pcb star pattern. the fact that we were able to design and manufacture
our own keypads is (as was stated) a small miracle.

the rgb leds fall into this category of price shock. the cost of the
unit would just not make sense, and i'd also have an insane time trying
to write such a large-scale LED controller. i'll add that this is by far
the most frequent request (there are numerous people using the 40h for
non-musical purposes).

i don't feel that i've ignored requests. very much to the contrary,
actually. i've spent a large amount of time researching these requests
and thinking about them very seriously, going beyond due diligence. and
to be honest there are just as many people turned off by velocity
sensitivity as there are those who wish it was implemented, so the
philosophical element is not insignificant.

and most importantly, VS pad controllers exist! they don't have
programmable backlighting (do they?) and they're plastic, but they do
exist.

i'm still very compelled by the minimalism of our original vision. we
are very excited to play with the new series and see what people invent.
the larger grid has already inspired new ideas...


brian (and kelli)

Thanks for the update.

I am one of those that would love multicolor LEDs in my 40h.
Referring to your 2nd point. Would it be possible to change the current
leds in the 40h to multicolor ?

If yes, we would need someone to write a led controller for that and
then produce a new logicboard for the 40h or am i just daydreaming ?