Hi there,
Have you guys seen this ?
what you think?
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Interesting!
Happy to see a fellow Brazilian dipping his toes into the music tech industry. Not for me though, as a bassist, the greatest fun is creating patterns by myself…
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I enjoy Spektro’s ACDGEN pattern generator for Live, so i hopped on this last week right away. Unfortunately the initial build sold out instantly so they offered to put me on a wait list for a second build.
The portability, with its size and usb power is nice i could also see this mixed in with a modular system. I assume it’s externally controllable with MIDI as the Live version is. (ADDED: It is.)
I like generative stuff in general.
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Yeah they’re building them in Brazil and apparently sourcing materials is not that easy so the first batch is only 20 units …
I saw this on Facebook where Gui Boratto was testing one with a 303, I’ll post the video later if I can find it.
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Dig it. Reminds me of a friendlier version of the Zillion.
Any word on price?
EDIT: Just saw it was $280! A bit pricey eh?
Hey everybody, I’m always lurking the forum but I just came across this thread and figured I should say hi!
So I’m Icaro from Spektro Audio, maker of ACDGEN, CV Toolkit, etc 
Unfortunately making products here in Brazil is super expansive, specially at such a small scale, and parts here are hard to find and very expansive (importing taxes here can go higher than 100%, I think @Padevil can attest to that). Even the parts made here (such as the panel) are still very pricey compared to prices in other countries).
While I’d love to make something a lot more affordable, I’m still operating at a veery small scale (basically just me and Vinicius Brazil) so there’s not much I can do just yet.
@khaled Yes! It was a 303 modded by Devil Fish, incredible machine. He’s a great friend of mine and he helped me fine tune the firmware and test everything!
Anyway, since this is Elektronauts, I gotta say it works really well with the Digitakt. I’ve been using that combo through development and it has been great.
If anyone have any questions, feel free to leave a comment or hit me up!
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Hi Icaro!
I don’t think the ACDGEN Hardware Edition is expensive!
OK it’s not a “Behringer” sort of cheap (and i at least don’t want that), but looking at what this is, and considering the volume made, i think the price is pretty close to right on. Even the FutureRetro Zillion mentioned earlier is (was?) more, costing $300 new. Plus i’m on wait list for the ACDGEN, while the Zillion got a serious look from me a few years back and is not what i’m looking for regardless the price.
So go for it Icaro! Sure you should figure ways of reducing the cost of manufacture, and that will come along naturally as you progress. But if you keep innovating and adding value to your products, the price when it’s reasonable as i think this is, will recede as an issue for the buyer. That’s what i think anyways.
How is the first build proceeding? Hopefully you’re getting some good help while you’re moving through new territory like this.
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@icaroferre If you would like to grow in quantity, maybe a Kickstarter.com fundraising campaign could help to get the money to produce a larger amount of ACDGEN? You could calculate, before starting a campaign, what’s needed to have a bigger run, contact part suppliers regarding discounts for purchase of larger quantities and/or find a manufacturer that can assemble the device for you.
@Jukka Haha thanks, it’s good to know that the value of the hardware is being perceived.
Another reason for the price is that we’re only using very high quality components. I want to make something that will last for a loong time.
It has definitely been an interesting experience mostly because, like you said, this is a new territory for me and there’s not a lot of people here in Brazil that have the experience working with this stuff.
On the other hand, I’m extremely happy with the results and, although there are definitely things I’d like to improve in the future, I feel very confident that it’ll be a high quality product.
The biggest challenge for me has been making sure that it’s as future proof as possible, both in terms of software (from a flexibility and maintenance perspective) and from a hardware perspective.
@spktkpkt I’ve definitely though about crow funding options however I’m not sure it’d be ideal. So far I’ve always been working by myself and Im not sure how scailing things up at that rate would influence me, my work and the final product.
So far I’ve built and tested every single unit and, while I know I can’t keep doing that forever, I want to find ways to increase production in a way that feels natural and that doesn’t negatively affect the product’s quality, the support I can give to my customers, my own interest in my work, and also my mental health.
At this point I would rather succeed at a small scale than fail at a large scale.
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This is wise, there have certainly been lots of people who find a big success selling a project up front at something like Kickstarter, only to find later on that they’re committed to something they are losing money at making.
You can build a successful company just the way you’re going.
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I can understand that attitude and guess i would do it the same way. ACDGEN looks well made and if you really maintain and update the product for free, the price is worth it. At a first glance i thought “meh…an arpeggiator for 280$”, but i can see its potential now. Maybe i’ll try to order one at a later time. 
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@Jukka Yeah exactly. It’s not even about losing money but more about wanting to make sure that I can make something cool and that people will be happy about it, that has always been my main priority.
@spktkpkt There’s a LOT more to it. It has so many hidden techniques and features that I’m positive users will continue to find new ways of using it even after a long time. My design goal was to hide all of that complexity away so its easy to get started but there’s a lot to explore after you get used to the basics.
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How’s the hardware maturing? I’m a fan of the M4L/VST version of ACDGEN and considering the module. I’ve got a T1 and OXI, just looking for a convenient arp/generator for harmony or mono lines.