Birdkids offGrid - Kickstarter

The Lounge General Discussion
#19

Thanks for posting this, and I sincerely hope the sales go well and that now that original backers are getting some of their units that some of the aggressive messages fall off. I know so many companies have had to deal with delays, not to mention customers demanding immediate responses/shipping/fulfillment like they get from megacorps like Amazon.

I wish say they don’t mean ill by it, but unfortunately I think a lot of times they do aim to make folks feel bad with what they say :stuck_out_tongue: . But I think it’s worth remembering that they’re just a little misguided, a little upset, and probably lashing out due to a zillion other things the pandemic has forced us to feel out of control on. It sucks that you (and other folks working on projects they truly love) have to deal with that kind of shit.

If we’ve learned one thing from the pandemic, is that being kind and understanding of people’s challenges and what they might be going through, without judgement is a good skill.

:point_up: No joke! I can imagine it’s probably hard since your company is small enough that you personally have to respond to and read customer correspondence, but have faith that you’re working on something that is really unique in the market and that there are many folks out there who aren’t screaming on the internet, but are just excited to make music with this thing.

And for my two cents: I just got my Offgrid delivered yesterday! It’s a great little piece of hardware. You all did an amazing job on it! I’m looking forward to my holiday travel a lot more now, and my portable music-making kit just leveled up big time :smiley: Using it with Koala and Drambo on iOS has been a dream so far, and the latency is crazy! I never really thought I’d be able to play live unquantized input from a bluetooth midi controller.

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#20

This might actually pair nicely with an M8 Tracker, even if one has to use something like an iPhone to serve as USB host

#21

In my experience so far (just got mine yesterday) USB midi is a mixed bag, but the latency is very low if for connecting the controller to an iPhone or iPad and then routing the midi with AUM/Audiobus/midimittr out to the hardware. But agreed it’d be a great companion for an M8! I’m hoping over time that more and more hardware ships with BLE midi onboard, but until then I’m happy to just finally have a good hardware controller for all these iOS softsynths and groovebox-y apps I’ve bought over the years.

#22

Interesting. I purchased one last week on a whim since hooking up the quneo to my iPad is just inconvenient enough when I’m out and about to consider something wireless. Interesting quirks to it but we’ll see how it goes.

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#23

Got one today, it is nice. Solid design and build, nice little mpc-style pads. Perfect for koala sampler on Android using the ble midi app. My ipad is pre-ble, that is a shame.
You’re not going to be doing Bernie worrell pitch and mod bends with the joystick (about 1 cm travel), but using a couple fingers on the stick and a couple fingers braced on the device you can get enough control to make it useable.

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#24

I backed this campaign from the beginning and received my unit back in November. I love it, it looks and works great. I use it with hardware synths paired with a CME WIDI Master (or Jack) and latency is minimal. It’s great for use in live performances to spice things up a bit. I think Mike has done a great job trying to juggle the complexities of bringing such a device to market and I really don’t like seeing any negativity from people who are simply frustrated that they haven’t received their unit when they are fully aware of the problems there have been along the way. I would definitely recommend this low cost device and the way it can be used beyond pairing with mobile/iOS devices is down to your imagination. I am planning on using it to trigger live visuals via Resolume, for instance. You can order one here: Products | birdkids

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Crowdfunding — The Good, the Bad & the Ugly
#25
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#26

Does this also have USB midi, or is it only Bluetooth?

#27

Only bluetooth but I can’t fully remember, was working with this playing in the background. I remember the maker kept repeating that the newest version of Bluetooth they used in this device has no noticeable latency though.

#28

…birdkids and the bladerunner blues…

like that…

#29

Bluetooth MIDI is nice and fast. I just prefer USB as you don’t have to fuss with connecting it all.

1 Like
#30

Yes everybody has preferences. I prefer tap tempo.

Could be a useful unit, not for me though.

#31

I emailed the maker to ask about USB MIDI and it does have it, as well as the Bluetooth.

#32

Waiting for mine to be shipped (already got the address confirmation around 3 weeks ago).

Has anyone paired this one with an M8 tracker? That would be my ideal combo.

#33

I have one. And an M8.
You can’t pair it directly. You’d need something like that retro kits midi box.

The thing is… if you use a USB-C -> USB-C cable on your mac… it still doesn’t work because of that host-mode thing. It doesn’t know how to negotiate. It works with a USB-C -> USB cable though.

But, I routed the midi in Ableton from Offgrid to M8. It would be such a great companion.

1 Like
#34

That’s a bummer! Have you tried with Bluetooth midi with a WIDI dongle?

1 Like
#35

Haven’t tried with these devices but I <3 the WIDI.

#36

It does have USB midi, but yeah as @alexbuga mentioned the USB midi is pretty inconsistent, and tends to work best with a USB midi host.

#37

I connected my CME Widi Master to my MPC 1000. The Offgrid connects to it seamlessly.
So If you have 2 MIDI -> Jack adapters to connect it to the M8 I guess it should work.

They have now a WIDI Jack which is better with M8 because it connects directly with jack cables.

2 Likes
#38

I’ll get that one and give it a go. My offGrid is already on its way!