Frankly, this is one of Buchla’s biggest releases ever. Most of our history has been in small runs and build-to-order, but Ziggy is on another level of scale for us and affordability for musicians. Six years ago, Kickstarter helped us bring the Easel Command to life and across the finish line, so we are offering early backers a great deal and the community a little something extra to help us make Ziggy real.
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Another interesting thing on their offer is that if you buy the Ziggy + LEM218 Bundle you get a discount on both.
Another difference between the three offers is Buchla set a very low threshold of $5000, whereas the other two have thresholds of over ten times that. Not that i expect any of them to fail to make threshold. A higher threshold can be protection for the maker, but i also recall some that got ~90% of the way and fail, which isn’t good to be leaving customers in the lurch for the length of the campaign. You may never have another chance with them.
Then of course there was Tembo which had to close the doors way early with three weeks left in their campaign because it was such an explosive run-away success, and they wouldn’t have been able to cover demand.
Something to keep in mind. Because KS doesn’t collect any money until after the campaign finishes successfully, there is no reason for people to not just jump in and grab, even if they are only luke warm, or unsure. Later on in the campaign they cancel their pledge, and the early bird deal goes back out for sale at the early bird price. You can’t really predict when that will happen, but you’ll even see them appear in the last few days. I got an early bird deal late in a campaign this way.
I actually don‘t get the pricing. When I add German VAT the „regular“ Kickstarter price is basically the same as the preorder at Thomann or Schneiders Laden. Tariffs and exchange rate risks not included. Maybe that‘s different in the US, I would prefer getting it from a retailer here when I don‘t get a quite big discount.
But that thing looks really good. If I can still afford it after moving this may be a Christmas gift for myself.
I’m curious if it will be shipping Kickstarter first. If there’s some lead-time I’ll consider this. Otherwise I don’t mind just grabbing it from Perfect Circuit or somewhere when it’s available.
I was showing to my wife how Bastl was able to collect more than 800k in less than 24 hours for Bastl kalimba but when I hit the refresh on the opened kickstart browser page to show it it to her, the number animation that showed the amount collected went from 800k to 700k … This was the most bizarre thing I ever saw. Would Kickstarter tamper with the number of backers or Bastl changed rewards ? …Again very very strange I wish I made snapshot b/c nobody would believe that the reward total would go down … A strange times w’re livin’ in
I’ve seen that, i think in my case it was maybe related to currency – it figures out the currency, so like if it first showed you funny-money, like Loonies ( i love you all – ehh ), and then switched to US dollars, the dial would spin. Could also be a bug. I highly doubt anything nefarious.
But a lot of people are buying the Kalimba for sure !
Anybody here predicted that, before time ?
By the way, people are freely allowed to back out, before the pledge period ends, and i’ve seen it bounce up and down some for projects.
Typically there’s a double bump once at the beginning and once at the end, with a flat period in the middle. There are a few web-sites that have trackers for observing and managing projects.
This one is called trillo, it’s a windcontroller with sounds built-in, using a recorder fingering. It may be familiar to you as it is similar to others they’ve done – the Re.corder, and the Re.corder Opera, but they also did a smartphone wind controller attachment – the ZEFIRO, and ( i’m not kidding ) a breathalyzer wind controller combination that just got funded called the zefCare !! Before all of this they did the never completed Arches, a touch controller interface.
It has funded, with time still left – they’ve got the campaign down now, the happy video, the colorful product, the very low price, with a low funding threshold.
Not to be too negative, this one does look like the best wind synth they’ve done so far, and ads are about selling dreams aren’t they.
I don’t like the low price crowdfunding of music gear per se.
It always rewards a small group who saw or heard it first or who have the money at the moment, in many cases with absurd price advantages compared to those who keep small companies alive afterwards with buying at higher prices. (plus the fxxg “investors” who buy only to resell again).
I love when a company sets one fair price for all.
The early bird advantage of getting early from the first batch should be enough.
I was reading Bastl Kalimba - #53 by Jukka and thinking about the risk of crowdfunding campaigns being very successful now and having to deliver in (say) half year… with a very risky macroeconomic situation in between that is already exploding in kind of slow motion (the Ormuz blockade etc). How the usually small companies face a situation when they crowdfund assuming cost X but then costs double because of factors completely out of their control.
If you can control your gag reflex long enough, you might actually start to like this. ( Then again maybe not. ) If you are someone who likes the whole generative chord approach to music creation, this may be one of the more fully developed products.
The fold down portability, and built in speaker and battery, and that it works without a phone required makes this useful too. My impression so far is they have done a decent mechanical design.
Not sure how good the Hum-To-Solo feature might work, nor any of the two-letters-both-vowels features may be as well, but this can be used without any of that as well. The follow along color tabs seems useable ( provided you have full color vision ).
Has a built in selectable rhythm part, and voices beside guitar too. So this can be used solo. They look to aim for both song creation, and performance, for both complete beginner, and more advanced musicians as well.
Kickstarter
( The upfront KS video is best avoided. )
This is the first KS where i’ve seen you can make monthly payments, even though the price is not that outrageous.
What do you think ?
ADDED July 6th : Funded, but late pledges available.
Generative guitar? More like degenerative guitar, amirite? slaps knee
Actually don’t have a strong opinion, except that I think they’ve got a tough slog to make it work in the marketplace. Various folks keep trying to introduce guitar-oid thingies but so far none of them have gotten traction.
ADDED MORE : Another Smart Guitar on KS. This one doesn’t have a name, but it looks like it is a stripped down, reduce price version of the LiberLive. This KS may fail, there are ZERO backers so far, and the campaign looks moribund. ( ADDED : Yeah it crashed and burned with one backer. ) I think this is another one coming from Hong Kong ( ? ). Special feature – it has a cute Meow Tone !!
