Thanks! I could see the plastic was designed to have them. I searched the box it came in to no avail.
The foot opening measures right around 10mm.
I found some online and ordered them.
Unfortunate, but it could be worse.
2 Likes
I had mine arrive yesterday. Has feet, but the quality of pots is terrible. One of them registers presses only occasionally.
1 Like
I plan to replace mine eventually, but mine are all working from what I can tell. I didnāt expect it to be of excellent quality from the price.
The hardware, excluding the display, is pretty low quality from the short time Iāve messed with it.
The plus side is itās already a great chord progression scratch pad for me. So long as it works well enough for that Iāll be happy I bought it.
If you decide to keep it I can inform you when I change out to better encoders if youāre interested in upgrading yours.
Edit: I opened it up (because of course I did)
Cute 
First guess is 16mm non-detented 24 pulse push button encodersā¦
Fairly easy to swap surface mount LEDās for a custom color scheme.
2 Likes
Thank you. Iām absolutely interested into swapping mine as well. Let me know which ones youāll buy.
1 Like
Might be sooner than later. One of the encoders is finicky on mine too. Encoder 6 is twitchy and doesnāt want to move. I kind of expected a soon to be abandoned product, but this is a bit silly.
Luckily itās just a āchord progression notes makerā for me. If this wasnāt being abandonedā¦
I will definitely will look at future ISLA instruments products through squinting distrustful eyes.
Thanks for taking the risk and trying it out! You definitely seem to have the electronics skills to make the most of it. I have been curious, and I really like the concept, but doesnāt seem like this quite hit the mark.
I donāt know if this idea would be more commercially viable, but I would be more interested in a smaller chord library midi controller without the keyboard. Would be less than half the size, wouldnāt need the screen or encoders, and could have just a few really good buttons, like a calculatorā¦ a variety of chords, a way to switch keys, and a few chord memory buttons. Basically, used for a little bit of noodling and eventually saving into a different sequencer/DAW.
I still like the KordBot concept over the Theoryboardā¦ I donāt think any kickstarter item is ever going to be the ācenter of a studioā, so filling in niches seem to be better bets.
1 Like
Iām researching some Alps all metal encoders. I just need to match the pin spacing and make sure they will fit. Not sure if Iām too concerned with matching the resolution but I may go that far if I can find matching Alpine encoders.
~ $4 each FYI
I think what I like is the chord memory with quick chord library access.
Iām also not always wanting to use a chord library and just want to store chords that I play on a keyboard.
This is basically all of those things with cheap hardware and somewhat obtuse firmware. The features are there but Iād like to see something of higher quality all around.
Itās definitely useable for my purposes though once I make the hardware a little more reliable. If I make the Alps encoders work then it can double as a macro controller for Ableton Live.
3 Likes
I ordered some new Alps encoders to test. If it goes well Iāll post the part number for you.
2 Likes
Thank you! I really hope it works.
1 Like
Iām skeptical that it would happen, but with this product going defunct, i wonder if there is any chance Isla would open source the code. I realize that there may be parts of it that they may still view as proprietary, but this is exactly the time companies can think about releasing that sort of thing. I think itās to big an ask to open source the electronics and mechanicals, but the firmware just might be a sensible release. I could even see some sort of crowd funding deal to buy out the source code.
Hell, there are enough companies that open source the code even while the product is actively sold ā like Kilpatrick Audio, and the Roger Linn Linnstrument.
1 Like
The encoders work as expected.
Totally separate problem but I wanted to share the fix:
One of the original encoders was not working before I replaced them. It still wasnāt working after I replaced it. The value was jumping up 1 then down 1 no matter which direction I turned it.
I found that the encoders were directly connected to the STM32 IC which means debouncing is done in software vs hardware.
So this led to me thinking one of the pins on the STM32 had a bad solder connection. Fluxed it up and pulled out the SMD rework station to reflow all of the pins. The encoder is working now!
This is the IC that had the bad solder joints:
Now to the original topic.
The new encoders sit slightly higher than the old ones because the button push has a larger range of movement. It still fits and doesnāt bottom out when you press the button in the encoder.
The encoders have much more resistance than the old ones when you turn them. Feels much more solid.
The turn resolution for the Alps ones are 18 pulses per rotation and Iām guessing the originals are 24 pulses per rotation.
This means you have to turn the Alps ones a little more than the originals to move the same amount. I honestly like it better because the originals seem too fiddly and itās hard to land on exact values.
Let me finish replacing all of them and Iāll take a picture to show the knob height. I plan to replace the knobs with some slim black chroma caps but donāt have them yet.
Hereās the encoders I bought if youāre interested:
https://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/688-EC11E1834403
Oh, and these are magnetic encoders so they should live longer than the Kordbot pads. Youād have to wear out the bearings and I donāt see that happening unless you turn all day and night for the rest of your life 
5 Likes
Couple weeks ago you could buy one. Was able to add it to the cart.
Out of stock again now.
This is lovely! Now I have a weekend project. Thank you for all the info.
1 Like
I donāt know your soldering rework skills but I recommend just trimming the old encoders out and then cleaning out the holes after. That way you wonāt run the risk of ripping up the pads.
Just use fine clippers and try not to tear up the PCB as much as possible.
Hereās the pictures with the Alps encoders and original knobs:
5 Likes
That is super cool, well done mate! Iād love to replace the encoders on mine, not to mention those horrible hard plastic knobsā¦ Speaking of which, how did you get those off in the first place? I have a bunch of Chroma Caps Iād like to try on it but canāt seem to get them off without damaging something.
1 Like
You can use a plastic spudger like this or any strong thin plastic to pry up on it.
Other things to try:
- Thick hard guitar pick.
- Handle of a plastic spork.
- Shaved down chopstick.
- Nothing metal.
Just work your way around the knob prying up little by little, then pull it off with your fingers once you get it to move a little.
2 Likes
Thatās wicked, thank you. I have a spudger from when I replaced my MacBook Pro battery so will use that. At one point i wondered if they were glued on!
1 Like
They shouldnāt be. Itās just a tight fit so theyāre a little hard to get off.
Hereās a picture of the Alps encoders with black slim chroma caps which showed up today. Much easier to turn the Alps encoders which have more resistance than the originals.
Edit:
So the one encoder started glitching out again after I thought I had it fixed by reflowing the STM32. I found 3 74HC4051 ICās on the back. I thought they were for just the buttons at first but it looks like they āareā connected to the encoders. Reflowed those 3 and the problem is gone again, hopefully for good.
Hereās some pictures of the ICās
I had it open yet again, so I decided to try a few white LEDās in the memory pads. Why not 
Edit # um Iām losing track. Most sane people would have just sent this thing back.
I decided to try the DC power jack since Iād only been using the USB for power.
Plugged it and it didnāt come on at all. Tried a couple different 9V-12V power supplies.
Opening it up again 
Voltage regulator had one leg that wasnāt soldered down, just floating about the pad. I can definitely say this wasnāt tested before it was sent out. 
Anywayā¦ I soldered the leg down. Now I have DC power.
5 Likes