October update + Synthfest UK 2024
We got back from Synthfest UK yesterday, and it was awesome. Great to see some fellow synth nerds again, and to discover more cool machines. Sonic State grabbed us for an off-the-cuff Beat Friend walkthrough, which made more sense than I remembered and sounds great:
We had so many good questions and suggestions on the day. Some of them will probably become blog posts here soon, but a few FAQ highlights in case you’ve just arrived here from YouTube and weren’t in Sheffield to talk to us IRL:
Will you be able to load your own beats?
At first, no. Beat Friend is based around preset beats and the idea is that you tweak the pattern and sound of the preset to find something you like, then get on with making some music. But we will be making and releasing more beats that you’ll be able to load on to the Beat Friend (over USB), and it’s not inconceivable that one day we’ll provide the tools and process for people to make their own beats and patches.
Will the code and the hardware designs be open source?
Maybe? We’re definitely not against the idea, but we’re concentrating on getting the machine finished and in your hands first.
What MIDI does it do?
Right now, it supports MIDI clock in and out (so you can sync it with other MIDI gear) and MIDI notes in (so you can write a sequence elsewhere and use Beat Friend as a drum module). Lots of people have asked about outputting MIDI notes, and that seems reasonable. Maybe not for launch, but in a firmware update soon after. A few people asked about controlling all of the knobs and sliders over MIDI — that’s possible, but somewhat antithetical to the hands-on vibe of the Beat Friend, so probably not but if enough people bug us about it we might change our minds.
How do I find out when it’s available?
Join the mailing list on our home page. We’ll let you know!