Midronome: MIDI Synchronization Reimagined
Solve your Sync Issues Effortlessly with this Master Clock. Built-in Metronome for Live | Studio recording on the grid.
There is so much you can change, configure, adapt to your needs on the Midronome. And everything is configurable right on the device, quick and easy!You can also easily get more MIDI Outputs by using MIDI Thru Boxes.Note that the Midronome is compatible with any MIDI-powered equipment (like many of those MIDI Thru boxes.
get it, times change (pun intended), needs change, and the amazing device of today might be completely outdated a few years from now. But not the Midronome! Its hardware was smartly designed so it can easily be reused, changed, or adapted. In fact that’s where most of the versatility of the device comes from! Hardware designed to Last.
The hardware of the Midronome won't budge: simple and smartly designed electronics with appropriate ESD protection, packed in a strong metal case and a metal knob which will resist the toughest Live usage!! To top it all, the case is very easy to open and the electronic parts are easily found if they ever need to be replaced.
Coming new Features via firmware updates The device you will receive will be finished and fully tested. It will also have a very full set of functionalities already. But I know some of you want more! The device's firmware can be upgraded - so I plan on adding a lot more to your device! Just to name a few. See all the suggested Features on the Midronome Forums (forum.midronome.com), feel free to join the discussion and add more to the list!.
That's the cherry on top: the Midronome Module's interface will be publicly documented, so that anyone can easily make a custom module, using an Arduino for example! Playing drums in time with a sequencer… Have you ever tried it? Well, I have - and during practice it’s not easy. Live, it’s pretty much impossible.My bandmates and I wanted a simple box that could send MIDI Clock to the synths and a click to the drummer. But we simply could not find one!
We also realized in the studio how recording hardware synths in time with modern DAWs was a pain in the bottom. The few solutions out there were either unreliable or too expensive.So, I decided to do something about it: use my smart IT brain to make the best damn clock ever, so that musicians never have to think about timing and clocks twice. 2 years, many beta-testers, lots of headaches, and one Kickstarter campaign later, I am very proud to present to you: the Midronome in all its glory. By now you probably understood that I am the main person behind this project. I am a Midronome engineer by day, and musician by night (yea I don’t sleep much :D ). Feel free to read more about me on the midronome.com website.
Inside most recent devices, there is a part software and part hardware. Even when the software is very reliable, it can still sometimes be busy doing something, which can delay action by a few microseconds, creating jitter.Disappointed in crowdfunding? I get it, I experienced it myself! But your peace of mind really matters to me - I want you to be able to pledge without having to worry.
I've been working on this project for 2.5 years - and while a lot of that time has been dedicated to the device itself, I also spent countless hours talking with manufacturers. In fact I had production in mind from day 1, and I smartly designed the device so it can be manufactured with as little manual work as possible. This helped keeping the costs low without compromising on quality.
Today I can say I have 95% of the manufacturers ready and eager to start on a bigger batch. Most of them are the same ones I used to manufacture the prototypes. They are all professional factories and have the capacity to scale if needed. As for the fulfillment, I also have been speaking to a couple of companies who would pick up the devices from the manufacturer, store them in a warehouse and ship them to you directly, without my involvment. We plan on using eco-friendly packaging around the Midronome's packaging (which is only made of recyclable cardboard.
This is just an estimation (very realistic though, every step has been analyzed and thought through). Of course I will do my best to keep you updated during the whole process, in fact I promise to make a video update every 2 weeks to make sure you know what is going on and are the first to be informed of potential delays.
You remember how the Midronome has an open module interface, so that anybody can make their own add-on modules? Well IMBO (in my biased opinion) this is one of the strongest features of the device, and I hope we will see tons of small modules in the future.
But I want to help you get started, so the stretch goals are about me designing the electronics, the case, and writing the code a few simple modules, entirely for free! The designs will be open-source, open-hardware, and well documented so that anybody can easily change and adapt them to make more!
But there is more - I'll design those using all the software and parts from JLCPCB.com. It's a PCB house that can 3D print the case, build the PCB and assemble it for you, for just a few bucks! And this way, even if you have no knowledge in electronics, you can simply get them to make it for you and you'll have a functional module!
As for everything else, I will be happy to discuss with you which modules I should design. A few ideas Extra MIDI outputs (maybe a few versions with 2/4/8 outputs) a MIDI input + MIDI output sending clock + whatever is sent on the input one MIDI input to receive MIDI CC commands (currently only possible over USB) Special "tap tempo" output for guitar pedals to simlate a footswitch tapping the tempo.
Something to note is that the Bluetooth/Link/BD module is not part of this. This module is a whole lot more complex, both code and electronics, and will require months (at least) of work. This module should be available for purchase in 2024 (maybe another Kickstarter - we'll see.
A lot of you have been asking for the ability of the Midronome to send other MIDI data than MIDI Clock. But the Midronome's current hardware is designed to send the most precise and jitter-free MIDI Clock possible, and this design is not made to send anything else than MIDI Clock (it's technically possible but extremely fastidious - that's why I have been postponing this a lot.
So this stretch goal is about the future: upgrading the main processor of the device so it has extra pins (connections) to be able to independently send any MIDI Data on its MIDI ports. The MIDI clock will still be sent the way it is now, so no worries the jitter won't change. Note that this stretch goal is not about implementing MIDI Notes forwarding in the code, it's about makingthe hardware ready for it. But yes with that hardware it would be stupid not to implement it so that could easily be one of the first firmware upgrade.
The last stretch goal, is about making a library for Arduino, as well as a few more modules with an Arduino inside, maybe a tad more complex. For those who do not know Arduino is an easy-to-use maker electronic board. It's completely open source and has a huge community behind it that could easily help you get started.
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