CHOMPI Sampling Keyboard Kickstarter launches, immediately blows past goal

The creators of CHOMPI, a new sampling keyboard that’s designed to make musique concrète style audio manipulation fast and fun, have launched their Kickstarter project to fund production of the device – and it’s already blown past their project goal.

The goal for the project was to raise $30,000, and backers have already committed over $850,000.

CHOMPI is designed to make it easy to sample sounds and play them back, using a built-in keyboard. The interface provides big, dedicated controls for sampling, pitch, sample editing and effects.

CHOMPI also features a looper, so you can record phrases and play over them, and even overdub layers.

The developers is making CHOMPI available via a Kickstarter project, priced at $499 for backers (normally $599).

*Note: Crowdfunded projects can involve risk. See the project website for details.

CHOMPI, New Keyboard promises to make Sampling Fun

Chompi is a super-cute sampler that was inspired by the Casio SK-1.

The creators of CHOMPI – a new sampling keyboard that’s designed to make musique concrète style audio manipulation fast and fun – shared this sneak preview of the portable sampler.

As the video demonstrates, CHOMPI is designed to make it easy to sample sounds and play them back, using the built-in keyboard.

Chompi is a new “magical” hardware sampler and looper that looks to prioritise personality and playability over a lengthy spec list. With its cute carry handle and big-buttoned interface, it is giving us strong ‘My First Electronic Instrument’ vibes, but might also be capable of charming more mature and experienced musicians, as well.

Built on the open-source Electro-Smith Daisy platform, Chompi puts the focus on a simple sample-based workflow that is designed to encourage experimentation. Hit the record button and you can immediately capture a sound via the built-in mic, and this is automatically mapped across the two-octave mechanical keyboard.

The interface provides big, dedicated controls for sampling, pitch, sample editing and effects. CHOMPI also features a looper, so you can record phrases and play over them, and even overdub layers.

Chompi offers seven voices of polyphony and gives you 14 preset slots. You can adjust the sample start/end point, there’s an AD envelope, and the playback speed and direction of the sample can be controlled, as well. The multi-FX section is all on one knob, and provides a multimode filter, lo-fi saturation, a granular delay-reverb and more.

Recordings can be made using the tape-style stereo looper, which enables you to overdub sounds as many times as you like. The transport knob controls tape scrubbing, loop playback speed/direction and other features that are apparently waiting to be discovered.


As you can see, Chompi has no screen, but RGB LED indicators and endless switching encoders give you multi-page parameter control. The MX Cherry switches on the hot-swap enabled keyboard can be replaced and customised as you wish, and the Chompi is said to be built to last.

USB-C powering means that it is also portable – assuming you have a power bank – while other connectivity includes stereo aux I/O, a headphone socket and MIDI I/O (all on 3.5mm jacks). Your samples are stored on a micro SD card.

Features:

  • Flexible hardware platform
    • Built on the powerful Daisy platform (by Electro-Smith) unlocking easy firmware updates, and flexible programmability options.
    • Screenless workflow, w/ RGB LED indicators & endless switching encoders for multi-page parameter controls
    • Utilizes the widely popular MX Cherry switches for its Hot-Swap enabled, two octave keyboard (switches & keycaps are infinitely customizable)
    • Custom Panel Enclosure allows for limited edition colorways (artist series already in the works)
    • Custom made BOBO Keycaps
  • Quirky sampling Engine
    • Unique Sampling Workflow Encourages User Exploration
    • 7 Voice Polyphony
    • 14 Slots to Save/Recall Presets
    • Sample Playback Speed & Direction Controls
    • Sample Start & End Point Controls (w/ Additional Attack + Decay Envelope)
    • Single Knob Multi-FX Section (Multi-Mode Filter, Lo-Fi Saturation, Granular Delay-Reverb, & More)
  • Tape-Style Looper
    • Sound-on-sound stereo looping engine
    • Transport knob provides control over: Manual Tape Scrubbing, Loop Playback Speed / Direction, as well as other additional ‘easter eggs’ to be found by advanced users

Chompi is said to have been inspired by portable old-school keyboards such as the Casio SK-1.

The developers will be making CHOMPI available via a Kickstarter project launching later this month, priced at $499 for backers (normally $599). Find out more info on the CHOMPI website.

via Petros, Goudron

 

Korg MICROSAMPLER Sampling Keyboard

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The Korg microSampler Sampling Keyboard is the third addition to Korg’s microSeries family. The microSampler features a compact sampling keyboard with a gooseneck microphone, 37 new Natural Touch micro keyboard with velocity sensing, 14-voices Polyphony, LCD display; 37 LEDs above keys, Effects; 21 Types – Compressor, Filter, 4-Band EQ, Distortion, Reverb, Delay, L/C/R Delay, Auto-Panning Delay, Modulation Delay, Tape Echo, Chorus, Flanger, Vibrato, Phaser, Tremolo, Ring Modulation, Grain Shifter, Pitch Shifter, Talking Modulator and Looper, Time stretch, Sampling modes; One-Shot, Gate, Loop, Key Gate and Auto-Next, Sampling rates; 48 kHz, 24 kHz, 12 kHz, 6 kHz.

The Korg microSampler provides a fast and easy way to integrate creative audio sampling into any musical scenario. The customised backlit LCD makes the microSampler ease of use for both music beginners and professional musicians. The mini size full fledge keyboard instrument’s five sampling modes have re-sampling in every mode. The Auto Next sampling automatically creates ready-to-use time-sliced samples during recording. While the Key Gate sampling enables users to grab multiple samples of varying lengths from incoming audio by a simple touch on the desired key, all in real-time. The entire output can be routed through the effect, played by the pattern sequencer and re-sampled as a single sound. The time stretch feature enable users to change the tempo without affecting the pitch. All editing tools are included like, Normalize, Truncate, Start and End trim, with selectable sample rates that range from beyond CD clarity down through a Lo-Fi vintage vibe.

The Korg microSampler also provides tons of preset sounds for instant music-making. The twenty-one effects borrowed from Korg’s KAOSS PAD series, can be applied to any sound while re-sampling, allowing the effects to be used over and over again for more sonic expression. The front panel provides a cradle for holding MP3 or audio player. The portable keyboard can runs on batteries (6 AAA Alkaline batteries for approximately 4 hours) and  weight merely 4.19 lbs.  The entire sampling keyboard has been designed for comfort, speed and playability.

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