DIY Isomorphic Keyboard w/LEDs and iOS integration

[brettthepark]

Hi Folks,

For those who are interested, we have just completed the first build of our DIY isomorphic keyboard. This keyboard is different from all the others in that it has LEDs within each button to allow for rapid layout changing. This can be done by using the iOS isomorphic keyboard app called Musix. As well, the keyboard (called the Rainboard) can send note presses back to the iPad allowing audio to be generated with many iPad synths (or it can be generated directly from the Rainboard).



Here is a video of the new device:

http://youtu.be/xI7E-ic-2TM

The site containing the DIY information:
http://rainboard.shiverware.com/

And a mailing list for those interested in a diy kit or a finished product, or just progress updates:
http://eepurl.com/g3G0r

[Mongo1]

That's just awesome.
One of the coolest things I've seen recently. I signed up on the mailing list for the DIY Kit. Is such a thing forthcoming?

Thanks
Gary

[brettthepark]

Well, the forthcomingness of the project depends on interest. You can DIY with our instructions, but a built product will require a number of preorders (I don't think we would need to many). We would like to do a kick-starter project, but we are in Canada and kick-starter doesn't play well at the moment.

[Mongo1]

Based on the response the "Appendage" controller got, I'd think this would be a popular item. Do you have any kind of ballpark idea of how much this thing costs to build? I'm sure those big switches aren't cheap. Still, it looks like this would be a really nice instrument to work with.

The main concern I have is that I don't have an ipad, and don't really want to buy one. What I could easily see doing is creating something that had at most 3 keyboard layouts, and is able to directly drive Midi. From that point I can pipe it into my modular synth and enjoy life.

Gary