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8K2 Controller and DM48X MIDI Harmonica

Back in 2020 I built something I called the 8K Controller which was a USB HID device that could send various key commands to a computer. I sold a few of them, but since it could also work as a USB MIDI device I ended up selling one to Jason Keene who is this amazing musician who plays a Lekholm DM48X Digital Chromatic Harmonica. (Yes, a MIDI Harmonica!) He wanted the controller to work with the AUM Audio Mixer on the iPad.

Now I don’t really know anything about the DM48X or AUM, but Jason worked with me to figure out the programming he needed, I wrote the code, sent him a controller, and it all worked! A few other people wanted the same thing, so I made a few more…

Jason had one request though… make it smaller. And I had one issue… the chip shortage. So to solve those two issues I did a redesign, made it a bit smaller, swapped out the microcontroller, designed a new PCB and enclosure, and made the 8K2 Controller. The name might not be great but you can get it on Etsy.

8K2 Controller on Etsy

We’ll program it the same way we did for Jason, and though we can’t offer much support in the way of the setup. It will come with a 10 foot USB cable, some hoock & loop, and a few rubber bumpons. And while we can’t offer much in the way of support for using AUM or the DM48X, Jason is available for that sort of thing, so get in touch with him.

Finally, here’s a great video Jason made showing off his chops and how he uses the 8K2 Controller with his setup.

I’ve said it before, I really love making things for musicians and other creative people, so if you’re looking to try this controller with your setup get in touch or just grab one from the shop.

Buy the 8K2 Controller

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DOD FX55-B Supra Distortion Sketch

Oh yeah, you know that sound! You had this pedal, I had this pedal, everyone had this pedal from the 1980s. I’m sure I got mine cheap (and second hand) from Record Head or Lincoln Music and I used it on whatever piece of crap guitar I had at the time and it sounded amazing (because I didn’t know any better!) So yeah, this is the DOD FX55-B Supra Distortion Pedal… as a sketch.

I actually found mine a few months ago and it’s now somewhere in my basement. I spent a good two minutes looking for it but it’s probably buried under a pile of filament and handmade paper right now, but once I find it I’ll see it I can get it working again. In case you don’t know what it sounds like, here’s a demo.

And just like every piece of gear, some people love it, and some people hate it. I only have fond memories of the Supra Distortion, and I hope you do too!

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Typewriter Sketch

Here’s a 1957 Royal Quiet De Luxe Typewriter which looks just a wee bit fancier than the one I grew up with, which was a Royal (in Dove Gray) but I don’t know what model year it was, though it does look like a Quiet De Luxe. I also don’t know what happened to it… it might still be at my mother’s house, and now I want to check on that!

Anyway, this is another digital sketch done with an Apple Pencil on an iPad using Procreate.

Also, don’t forget that QWERTYFEST is coming up JUNE 21st through 23rd, 2024! If you love typewriters and/or typewriting it’s the place to be. If you can’t make it, be sure to grab a copy of QWERTY Quarterly!

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Ford Econoline Van Sketch

When I was a kid, like a good ten years before I could drive, I thought vans were cool. It was the 1970s so vans were cool, and they probably had shag carpeting and maybe a wicked airbrush painting on the side or something. I don’t know… I was a kid in the 1970s and vans were cool.

When I was at university I either played in bands, or was the road crew for bands that friends of mine were in, so I was traveling in vans, and eventually I purchased an old van from my boss that I used for getting to shows, and touring, and for my daily vehicle. It was a Dodge Ram, not a Ford Econoline, but I always considered the Econoline the epitome of a punk band van.

Funny story about my own van. I sold it to some guy, and months later my mom got a call from the police because they had claimed it was involved in a high speed chase. (I bought the van while living with my parents, but had since moved out.) I had to laugh at the idea of a “high speed chase” in that van! Anyway, the police wanted to know if we had any info on the guy who bought it. I did not. Some guy showed up, paid cash, and drove it away.

Anyway, my van did a tour for Buried, another for Ten Boy Summer, and various trips to Madison, Waukesha, Minneapolis, and probably a few other places. One of the windows got busted out in Chicago and someone stole all our money on the last day of the TBS tour… Oh well.

Here’s a reference image of some of the options for a 1982 Ford Econoline Van.I originally thought I used a 1975 reference image but I was in error.

Anyway, this is another digital sketch done with an Apple Pencil on an iPad using Procreate.

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Bike Sketch

I recently started doing sketches on an iPad using Procreate and an Apple Pencil. (I got an Apple Pencil (1st Generation) along with an elago Silicone Sleeve which makes holding the pencil much more enjoyable.) I have been staying away from paper sketches in recent years, and I wasn’t sure why. When I did the January 2024 Prints I used a light tracing box along with the Shaper Trace and I did like the process, but I came to realize what I didn’t like about drawing on paper was that I liked using markers but I didn’t like how unforgivable they were. Pencil sketches allow you to erase and redo, and markers… do not.

That said, the tracing on paper part was great, the end result was good, but I really wanted to try an Apple Pencil to see what it could do. Back in 2023 I got the old Wacom tablet working again, but I just didn’t love using it. The whole “draw here but look here” thing is not for me. So I bit the bullet, upgraded my iPad to a 6th Gen (since my old 5th Gen did not work with the Apple Pencil) and somehow I had already purchased Procreate so I got that installed and got started sketching.

My favorite thing is the undo. Yes, it’s so damn simple, but if you draw a line and don’t like it you can just hit undo and be back where you were before you added that line. This is the thing I don’t get when sketching on paper, and drawing digitally offers it, and while you should (sometimes) be definitive in your mark making, I am not always that confident… and that’s fine. Everyone works differently.

I still have a lot to learn, but above you can see one of my first sketches… It’s my bike. A Trek 7200 and Dana got it for my birthday back in 2006. I’m not sure if I’ve drawn a bike since 2011, when I did it from memory.

Anyway, welcome to the start of more sketches… I’ll probably use some of them for relief prints in the future, so fair warning if you start seeing prints that look like sketches and vice versa.

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