OpenChord.org - Open source real guitar controllers

Kits and Shipping

admin — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 01:56:16 +0000

So we’re starting to have some orders rolling in – Thanks to everyone who has bought a kit! Unfortunately, we just realized that the Wii connectors we’re using weren’t priced into the equation, so we’ve had to change the price on the original kit. If you already bought a kit, though, we did give you Wii connectors. Our mistake is your gain! We’re going to try and get the price down further, but buying Wiimote connectors is tricky. Hopefully we can find a factory somewhere… However, we’ve also added an option to buy the kit in just USB format, in case you’re not interested in playing on the Wii, or you’ve already got a spare Nunchuk or Nunchuk cable lying around, or if you’re willing to rip into a Wiimote and do some crazy hardware modding.

Also, we figured that shipping was going to be pretty straightforward in Australia, since it was pretty straightforward in Japan, but we were wrong. We’re still offering $5 shipping, but if you’re in the US, you won’t be able to get a tracking number, since registered post is $20. If you live in Australia, though, lucky you!

We also got written up a little bit on the MAKE blog! Thanks, MAKE Magazine! We’re trying to take a new video this weekend….

New Hosting

admin — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 07:13:04 +0000

We’ve just finished switching over our web hosting. So far, things seem to be going fine, but be sure to let us know if you find something broken or whatnot. There’s not much of a change, but with the new host, we’re allowed to have multiple databases, and as a result, we’ve now got space for a forum! Our old hosting company, NetFirms, was/is actually pretty decent, but it was kind of slow loading our site, so we’re going to try out this host for the next while, and let you know.

The other big advantage (and we could have set it up with NetFirms had we known about it) is we’re now running Google Apps, and by extension, Gmail for all our e-mail, whereas before we were just forwarding all our mail to a Gmail account. However, I think that we might have been losing some e-mails to spam filters, etc. with that method.. So if you’ve sent us an e-mail and we haven’t responded, we’re terribly sorry, and try resending it now!

Setback

admin — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 07:42:04 +0000

Setback! It’s for the best that we figured it out now, but in order to actually sell a product, at least in the US, we’re going to need to get FCC approval, it looks like, since our guitar has a chip that’s going fast enough to generate possible interference. It shouldn’t be hard, but it does mean that we should probably do a little more development, just to make sure that our circuit board is as good as it should be.

However, kits don’t have that restriction, and so while we’re still working on some play testing, we should have kits ready to go once some new parts show up! With the kits, we’re also looking at increasing the device’s flexibility and making it programmable via USB. Things to look forward to in the New Year!

Bootloading

Alan Chatham — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 07:54:43 +0000

USB Bootloading! This week, I’ve been working on (well, working on getting it to compile) a USB bootloader for the chip we’re using. What does this mean? It means that instead of having to buy a $40 programmer to update the firmware on the chip, firmware updates can now also be handled via USB, something that is super-nice. This means that we can keep upgrading the guitar and adding new features, and you simply (well, right now, unfortunately slightly less simply) have to download the new code and install it on your device. This also means that we’re probably going to be able to offer kits really soon, since we can continually update the firmware as time goes on.

Australia

Alan Chatham — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 07:49:44 +0000

So it’s been a while, huh. This time, I was moving to Australia…

Also in the last couple of weeks, we finally got a PlayStation 3 to do some testing on, and it doesn’t work. That is to say, it didn’t work. We’ve figured out what was going wrong, and now I’m happy to report that the OpenChord.org codebase is now compatible with the PlayStation 3! I’ve only tested it out so far on Guitar Hero 5, but it should work with any Guitar Hero or Rock Band games.

Also, we’re still working on the clip-on version – that’s what we’re doing our usage testing on right now. (I’ll let you know when I’m getting 5 stars on Expert mode…) We’re trying to get things figured out playability and electromechanically still, so it doesn’t break midway through your songs, and we still need to find a good case. But we’re also looking for a name! Check out the poll on the left, and if you have some better ideas, let us know in the comments!

Circuit Boards, etc.

admin — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:19:50 +0000

We finally got in the circuit boards we ordered a while ago, built those, then lo and behold, the even newer circuit boards came in! These extra-new ones are compatible with both the Wii and USB (although it requires reflashing the firmware to change which type of a controller it is…) Still, they’re super-pretty, and smaller, so they fit in smaller cases. We still need to find a good case for the new clip-on model, but maybe our big problem is using a clip that’s too small, so it keeps slipping off the guitar…

New Instructions

Alan Chatham — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 09:09:46 +0000

We just put up a new set of instructions on building your own on the site – Check them out – They need a little work, a few more pictures and such, but they should give you a good idea of how to proceed if you want to build yourself a guitar controller!

Upcoming release

admin — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 05:50:22 +0000

We’re still working on the exact manufacturing details, but we’re getting close to being able to release a new product – a device that clips onto your guitar and gives it all the functionality of the V1. We’re still in the open testing phase to work out how to make it the best it can be, but here are the details so far -

The new product requires no drilling, cutting, or otherwise destructive modification to your guitar. All you need to do is attach a few copper stickers to the fretboard of your guitar and then clip it on with the included guitar capo.

all frets taped

The product then turns your guitar into a video game controller just like the V1, allowing you to practice fingering, notes, and chords with guitar games for the Wii, Playstation 3, and PC. And since the device isn’t built into a guitar, it will be significantly cheaper.

Also, if you have any great ideas for the name, we’d love to hear them! Shoot us a line at contact@openchord.org

Looking for Kit Testers

admin — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 06:30:31 +0000

So we’re starting to get circuit boards printed up, and frankly, we don’t need a bunch of circuit boards lying around. What we do need is testers. An ideal tester for us would be someone with at least basic soldering knowledge, and the ability to program AVR microcontrollers, either through In-System Programming or via regular serial or parallel programming. If you’re interested in getting an at-or-below cost kit from us to build your own OpenChord guitar, please contact us at develop@openchord.org!

Xbox 360

admin — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 01:34:10 +0000

So after doing some research, it looks like we’re not going to be able to offer a version of the V1 for the Xbox 360. It basically has to do with a proprietary security chip that Microsoft has built into their controllers in order to thwart would-be 3rd-party developers from coming out with competing hardware.

However, the USB version seems to be coming along nicely; we just sent off an order for some prototype circuit boards and we’ll see if those work, then it’s just a matter of figuring out some supply stuff and figuring out the enclosure. So hopefully we’ll at least have kits available soon, and maybe a full product!