Click on the headline to read about this cool app.

hey there. So Apple rolled out a new version of Java 6, and it appears to have solved the problems of it not letting compiled processing apps to launch. So! this is really good news because there are a ton of now deprecated setup steps that you can replace with just making sure system update has run and you have the latest java installed.

go get it here: http://beatseqr.com/downloads/roxor2_6.app.zip

Statistics: Posted by stevecooley — Wed Jun 09, 2010 1:51 pm

this means you don’t have to download the max5 runtime… you can just download the compiled executable app instead and skip all the extra steps. woot.

Statistics: Posted by stevecooley — Wed Jun 09, 2010 1:49 pm

great news! Derek got an executable version of steppa running, so you can go grab it here, along with the source code: http://beatseqr.com/downloads/steppa041.zip

Statistics: Posted by stevecooley — Wed Jun 09, 2010 1:48 pm

above: the first fully stuffed beatseqr circuit board, version 3.1

We’ve been radio silent for a while, but that’s only because we’ve been on overdrive getting ready for the bay area maker faire 2010. In addition to playing live gigs to further field test Beatseqr in the real world, we’ve also been ramping up our in-house production and prototyping capability in the form of a 24″ x 48″ CNC router. This new capability will (in theory) let us prototype new circuit and interface designs in house so we can move a lot more quickly to bake some concepts and roll out the products we want to use and think you’ll enjoy using too.

In the meantime, version 3.1 of the beatseqr circuit board is available. If you’re interested in a kit, there are a few options to discuss, so please fill out the form.

I preparation for our exhibit in the Maker Faire Bay Area 2010, I’m beginning to ramp up Beatseqr version 4. Behold, parts are starting to arrive:

My intention here is to offer kits, due to popular request.

I’m trying to take the plunge and follow in the smartly placed footsteps by our pals over at EMSL to learn and use the gEDA toolchain to help design and layout the next version of the Beatseqr pcb. It’s a bear, but I think I can, I think I can, I think I can.. I’m also looking into desktop CNC routers for several tasks in the fabrication process of parts. Um… I’m still building my case and doing my research, but you can take a peek at what I’m looking into here.

Hey there, we just got confirmation that we’re going to be showing Beatseqr at the 2010 Bay Area Maker Faire! Woohoo! We’re going into deep planning mode this week, so more details will follow. In the meantime, go buy your ticket!

Also, we’re considering applying for maker faires in detroit and new york. Want us to come to those? post a comment up.

Hey there, a little while back I had begun to put the portions of the beatseqr software and firmware onto github. Well I flailed on that for a while and got it to a point where I feel ok about announcing it now. Enjoy, and pass any improvements back to me!

beatseqr open source at github

Derek and I have been hard at work making some really great improvements to the beatseqr firmware and steppa sequencer. Here are a few of the things we’ve been doing lately:

• I added a really nice feature that we’re calling “voice trigger indicator” … essentially what it does is flash the voice select LEDs as your sequence is running to indicate to you when each of the 8 channels is triggering. It’s easier to show than to tell, so I’ll get to work on a video for that asap.
• Steppa now has a “current beat” set of indicator LEDs on the front interface. This was added so you can get an idea of where you are timing-wise if you’re doing stuff on your computer (instead of looking at the hardware, which will give you a *really* good idea of that all the time )
• There’s been a bunch of minor features added to Steppa that mostly facilitate being able to pick up sequence data from within Max5. If you’re a max user, you can do all kinds of crazy stuff with the sequence as it’s running.

More good news while we’re talking about good news:

• I have applied to exhibit at the Bay Area Maker Faire. We’re considering applying for Detroit and New York too, so if you want us to apply for those, leave a comment!
• The arduino mega firmware is now open source. There are a bunch of things you would need to do in order to get started and I’ll highlight those in another post soon. I’ll update the license to indicate my intentions, but in a nutshell you’re free to download, analyze, improve, or modify the source, as long as you don’t resell it and you keep the original attribution intact with the code. Please do improve the software. I’m a school-trained artist first and a self-taught engineer second. http://github.com/stevecooley/beatseqr-software
• Derek is going to our local ninja academy! Very exciting.