About this project

What is QuNeo?

QuNeo is a different species of pad controller for electronic musicians, DJs, VJs and DIY hackers. While it covers all of the functionality of other pad controllers, QuNeo adds the power of touch recognition in other dimensions.

QuNeo Features

Tactile Pads, Sliders, Rotary Sensors and Switches

Each of the 27 pads, sliders and rotary sensors are pressure, velocity, and location sensitive. Even the 17 switches respond to how hard you press.

LED Light Feedback

A remarkable lumination scheme combines variably diffusive elastomers with 251 multi-color LEDs providing visual feedback that is immediately responsive and delightfully informative. Man and machine are coupled through light, feel and sound.

Trigger Pads

16 square pads provide 127 levels of Velocity response. And X-Y location. And continuous pressure. For each pad. Times sixteen.

Rotary Sensors

2 rotary sensors allow you to scrub, trigger, stretch, pinch and play phrases and sound files, manipulate continuous controllers and more . Each rotary sensor measures angle, pressure and distance from the center.

Multi-touch Sliders

9 touch sensitive sliders can be mapped to fader and effects controls. LEDs within each slider act as VU meters or remind you where you were. Multi-touch lets you select a length between two fingers to set stereo locations or filter resonances. Tapping a slider can mute or toggle any track or function.

Switches

The switches are located in smart groupings to select samples, fader banks, and transport controls. Each of the switches can scan up and down through files at speeds variable with your touch. Great for quickly locating that perfect fill or telling your looper you really meant it.

The Size of an iPad.

QuNeo is the size of an iPad and can fit in iPad accessories such as mic clips, stands and more.

Class Compliant and Open Source Development Kit

QuNeo works with USB, MIDI or OSC and will communicate with your favorite music software environments right out of the box. More advanced users and programmers can use the development kit and API to create their own code to respond to QuNeo's sensor data. Hack away to control your world in ways never before possible!

We are asking for your support on KickStarter to put QuNeo into production.

QuNeo is fully designed and prototyped and will perfectly compliment SoftStep and 12 Step, our innovative foot controllers currently on the market. We are reaching out to you on Kickstarter to raise the funds for tooling and production to make QuNeo available ASAP. As a thank you for your support, we will happily send you one of our wonderful rewards, including this limited edition sticker.

Artist Endorsements

We are already creating a buzz amongst musicians, DJs, visual artists and engineers who have seen the prototypes, check out what they had to say...

Matt Black (Coldcut / Ninja Tune): "Touch control with pressure sensitivity = puts iPad AND conventional controllers to sleep. Just what I've been waiting for in a next gen controller for music/DJing/VJing. Plus it looks gorgeous. At last an escape packet from the strait jacket of the past. ROCK ON YOU STARS, can't wait to get this. Coldcut are in!"

Thavius Beck: "Uh, hell yes I'm down. I can imagine all kinds of ways to play with this...I'm on board."

ill.Gates: "That thing looks awesome! I'm already a huge fan of Softstep. Count me in!"

Richard Devine: "Wow this controller looks amazing."

Vernon Reid: "This is VERY exciting to me! I'm happy to be part of the launch of what looks to be an outstanding new product....I already want one!"

Strangeloop: "This looks EXACTLY like what I'm looking for, I've been abandoning Midi controllers left and right, would Love to find something more expressive. Preferably before I go on tour with Erykah Badu :)"

Dose One: "I have always struggled to find technology that truly allows me to PLAY electronics... it is utterly exciting that Keith McMillen and company are making controllers that allow musicians to indeed PLAY their computer made music with the attention to detail that an obsessive musician can revel in."

Tim Blake-Hawkwind: "You may well have produced the so badly needed "buttons" for the Virtual Synth set up at last!"

Laura Escude, Violinist/Composer/Music Technologist for Kanye West, Cirque du Soleil: “I am so beyond freaking excited to get my hands on QuNeo. A few years back when I worked at M-Audio I lusted after the elusive Surface One which unfortunately never materialized to the masses. QuNeo looks to take this concept to the stratosphere. As a Soft Step and 12 Step user, I know that Keith McMillen’s new product will be similarly portable, aesthetically pleasing and revolutionary.”

Please share our KickStarter campaign with your friends so that we can bring QuNeo to world, and thank you for your support!

Sincerely,

Keith McMillen, and the whole KMI team (Andrew, Jon, Tom, Rasheedah, Sarah, Diane, Conner, Barry, Carson, Matt, Dan, and Chuck).

About Keith McMillen Instruments: Keith McMillen has been a pioneer in electronic and computer music for over 30 years. His instruments and inventions have been used by artists like Laurie Anderson, Bob Weir and Mickey Hart of the Grateful Dead, John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin, Boyd Tinsley of Dave Matthews Band, Jean Luc Ponty, John Fogerty and Kronos Quartet. Keith invented the first programmable audio mixer, the Zeta violin (the gold standard for electric stringed instruments), K-Bow, the worlds first bluetooth sensor bow, SoftStep, 12 Step, StringPort and Batt-O-Meter.

Learn more about KMI by reading this company profile written by the Bay Area News Group.

Join us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter!

iPad is a registered trademark of Apple, Inc. All other trademarks are registered trademarks of their respective companies.

FAQ

With the QuNeo programming interface will the USB be accessible in a standard HID format such that the QuNeo can be used as a controller for anything the computer can control?

QuNeo is class compliant USB MIDI device. A class compliant HID version could be easily created.

Last updated: Thursday Nov 17, 6:24pm EST
Can the LEDs be controlled through the USB, so that the pad could be an output at the same time it is acting as an input?

LEDs are controlled through USB with 16 levels of brightness and Off.

Last updated: Thursday Nov 17, 4:40pm EST
From the sample video it appears that there are no LEDs under the center of the buttons, especially on the larger buttons I see this could cause the button to not be as bright and interactive as it could be. Is this correct?

The LEDs under the button are top firing and provide full illumination. All other LEDs are side firing and will fully illuminate all sliders and square pads. The 2 rotaries will have a small dark center.

Last updated: Thursday Nov 17, 4:41pm EST
All power is provided through the USB interface, correct? If so, the LEDs could potentially surpass the maximum 500mA of USB2.0. Is there any fusing or protective measure to prevent this?

With all LEDS at full brightness we are below the USB current supply by 60 mA. We monitor the current usage in real time and if we see any supply sag we back off on brightness, but we have not seen any computers that do not provide at least the 500 mA spec, so there should be no issues.

Last updated: Thursday Nov 17, 4:42pm EST
Is there any tactile feedback to the keys (they appear soft) like keyboard style, or is it designed more to be a smooth-surface touchscreen aspect? Not a problem either way, just want to know.

The surfaces are PU (Poly Urethane) treated elastomeric so even sweaty fingers can glide over sliders and pads.

Last updated: Thursday Nov 17, 4:43pm EST
Are the LEDs all RGB? I note it says multi-color but being able to set entire "themes" across a pad would be useful, as well as custom color indications to help determine what button does what.

Some LEDs are bi-color. Others are single color.

Last updated: Thursday Nov 17, 4:44pm EST
Is this going to be auto mapped for Ableton? Plus will it be able to trigger clips as well as triggering beats?

1, We’re already working on seamless software integration… Out of the box, QuNeo will be plug and play– it’ll send CCs and notes just like any pad controller (just more CCs and more Notes)!

2, There are quite a lot of LEDs, we’re almost at the maximum number. It will work with the iPad, though (like the SoftStep and 12 Step) you’ll need an adapter and you’ll have to power it from the wall or from our MIDI expander…

3, As far as mapping goes, the QuNeo will have a “shift” or “mapping mode” button (the blue one, near the transport controls) which will allow for one source to be sent out at a time. The LEDs on the pads will display different colors based on the type of control you are mapping!

4 The software editor will be useful for creating customized mappings. Things like multi-touch functionality will be customizable with the software. The software will not be necessary to use the QuNeo, as it will be preprogrammed to function out of the box.

Last updated: Friday Nov 18, 6:39pm EST
Is there a warranty for QuNeo?

Yes, in the even of a defective unit, KMI offers a one year parts and labor warranty for QuNeo Customer must contact KMI to obtain an Return Authorization Number prior to return, and must cover shipment costs for return of unit.

Last updated: Monday Dec 5, 6:59pm EST
Are there any rear face, or other side images, or is the mini-usb connector the only thing to really see besides the front?

There some rubber feet on the back. The micro USB connector is on the side in the same place as the iPad's connector.

Last updated: Thursday Nov 17, 4:44pm EST

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Funding Successful

This project successfully raised its funding goal on January 9.