What is Kickstarter? We’re the world's largest funding platform for creative projects. Learn more!

  • Don't want to forget? Click the star to add this project to your profile.

Me-spain.thumb

Fred Owsley (Cambridge, MA)

Fred Owsley is backing 12 other projects.
Missing_thumb

Jeffrey Yim

Jeffrey Yim is backing 5 other projects.
Missing_thumb

Ashkan Foroughi

Ashkan Foroughi is backing 8 other projects.
Thumbnail.thumb

Anthony V (Minneapolis, MN)

Anthony V is backing 79 other projects.
Fb_profile_picture.thumb

Manlio Armando Lo Conte (Fremont, CA)

Manlio Armando Lo Conte is backing 12 other projects.
Missing_thumb

rlg67 (New York, NY)

rlg67 is backing 4 other projects.
70772_764159633_1660842_n.thumb

Michael Kellner

Michael Kellner is backing 35 other projects.
Rose_140x140.thumb

Rose Vines (New Orleans, LA)

Rose Vines is backing 34 other projects.
Profile.thumb

Dickie Lo (Central, Hong Kong)

Dickie Lo is backing 37 other projects.
Missing_thumb

Martin Roth

Martin Roth is backing 4 other projects.
Mike_kk.thumb

Mike Prasad (Los Angeles, CA)

Mike Prasad is backing 283 other projects.
Missing_thumb

Daniel jacques Pikus

Daniel jacques Pikus is backing 2 other projects.
Fb_profile_picture.thumb

Michael David Johas Teener (Santa Cruz, CA)

Michael David Johas Teener is backing 53 other projects.
Shanks-0071.thumb

Ryan Shanks (Longmeadow, MA)

Ryan Shanks is backing 1 other project.
Missing_thumb

Nigel Brady

Nigel Brady is backing 4 other projects.
Missing_thumb

joe vitale

joe vitale is backing 5 other projects.
Missing_thumb

Randy Murbach (Washington, DC)

Randy Murbach is backing 1 other project.
Missing_thumb

Laura Wasserman

Laura Wasserman is backing 1 other project.
Missing_thumb

Godwin Ko

Godwin Ko is backing 5 other projects.
Avatarletter220.thumb

Gwenaël Jacquet (Limoges, France)

Gwenaël Jacquet is backing 1039 other projects.
Eyes.thumb

Adam Mishon (San Francisco, CA)

Adam Mishon is backing 62 other projects.
Fb_profile_picture.thumb

Jihoon Jeong

Jihoon Jeong is backing 4 other projects.
Missing_thumb

Andrew

Andrew is backing 10 other projects.
Missing_thumb

charles gillespie

charles gillespie is backing 6 other projects.
Missing_thumb

Eduardo F

Eduardo F is backing 20 other projects.
Fb_profile_picture.thumb

Adam M Zendel (Calgary, Canada)

Adam M Zendel is backing 1 other project.
Img_1006.thumb

Josh Kugler (Martin, TN)

Josh Kugler is backing 21 other projects.
Missing_thumb

Mike McGary

Mike McGary is backing 8 other projects.
Fb_profile_picture.thumb

L.W. Brown (Bellingham, WA)

L.W. Brown is backing 41 other projects.
Missing_thumb

Ramdas Narayanan (Doha, Qatar)

Ramdas Narayanan is backing 10 other projects.
Fb_profile_picture.thumb

gerald berke (Kingston, NY)

gerald berke is backing 14 other projects.
Missing_thumb

Jon Scordia (Glasgow, United Kingdom)

Jon Scordia is backing 26 other projects.
Cutlerme.thumb

Dave Cutler (Redding, CT)

Dave Cutler is backing 3 other projects.
Img_1277.thumb

Kenneth Wieschhoff (Atlanta, GA)

Kenneth Wieschhoff is backing 17 other projects.
Fb_profile_picture.thumb

Samantha Rose

Samantha Rose is backing 4 other projects.
Wbavw.thumb

William Bullock (Sydney, Australia)

William Bullock is backing 37 other projects.
Missing_thumb

John Neely (Logan, UT)

John Neely is backing 9 other projects.
Brenner.thumb

Mike Brenner (Milwaukee, WI)

Mike Brenner is backing 74 other projects.
Missing_thumb

Steven Mueller

Steven Mueller is backing 18 other projects.
Fb_profile_picture.thumb

Michael Galluzzo (Melbourne Beach, FL)

Michael Galluzzo is backing 75 other projects.
Missing_thumb

Mitchell Geller

Mitchell Geller is backing 5 other projects.
Missing_thumb

David Fraser (London, United Kingdom)

David Fraser is backing 13 other projects.
Missing_thumb

JayH

JayH is backing 5 other projects.
Missing_thumb

gary sarff

gary sarff is backing 2 other projects.
Missing_thumb

Stephen Pien (Poughkeepsie, NY)

Stephen Pien is backing 180 other projects.
Missing_thumb

Trevor G (New York, NY)

Trevor G is backing 34 other projects.
Missing_thumb

reisetter (Minneapolis, MN)

reisetter is backing 9 other projects.
Missing_thumb

Mark Hill

Mark Hill is backing 24 other projects.
914-6.thumb

marc buccheri (Newport Beach, CA)

marc buccheri is backing 44 other projects.
101
Backers
$18,241
pledged of $50,000 goal
0
seconds to go

Funding Unsuccessful

This project reached the deadline without achieving its funding goal on December 6.

Pledge $1 or more Pledge $1 or more

13 Backers

We will love you forever. Seriously, FOREVER. All you have to do is give us money... sweet deal, huh?

Estimated Delivery: Jan 2012

Pledge $10 or more Pledge $10 or more

2 Backers

First and foremost will we love you forever, that goes without saying but it's worth saying anyway. So far no one was interested in one of our awesome Starr Labs posters featuring original artwork. Everyone has enough posters even though this one is a layout of our hot part-time bookeeper holding a ztar and little else. Very artistic. I had a cool idea to take all of your names and work them into a special piece of awesome art that we can post on the website for making this dream a reality, and... we would happily receive concepts from visionary artists reading this with the winner having their art posted and their name listed and linked if they so wish! Ok, forget that. Not interesting. Instead, I will send to you one of our touch-sensitive drum sensors, a 1" round pressure-sensitive membrane switch that you can connect to your own MIDI circuit creation. I will include the schematic for the part, lest there be any confustion regarding the connections. Ok, forget that. No one wants a responsive sensor for their project that would cost $20 somewhere else. Rather than offering plans for an anti-gravity machine, a solar-powered brewery, or an herbal extract that eliminates tooth decay, instead I'd like to offer our thanks for your helping to bring something musical to the world.

Estimated Delivery: Jan 2012

Pledge $100 or more Pledge $100 or more

4 Backers

At this level we can offer a smaller version of the iTar. The fingerboard is just 6 frets, about 6 inches long! The ultimate in portability, the little neck un-docks and fits easily in a backpack or laptop case. Our BOM says that this should cost $149 at retail, but we can Kickstart this at $100.

Estimated Delivery: Mar 2012

Pledge $200 or more Pledge $200 or more

76 Backers

For a mere 200 bucks you'll get a first-run edition of the iTar. Imagine, your very own MIDI controller/ fingerboard that transforms your iPad into a truly amazing instrument. Yes, we will also love you forever and send you the above gifts as well.

Estimated Delivery: Mar 2012

Pledge $500 or more Pledge $500 or more

4 Backers

At this level we add a pressure sensing strip on the neck and a MIDI wireless transmitter system for a complete professional performance rig.

Estimated Delivery: Mar 2012

Pledge $1,200 or more Pledge $1,200 or more

0 Backers

Rather than a custom paint job I think you're more interested in some new technology. We have developed a high-end version of our fingerboard with an RGB LED under each key. The command interface is MIDI so it's easy to use. In order to run it from the iPad we need to add a separate power supply. We're thinking of adding some high-quality speakers to the power supply module to enhance the audio output. Comments welcome. Apps in the iPad will be able to light the LEDs to create educational software, games, or awesome lighting effects. The LED fingerboard has been developed already but we will need an extra month to integrate the extra components. You can learn more about this on our website. http://www.starrlabs.com

Estimated Delivery: Mar 2012

Pledge $5,000 or more Pledge $5,000 or more

0 Backers • Limited Reward (20 of 20 remaining)

Music Education Charitable Contribution: The iTar represents a union of a programmable keyboard with a portable graphic interface. On such a small "music machine", the full breadth of musical concepts can be conveyed for relatively little cost. It's known that musical training enhances math skills and organization of complex thought. At this level we offer 40 iTars to seed a pilot school music education program and help create the next generation of innovators. Music education has nearly disappeared from our nation's schools for lack of funds and private individuals who are able to do so, are now making a difference in their communities. The iTar can be re-programmed to emulate other traditional musical instruments. We can't give every child a grand piano but we can provide a little keyboard/fingerboard that's easy for a beginner using a variety of special interactive iPad software. Next, the iTar can be re-programmed to emulate and teach the principles of every other traditional musical instrument which broadens one's understanding of some basic physics (resonating strings, membranes, columns of air). Not lastly, the iTar becomes a tool for creative expression. People who use these instruments now find them to be great for composition. Kids love it usually make some kind of music the first time they put their hands on one!

Estimated Delivery: Mar 2012

Pledge $10,000 or more Pledge $10,000 or more

0 Backers • Limited Reward (5 of 5 remaining)

The Benefactor: If you consider yourself a high-end electronic musician, all of the tools can be at your fingertips in one portable, playable package. Touch surfaces for both hands, strings, pads, pots, breath, d-beam, ableton control, wireless, embedded sounds, USB, MIDI, lighting. You will be one of ONLY five people on the planet to have an iTar and a blown-out Starr Labs Z6-SPX Ztar with LED Ableton-enabled fingerboard with matching custom paint-jobs. Take a look at our gallery and see some of our past creations, built to order. www.starrlabs.com Note: The Ztar is hand built and will take 8-10 weeks after funding before it will be ready.

Estimated Delivery: Apr 2012

Project By

Harvey and the z-xpa pros.large

Harvey Starr

Has not connected their Facebook account.

Harvey Starr is an inventor, musician and electronics engineer operating out of San Diego, California. He holds patents in various fields including three for electronic guitars. Harvey was educated at UCLA (Physics, 1972), ETI (Electronics, 1975), and GIT (Music, 1978). While in school Harvey pursued the dream by playing in various jazz and rock bands and singing in smoky, dimly-lit dives.

Mr. Starr's background in electronics manufacturing began in the early days of microcomputers during the late 1970's in the greater Los Angeles area. He designed, built and supported hardware for optical fiber communications, computer disk drives and printers, AI Lisp Machine minicomputers, Landsat satellite, high speed optical scanners, and motion picture special EFX, among others. Harvey opened a full-service electronics prototyping shop in 1986 to serve the electronics industry of Los Angeles, including a small machine shop for producing mechanical components and enclosures. Over the next few years he added capacity for in-house plastic and rubber molding, casting, silk screening, as well as sensor design and fabrication.

Since 1993 Harvey has been designing, building and selling electronic guitars under the company Starr Labs with the mission of providing guitarists with a high-quality performance instrument for creating music on a familiar guitar-like platform, now known as the Ztar. Along the way there have been numerous instruments and electronic music systems custom built for various applications including multi-rank keyboards, percussion systems, performance suits, custom museum installations, a MIDI harp, breath-based wind controllers and guitar-related effects circuitry.

  1. youtube.com
  2. starrlabs.com