Kickstarter

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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!

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.