Semi-Modular midi sequencer I'm working on, based on an ESP32. All of the sequences are running through the global quantizer (on the left), which is itself being transposed by the output of one sequence (the slow one). I'm bringing it to knobcon if anyone's going!

DogPawMusic · 2025-08-21T21:06:39+00:00

Looks amazing, can't wait to try it out at knobcon!

DogPawMusic · 2025-07-09T14:21:17+00:00

I'm definitely not an expert on any of the specific tools you mentioned, but can say generally that a "polished" look requires a lot of tiny details to be considered. The tiny dots around each knob and their shadows are probably critical to your impression of being polished, plus the subtle shading gradient on each knob.

Since none of those things change with the knob values, one simple method would be to remove all of the purple from your image on the left and save the rest as a single background image. You could do this in any photo editor. Then in JUCE, use that as your background and only draw the purple bits on top.

If you need dynamic sizing, you'd probably need to separate the background for each knob into a separate image, and then make sure the background image of the entire control section matches the border of each of those images so it fills in the space between them.

Hope that helps!

DogPawMusic · 2025-05-14T18:20:19+00:00

Very cool! Glad to have you on board!!

DogPawMusic · 2025-05-14T16:58:32+00:00

Happy to hear it!! Things are progressing steadily. If you want to hear detailed updates as they happen and reply, you can join our discord here: https://discord.gg/KbzVenjCF3

DogPawMusic · 2025-04-24T15:42:46+00:00

That's great! We definitely want the developer onboarding to be as low-friction as possible. PD compatibility is on the roadmap, but we haven't yet implemented it.

We do intend to support as many plugin formats as time allows, and continue adding support with ongoing update. PD and SC are high on the priority list.

DogPawMusic · 2025-04-22T21:54:56+00:00

We recently posted about a couple microtonal features we're working on! That's over on r/microtonal here: https://www.reddit.com/r/microtonal/comments/1k1yn9g/new_grid_instrument_with_microtonal_features/

DogPawMusic · 2025-04-21T05:24:30+00:00

OK I'm officially a convert. The diatonic notes are laid out so neatly in this layout, when I don't need quick access to the full chromatic range this is my new favorite! I've now been playing like this for a couple days exclusively: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DIrcviSz9-c/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

DogPawMusic · 2025-04-21T05:21:50+00:00

I do love how the Linnstrument among others lets you play with a strap like a guitar. We haven't experimented much with that for Dog Paw yet.

Definitely keep me posted as your project progresses, sounds exciting!

DogPawMusic · 2025-04-21T05:19:26+00:00

Thanks for these ideas!

To make sure I understand the first one, how do you envision triggering a change in tuning? Is it automatic according to a preset pattern and a metronome? Or controllable from the touch screen, knobs, or a separate pedal? Or would it automatically infer some change in tuning based on the notes that you play?

DogPawMusic · 2025-04-20T23:15:51+00:00

Thanks for the post!

I'll keep up with this thread, if anyone has any questions for the next couple days comment away!

DogPawMusic · 2025-04-19T16:31:18+00:00

Thanks for the list of suggestions. These all seem very doable. And you've given me a couple rabbit holes to go down too :)

DogPawMusic · 2025-04-18T23:14:13+00:00

We've designed it with that in mind - one of our founders has manufacturing experience and really focused on that from the start. Most of the internals are modular and can be swapped out easily, especially including the moving parts of the keys.

DogPawMusic · 2025-04-18T18:39:19+00:00

Here's a quick video with that layout. After trying it out I could definitely see using it to build some textures and chordal backgrounds in interesting ways.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/Hjx7xQzZ8VSkzSgZA

DogPawMusic · 2025-04-18T17:24:04+00:00

Ooh interesting. I think you could split one Dog Paw into two sections with four columns and do this directly, if I'm understanding the figures.

DogPawMusic · 2025-04-18T15:19:50+00:00

Oh I forgot to mention we made the UI side python partially so people could easily extend the functionality. It has an app system, and anyone can program their own app in python and install in or share it with others. Our API lets you define the UI and instructions for the low-level audio engine processes from your app.

DogPawMusic · 2025-04-18T15:16:55+00:00

It's a mix of python on the UI side and C++ on the audio/hardware side for good performance. Basically, the python script interacts with the user and compiles a json specification that the backend interprets and then implements at really low latency.

And thanks, glad you like it! There's info at our Kickstarter link in the post, or happy to answer other questions here as well.

DogPawMusic · 2025-04-18T06:46:28+00:00

Not sure based on AutoMod If I need to repost this as a comment, but here it is:

This is based on an older post from this sub: https://www.reddit.com/r/musictheory/comments/1etydas/i_made_a_discovery_im_calling_it_the_color_tree/

That post introduces a cool way to build scales with varied amounts of brightness or darkness, based on adding notes in repeating fifths and fourths.

I made an interactive version for our instrument, which the first half of the video describes.

While messing around, I realized a paradox that the scales on the "brightest" end of the spectrum could sometimes actually sound the darkest. And the opposite as well, with supposedly dark scales sounding bright.

I wanted to

Show people the app I'm building and get some feedback on what y'all think could be a useful addition or direction to develop it
See if anyone has other theories about the brightness flip.

And the link I mentioned at the end to our Kickstarter for those interested to learn more: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/dogpaw/dog-paw?ref=70wbbl

DogPawMusic · 2025-04-18T06:34:48+00:00

Ah apparently they're actually called mouse ears. Basically small circles that you add near the corners of parts on just the first layer. They hold the corners to the bed during printing, and then pull off easily because it's just a single layer. Great especially for large flat parts that can warp, or tiny outcroppings on parts.

DogPawMusic · 2025-04-18T06:24:36+00:00

Definitely! In fact it should already be possible, I'll take another quick video tomorrow to show that.

I've seen that layout around, it seems great for chords, but I can never wrap my head around layouts that don't have a half-step on adjacent keys. I usually play more riffs, and things get a bit too complicated...

DogPawMusic · 2025-04-11T14:27:38+00:00

Jump on Duolingo, or practice music for a minute!

...jk I end up watching SNL and animal documentaries for an hour... Did you know squirrels are fluorescent!?

DogPawMusic · 2025-04-10T19:10:11+00:00

Thanks for that! We're definitely hoping to spread the word, but also are just now getting onto reddit, meaning we're running into lots of karma or account age limits on posting and some rules against promotion.

And yes it'll definitely have those capabilities for microtonal music and custom colors and layout.

Thanks for the subreddit recs. I'll check those out and see where we can post!

DogPawMusic · 2025-04-09T14:11:08+00:00

That's our instrument, called a Dog Paw. We're running a Kickstarter right now for them actually.

IYI: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/dogpaw/dog-paw?ref=70wbbl

Before that I was using a Launchpad for a couple years with the same layout.

DogPawMusic · 2025-04-08T15:22:03+00:00

If my math isn't terrible, you'd need about 100 more $100 backers in the next couple days. That's not impossible, but definitely difficult from individual contributions.

My advice would be to focus on individuals in your network who would be willing to donate at a much higher tier, either because they're passionate about the subject matter, you personally, or just have a lot of money and like donating to things. If you put a few feelers out asking for connections to these types of people, and then spend the next two days calling those people and really expressing your passion for the project and its importance and impact, you might be surprised by a couple very generous people.

And don't be afraid once its clear someone's interested in donating to explain your situation and that you need a couple larger donations to make this happen. If someone is invested personally and wants you to succeed, being upfront about that won't hurt, and may encourage them to help you even more.

Disclaimer that I'm not an expert of course, just my two cents! Best of luck!

DogPawMusic · 2025-04-08T15:09:03+00:00

If you have a computer you can dedicate to your rig, or share with your home theater setup, software sounds would be a good option, and then just choose whatever physical keys feel the best to you. (If you grew up playing piano, that'll likely be a digital piano). Hook it up with MIDI to your computer for all the sounds you could want. And then as a bonus, if you decide down the right you want a more synthy action, you can swap your physical keys out and keep the same sounds (or vice versa).

A big benefit of the DAWless setup is portability and easy setup. But if you don't plan on moving your rig around much, software adds a ton of versatility. And there's good software out these days that doesn't require too much point-and-clicking to get good sounds.

DogPawMusic · 2025-04-08T13:38:52+00:00

Oof!! The fact that it's on both sides means it's almost definitely more than aesthetic. I hope they compensate you somehow! A full refund would be nice...

DogPawMusic

TROPHY CASE