I’ve backed 1 product some years back and it was only a couple of weeks or so late, but no biggie. It was cheap enough to take the risk for me and the timescale was reasonable.
My thinking towards the way i’m heading with gear can change pretty quickly nowadays. It’s a golden age of desirable products coming thick and fast to market and there’s always potential for anything on a crowdfunding site to lose it’s desirability when a new product hits the stores.
GAS Warning
A next gen SH-101.
Original Target: June 2020
Possible Delivery Date: ?? (It will be months, they are back in the trenches.)
To be fair this is a very ambitious project, involving a lot of mechanical development (which is slower and riskier), and they are pushing envelopes with a compact size, internal batteries, custom made keys, and special materials. Good things are worth the wait. This project would likely never have happened without crowdfunding.
Bi-coastal analog desktop synth, with lots of front panel control, incorporating waveshaping, folding and audio rate modulation for a large range of sounds and textures.
Original Target: November 2020
Possible Delivery Date: Several months out but they do seem to be closing in on things.
This thing looks awesome. It’s good they were already an established hardware maker, but this is a big project for them, probably a difficult thing to do without crowdfunding. I expect the Implexus to be a reasonably successful small company sort of product.
Main Page
Crowdfund organized by Expressive E
Thread
A forty-nine key, MPE and poly-aftertouch keyboard, which uses a conventional keyboard form factor, with extra sensing built in. Also part of this package is the sound engine, the EaganMatrix from Haken Audio, the same engine used in the Continuum.
Original Target: Fall 2020
Possible Delivery Date: April 2021 or so
This has been a very large technical challenge for the Expressive E and Haken teams. EE has been around a while pioneering the Touché family of products. This project crowdfunding campaign was done by Expressive E themselves using a small refundable deposit, instead of a full non-refundable pledge up front, with a very significant discount. It seems likely that Expressive E was then able to gain further investment, or used the orders to obtain a loan. The schedule has slipped, the development started prior to Covid and no doubt that has had an effect. So far Expressive E has really gone the extra distance. I really don’t know if this could have been accomplished without the deposits paid on pre-orders
A multi-function digital monosynth, strong in physical modeling, with a stereo input to additionally do effects.
Original Target: April 2021
Possible Delivery Date: On schedule
Aodyo, has been around for a while; known primarily for there wind controller the Sylphyo. Therefore this is a logical successor product, though with general appeal as well. Aodyo structured their Kickstarter with a series of stretch goals that they put in place along the campaign to spur interest. At the end they just threw in a couple goals that had not been reached, creating a good feeling with those who pledged. They also have maximized their efforts by assisting their development with publicly available open source software parts. Should this cross the line at or close to schedule, it will have been a successful crowdfunding effort.
Six voice, four part multitimbral, digital customizable wavetable and FM, with analog filter, stereo delay and individual outputs.
Original Target: May 2021
Possible Delivery Date: On schedule
Fred’s Lab is experienced with crowdfunded development, they did Buzzzy prior to this, so they know the ropes. They have very carefully planned this, though it still is ambitious. I think this was doable otherwise, but for them crowdfunding this made sense.
A wireless MIDI/OSC controller that fits in you hands with Velocity-Sensitive pads, with a grid and a joystick and color LEDs, that responds to movement and 3D gestures.
Original Target: December 2020
Possible Delivery Date: ?? It shouldn’t be too long unfortunately the recent update is private so i don’t know.
Birdkids first attempt to fund this failed, i think it was they set too aggressive a funding goal. They scaled back, and actually exceeded their original goal. (That’s probably a good thing for others to take note of.) Birdkids as a company has been around for over 8 years, and carefully made this to be a high functioning product at a very reasonable price. That means they need to manufacture and sell in volume, which creates a little extra cost upfront. If they get this out on a reasonable timeframe, and we have a well run crowdfunded.
A MIDI keyboard controller with 96 pads. The ones on the left send chords, the ones on the right play single notes for a selected key and scale. The pads change color depending on the key and scale selected, and there are many possible for this.
Original Target: December 2020
Possible Delivery Date: March for hardware
This is a redo of the first Kickstarter, with smaller changes in electronic hardware and mechanicals to improve manufacture. The main focus of development will be in software, and that probably will not all ship with the release, but lag back further. This was an enormous, perhaps unexpected hit on Kickstarter, raising over a million dollars! Fortunately for the backers of the first release of this, the electronic and mechanical changes are largely invisible, and they too will benefit with all the new software developments.
Irijule clearly intends this to be a continuing product, and they have ambition for making other products as well. Given the enormous demand in the second round, and the smaller size of electronic and mechanical changes, this might have been possible using a slower more incremental development approach to expand the software. This was likely their original plan. But the crowdfunding approach has worked well for them. They now need to work on expanding their sales channels.
A general purpose, configurable multitouch pressure sensing MPE control surface with a grid of color LEDs to display configurable objects. They are building in controller and sequencer functions, and have things open for custom applications. Dimensions 15” (404 mm) x 9.6” (244 mm).
Original Target: February 2021
Possible Delivery Date: On time
There is a fair amount of pioneering risky sorts of parts to this. It’s more challenging than it might appear on a variety of fronts. Should they hold to schedule, it will definitely be job well done. I see the further software development, being done to make this project even more compelling.
Sixty-one key isomorphic keyboard, based on a rotated rectangular layout, with dimensional sensitivity in each key, and movement sensing in the base for extra expression. Small size and wood enclosure.
Original Target: December 2020
Possible Delivery Date: Soon, maybe a month or two.
They are taking pre-orders now too.
Once you get by the sensing grid electro/mechanical part of this, and i guess a CNC wood working part, this is a fairly reasonable project. The software side has been enhanced with various tuned equal temperament options and other things. Seems a good fit for crowdfunding, if they complete this project soon as promised.
Thirty nine key, isomorphic, based on a hexagonal layout, MPE output, with every “key” a mini game style joystick.
Original Target: December 2020
Possible Delivery Date: February 2021
They have now shipped.
They are now taking preorders.
Joyst kept this pretty tightly scoped, they started with an original idea, and did the upfront work, before launch. There is similarity to the Striso, except Joyst started with a prebuilt joystick component, rather than homebrewing a silicone button system, which cuts development risk, and likely will give better feel. Like Striso, they also offered a wooden version. I think this has been a fairly successful and reasonable crowdfund project.
An all in one giant MIDI router, able to mix DIN, USB (including as host), and 3.5mm TRS connectors, with a quick and easy routing interface, and some built-in MIDI processing.
Original Target: February 2020
Possible Delivery Date: Months out but they are closing in on a date.
They are now taking discounted general purchase pre-orders, and give delivery on this as 03/2021, although call me skeptical of this.
Awesome and super useful product of course. This is the second go round at Kickstarting for Conductive Labs, they did the quite popular NDLR, so they ought to know the ropes. This project exceeded their expectations in difficulty. It would have been quite a challenge without crowdfunding, though perhaps possible using a slower more incremental development approach, i’m not sure.
A sequencer, with Euclidean rhythm entry, a melody and harmony generator, an arpeggiator, randomizer, with performable controls, and MIDI effects. All this without a graphic/text/numeric display !
Original Target: December 2020
Possible Delivery Date: March 2021
They had the pieces for this well in hand before doing the Kickstarter. If they bring this in at their new projected date, I’d call it a well run crowdfunding effort.
A live sampler that allows you to slice and dice, loop and reorder your audio.
Original Target: November 2020
Possible Delivery Date: ?? It should be soon, unfortunately the last update is private.
They are taking preorders at this time.
They have been at this project a long time. They seemed to have planned it out well before taking it to crowdfunding. There is some supply issues, perhaps related to Covid. They bring this in soon, and this was a good candidate for crowdfunding to cover upfront costs.
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I haven’t double checked every link so if there is an issue please PM me.
Likewise for active, incomplete projects that i missed, i‘ll try to add those.
Some of the commentary here is my opinion only. You know otherwise, please post, i’d be interested to hear.
I have some sense i am missing a sequencer or two, but can’t think of them off-hand.
Not sure of your criteria but you may want to consider including the Oxi One sequencer (there’s a thread on here). Development is far along but not in crowd funding yet.
Thanks for that. Perhaps it was the Oxi One stuck in my head.
I’ve really tried to hold the list to projects that are funded but not delivered.
So i looked at nanoloop, but I think it just shipped.
And there is EYESY but I can’t tell, the last two updates are private, which seems to me contrary to the developers interest. I’m guessing EYESY, is in process of shipping, or damn close to it, thus done.
I also found projects that fail to get funding, and while that’s interesting, i left them out.
And there was also projects that were just not interesting, like another overpriced slider to MIDI controller. Ho Hum.
The Oxi One is excellent, everyone get ready to pledge, but it is still unfunded, and we don’t know for sure that it will ever be. (The birdkids offGrid, fail first time through after all.)
Hope this little list helps people, i know i learned a lot preparing it.
ADDED: Another product that just shipped is the Artiphon Orba.
So that makes close to 20 products that are now in process or very recently shipped. Are you involved in any of these ? I surprised myself realizing i’m involved in four of them, and really like a few more too !
ADDED: Here’s another one that is just completing.
Main Page
Kickstarter
No Thread Yet
Digital multi effects pedal, allowing you to configure multiple plugins together. Might be considered a more conventional Zola, with computer based configuration.
Original Target: December 2020
Possible Delivery Date: They are shipping beta test units, full production is imminent.
They are now taking preorders.
So close to target release, it’s hard to call them late. MOD Devices had previously funded their Duo multi effects pedal, a larger version of this project. There is also a Duo X version too. They are promising a new plugin every month for this.
I’d call it a success, perhaps they won’t have to crowdfund the next one.
And the ROLI LUMI.
Thanks for that PofM ! Yeah that’s a big one that i missed. Were you a funder ?
Pipes from Synesthesia takes the prize for the length of delay.
Originally promised for October/November 2019, and it looks like it was funded in February 2019. Two years now.
Their January 2021 update is labeled HOME STRETCH so it’s got to be getting close. (Maybe.) The updates are private so it’s not clear what the holdups all were. They have done regular detailed updates, 31 of them so far, so that’s good.
Something to watch for when this actually ships.
Anyone here one of the 311 funders ?
No. I was interested, but I already have too much gear that I don’t use. I decided I should spend my time using the octatrack instead of GASsing for the next thing.
If it lives up to the promises then it will be very interesting.
I’m never gonna fund another Kickstarter project again.
Kickstarter should be sued and/or taken down because they clearly just sit back while loads of projects are stared with lies and fabrications.
Terrible platform run by greedy scum making money of people that are getting ripped of. 
#FUNDERSDOMATTER #KICKSTARTERMARKETINGBS
Don’t their T&Cs state exactly that ? That it’s totally up to you if you trust the project ?
This is also how I see it.
It’s always a gamble, but you can try and make sure you only take short odds bets - depending on who it is and what they are promising. If you don’t want to gamble, you’re probably better off waiting for a commercial release…and even then, you might still be better off…but of course the product may never come to market or may only be built in small batches. Ours is certainly a niche.
I’m not intending to back anything in future, but everything I have backed so far has come through - all late, some much much later than others.
I see Kickstarter as facilitating these projects by operating a platform but nothing else, so from that perspective, less Kickstarter marketing and more project owner marketing (and in some cases BS)
It doesn’t matter what they write in there. Any lawyer would crush that in a heartbeat.
Every company is obligated to protect their costumers from scams on their own platforms.
That is correct. But Kickstarter isn’t the company you’re funding. They are only the intermediary. It’s the company that’s starts the Kickstarter project.
I think they’d have been sued many times over by this point.
I’d only ever support one tho has successful past projects or an actual company that’s doing a Kickstarter as a kind of market research to see if a product is viable.
But I just prefer to avoid that shit altogether. If the project ends up going commercial, then I’m willing to pay a couple extra bucks to get something that werks.
Otherwise… 
Thanks for the list - there is also the Abstrakt VS-1 that’s currently in (delayed) development after being funded.
Don’t go for companies without a product. Back established companies with product experience and things get much less sus.
Gotta treat it like any other investment. Only back the ones with a solid plan and apparent ability to pull it off while accepting that there will always some level of risk.
Definitely, there’s experienced engineers + product designers, a degree of novelty/nobody has tried this before, and general support for the idea. You also need to have patience to wait.
The ratio of delay you can expect over suggested release date is definitely contingent on how many products they’ve done in the past or have out right now. Even experienced developers and engineers need multiple income streams.
I preordered a Wond2/EMPick from Paul Vo (developer of the Moog guitar) and have been waiting since I don’t know how long, 4 years? Single developer needing to pay the mortgage while scrapping and redesigning prototypes, Covid, parts going EOL or a more improved platform coming out giving better dev tools, less reliance on low level assembly… so many different factors.
If you want to support unique ideas and one-person operations, it’s a risk the… speculative gearhead has to take.
Yes. I got in on the ‘founders edition’ early bird thing.
Updates have been reasonable, and they are pretty responsive to comments on KS, though the one thing they don’t seem to be doing was taking a lot of input/suggestions from backers, which was something they always said was an important part of the campaign… I think we’ll be beta testing for a while when it finally shipped…
However, they are just about ready to ship, with loads of photos of the final stages of assembly/test and completed units ready to pack so confidence it reasonably high that they will indeed start shipping soon.
Hello Backers,
Cheers to a 2021 filled with music and all things good.
PIPES is coming!Our promise is to begin shipping in Q1, and we are on schedule.
Assembly is in full process and things are running smoothly. Over the next few weeks we will start to receive 300+ fully assembled units back at the lab ready for testing, packaging, and shipping. To be sure everyone gets a perfect unit we will fully test each one prior to packing.
Please be on the lookout relatively soon for an email through Kickstarter asking for an accurate shipping address. As per the rules of Kickstarter we will not share your shipping information for any purpose other than delivery of your PIPES unit.
As always, Thank you all for your support.
Vince and Luke
Dammit … saw the sloping cases in the first pic and thought this was the Anyma Phi 
That one is going really well, they’re close to on schedule, and they continue to add exciting new features to the product.
I just posted about it in its thread.
So Synesthesia Pipes backers, how did it turn out? I see a couple have already made it onto the for sale forum. But online reviews and reactions to the thing (or indeed videos of it in action) don’t seem to have turned up yet. Worth the wait?
