Napkey Instruments NapKey Chord

Napkey Instruments - NapkeyChord

The NapkeyChord is an innovative musical instrument that breaks traditional boundaries and expands creative possibilities for musicians of all levels.

www.napkey-instruments.com

Napkey Chord is een draagbaar (29,9 x 15,7 x 2,8 cm) hardware-akkoordinstrument, geïnspireerd op de klassieke Autoharp. Het is zowel een standalone synthesizer als een MIDI-controller.Het beschikt over 36 speciaal gemaakte akkoordknoppen, waarmee je tot wel 108 akkoordcombinaties binnen handbereik hebt. Het biedt 36 majeur-, mineur- en septiemakkoorden.Zoals gezegd kun je met maximaal 108 akkoorden werken, waaronder 24 majeur-7- en mineur-7-akkoorden, 24 augmented en decreased-akkoorden, en 24 sus4- en add9-akkoorden. Een akkoordomkeringfunctie biedt meer opties. Naast de knoppen heeft het ook een strumplate.Drie speelmodi om te verkennen. Met de strum-modus kun je akkoorden tokkelen zoals op een gitaar. De akkoordmodus houdt je noten aan terwijl je eroverheen kunt tokkelen, en de speelmodus activeert de akkoorden zonder ze aan te houden.
De akkoorden kunnen op twee manieren worden uitgevoerd: via USB-C MIDI of TRS MIDI-uitgang. Je kunt ook de ingebouwde 20-stemmige polyfone synthesizer gebruiken. Deze synthesizer is zeer beperkt in functionaliteit en geeft je controle over de golfvorm met naadloze overgangen van sinus- naar zaagtandgolven, envelopverval en volume. De Napkey Chord van Napkey Instruments wordt gevoed via de bus en heeft geen extra voeding nodig wanneer hij als MIDI-controller op een computer of tablet wordt gebruikt. Verder heeft hij een ingebouwde luidspreker. Wat betreft connectiviteit beschikt hij over een MIDI TRS Type A 3,5mm-aansluiting, een USB-C-aansluiting (die MIDI en stroom ondersteunt) en een stereo 3,5mm-audio-uitgang.
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De NapKey Chord van Napkey Instruments is nu beschikbaar voor pre-order op Indiegogo tot medio juni voor € 349 (zwart) en € 399 (transparante ghost-editie, gelimiteerd tot 500 stuks). De officiële prijs is nog niet bekend, maar Ben, de ontwikkelaar, schat dat deze € 379 (zwart) en € 479 (ghost) zal bedragen. De Kickstarter-pre-orders worden begin juni 2025 verzonden. Daarna opent de officiële website met de mogelijkheid om de Chord rechtstreeks bij de ontwikkelaars te bestellen. Napkey Chord wordt gemaakt in Frankrijk.

 

[vinnieq]

Voor in je tiny house. Waarom doen mensen dit zich aan?

 

[OORzaak]

Benjamin Cholet, founder of Napkey Instruments and the creator of the NapKey Chord, has passed away. RIP Benjam

 

[Void Pointer]

Wtf! Rip

I’m shocked. Benjamin Cholet, musician of the band Napkey and founder of Napkey Instruments, has passed away. According to the information I have, he died of an apartment fire in Paris last week—my heartfelt condolences to his family and friends.

At Synthfest France, he showed me the new Napykey Chord, which was just before its market launch. What will happen next with Napkey is unclear. RIP Benjamin.

Napkey Instruments NapKey Chord creator Benjamin Cholet has passed away - SYNTH ANATOMY

SynthFest France 2025/Superbooth 2025: Napkey Instruments NapKey Chord is a modern Autoharp Synthesizer and MIDI controller.

synthanatomy.com

 

[Nap]

Gaan mijn royalties…

 

[Void Pointer]

Gaan mijn royalties…

Waar zit de 'duimpje omlaag' knop? Sjeez...

 

[Void Pointer]

Press release:

Le NapkeyChord est né d’un rêve, celui du projet Napkey. Un duo que je formais avec Benjamin, qui est parti rejoindre les étoiles.
Ensemble, nous vous embarquions dans un univers électro-onirique. Notre musique, façonnée au fil du temps avec les sonorités du NapkeyChord, portait la volonté de Benjamin : la faire voyager et partager au plus grand nombre.
Son rêve de voir le NapkeyChord dans tous les studios et les salons était en train de devenir réalité.
Et nous comptons bien faire perdurer cet élan : comme Benjamin l’aurait voulu, nous poursuivons ce projet qui anime nos jours et nos nuits.
L’équipe est soudée, résolue, et portée par votre soutien. C’est pourquoi nous serons présents au SuperBooth de Berlin pour vous dévoiler notre produit abouti, le fruit de longs mois de travail, enrichi par les échanges avec des musiciens venus des quatre coins de la planète.
À Berlin, nous rendrons hommage à l’engagement de son créateur en vous présentant cet instrument unique : le NapkeyChord.

Rendez-vous le 08/05 à 10h00 au SuperBooth.

Justine

Google Translate:

The NapkeyChord was born from a dream—the dream of the Napkey project.
A duo I formed with Benjamin, who has now gone to join the stars.
Together, we took you on a journey through an electro-dreamlike universe.
Our music, shaped over time with the sounds of the NapkeyChord, carried Benjamin’s desire: to share it with as many people as possible, to make it travel.
His dream of seeing the NapkeyChord in every studio and living room was on the verge of becoming reality.
And we fully intend to keep that momentum alive: just as Benjamin would have wanted, we are continuing this project that fills our days and nights.
The team is united, determined, and driven by your support.
That’s why we’ll be present at SuperBooth in Berlin to unveil our finished product—the result of many months of work, enriched by exchanges with musicians from all around the world.
In Berlin, we will pay tribute to the dedication of its creator by presenting you with this unique instrument: the NapkeyChord.

 

[MPU-401AT]

Het NapkeyChord is geboren uit een droom - de droom van het Napkey-project.
Een duo dat ik vormde met Benjamin, die nu naar de sterren is gegaan.
Samen namen we je mee op een reis door een elektrodroomachtig universum.
Onze muziek, in de loop der tijd gevormd met de klanken van het NapkeyChord,
droeg Benjamins verlangen in zich: om het met zoveel mogelijk mensen te delen, om het te laten reizen.
Zijn droom om het NapkeyChord in elke studio en huiskamer te zien, stond op het punt werkelijkheid te worden.
En we zijn volledig van plan om dat momentum levend te houden: precies zoals Benjamin gewild zou hebben,
gaan we door met dit project dat onze dagen en nachten vult.
Het team is verenigd, vastberaden en gedreven door jullie steun.
Daarom zullen we aanwezig zijn op SuperBooth in Berlijn om ons eindproduct te onthullen - het resultaat van vele maanden werk,
verrijkt door uitwisselingen met muzikanten van over de hele wereld.
In Berlijn zullen we hulde brengen aan de toewijding van de maker door je dit unieke instrument te presenteren: de NapkeyChord.


Vertaald met DeepL.com (gratis versie)

 

[Void Pointer]

Kickstarter update:

Dear members of the NapkeyChord family,

Thank you for being with us since the beginning of this adventure. Your unwavering support allows us to stay the course despite the events of the past few weeks.

As you may know, Benjamin, the founder of the project, passed away following a tragic accident. His dream of seeing the NapkeyChord in everyone's hands lives on, and we fully intend to carry it forward.

The work is difficult because we are grieving, but we cannot stop here. The instrument is complete, and thanks to the support of our first backers, we are making Benjamin's dream a reality.

Thanks to you, we’ve reached the number of preorders we can fulfil, so the IndieGogo campaign will be closing tonight, May 15th, at midnight GMT+1. This means we’re officially entering the next phase!

Production

Regarding delivery of the first 300 units, we are in the process of ordering components, which will allow us to move to the assembly and delivery stage with our partners. We’ve already received 1100 usb cables, which connect the processor to the main PCB, and are awaiting the shipment of microcontrollers.

• In terms of delays, we will soon receive the 5 classic and 5 ghost sample units that we expected at the beginning of May, and we’ll be able to make the final adjustments before production.
• We are still hoping to ship all units by the end of June, but given the current situation, there is always a chance that it will take longer.
• Thanks to our backers who have already filled out the shipping survey ! If you have not already done so, please submit your current postal address, so we can estimate the cost of shipping to collect, and the cost of taxes (at your charge) if you're outside the EU.

New features

We were able to implement two new features that Ben was working on and was eager to show you:

• An arpeggiator! This addition is a perfect fit for the NapkeyChord, and lets you effortlessly modulate through rippling chords in a way you’ve never experienced. This makes for a total of four playable modes: Strum, Chords, Play & Arpeggiator.
• Furthermore, we added the ability to play an additional 12 chords (sus2), making for a total of 120 chords.

Speaker

We also have news about the speaker: it no longer crackles! After numerous tests, trying different speakers and amplifier circuits, the problem was finally solved by slightly modifying the shape of the sine wave.

Trade shows

At the beginning of April, we presented the NapkeyChord at Soundfest in Nantes with Benjamin, where it was warmly received. We knew we couldn’t miss Superbooth in Berlin in early May, even if it was hard to go without him.

The rest of the team gathered their forces to present the Napkeychord and its updates. We are proud of the enthusiasm it generates, the smiles it brings to its players, and hope that the good contacts we made with distributors will lead to something!

You can see a presentation of our stand in Berlin (and the new arpeggiator!) in this video by les Sondiers (video in French):


Thank you for supporting us and helping to make our dream come true.

The NapkeyChord team

 

[Void Pointer]

Kickstarter update #9:

Hi everyone,

As you probably know, the last months have been difficult as we grieve the loss of the NapkeyChord’s creator, our friend, colleague and husband Ben.

We are resolutely determined to see the NapkeyChord to completion, but production has been slowed by legal processes, issues with the production samples, and now the summer holidays, which are taken very seriously in France.

We are still working resolutely to make sure the best version of the NapkeyChord makes its way to your homes.

Here is what’s new from the last month and a half:

New Casings​

The ten production units we spoke of in the last newsletter have arrived. Up until now, all videos or pictures of the NapkeyChord have been of 3d printed prototypes. These casings are the first injection-moulded units from our partner near Lyon, France.

They are strong, light, have cleaner edges, and are much higher quality than what could be done with 3d printing. This comes after months of iterative refinement, and is a major step we have been looking forward to for a long time!

That said, nothing in mass production is ever as simple as it seems.

The production samples feel great, but the keycaps for the chord buttons, which are also injection moulded by our partner, do not have quite the same fit as the 3d printed ones. We’re talking sub-millimeter differences, that nonetheless mean that some of the new keycaps don’t want to stay put and jump off the NapkeyChord!

https://youtube.com/shorts/yB4h-qvirNY?feature=share
We also noticed that when the PCB is installed, the support presses a little too hard and causes the case to bow. Luckily this falls on the side of overengineering, and we are pretty confident this will be easy to fix.

We’re working with our partner to ensure the NapkeyChords we ship to you will be flawless.

Packaging​

This month we reached out to our packaging partner for a cost breakdown of the display box and packaging materials. We want to avoid wasting ink and plastic, so we are exploring the most eco-friendly options available, prioritizing raw cardboard and minimal printing.

We’re debating between two packaging styles: a box with a tuck-in flap to keep it securely closed, or an open box with a sleeve. When we have more details from our partner, we would love to hear your thoughts in a survey. Stay tuned!

Parts​

We are still unable to order parts because of ongoing legal processes, so for the time being we are receptioning the parts that were already ordered.

Fedex have decided to give our microcontrollers several trips back and forth across the Atlantic. After being unable to deliver them in France, the shipment was sent back to the distributor in Colorado, where the delivery… failed again, and is now on its way back to France! We hope to receive them in a few weeks.

Shipping Surveys​

Thank you to everyone who has filled out their shipping survey. If for some reason you did not receive one, please send us a DM with your shipping address.

Thank you all for your continued support!

The NapkeyChord Team