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"Controller by sound artists, for sound artists"

ark.*~ is suitable for not only DTM/DAW but also
artists who are passionate about electronic music and MaxMSP experimental/algorithmic compositions,
Nomadic live musicians who travel around the world with luggage restrictions...

Domestic and international live performances, festivals, installations, academic scenes, etc...
This is a pocket-sized MIDI controller created based on experience in numerous fields,
for those who seek deeper depth in various situations.

"Go Simple and classic"

The area of ark.*~ is about the same as a slightly larger smartphone.
The concept is portable with everything you need simple and easy without adding anything unnecessary.

Nowadays, gadgets with a wealth of functions are on the market, and even when it comes to music, we can easily use a variety of equipment, as well as presets and samples created by professionals and others.
I think it's a good thing that music has become more familiar, but at the same time, there is a lot of sounds that sounded like copies.
Under such situation, we create products with the idea of `cherishing the joy of creating your own unique instrument and unique sound.'
We believe the more exciting the feeling is the more it comes from yourself rather than something that comes from consuming something.

360° rotary encoder
8 dials are high quality endless rotary encoders.
A click-type encoder is used to provide feedback on accurate value changes during operation.
Unlike volume pot resistors, which are inexpensive, they can be linked to DAW parameters to prevent value jumps, and are useful & free operation in Max etc.

Design
In consideration of reducing environmental impact, we have adopted a stronger steel chassis instead of cheaper plastic or other resin.
Although it is simple to operate, it has a 3-core processor specification that separates processing roles for each part, and a stable and low power consumption specification.

MIDI CH
In addition to easily switching MIDI CH with the UP/DOWN switch, and you can also change the CH of the ark.*~ side remotely from Max etc. (SysEX).
The compact 7-segment display can monitor the currently configured ark.*~ MIDI CH.

Layer switch
ark.*~ only has 8 dials, but it has two layers. so it behaves like 16 dials.
Therefore, you can manipulate a total of (8 Dials × 2 Layers × 16 CH =) 256 parameters.
The switch is LED type, and when the light is off, layer 1 is selected, and when it is on, layer 2 is selected.
And you can also choose from four ark.*~ operation modes (Standard, Math Flex, Switch, Random) and set same or different modes for each layers.
And same as MIDI CH, you can also change layers remotely using SysEx from Max etc as well.

Please check the details in feature. page.

Specifications

Dials EC12 360° click type rotary encoder × 8
( ALPS|Alpine )
Body 1mm steel metal housing
( OHASHI Engineering )
Processor | Controller ・ARM Cortex M0+
・ATmega328P
Connection Type-C
Power BusPower ( 5V )
Power Consumption under 30mA
Dimension W:168 × D:68 × H:37 mm (includes Dial Height)
Weight 347g
Accessories USB Cable

*Detailed specifications may change without notice.

Recommended OS environment
Windows : Windows 10 or later
Mac : Mac OS 10.15 Catalina or later
iPhone | iPad : iOS 14 or later

editor
exe : Windows 10 or later
max patcher : Win | Mac (need to install Cycling74 Max ver.8 or later.)

ark.*~ is designed & programmed by Kouhei Harada (Sound Artist, Turm Design Works CEO).