Beatmaker’s sketchbook
Open Source Sample Beat Composer
Beatmaker’s sketchbook
Beatmaker’s sketchbook is an alternative to commercial sample based sequencers/grooveboxes with a big difference – it is 100% Open-Source.
Its core is a Teensy 4.1 microcontroller with 16 MB additional Sample RAM (~3 minutes of samples in memory) and uses a Micro SD-card as permanent storage.
Beatmaker’s sketchbook houses a microphone, a fader, four rotary encoders, 24 keys for two octaves, 12 functional buttons, a display and a via USB rechargeable battery. It can sample through a line-in or the built in microphone, playback via headphones or the line-out connector and communicates with external devices via MIDI.
Latest News
DIY-Workshops in Berlin this summer
Do you want to be the proud owner of your self assembled Beatmaker’s sketchbook? Then join one of our workshops in Berlin! The next dates are:
June 28 or July 5
The workshops will take place in the afternoon and last approximately 4 hours. We will build in groups of four people in our office/workshop. Price is 399 EUR including all materials and you will go home with your self assembled device.
You want to join? Send a mail to heyho@sucofunk.com with your preferred date and your preferred language (german or english) and you will receive further information.
Superbooth 25
Sucofunk is coming to Superbooth, the trade fair for electronic musical instruments on May 08 – 10 in Berlin.
Come over to booth Z325, play with a beatmaker’s sketchbook and have a chat with the maker.
Features
Straight forward: Sample, sketch your ideas, arrange a song and perform it live.
1. Sample
- Sample via line-in, the built in microphone, re-sample or combine re-sampling with line-in or microphone.
- Load samples from the sample library on the SD card. We converted the whole SampleSwap library with more than 19.000 samples into a compatible format.
- Samples can be cut and sliced into multiple parts.
- Each song/project can use up to 72 samples.
2. Sketch
- Matrix Sequencer – called sketchbook – 8 channels with almost endless steps.
- Matrix cells can be filled with a sample (volume, panning, pitch, probability playback direction), parameter change (volume, panning, pitch adjustments, playback direction, Note Off) or MIDI messages.
- Divide the sketchbook into sheets (pattern).
- Select parts (overarching multiple sheets) and store them as snippets.
- Zoom levels for fine grained compositions (same resolution as the MPC).
- Individual swing for each sample or assign to one of 8 swing groups.
3. Arrange
- Chain sheets (pattern) to a complete song.
- Repeat sheets
- Can be used as background track for play mode.
4. Play
- Assign samples, snippets or midi messages to up to 72 configurable slots.
- Control via external MIDI gear. Slots can be “trained” to listen to a midi note.
- Play via MIDI with velocity and polyphonic aftertouch.
- External MIDI equipment not needed for live performances.
- Piano mode for one sample to play it chromatically pitched via internal piano keyboard or a separate MIDI channel.
- Scratch samples as if you were scratching a tape – as funky effect.
- Synced launch of Snippets of your sequence.
- Record your performance to SD card.
Beatmaker’s sketchbooks firmware – SUCOFUNKey – is continuous evolving, Open-Source and based on the Teensy Audio library. Check these links for more information:
