For those of you NOT on the e-mail list, here's an update. It has my name because I'm copying it right from my e-mail. It doesn't look like this was posted on their Indiegogo page.
Hi Adam,
We’ve been in China for the past 3 weeks working on the production process and it has been an incredible experience. It is truly a whole new world here with huge numbers of massive skyscrapers being built everywhere. The pace of change is breathtaking and exciting. And the food is… interesting (we got pretty sick for a while).
We completed a limited manufacturing run 2 weeks ago and have been vigorously testing these BeatBuddys to make sure they stand up to our long-term quality standards. The good news is that they came out looking beautiful and work perfectly! The bad news is that after extensive use the switch underneath the pedal is coming loose (we’ve pressed each pedal over 10,000 times -- by hand, or rather, by foot! -- to simulate a real world environment). We’ve realized that while our original method of securing the switch to the metal case may have been fine for a regular guitar pedal where it is just pressed a few times per song (such as turning distortion on or off), it is not sufficient for the heavy use we expect you guys to put the BeatBuddy through. Luckily, there's a simple solution to fix this issue and achieve a completely rock-solid connection, but this requires a slight change in the mold, which will add 2 to 3 weeks to the delivery time (see the pictures below for more details), so we now expect to begin
shipping in mid to late August. We will be air shipping your unit to you, so you should receive it no later than a week after shipment.
We were hoping there would be another solution, but this turns out to be the most solid way to fix it. While we want the BeatBuddy to be delivered as soon as possible, too, we think everyone would rather wait an extra couple weeks and have a BeatBuddy that will last them many more years.
We're very sorry about this delay, but luckily it's looking like it'll certainly be the last one. Thank you for sticking with us thus far. We're right at the end of the manufacturing process and your BeatBuddy will be delivered before you know it!
If you need to update your shipping address, please do so at this link: [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
Left: The current design, using the two tabs to keep the switch stable as a single nut on the outside fastens the switch to the case.
Right: The new design that add a stabilizing 'shoulder', the bump that fits in the groove of the switch to keep the switch from turning as the nuts are tightened, and removes the two side tabs to allow an additional nut to fasten the switch on the inside of the case.
The nut that attaches the switch on the outside of the case. Note the groove in the switch that will fit in the 'shoulder' of the new design.
In other news, Goran has completed recording all the drum samples and MIDI beats! He is now fine-tuning everything in the BeatBuddy Manager software so it all plays back perfectly and ultra-realistically. He is a bit of an obsessive-compulsive perfectionist, so he might be the only person in the world kinda glad for this delay. Now he gets to go over every detail a thousand more times
Once he is fully satisfied, we will release the content and the BeatBuddy Manager software for you guys to download so you can play with your own virtual BeatBuddy while you wait for the physical one to arrive. We are also completing the forum so you guys can share the content you create with the rest of the BeatBuddy community. We will send out an update when this is ready.
How a BeatBuddy gets made:
First we start with bars of Aluminum Metal:
Which we use to make the metal case with our mold:
Which is placed in the metal stamping machine to stamp out cases using high heat and pressure:
The cases are painted and dried in another high heat machine:
Then all ink markings are stamped on them:
Which gives us a set of beautiful cases:
To which we attach the rubber pad to the pedal and bottom of the case:
