Wave and Wavefront have shipped - Thank you!

Inventory

Wave has landed to first backers!

Final packaging

Assembly

Wave is a wearable MIDI controller that lets you control sound, shape effects and send commands with the motion of your hand.

Working in close collaboration with musicians, Wave has been in development for the past three years. The version we currently have has the main functionality working great and tested by hundreds of musicians. Last November Wave was used on stage for the first time at the Iceland Airwaves music festival.

This campaign marks the next step of development, the manufacturing phase. We partnered with Anamaly, an award winning design firm to help us finalize the design, and Haltian, an experienced product development partner, to get Wave ready for mass manufacturing.

Now, with your support, we can raise the necessary funds to begin mass production and ship Wave to music makers all over the world by the end of the year.

Control parameters using the movement of your hand.

Click the buttons to send commands, such as play, stop or record.

Trigger samples by tapping any surface.

"Out in the desolate wastes of deepest Iceland, magic blooms. The Icelandic sagas tell of fairy houses to magical rings that control the world, and now one of those, the Wave, has landed on the internet."
TechCrunch

"For someone who has a setup they like but wants a novel way to tweak parameters with hand motions and maybe trigger a drum pad or two, the Wave wearable MIDI controller from Genki Instruments is an interesting option."
The Verge

"The usefulness to musicians seems clear; wearing the controller lets you play your instrument or tweak your software while gesturing to control various effects or sounds on the fly."
Engadget

"Wave isn’t the only gesture-controlled wearable to have hit the market in recent years, but it does look as if it could be one of the most practical to use, especially as you can still play your instrument of choice with one equipped."
FACT Magazine

"We’ve seen finger-mounted controllers before - but Wave looks to be more sophisticated than most."
MusicRadar

"It’s one of the cooler tech inventions we’ve seen as of late.”
BigShot Magazine

"Cool factor 128/128 - Weirdness factor 128/128 - A perfect score."
ButtonPushersUnited

"But one feature brings an added dimension we’ve not seen before in a ring based controller, and also accounts for its chunkiness, and that’s a bunch of buttons."
Gearnews

"Wave is ideal for shaping your sounds while playing or DJ-ing - for example, mapping it to control effects in TRAKTOR frees up your fingers for other duties."
Kim Bjørn author of Push Turn Move (Native Instrument blog)

"Genki Instruments and their connected MIDI ring, Wave is probably one of the coolest music products straight from the Nordics."
Arctic Startup

"At this year's NAMM Show there were a lot of great new products on display from manufacturers. One of those products was introduced by Genki Instruments. The Wave is a wireless-capable and -- get this -- wearable MIDI controller."
Deviant Noise

Wave has been developed in close collaboration with musicians. Their input has proven vital in creating something musicians will love and trust. This is what people that have tried Wave have to say:

"So bottom line, Wave is a ton of fun and it's definitely something I'd recommend if you play live and want to introduce more expression and modulation into your music."

"Wave is an innovative new way to add expression and nuance to electronic performances! Wave is simple to use, and gives me powerful control right from my fingers without having to take them away from my instrument."

David Mash

Retired Senior Vice President, Berklee College of Music
Electronic Guitarist/Composer, Mashine Music

"Wave adds a new dimension to musical creativity. It took me a while to realize that the best thing about Wave is not only that it can replace some of the tools you already have to control stuff when you are making music, but that it can make you control stuff in a completely different way, therefore making decisions that you would have never made without it. It’s a cool tool for all creatives and I can definitely recommend adding it to your workflow, whether you use it to replace your old techniques or invent new ones."

Bergur Þórisson

Recording engineer and producer, clients include Björk, Sigur Rós, Damien Rice, Ólafur Arnalds and Jóhann Jóhannsson

"This is going to be extremely useful for me both on stage or in the studio. I’m most comfortable doing things fast and live so I can't wait to start using Wave, whether it’s going to be for recording automation, controlling effects on stage or just finger-tapping drums."

Helgi Sæmundur Guðmundsson

Producer for Úlfur Úlfur / Film Composer

"It's great for live performances and using it comes naturally.... [Wave is] like an extension of your voice."

aYia

First band to use Wave live

"Wave makes digital so much more natural. Ideas can come alive in the spur of the moment which makes performing extra exciting."

Örn Ýmir Arason

Composer / Musician

"Up until now I've been controlling effects through buttons and slides, with the ring I can designate some of those effects to be hands-free. It feels more natural, visual and cool."

MIMRA

Singer / Songwriter

"Wave is a must have controller for studio work. Whether you want to use it while you record or to volumeride effects in post production. I can't wait to use it live."

Ármann Ingvi Ármannsson

Musician

"No wires, no setup, no bullshit!"

Kári Einarsson

OYAMA

Influence your guitar sound while playing.

Shape effects on your voice while singing.

Tap any surface to trigger samples and one shots.

  Modulate your sound with both hands on the keyboard.

Engage with the audience when DJ-ing.

Enhance your drumming.

Play around and have fun with music!

Controlling parameters is usually controlled with your mouse or turning knobs and moving sliders. Wave allows you to do the same using movements.

Play with both hands on a keyboard and affect the sound only by tilting your hand, engage better with your audience by controlling effects with large movements or record modulation with small, nuanced gestures.

Triggers allow you to trigger samples or MIDI notes either by tapping your finger on any surface or by clicking one of the buttons.

You can for instance tap in the tempo, trigger drum samples or send commands such as play, stop and record.

Wave is Bluetooth MIDI compatible and shows up as a standard MIDI controller. In other words, Wave works with all major music software and mobile apps right out of the box!

Software that we have tested includes Ableton Live, Logic Pro X, Pro Tools, Reaper, Bitwig, Studio One, FL Studio, Garage Band and G-Stomper Studio/Rhythm as well as VJ software such as VDMX5.

If you are using software that is not on this list, hit us up and we'll try it out for you.

Are you still unsure about how to set up Wave with your DAW? Easy to follow tutorial videos will be available when Wave ships.

Wave can store up to seven patches at any time. A patch is any combination of the functions Wave has to offer, tilt, pan, roll, tap and click. You can configure each patch to suit your needs.

Explore new ways to interact with your modular setup with Wavefront, the Eurorack receiver module for Wave. Wavefront allows you to seamlessly integrate movements, triggers and gates into your modular setup!

Wavefront features five outputs, three CV out for movements and two gates for tap and clicks. It has a compact size (HP4), is skiff-friendly and offers ultra-low latency.

Configure your own movements and scale the output CVs and gate levels to your liking.

We have partnered with with great companies to make Wave a reality.

We have been developing Wave for three years in close collaboration with musicians. The design process has been fun yet arduous and full of prototypes and iterations. Below you can see some of the early prototypes and how Wave has evolved during development.

Perhaps one of the more notable ideas is that of an interactive hologram screen. You can imagine the tension between the designer and engineers that followed...

As soon as we had the first prototype ready we began working with musicians to learn how they would use our novel invention. We soon discovered artists wanted more interactive control of their music software. Turning Wave into a ring opened up the possibility to add buttons that could be controlled with the thumb.

In the summer of 2016 we had the first prototype of a ring ready. It was still quite chunky and not exactly user-friendly. We still had a lot of work to do.

As you can see we have been through many, many prototypes and ideas. We firmly believe that this process has produced a product that music makers will love to use.

The industrial design was finalized with help from the talented team over at Anamaly. The collaboration proved invaluable in perfecting the design and functionality into what we share with you today.

Last February we travelled to Oulu to meet Haltian, our manufacturing partner. Together we are hard at work on the final mechanical and electrical designs. In the coming months we need to source electrical components, strike a deal with vendors and manufacture professional prototypes until we are content with the overall quality. With calibration, testing and quality control taken care of we will ship Wave out to the first backers in December.

Along the way we have been honoured to receive recognition for our work.

Genki Instruments ‘Wave’ is a wearable MIDI controller that allows a musician to control sound with only a hand motion. The panel determined that the nuance and non-intrusiveness of the tool innovates the musical process, allowing artists to make quick decisions that were previously unavailable. “The way they have integrated design with the technological process is a good example of what design can do.”

Award of Excellence - Grapevine Design Awards 2018

Product of the Year.

Genki Instruments is an Icelandic company that was founded in 2015 around the intersection of music and technology. Ólafur Bjarki Bogason and Daníel Grétarsson, newly graduated engineering students with a deep passion for music, started to search for ways to make technology in music more expressive and intuitive. They soon attracted Jón Helgi Hólmgeirsson, an award winning designer and Haraldur Hugosson to take care of the business side. With a versatile team in place they set off on a mission to make technology in music feel natural.

Wave is our first product and we are excited to share it with you!

Ólafur Bjarki Bogason - Chief Executive Officer
B.Sc. Electrical Engineering
M.A. Music Technology (May 2018)
Published peer reviewed research papers in the field.

Daníel Grétarsson - Chief Hardware Architect
B.Sc. Electrical Engineering
Designed and built all PCBs for alpha and beta versions of Wave.

Haraldur Hugosson - Chief Operating Officer
B.A. Economics
Worked with more than 100 early stage startups and founders. Ran the Startup Reykjavik business accelerator.

Jón Helgi Hólmgeirsson - Chief Design Officer
B.A. Product Design
M.Sc. Interaction Design
Received Red Dot Design Awards in 2014 and has designed for IKEA and FÓLK.

Wavers already exist all over the world and we will ship Wave worldwide.

Please note that shipping to any country outside North America and EU/EFTA may be delayed or cancelled depending, e.g., on the feasibility of local type approval requirements or local import regulations. In a case of cancellation your pledge will be refunded by Genki Instruments.

Please note that there may be additional duties, fees or taxes raised by the authorities in your country. You may meed to take care of them yourself upon receiving the shipment.

Shipping and handling cost is $15 to all countries.

We have been developing Wave for three years in close collaboration with musicians. Now we truly believe that we have a product ready for mass market. However, prototypes only get you so far. We have partnered with Haltian, an experienced manufacturing firm, who will help us set up a production line and take Wave all the way. This is a complex process, and while we believe we have a good estimate on the time required, unforeseen delays are always possible.

The look of the final product may vary slightly from the renders you see here. This is an unavoidable part of the productization phase. We have tried our best to take all important factors into account while designing this product. Minor variations during the productization phase should not impact the device’s functionality.

We have working prototypes of Wavefront which we will share with you shortly. The core functionality will remain as advertised, although the look may change slightly during the manufacturing phase.

When will Wave start shipping?

We’re working with Haltian, an experienced production partner to mass produce Wave. Following a successful campaign they have estimated that Wave will ship in December 2018.
 

What makes Wave unique?

Wave gives you a layer of creative control as it can work with the instruments you already use, allowing you to do more with what you have. It also works by itself connected to a DAW, mobile application or Wavefront, our Eurorack module. You can see more of the features that define Wave in the infograph above.
 

Can I use it with X? - What can I use Wave with?

Wave is Bluetooth MIDI compatible and shows up as a standard MIDI controller. What that means is that Wave works with most music software and mobile apps right out of the box!

Software that we have tested includes Ableton Live, Logic Pro X, Pro Tools, Reaper, Bitwig, Studio One, FL Studio, Garage Band and G-Stomper Studio/Rhythm as well as VDJ software such as VDMX5 (All tested on Mac OSX, most also tested on Windows 10 as well).

If you are using software that is not on this list, hit us up and we'll try it out for you.
 

Does Wave generate sound?

Wave is an expressive MIDI controller that you connect to the music software or app of your choice. The music software generates the audio that you can control with Wave.
 

Can I use multiple Waves at the same time?

You can have multiple Waves connected at the same time, it's actually a lot of fun! For example you can do two-handed drum beats or have a great party with your friends! We have tried connecting up to five Waves on Mac OS X without any noticeable drawbacks. In any case, the total number of Bluetooth devices connected simultaneously is limited by the device Wave is connecting to.
 

Can I buy one Wave for each finger and my toes?

Hey, that sounds like fun! We hadn't thought of that ourselves. That being said, Wave is primarily designed to be worn on the index finger of either hand, but there is nothing stopping you from putting it on your toes as well.
 

Will Wave improve my life?

It will move you in Waves you couldn't even begin to fathom..
 

What is the latency like?

None of the artists that we have worked with have mentioned latency as being a limiting factor on our beta versions. If you would like to hear what kind of latency you should be expect, please have a look at any of our videos where all audio/video is recorded live.

The latency you experience depends on the device you connect Wave to. It is difficult to set a upper bound on latency for normal operating systems. However, using our Wavefront module we expect the latency to be lower than 5 ms on average.  
 

What kind of software do I need?

That totally depends on what you would like to do with Wave! For example if you would like to connect Wave to your current setup in Mac OS X you won't have to install anything at all; just pair Wave with your computer and use it like any other MIDI keyboard! The same goes with Android or iOS, where we like to use apps such as Garage Band and G-Stomper Rhythm to play with.
 

Can I use Wave for something else than music?

Absolutely! Wave is compatible out of the box with anything that can receive MIDI signals, for example the VJ software VDMX5.
 

What kind of data does Wave send?

Depending on how you would like to use Wave, it can send and/or receive MIDI CC signals and notes that are velocity sensitive.
 

Why does the ring in the video look different than the one I'm buying?

The ring in the video is the fully-functioning beta version of Wave, a version that is manufactured and assembled in Reykjavik by our team. This is the prototype we have been developing and testing with musicians for three years now. Instead of showing you a render, with post-production effects, we wanted to show you all the cool things Wave can do. The ring you are buying has the same main hardware but is mass manufacturable and looks a lot better than the current version. This is the Wave you will be helping us bring to the world!
 

How do I charge Wave?

Wave comes with a cable that snaps onto the device. This way you can use Wave while it’s charging.
 

My computer doesn’t have Bluetooth LE, can I still use Wave?

Don't panic!!! You can fix this by buying a cheap Bluetooth LE USB adapter and use it to connect to Wave.
 

Does Wave come in different ring sizes?

Wave has an adjustable strap that should fit most finger sizes.
 

I want to use Wave in a live environment, it's sweat resistant right?

It sure is, sweat on!
 

Do we ship to your country?

Wavers already exist all over the world and we will ship Wave worldwide.

Please note that shipping to any country outside North America and EU/EFTA may be delayed or cancelled depending, e.g., on the feasibility of local type approval requirements or local import regulations. In a case of cancellation your pledge will be refunded by Genki Instruments.

Please note that there may be additional duties, fees or taxes raised by the authorities in your country. You may meed to take care of them yourself upon receiving the shipment.

Shipping and handling cost is $15 to all countries.

How do I get in touch with you?

Send us a direct message on Indiegogo or reach us at wave@genkiinstruments.com
 

Can I get a refund?

You can get a full refund anytime during the campaign.
 

If you know about someone that you think might like Wave - please share the love ❤️

Shoot us an email at
wave@genkiinstruments.com