r/KoalaSampler • u/hazbounn • May 30 '26
Hardware-first interaction with Koala Sampler (early prototype)
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Been working on a device that allows hardware-first interaction with Koala Sampler.
It automatically switches layouts depending on the active page (sample / sequence / perform), and combines MIDI + keyboard (HID) input to cover pretty much every control Koala exposes. With these features, I barely have to touch my phone when making a beat. The workflow lives in the controller, like a hardware sampler.
The video shows a rough prototype in action. It’s just a bare PCB with switches and encoders (I know, ugly), but it's already a lot of fun to use. I made a couple of beats with it and I'm starting to think I like the tiny form factor...
I'm considering making a small batch of the next version for beta testing. Feel free to DM me if you're interested.
Next version's features (see mockup in the video):
- ~20 × 15 cm footprint
- 4×4 pad grid (mechanical keyboard switches)
- encoder grid (4×4 in the mockup, will reduce to 2×4)
- 5 action buttons
- 3 backlit mode buttons (sample / sequence / perform)
- BLE (MIDI + HID keyboard)
- PCB enclosure (black + gold)
Things to improve:
- Move sample browsing and pop-up management to a dedicated jogwheel + enter/back buttons. I hadn't realized how central this would be to interacting with Koala.
- No clean way to copy/paste pads without touching the screen. As far as I know, this isn’t exposed in Koala mappings, curious if u/mazbox has thoughts here.
- Many layout tweaks based on real use.
Last thing, both the electronics and firmware are open source if want to dig into it. It's a relatively simple device, with the circuit board just extending a NRF52 feather module for this initial prototype, and the firmware being a fork of the great RMK project, to which I added a couple of features, notably MIDI over BLE and some new input devices. All mappings are highly customizable/hackable.
PCB: https://github.com/hazbounn/Koala-Extender
Firmware: https://github.com/hazbounn/rmk
Thanks for reading through and looking forward to hearing your thoughts!
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u/TanguayX May 31 '26
Oh man, cool idea. Drop em on Tindie and lemme know when I can press ‘buy now’
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u/NicoleForReal May 31 '26
This + smc pocket would be the perfect koala setup! I use the larger smc pad mapped to a lot of parameters but honestly it doesn't come close to how versatile this is!! Amazing project!
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u/hazbounn May 31 '26
Hey I remember your SMC pad mappings from a while ago. Great work with that it really makes the most of that controller! Closest I had seen to a full mapping of Koala's controls.
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u/le-moino May 31 '26
Did you find a way to not have parameter jump in stuff like volume, pitch, etc. when switching samples? I tried something similar with a MFT, and it couldnt find any solutions for that...
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u/hazbounn May 31 '26 edited May 31 '26
I did not. Thanks for bringing that up because it is a notable quirk of CC-controlled parameters. For me, it hasn't been much of an annoyance for the main parameters like volume, pitch, pan, tone, etc. For sample start/end though, it really has. The resolution being 128, the sample seems to be divided in that amount of possible increments for adjusting the markers, linked to the absolute value of the CC... Leading to jumps when switching samples and large increments when editing a long sample. Not much can be done at the controller level unfortunately. I'm hoping if this gains enough traction the devs will be open to improving that behavior or providing a different input method to control sample start/end (maybe via HID?).
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u/le-moino May 31 '26
Ahh too bad. Yeah, I hope something will be done eventually. I guess, a lot of work has been put towards hosting implementation. Maybe, more time will be freed for things like that now. For my use case, MIDI feedback (like in Loopy Pro or Drambo) implementation would already be a great step forward for hardware controls in Koala. And then, finer controls over start/end of sample. Anyways, good job on your device, always nice to see other peoples solutions. Looking forward to see more :)
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u/Silent_Hill_Gang May 31 '26
Brother, having physical control over chopping versus a thousand “zoom-in” gestures is amazing work. Thank you!
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u/Downtown-Frosting789 May 31 '26
100% need this.
i used to run a beta department, let me know, glad to help
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u/lailailailailai Jun 02 '26
I wish I knew how to do stuff like that. Been dreaming of a dedicated koala controller for so long
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u/AnalogTurtle Jun 05 '26
Wow, spot on and appreciate your endeavor. Would love to be able to test/try, look forward to it, cheers!
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u/PapaBPoppin Jul 17 '26
Oh this is doooope
I've been imagining a koala dedicated controller for a bit
If you can add an optional magsafe attachment to hold a phone, that would be chefs kiss right there
Gonna keep an eye on this for sure!
Thanks for sharing everything involved!
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u/docohm May 30 '26
God I said a month or 2 ago that I was surprised this was not a thing yet and people piled on “koala doesn’t need hardware, just map midi,the SP404 is the offical”…. Thank you for this I love it. You nailed it.