SK Cooperativa already produce a range of boutique hardware and software plug-ins under the name Sknote. They now want to extend their range into the AAX DSP market and have set up a Kickstarter fund to support this. Initially they are looking to set up the AAX-DSP hardware system and port over the first 5 products.

Sknote is headed up by Quinto Sardo and they are based on the island of Sicily near Mount Etna. They already make a wide range of VST plug-ins as well as hardware units and you can the full range on the Sknote website.

Quinto told me he is confident he can make this work...

We want to start developing for AAX-DSP to provide HDX users with an offer by a small but extremely dynamic and flexible company. Coming from a long experience with DSP development on various systems including Texas Instruments chips, we know it can be done. 

However he acknowledges that there are some obstacles to overcome....

Development for DSP is quite an effort, because requires us to setup a development hardware system and to acquire the know-how and allocate the resources to release products for a well focused group of potential customers (HDX systems owners). The investment and the risk may be serious for a small company. Once the system is set, the know-how is acquired and the first products are released, further development runs smoothly, because if the products are coded correctly the overhead for DSP isn't huge.

So why go down the Kickstarter route?

A Kickstarter campaign looked like a perfect way of starting and will help us in two ways. Firstly it provides a poll among users to see if there interest enough to justify the efforts, and secondly a way to reduce the initial overhead with the help of crowd source funding.

The goal of the Kickstarter campaign is to raise 33,000 euro, which will enable us to purchase and setup the AAX DSP hardware system and to cover development and startup costs to port the first 5 products.

Through the Kickstarter campaign we will be able to offer these new products at greatly reduced prices as rewards for supporters. We also hope that some our supporters will have the opportunity to take part to the development and get an inside view if they are interested, including involvement with the beta program. This is also a great opportunity for all those who have invested on the beautiful HDX system to get some more plug-ins.

There are also other special pledge options, with rewards like getting a custom developed effect! Pledge options start from as low as 99 euro, to the probably most interesting ones starting at 300 euro.

Here are the details of the different pledge options...

• Pledge €99 and you will get a license for one AAX Native and AAX DSP product with 50% discount on two more products.
• Pledge €300 and you will get licenses for the full set of five AAX Native and AAX DSP products and get involved in the testing and fine tuning.
• Pledge €1000 and you will get licenses for the full set of five AAX Native and AAX DSP products and get involved in the testing and fine tuning. In addition you will have the opportunity to collaborate in the development of a custom effect to suit your own needs. Sknote will team you up in groups of up to 5 people so you can discuss your idea and then turn your groups idea into a reality. It could be a virtual model of a piece of hardware or something completely original. 
• Pledge €5000 and you will get licenses for the full set of five AAX Native and AAX DSP products and get involved in the testing and fine tuning. In addition you will have the opportunity to be involved in the development of a custom effect to suit your personal needs. It could be a virtual model of a piece of hardware or something completely original. 

If you would like to support a small developer get into the AAX DSP plug-in market then this is an excellent way to do it. You can learn much more and sign up on the dedicated page on the Kickstarter web site.