In the works: Kiviak WoFi

Not much is known about the new sampling instrument from Kiviak Technologies in France. Their Instagram page touts:

  • Classic sampler emulation and player modes.
  • Sampling from the built-in microphone or LINE IN.
  • Connectivity: Stereo audio, MIDI, USB, CV, Gate, Clock.
  • Filter, assignable envelope generator and LFO.
  • Texturer [chaos, dirt, density, and spatiality].
  • Patch/content sharing via the mywo.fi cloud or cartridge.
  • Two octave mini-keys and pads for sequencing.
  • Cloud, cartridge, WiFi, sharing and other functions accessible through dedicated buttons.
Kiviak Technologies WoFi (mock-up)

I don’t like to get ahead of product announcements, but maybe a little constructive feedback would be helpful at this stage:

  • Two octaves C-to-C is too short to play real music. If spec’ing two octaves, make the keyboard F-to-F which covers the range of the human voice.
  • 25 mini-keys are too small to play with both hands.
  • I smell a subscription to their proprietary cloud. I despise subscriptions. Roli is attempting this with Lumi Keys. Are they making any money?
  • The cartridge is proprietary, too. It would be better to use a USB flash drive. Proprietary cartridges smack of 1980s game machines.
Kiviak WoFi cartridge [?]

The industrial design is nice. No price information is available nor release date.

Copyright © 2023 Paul J. Drongowski