How is it possible that I am about 3 years late to catch on to the Kaossilator hype, and yet, here is not one good template out there for a grid mod? It’s bizarre, especially when some generous folks out there have already made some video demos of the modding process (linked at page bottom)… Some one’s gotta put a grid out there right now!

[edit : I did find some awesome grids with more extensive googling! Interestingly, each one's totally different. Bottom for links. ]

So I got to work to create a template that anyone can print out and pop into their Kaosillator for a perfectly mapped grid. Skip to the bottom of the page for the template. (Fear not, the template is sans Hello Kitty. I’m not about to impose anything on you.) Why a grid-mod? So that if you like, you can get specific about which keys you’re hitting.

Grid DIY after the jump >>

For those of you who don’t know what a Kaosillator is, it is techno-dust-in-a-box. Here’s a video to save you the reading.

I’m going to start by explaining how I arrived at the grid itself here. To skip to how to use the template click here.
I started my process with some good old trial & error testing, with scrap paper laid over the touch pad:

After some measuring, I sketch out a preliminary grid on illustrator:

Printed it out. :

Checked it for fine-tuning:

And pretty much kept repeating this part till I got a grid that was accurate:

Then I made it pretty:

With is grid ready, it’s time to figure out how to stick it into the Kaossilator more permanently:

If you’re following this as a tutorial, have a print out of the template and a piece of acetate or transparency ready.
There are four screws at the four corners of the Kaosillator, remove them :

Pop the knob out :

Pry the silver face out, starting at the end close to the volume dial:

I used a paper clip to help. Be careful, the three buttons (Tap, Scale, Loop) can get caught by the metal casing and damaged at their joints. It happened to me. :

Remove the battery cover and undo the fat screw :

Keep these safe. The round-top one is from the back, the other four are from the corners :

You should now see :

Remove the four screws at the four corners of the circuit board :

You must pop the little circuit board with the audio jacks away from the plastic casing before the rest of the circuit board can be removed. It’s stubborn, use tools!  :

Gently push the dial to free the board from the casing :

Gently lift the board, don’t yank, the touch pad is still attached to the plastic casing :

Remove the three screws remaining on the plastic casing :

The touch pad is free! :

After looking around inside the Kaossilator, I realized four pins anchored the touch pad where it needed to be. So I traced the shape of the touch pad, along with holes for the pins, and through a little trail and error, aligned it with the grid I already had. :

At this point, I had not realized the chamfers (cut off corners) should have been at the bottom, not the top, of the touch pad:

Finally, a perfect fit:

Cutting the transparency to match the size & shape of the final print out:

Punching small holes where they belong:

Grid and screen-protecting transparency :

Installed! :

Now, just re-tracing the steps. After using a little tape to hold the touch pad & grid in place, put the plastic plate back :

Special note : The little circuit board & big circuit board interlock rather delicately at the top. Check for alignment before popping the boards back into the casing:

Special note: It takes some wiggling to get the on/off slider to fit the button properly :

Special note: I had to push the wire parts around a little to get the cover to fit perfectly :

And, the final product :

• DOWNLOAD>> GRID TEMPLATE (tiff, 300dpi, 8 x 6.3 cm)
  
• DOWNLOAD>> Grid in Illustrator format (in case alignment needs adjusting)
• Great link for grids : http://kgridmod.blogspot.com/
• Kaossilator grid mod by Vtecgogos : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33J5JYC5RLg
• Kaossilator grid mod by Kgridmod : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4d5QrCCxc_Y
• Vimeo group : http://vimeo.com/groups/kaossilator

[ EDIT, Sept 7th 2010 ] I learned about scales today! Yay! The old grid now seems too primitive. The diagram  of the new grid should explain it all.

You’ll have to be in the Chromatic scale mode to see the whole grid in action. With the Ionic scale activated, just ignore the dotted lines and use the solid lines.

Download the updated, more detailed grid below.

If you have a go at this new grid, drop me a note, I’m curious about how it goes.

- Pat

• DOWNLOAD>> GRID TEMPLATE V2 (Chromatic Scale compatible, tiff, 300dpi, 8 x 6.3 cm)
  
• DOWNLOAD>> K-Grid v2 in Illustrator format