A Series of Events

Hey everyone! After an amazing trip to Montreal for KnobSession, we thought you’d enjoy a fresh blog post sharing what we’ve been up to over the past month.

Gamma Shipment Update 💭

August was a rollercoaster of a month for us, with plenty of news, both good and bad 😅

The Good News

This month we’ve made massive strides in completing Gamma.

Gamma’s hardware was finalized early this month, parts have started to slowly roll in, software is really close to complete, and a more concrete shipment timeline has begun to form! 

…but it hasn’t all been good news.

The Bad News

We hit an unexpected delay with our thumbstick supplier earlier this month 😭

The Story

We had confirmed the exact model of thumbstick we needed with our supplier back in July, and were assured this part was in stock with a short lead time. Fast forward to the middle of August, and we’re informed that they actually did not have this thumbstick in stock and didn’t even have access to it in any capacity.

We were stunned. How could they assure us on one hand that they had this part, and then do a 180 and claim they couldn’t even access the component all together??

They then offered us a cheaper untested version of this thumbstick in an attempt to keep us on our projected timeline.

The Outcome

This was a critical fork in the road… do we go with the cheap untested thumbstick to keep our timeline intact, or part ways with this supplier to find the tested quality component we initially ordered?

We couldn’t bring ourselves to risk it and decided it was best to find a new thumbstick supplier and get the part we knew worked well.

After searching for a few days (and nights) - we finally found a new supplier who had the thumbstick! (queue giant sigh of relief).

The Updated Timeline

Our PCB manufacturer is now waiting for these thumbsticks to complete mass manufacturing. 

What does this mean for the shipping timeline?

Because of this delay we are forced to move the timeline back 2 - 3 weeks. We’re still going to try to start shipping at the end of September, but most orders are now expected to ship in October.

We know it's hard to be patient (believe me this is a struggle for us too), but we are extremely grateful for your understanding. 

The wait will be worth it!

Tariffs 🥲

Just when you thought the bad news was over - BOOM - US tariffs are now eligible on goods under $800 USD 🤦

We’ll be monitoring the situation throughout September to fully understand the implications as a Canadian business selling/manufacturing music hardware to the US.

If you are ordering from the US please be patient as your order may be delayed due to these new rules.

Hopefully we will have some more information to share soon.

Gamma Gotchi 👾

Alright, enough with the bad news! 🫸

We’ve made some final decisions regarding Gamma’s virtual pet (unofficially named “Gamma Gotchi” 🤫) and are excited to share just how your little friends will work when Gamma lands in your mailbox.

Level System

Gamma Gotchi’s will evolve based on a leveling system, from level 0 (egg) to level 20 (boss). 

Each level you’ll get a 50% chance at evolving into one of two variants, and a 33% chance to evolve into one of three variants every 5 levels (including a chance at a rare variant 👀).

The speed in which you evolve will be determined by various factors all centered around use of the buttons, thumbsticks, and knobs. 

Your virtual pet will also have a “Mood” depending on how much it is being played, ranging from sad (tear drop), excited (“!”), and super excited (“!!”). Your pet's mood will also play into how fast they evolve.

Gammapedia

To help keep track of which variants you’ve collected, we’ve also added a new menu option: “Gammapedia”.

This is essentially a compendium of all the Gamma Gotchi’s you’ve collected, as well as those you’re missing!

You’ll also have the option to reset your Gamma Gotchi to level 0 at any time. This is to encourage multiple play throughs 🙌

Other TIN News

• We are now preparing for Chicago’s Knobcon in about a week! Can’t wait to see all your friendly faces, both new and old 🙏

• Our company's 5th year anniversary is coming up in September. Be on the lookout for sales and/or other events 👀

• We will begin sourcing LC-1X+ components soon; our hopeful ship date for LC-1X+ pre-orders is November, with further details in the next blog post!

TIN fun fact (the more you know 🌈🌠)

All of our flagship products are made here in Canada by our team 🍁