Never play music alone again with a Lucky Cat LFO

What is a Lucky Cat LFO?

Lucky Cat LFO is a musical companion whose solar-powered arm movement can lend a hand in your music making process. The popular Lucky Cat or Maneki-neko toy has been augmented to track the arm movement, and out CV and GATE voltages for eurorack synthesizers.

The limit is your imagination on how it can be used, but here are some examples:

Add some pitch modulation to you synthesizer sounds

Trigger a kick drum with the GATE output

Tap the tempo to set the BPM with the GATE output

Use multiple cats together to generate autonomous ambient sound scapes

And so much more!

What are the specs?

CV OUTPUT:

0 - 5 volts

GATE OUTPUT:

5 volts

POWER:

Some sunshine required and

DC 9-12 volts 5.5x2.1mm ~20ma

Center Positive OR Center Negative (eg guitar pedal power).

Multiple devices can be powered with a guitar pedal daisy chain cable

Demos!

Watch Demos on YouTube

How are they made?

Each Lucky Cat is hand-selected from Grant Ave in Chinatown, San Francisco, to make sure it has good arm movement. It is then carefully opened, making sure to not damage the delicate mechanism, and modified with an electronic sensor inserted to track the arm movement. This is hooked up to a custom analog circuit board (no Arduino), and calibrated for ideal CV ranges. The case is 3d printed in-house. The custom circuit board is fabricated in China (via JLCPCB). The schematic was developed in-house with influence of Forrest M. Mimms, and reviewed by a professional electrical engineer. Attention was given to the power supply, allowing either polarity, maximizing the use case scenarios. Everything else has been designed and assembled in San Francisco, CA by Functional Technologies, LLC.

Because of the uniqueness of each Lucky Cat and the hand-made process, every Lucky Cat LFO is different. Some might swing faster or slower than others. Embrace this and use it for the musical potential! Buy several for chaotic goodness (or evil).

Where can I get one?

These are hand-made in very small batches (See “How are they made?”).

The first edition has only 10 units with 3 of them kept for myself.

You can contact me directly to inquire. I will also be listing them directly online soon.

Purchasing a Lucky Cat LFO also indirectly supports local businesses in San Francisco’s Chinatown.

Litter 1: Beta Run

This is the first run of the Lucky Cat LFO. Your support helps keep this project going and create more future litters.

Each unit in this initial batch includes a special Lucky Cat squished penny from the San Francisco Chinatown Kite Store.

Below are all of the first batch.

Please contact me to purchase one, and include details about your selection.

LC-2 – Claimed

LC-3 – Claimed

LC-4 – Claimed

LC-5 – Available

LC-6 – Available

LC-7 – Available

LC-8 – Available

LC-9 – Available

LC-10 – Available

LC-11 – Available

Pricing

Pricing for the beta

1 Unit:
$150
With 9v battery adapter (battery not included)
Power supply available for additional $12

2 Unit Bundle:
$300
With 9v battery adapters (battery not included)
Also includes a compatible 9v power supply and daisy chain cable, to power multiple devices from the same power supply

Shipping:
Flat rate $20 within the US
Free local pick up in San Francisco, CA