The GripBeats® Desktop App (for Mac)

Introduction
GripBeats® is a wearable electronic musical instrument that works as wireless MIDI controller over Bluetooth. It first launched on Kickstarter in November, 2019, where it raised over US$200,000 and sold over 1000 units worldwide. 

To this day, GripBeats® has produced, shipped, and delivered all those orders and still continues to sell its remaining units, which you can purchase here.

About GripBeats®
Made for every level of Musician

• Intuitive enough for the simplest entry-level player — tap one of the 32 sensors to make a sound and grow from there
• Deep enough for advanced producers — map complex chords, scale quantization, motion-controlled automation, and velocity-sensitive response
• Built for dancers, body-percussionists, DJs, music educators, and anyone who ever tapped a rhythm on a desk and wished it could make music

Born from real musicians

• A collaboration between musicians from the Royal Academy of Music in London and engineers from The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
• 3+ years of in-house hardware engineering, custom sensor design, and motion-language research
• The current design reduces the core footprint by over 250% vs. the earlier prototype — and ships in Black, Red, Blue, or Purple

GripBeats® Specifications

• 32 pressure-sensitive touch sensors embedded in the strap, each independently calibrated (sensitivity range of at least 0–100)
• 9-axis motion sensor for full 360° motion + acceleration in every direction
• Visual LED ring wrapping the core for live-performance feedback and ambient lighting
• Vibration motor for haptic feedback — feel your rhythm through the strap
• Quick-release mechanism — detach and reattach in seconds to switch between modes
• Rechargeable battery — small enough to take anywhere, big enough for a full session
• Custom PCB casing — designed and built in-house by the GripBeats team; robust enough for daily wear, slim enough to forget you're wearing it.
• Bluetooth MIDI (BLE) — pairs in seconds with iPhone, iPad, Android, macOS, and Windows
• Works out of the box with 100+ MIDI-compatible apps and DAWs including GarageBand, Ableton, Logic Pro, FL Studio, and any software accepting BLE MIDI input
• Connect up to 4 GripBeats® units together for multi-player jam sessions
• The GripBeats® Desktop App (for Mac and Windows) allows users direct access to their GripBeats® parameters so that they may define their own controls while using GripBeats® as a MIDI controller (the GripBeats® device must be connected to the GripBeats® Desktop App in order for these settings to work).
• The GripBeats® Mobile App (for iOS & Android) is currently under maintenance until further notice (but will soon ship with over a dozen preconfigured playing modes and let you design your own gestures-to-music mappings. You will also be able to create up to 3 diferent tracks in a sequencer with record, loop, overwrite, and live post-production controls. Estimated completion date: early 2027.

Ongoing Development
The team at GripBeats® is international and continues to release updates for its device every few weeks. We also run a community discord here (let us know if you need help connecting!).