Hi everyone,
It’s been a while since I last sent out an update. It’s been a busy few months on many fronts, but before anything else, I want to say a genuine thank you for all the support since we launched our first guitar controller in over ten years.
As I’ve mentioned before, the CRKD team is small but focused. We’re constantly trying to find that balance between supporting the long-time enthusiasts, welcoming back fans who haven’t picked up a guitar controller in over a decade and introducing a new generation of players to rhythm gaming. Sometimes, to the hardcore community, it might feel like we don’t always get that balance quite right, but I promise you, your feedback (and yes, your frustrations) never go unheard.
Over the past decade, I think the community has really evolved in such a positive way. Seeing people mod guitars, create new community-built games, and improve old titles is a testament to how much love still exists for this genre. And as we’ve said many times before, we completely understand who’s kept the lights on all these years, you have.
With the Les Paul, we’ve managed to meet most of the needs of players. There are still a couple of areas where we came up short, and we’re working hard to improve those.
On Communication and Balance:
Someone asked me recently why I don’t just jump on Discord every day to give updates. It’s a fair question. The truth is, we could, but doing so would slow us down. When issues arise, we need to step back, gather data, and look for patterns across tens of thousands of guitars already in the field. We test across many different games, some of which are over a decade old and have very little documentation left.
At the same time, we’re also building relationships with the console manufacturers. We’ve been fortunate that they’ve allowed us to support legacy players and community-created games through older compatibility modes. That’s why on Xbox, you can see dedicated modes like PC, Android, and KEYJAM. We’ve always believed in open platforms, and ultimately, we hope the world moves toward one unified gaming ecosystem in the future.
Where We Fell Short:
Let’s talk about the Blueberry Burst. Some of you saw the finish wear off faster than expected, and that’s not okay. It’s not a new challenge, many of the old GH guitars had similar issues, and even Gibson deals with this on real guitars, but what wasn’t acceptable was how quickly it happened for a small but important amount of people.
Instead of thrashing around, we took the time to properly test and understand it. Through further investigation, we discovered that by increasing the salt content during automated moisture testing, the issue appeared much faster than we expected, A lesson learned.
We’d already been developing polycarbonate skins, and for now, that’s the best short-term solution. If you’ve experienced this issue, please claim a blueberry burst skin from us. Could we have been quicker? Possibly. But we’d rather fix things properly than rush them. When you’re running high-volume production lines, guessing doesn’t help anyone.
Overall, returns have been very low, which is encouraging. Still, there’s always room to improve—and we’ll continue doing so, with your help and feedback.
What’s Next:
You’ve probably seen the drum teaser by now, yes, we’re making drums. We’ll take the good lessons (and the bad) from the past, mix them with your feedback, and aim to create something truly great. We’ll share more details in Q1 2026 when we do the full reveal.
We also have a couple of other exciting announcements before the end of the year, one in November and another in December so keep an eye out for those.
Firmware & Performance:
Now, the big question: “Where’s the new firmware that can keep up with 1000 FPS Clone Hero?”
We hear you. And yes, it’s coming.
This wasn’t just a case of dropping new firmware onto the neck and calling it a day. Our system supports multiple platforms and connection types all with different rates and specifications, and we’re working with production chipsets that have finite resources. But we’ve made strong progress and are now putting the finishing touches on production-ready firmware that can handle those overclocked frame rates for community games.
This firmware will roll out first in our Cherry Sunburst Collector’s Edition guitars, and then as a running update across the range. We’re also revamping our two core code bases to deliver a new, stable OTA system that updates both the guitar body and neck together through the CRKD App. We’re aiming to have this ready within the next month.
Xbox & Community Testing:
Very soon we’ll be rolling out an update for Xbox that fully enables the CTRL app features, including firmware updates, along with a few small bug fixes and quality-of-life improvements.
In addition to this there will be a multiplatform update that optimizes Switch and iOS FN Festival.
We’re also preparing to launch an expanded Community Test & Trial Program open for everyone to apply. We’ll be sharing the sign-up form soon. The goal is simple: to connect with more of you, bring select community members into the process earlier, and work together to make our products even better.
Australia:
Through our distributor Bluemouth Interactive in Australia, we showcased the guitar at PAX AUS. We were honoured that community members Freg and MrElectricNick attended, showcased it on stage, and got the crowd rocking. There are some great videos from the event and in a fun kind of way, it reminded me of E3 back in 2005 and 2006, when GH1 and GH2 were being played by fans for the first time.
It’s a privilege to be able to reach into the community all over the world for feedback and help at events like this. The distributor asked me how I find people with passion like that; my answer was simple: just open your eyes. There are more passionate fans out there than you could ever imagine.
Thanks again, fellas, for attending; it was much appreciated.
Santroller:
Most of you in the community will know Sanjay (Santroller). We’re pleased to announce that he’s now joining CRKD full-time on our engineering team to help build future products and ensure we can continue supporting legacy hardware for as long as possible.
Even though Sanjay is joining us full time, he will of course continue to support his Santroller subscribers and the wider community on the Santroller side of things.
Sanjay has been a cornerstone of the community, helping players modernize their guitars, create adapters, and keep the rhythm scene alive. It’s a real privilege to have him onboard officially, continuing that mission from within.
From the Heart
If I don’t speak to you before the holidays, I want to wish everyone a fantastic festive season. Please keep the feedback coming. Be honest, be passionate, but also be kind. We know how much people care, and sometimes that passion spills over, but as my grandad always said, “Being polite costs nothing.” We’re building this together, and while it’s not always perfect, it’s genuine, and it’s from the heart.
Thank you for being part of this journey, for believing in what we’re doing, and for keeping the rhythm alive.
- John Crkd & Team
