prototype case print 4.5

i didn't do a full print; i've adjusted the keys a bit so the old ones don't fit perfectly, but good enough to get a sense of what it will look like. you can see OCTANO here which really matches the red.

this is not my favorite colorway but i do like the red and gold together. might look good with white or black natural keys. i also switched out my case mechanism for a snap fit, which is a definite improvement on the "no snap castle turrets", at least in terms of functionality, but in terms of aesthetics it's leaving wrinkles on the outside.

on the plus side, i did figure out a really cool V cutout for the joystick area in front, which helps with printability since there's less area to print across horizontally. i also tried making the case split go at an angle, which looks really sick in CGI:

but does not look good in real life, because the 3d printer has to step:

i'll see if i can't fix both problems for the next print but i'm also trying to figure out tolerances for the nuts so that may not happen. under the hood, i got a spot ready for the speaker:

definitely feels like it's coming together, but i know the journey ahead is still long. i still need to start on the software and such, but i have noticed some existing Pico I2S synth libraries that i can lean on if necessary. would love to also have an emulator so we can try out sounds on the computer before getting them on the OCTANO.