The Next Phase of SpaceDrum Begins

Written by Justin DeLay

ALAN INSTRUMENTS / JOURNALCHICAGO · PRODUCTION
FIELD NOTES / FIRST SHIPMENTS

The Next Phase of SpaceDrum Begins

Made by hand, one at a time, in Chicago.

A finished wooden SpaceDrum enclosure resting on a workshop rack
01 / A finished SpaceDrum enclosure on the rack.

Today, we are so excited, so grateful, so humbled, and so ready for the next phase of SpaceDrum to begin. This week, we ship our very first pre-orders to our very earliest, most patient, and most incredible early supporters.

We make every instrument by hand, one at a time, in Chicago, with locally sourced materials, built to a high degree of craftsmanship and quality to deliver an instrument that is built to last, built to perform, built to continue to grow and evolve in partnership with our players and customers. And hopefully, something that truly is built for stages and studios, and bedrooms, and basements, and garages, and performance spaces, and ultimately, in your space.

Stacks of beveled wooden enclosure frames arranged across a workbench
02 / A small batch of wooden enclosure frames on the bench.

It's taken a long time, too long, to get here. We've built an incredible team, with support and huge contributions from so many people all along the way, just to get here. And in many ways, this is the beginning of the journey.

We're taking it slow as we ramp up production, operating in small batches as we refine our fabrication, crafting, assembly, testing, packaging, and shipping. We want to ensure a quality product, and we want to build this the right way, and so we will continue to iterate and improve.

A craftsperson runs a foam brush along the beveled end of a wooden frame piece
03 / Brushing a beveled joint by hand.
THE WORK / CRAFT & CARE

We want to share our journey and our learnings along the way, and be transparent in the process, the challenges, and the joys of building a high-quality instrument right here in Chicago, and ultimately delivering those instruments to our customers who've been waiting patiently already, all over the world.

We've got a great team across every stage of production, assembly, engineering, design, and testing. We've got an incredible facility and home at mHUB. We've got great backing and support, and we already have an amazing list of customers that we are so grateful for.

So this week marks the very beginning. In many ways, the real accomplishment in the process of building SpaceDrum is in building the team and the early community that already exists around ALAN Instruments. And so we are so grateful for, and so appreciative of, the support that we've already been given and the trust that we've been given. And we're so excited to now open this community to our earliest customers and beyond.

Two team members lean in to inspect a taped wooden enclosure on a workshop table
04 / Checking the fit together.

And so we invite you to continue to share this journey with us. We're so excited to see what you create and the music that you make with SpaceDrum and all of the instruments that we create.

Thank you.

Close-up of the angled corners of unfinished wooden frames lined up on a workbench
05 / A close look at the beveled corners.
Close-up of the wood grain at the corner of a finished enclosure on a rack
06 / The grain on a finished enclosure.
Stacks of wooden frames and panels run the length of a workshop bench
07 / Enclosure pieces lined up on the workbench.
A team member in safety glasses holds a taped wooden frame upright on the bench
08 / Inspecting a frame on the bench.
ALAN INSTRUMENTS / THE NEXT PHASE
Justin DeLay
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