Wind Synthesizer R1 Milestones

Here are the updates and key events of Wind Synthesizer R1. Learn how R1 has evolved since its birth.
Launch

We launched the first pre-orders in our domestic market of mainland China on 25/10/2021. R1 started with 12+1 onboard sounds, and made over 1,000 pre-orders. Shipping began right before the Chinese New Year on 31/01/2022.

It took a long time to prepare the first batch of production, while our community gave us a lot of patience. Before the launching of R1, we already gathered a community of 2,000 people over 2 years of JamKoo App support.

1st Place of music China Audience Award
Wind Synthesizer R1 was able to exhibit on the cloud event by music China, the largest musical exhibition in China. Surprisingly, it was elected as the No.1 favorite instrument by 22/01/2022.

We believe majority of votes came from our community, many of which were still waiting for their R1, but actively voted out of strong mutual trust.
Firmware V1.1 & V1.2
Not long after our first thousand customers received their R1s, we released 2 new firmware based on their feedback. Most of the updates were setting adjustments and were preference centric. It was the first time R1 got tested by a large audience group.
Officially On the Market
We used a month and a half to make sure users were happy with R1 before we officially put it up for ordinary sale on 22/04/2022. Since then, anyone located in mainland China were able to purchase R1 on their favorite shopping platforms, and in-store purchases were rolling out by our distributors.
Firmware V1.3
On 27/06/2022, we released firmware V1.3, which was 2 months after the previous update. This time we added the custom light FX feature, the motion control as mod wheel feature, and a variety of technical improvements. R1 found its way as "an instrument that grows" through this update, giving users confidence that it will improve it self overtime.
3rd Place of MIDI Innovation Awards 2022
As a new product, R1 won the 3rd place of MIDI Innovation Awards 2022 (Commercial Hardware category), following a public vote by all music lovers around the world that made it a finalist.

This time, we received a lot of help from the global wind controller community as well as The MIDI Association. It is quite remarkable that a wind controller fought its way among all kinds of innovative gears.
NAMM Show Exhibition
Upon its excellent performance at the MIDI Innovation Awards, R1 was invited by The MIDI Association to attend the 2022 NAMM Show in California. It was the first time R1 exhibited overseas. No Robkoo team member was able to attend the show, we therefore sent all materials to our sound supplier and good friend, Sound Magic, to exhibit on our behalf.
Upgrade to 20 Sounds
Right after firmware V1.4, we released 7 new sounds for R1 on 08/09/2022. As a preparation for overseas launch, there were 5 new "western" sounds, 1 new digital sound and only 1 new "Chinese" sound. It was also a symbolic event showing R1's capability of sound installation. 
Golden Pin Design Award 2022
Golden Pin Design Award is an international industrial design award. R1 became one of the only 2 instrument designs that won the Design Pin in 2022. It was later shortlisted as a finalist of Best Design of the year. It shows that R1 appeals to not only musicians but much greater audience.

Meanwhile, R1 was given a finalist position in iF Design Award 2023 for its performance during Golden Pin.
38th TEC Awards Finalist
This is the biggest award of music & sound technology. R1 was honored to stand together with well established brands (Moog Music, Nord, Oberheim, and Roland) as finalists of musical instrument category. By now, it is safe to say that R1 is well accepted by the global musical instrument industry.
SoundMiT Exhibition
Upon invitation by SoundMiT, R1 made its way to Turin, Italy and offered on-site trials to visitors. Once again, we had great friends to exhibit on our behalf. We had 3 staff in total, but were still overwhelmed by the traffic of people.
Global Pre-Orders
As promised, we opened a gate for those who wish to order R1 from overseas on 06/12/2022. Without advertising, we ended up having dozens of pre-order customers from 20 countries/regions around the globe, who kindly offered suggestions that helped us move forward.