The Story Behind Oaktone : Interview with Jeff Caylor
Jeff is the creator of one of my favorite MIDI controllers ever made: the Oakboard Mini.
In this interview, Jeff talks about how he came up with the idea for the Oakboard Mini, and how that eventually grew into a fully-fledged music software and hardware company. I love Jeff’s story because he never set out to start a company. He just started solving his own problems by learning to code. He built a small MIDI controller to do exactly what he needed it to do. Turns out he wasn’t the only one experiencing those problems, and Oaktone was born!
Jeff is an incredibly talented and endlessly curious person. In addition to owning and running Oaktone, Jeff is an Ableton Certified Trainer, a worship leader, songwriter, and producer.
Oaktone 👇
Best MIDI Controllers for Running Tracks 2023 👇
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mmg2s5hJhIc
Max MSP Programming Course from Stanford 👇
Should you Become an Ableton Live Certified Trainer 👇
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCQY7mkgp1E
Jeff’s website 👇
Jeff’s music 👇
https://spotify.link/7vkpcu9Wfyb
Renew Worship
https://spotify.link/GEQ48mcXfyb
The Calm Beyond Movie
https://itunes.apple.com/us/movie/the-calm-beyond/id1607697798
00:00:00 – Interview with Jeff Caylor: From Idea to Prototype to Popular MIDI Controller
00:01:27 – Episode 29 of Behind the Space Bar: Exploring Potential Product Ideas with Jeff
00:02:48 – How to Show Appreciation for Free Content
00:03:54 – Exploring the History of His Pedal Creation
00:05:05 – Conversation on Problem-Solving Ability
00:06:33 – Exploring Unique Talents and Creative Solutions
00:08:21 – Creating a business focusing on Live Show MIDI Control
00:09:43 – Creating a Foot Controller Out of Necessity
00:10:58 – Stage Tools for Storytellers
00:15:05 – Using Computers for Performance on Stage
00:16:21 – Developing the Oak Board Mini Controller
00:17:24 – The Benefits of Using Playback Hardware for Live Performance
00:21:30 – A look back at previous MIDI Controllers
00:22:38 – Benefits of Using a Custom MIDI Controller for Live Performance
00:24:52 – Jeff’s Journey to Becoming an Ableton Live Certified Trainer
00:26:10 – Will’s Experience of Becoming a Certified Ableton Trainer
00:27:23 – The Benefits of Becoming an Ableton Live Certified Trainer
00:30:59 – Jeff’s Musical journey
00:36:47 – What Jeff’s musical journey looks like currently
00:39:21 – What you should do to get started with Max for live
00:42:19 – How to stay in touch with Jeff
00:44:22 – Wrap-Up
00:44:47 – Go Support What Jeff is Doing using Links in the Description!
00:45:25 – Why supporting independent creators is so important
00:46:50 – How to become a subscriber
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