About JMK

Thanks for taking an interest in JMK Music Pedals.

I'm a long-time  programmer and musician who has always dreamed of combining both skill sets to make music gear.

As a teenager, I got introduced to MIDI around 1990 through an original Alesis Quadraverb, a Rocktron Pro G.A.P. and an archaic MIDI Controller.  I was only looking for a way to give my guitar sound instant changes during live performances, but it opened the door to much more.  I wasn't a programmer yet, but I became what you might call a power-user of MIDI and continue to use MIDI as a central part of my guitar, synth, drum and recording setup to this day.

Even in the early 90's I was already experimenting with adding synchronized tracks to supplement our live music.  Later on, I began using both looping and sequencing with live bands on stage successfully.  At home, I created compositions on the fly using multiple loopers and sequencers, tied together with MIDI Clock and MIDI programming (*), and that exploration still continues.

Since I depended so heavily on MIDI Clock, I wanted to have a master MIDI Clock that could also double as an audio metronome, as well as have a more robust MIDI API. I reached out to a few MIDI Clock vendors in 2018 to see if a metronome was a feature they would be interested in adding. When I decided to pursue making music gear of my own, this was the obvious place for me to start.

Out of the combination of my experiences, ideas and programming knowledge came the original CLOCKstep, a dedicated master MIDI Clock in a pedalboard form factor.  Not long after came CLOCKstep:MULTI, covering a segment of the table top market that require a bridge between MIDI Clock, CV Sync and DAW.

I'm always working on prototypes for new gear and I'm already executing on plans to expand beyond the Master Clock market.  I invite you to follow my progress and even take the journey with me if you see something that you like.  Go ahead and spread the word anyway you can!

Thanks,

Joe

(*) This was my first entirely "live" looping composition:

And this was my last (for now):