midi

387 Articles

Simple MIDI Sample Player Runs On ESP32

March 19, 2026 by 3 Comments

[Jakub] is a musician, and found himself in need of a simple way to trigger samples via MIDI when on stage. So many commercial solutions exist, but most were overkill for the job or too messy and complicated to justify their use in a live environment. Thus, [Jakub] worked up Samplotron to do exactly the job needed with a minimum of fuss.

The project is based around the ESP32. It’s effectively a lightweight hardware sampler that can trigger sounds on command via MIDI. Sample data is loaded from an SD card, which also stores the device configuration. The Samplotron plays back mono 16-bit WAV files at 44,100 Hz, delivering audio via an ES8388 audio codec module connected via I2S. Two encoders are used to control the device, with a menu system presented via an SSD1309 OLED screen. Samples can be loaded and managed via this interface, and it allows tweaks to be made to volume levels and one-shot/loop playback as needed. MIDI input to the device is simply handled via the onboard UART functionality of the ESP32 itself.

It’s a neat little bit of music hardware that does exactly what [Jakub] needs and nothing more. We’ve featured similar builds before, like this neat RP2040 soundboard. If you’re building rad custom hardware for your own musical adventures, we’d love to know all about it. 

A Look Inside The Creative MB-10 MIDI Blaster

March 3, 2026 by 16 Comments

Before it became viable to distribute and play music tracks on home computers, the use of FM and Wavetable synthesis was very common, with MIDI Wavetable-based devices like the Roland MT-32 and SC-55 still highly sought after today. The Creative Midi Blaster MB-10 that [Yeo Kheng Meng] reviewed and tore down for an analysis isn’t quite as famous or sought after, but it provides a good example of what Creative Labs was doing at the time in this space.

Released in 1993, it definitely has more of a popular style vibe to it than the utilitarian Roland devices, even if this means highly impractical curves. In the list of features it claims Roland MT-32 emulation, which would have made it quite a bit more useful to the average user, including gamers of the era. Games like DOOM supported these MIDI devices for audio, for example.

In terms of price only the Roland SC-55ST comes close to the MB-10, similarly dropping a screen and a host of features. In terms of features the MB-10 claims far fewer instruments than the SC-55 variants, with even with the slightly higher priced SC-55ST massively outgunning it in raw specs. So would you ever buy the MB-10 back then and consider it a ‘good deal’? If $100 in 1990s money was worth losing full MIDI compatibility for, then it seems the answer was ‘yes’.

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Building The Haxocorder

February 26, 2026 by 9 Comments

The Haxophone is an open source MIDI saxophone project that has achieved some popularity. It’s caught the attention of [Shieladixon] not because she is a saxophonist but because she plays the recorder and is dissatisfied with existing MIDI recorder peripherals. She’s set about modifying the device to produce the Haxocorder, a better MIDI recorder.

The video below the break is the third of a series, of which part one and part two deal with the Haxophone and the shortcomings of her existing recorder peripheral. She’s replacing the Pi Zero of the Haxophone with a Pi Pico in a Zero form factor, and simplifying its design significantly to remove unnecessary features. The result is a versatile instrument capable at a touch of becoming the full range of recorders, which she demonstrates with some nifty duet work.

The upstream Haxophone project can be found here if you are interested, and we hope she follows this up with a release of her mods to make the Haxocorder. Meanwhile if you feel you might have seen her work before, she’s the brains behind the MIDISID.

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Motorized Faders Make An Awesome Volume Mixer For Your PC

January 31, 2026 by 14 Comments

These days, Windows has a moderately robust method for managing the volume across several applications. The only problem is that the controls for this are usually buried away. [CHWTT] found a way to make life easier by creating a physical mixer to handle volume levels instead.

The build relies on a piece of software called MIDI Mixer. It’s designed to control the volume levels of any application or audio device on a Windows system, and responds to MIDI commands. To suit this setup, [CHWTT] built a physical device to send the requisite MIDI commands to vary volume levels as desired. The build runs on an Arduino Micro. It’s set up to work with five motorized faders which are sold as replacements for the Behringer X32 mixer, which makes them very cheap to source. The motorized faders are driven by L293D motor controllers. There are also six additional push-buttons hooked up as well. The Micro reads the faders and sends the requisite MIDI commands to the attached PC over USB, and also moves the faders to different presets when commanded by the buttons.

If you’re a streamer, or just someone that often has multiple audio sources open at once, you might find a build like this remarkably useful. The use of motorized faders is a nice touch, too, easily allowing various presets to be recalled for different use cases.

We love seeing a build that goes to the effort to include motorized faders, there’s just something elegant and responsive about them. Continue reading “Motorized Faders Make An Awesome Volume Mixer For Your PC” →

Cheap Smart Ring Becomes MIDI Controller

January 31, 2026 by 3 Comments

The Colmi R02 is one of the cheapest smart rings on the market. It costs about $20, and is remarkably easy to hack. [Floyd Steinberg] took advantage of this to turn it into a rather unique MIDI controller.

What makes the Colmi R02 somewhat unique is that the manufacturer did not try to lock out users from uploading their own firmware. You don’t even really need to “hack” it, since there is no code signing or encryption. You can just whip up your own firmware to make it do whatever you want.

To that end, [Floyd] set up the ring to act as a device for musical expression. When connected to a computer over Bluetooth, data from the ring’s accelerometer is converted into MIDI CC commands via a simple web app. The app allows the MIDI messages to be configured so they can control whatever parameter is desired. [Floyd] demonstrates the ring by using it to control filter cutoff frequencies on an outboard synthesizer, with great effect.

You could theoretically just strap an accelerometer to your hand with a microcontroller and achieve similar operation. However, the magic of this is that it costs only $20 and it’s already in a form factor that’s optimized for wearing on your finger. It’s hard to beat that.

Files are on GitHub for those eager to experiment. We’ve previously featured some hacks of this particular smart ring, too, with [Aaron Christophel’s] efforts directly inspiring this work.

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Companion MIDI Pedal Helps Roland Groovebox Along

January 30, 2026 by 1 Comment

The Roland SP-404 Mk2 is a popular groovebox that can deliver a great beat if you know how to use it. If you’re seeking greater control than is available out of the box, though, you might like to try a custom pedal built by [Romain Dereu].

The concept is simple enough—[Romain] whipped up a bespoke MIDI device to specifically control various features of the SP-404. It’s based on an Arduino Nano, though it could also be built with an Arduino Uno if so desired. The microcontroller sends the requisite MIDI messages out via its serial UART. The microcontroller is built into a pedal-style enclosure with a big toggle switch and a foot switch. This enables the triggering of various pads on the SP-404, with modes selected via the toggle.

It’s a simple build that opens up new possibilities when playing with the SP-404. If you’ve ever wanted a custom device to spit out some specific MIDI commands to control the synths or drum machines in your performance rig, this project is a great example of how easy this is to achieve. Meanwhile, if you’re whipping your own custom MIDI gear at home, we always love to see it land on our tipsline!

Wireless MIDI Controller Has Lots Of Knobs

January 24, 2026 by 8 Comments

We live in a golden age for MIDI controllers. [rheslip]’s contribution to the milieu is a twisty take on the format, in that it’s covered in an array of knobs. Thus the name—Twisty 2. 

The controller can be built using the Raspberry Pi Pico or Pico 2. It’s set up to read a 4×4 array of clickable encoders, plus two bonus control knobs to make 18 in total, which are read via a 74HC4067 analog mux chip. There’s also an SK6812 RGB LED for each encoder, and an OLED display for showing status information. MIDI output is via USB, or, if you purchased the W variant of the Pi Pico/Pico 2, it can operate wirelessly over Bluetooth MIDI instead. The controller is set up to send MIDI CC messages, program changes, or note on/off messages depending on its configuration. Flipping through different modes is handled with the bottom set of encoders and the OLED display.

Few musicians we’ve ever met have told us they learned how to play the encoders, and yet. The cool thing about building your own MIDI controller is you can tune it to suit whatever method of performance strikes your fancy. If the name of this build alone has you inspired, you could always whip up a MIDI controller out of a Twister mat.

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