MIDI Controller Fit For An Arcade

February 23, 2011 by Mike Nathan 6 Comments

arcade_midi_controller

MIDI controllers can be relatively expensive depending on feature sets and requirements, so Instructables user [fraganator] went about building one on his own for just under $100. He originally wanted to replicate a commercially available MIDI controller, which used arcade buttons in lieu of the more common rubberized buttons, since they are large and have a better feel when pressed. Once he drew up plans for his MIDI clone, he realized he wanted more features in his controller than were available in the commercial version, so he started revising.

His final plan included three rows of four arcade buttons as well as four rotary and two sliding potentiometers. All of the components were mounted in a small keyboard enclosure, then wired to an Arduino clone, which manages all of the controller’s functions. The controller is connected to a PC via USB and can perform any number of operations once the buttons are mapped in MIDI-compatible software.

There are no videos of the controller in action just yet, though [fraganator] says one is forthcoming.

Light Sensitive MIDI Glove

February 22, 2011 by Mike Szczys 3 Comments

The latest offering in glove-based noisemakers forsakes commonly used flex sensors in favor or photoresistors. [Bruno Ratnieks] is responsible for this musical glove and his methods will be very easy to recreate. He used an Arduino to interface with it while providing a USB connection to your audio software. The sensors themselves couldn’t be easier to throw together, with each photoresistor creating a voltage divider when combined with a fixed-value resistor. That’s all the hardware you need, and with some creative coding you can making it do much more than the effects heard in the video after the break.

Some will say that [Bruno] simply didn’t used enough duct tape with his project design. Be we liked how he wove the wiring into the mesh of these knit gloves to keep it firmly in place.

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Classical’s Greatest Hits On Hardware’s Greatest Flops

February 17, 2011 by Mike Szczys 19 Comments

We get a lot of tips about old hardware playing recognizable tunes. But once in a while one of these projects goes above and beyond the others and this is a shining example of great hardware music. [FunToTheHead] put together a music video (embedded after the break) that shows his custom MIDI device playing Bach’s Toccata in d minor. He left some comments that clue us into the way he did it. Most obviously, he’s using the stepper motors from four floppy drives to create precisely pitched sounds. Internally, a PIC 18F14K50 acts as a MIDI-over-USB device, taking commands for all 128 MIDI notes as well as the pitch bends associated with them. The first four channels are played directly on each drive and the other twelve are triaged among the hardware by the microprocessor. But for the results heard in the video you’ll need to code your MIDI files by hand.

Bonus points to the video editor for the Phantom’s floppy-laden appearance in the video… it’s good to laugh!

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LaunchPad MIDI Synth

February 13, 2011 by Mike Nathan 6 Comments

launchpad_midi_synth

[NatureTM] sent in a writeup for the MIDI synthesizer he recently built using a TI LaunchPad. The construction is pretty simple overall, consisting of little more than the MSP430, a handful of resistors, and an optoiosolater. Of course, a MIDI controller is required, but he already had that on hand.

Once the MIDI data is read from the optoisolator, his code takes care of the rest, adjusting the square wave sound generator to get the proper note. He does mention that since the synthesizer is monophonic, special care is taken to ensure that simultaneous notes are processed properly. You can route all of the sound into a single speaker, but he used the optoisolator to send the sound data to multiple LaunchPads instead, resulting in a fun little MIDI quintet.

He provides code and plenty of video on his site, but keep reading for a sneak peek of his synth in action.

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Today’s Arduino Minute

February 10, 2011 by James Munns 15 Comments

Sometimes projects are vast, complicated, and complex. Other times projects are a bit more on the simple. Today we thought we would share a couple projects with something in common that may be familiar sounding to the more experienced crowd, but may inspire a few readers new to the world of microcontrollers.

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Theremin Midi Board Is Like Using Autotune

February 8, 2011 by Mike Szczys 8 Comments

[Steve Hobley] built a Theremin interface board that tracks pitch and volume. Using this setup he’s able to pass data over a midi interface which effectively converts the instrument into a non-contact midi controller. As we joked in the headline, this does allow for the use of autotune, by snapping notes that are sharp or flat to the center of the nearest pitch. But you should watch the video after the break to see [Steve] show off the other features as well. A keyboard can be used to seed a starting pitch, with arpeggios of several different tonalities built on top of it based on the input from the Theremin.

Want the details? Unfortunately you’ll have to pay for the schematics. But the concept is still just as interesting to read about, even if you don’t know what went into the system. Continue reading “Theremin Midi Board Is Like Using Autotune” →

MIDI Input For The Kaossilator

February 4, 2011 by Mike Szczys 7 Comments

This isn’t strictly a MIDI input hack; [Furrtek] pulled off an alternate input hack for the Kaossilator that he’s currently using with a MIDI connection. In its unhacked form the Kaossilator is a small touchpad-based sound manipulation tool. [Furrtek] sniffed out how the touchpad data is read and used on the little device. He then purposed an ATtiny2313 as the core of a circuit that spoofs those signals. The microcontroller now listens for incoming MIDI data, looks up the proper signal translations in a table, then outputs them to the Kaossilator.

In the video after the break you can see that it works perfectly, with no lag or noticeable problems. As we alluded to at the top, there could be so much more done with this. Since the ATtiny2313 is merely translating MIDI into touchpad signals, the input could be anything. The first thing that comes to mind is a dance floor that changes the music based on how many people are out there tearing it up. Continue reading “MIDI Input For The Kaossilator” →