Ladies and gentlemen, get your sample packs out, sit the kids down, and get ready to nub punch those chubby buttons into the wee hours of the morning. If you love making your own music, are mesmerized by the mixing of sound or have ever wanted to make your own MIDI controller, our Model of the Week will have you leaving work early.
Peter Hansen has the perfect, need I say, most stylish little MIDI Fighter styled design to use across an array of audio sequencing software. It’s a simple print for a case, but he ha all the part details for turning it into the MIDI controller of your dreams.
See that. A beauty, no? The 3D print itself is two pieces that include case and top plate. Peter recommends printing at 0.18-0.20 layer thickness with supports. He uses an Ultimaker 2+ but has three other printers as well!
On the electronics side of the project, the list of parts include:
- Arduino Mega x1
- On/off switch size 12.9mmx19.4mm x1
- Sanwa 24mm Arcade buttons (or clones) x16
- 15mm x 17mm knobs (KN-11/WS) x4
- 10k potentiometers x4
- 4-6mm M3 button head screws x8
- Dupont wires (for the Arduino)
- Wire for the buttons and potentiometers
On the software side:
“Use the MocoLufa boot loader and you are able to program the Arduino again without needing to flash the boot loader. This is what the ON/OFF switch is for. READ THE MocoLUFA instructions on the link. And as a bonus the Arduino shows up and work as a normal Native USB MIDI device without the need for a emulator such as hairless MIDI etc.”
While it helps to know your way around the command line interface a little bit, this project is totally doable for those new to Arduino and you’re sure to learn some things along the way (as I’m finding out). Peter also recommends Nerd Musician’s YouTube channel which will break down the wiring portion of the project. Here’s a MIDI build tutorial on his website that will get you on your way.
You can download the MIDI Controller case file on MyMiniFactory. If you build this or have built another MIDI controller we would LOVE to hear about it!
Have a model you think everyone needs? Share the link and details with us here!
