MiniMoog-Style iPad MIDI Controller Prototype

ipad-minimoog-upright

Inevitable Crafts shared these images of a prototype of a Minimoog-style iPad MIDI controller.

The Minmoog-style MIDI controller is in the proof-of-concept stage. The plan is to base it on inexpensive, readily available components, including anΒ Akai LPK8, a Behringer 202 sounccard and various plugs and connectors and birch wood from Home Depot.

Here are a few more images of the prototype under construction:

29 thoughts on “MiniMoog-Style iPad MIDI Controller Prototype

          1. its mine πŸ™‚

            why would you think i have the ressources to buy and/or want a minimoog ? πŸ™‚

            before i built this controller, which was a diy freestyle weekend project btw, my setup would be:

            ipad>> cameraconnection kit > usb hub that connects to a usb keyboard, a midimate to connect to the electrons, and a soundcard that connects to my patchbay with four cables.

            now, its slide the ipad in the controller and connect it like hardware, no hub no soundcard no midimate, no cables πŸ™‚
            ah and it has an analog MS20 (monotron) filter built in on the left side

            thats the only reason for building it, at first i wanted to build a 3U rackmountable unit, but then thought, why not build a keyboard in it.
            then i thought if i can detach the unit it would be cool too, and as the minimoog has the easiest design with all the wood and already a two units design i used that one.

            i personally dont even like minimoogs that much, i would rather go with an ms20 as a monosynth, but iam happy with my elektrons for now. “if” i would buy a synth it would be a microkorg i guess πŸ™‚

    1. Wow! I love this. I am starting to use my iPads in concert a lot more and finding a good way to mount them to a stand do I can perform with them has been my biggest hurdle. I am a keyboard player and I think it would be a perfect choice for me to have a controller similar to this so the iPad acts like a real synth and fits on a regular keyboard stand! Great job! I my be trying something similar soon.

  1. Seems pointless unless there were more KNOBS, or unless you have a wood fetish. A small midii controller has more control surfaces and will probably be more useful with other ipad apps. I mean, you have real keys and real wood, but you have to ‘turn’ the knobs via a touch screen? Nah. I hate using a touch screen for music making.

    I get that it wants to be as much like a real MiniMood as possible, but it’s just still too far away to justify creating space for the big clunky foot print and lack of knobs.

    1. Are synth playing people true keyboardists or pianists?

      Most pianists I know only play the piano, not synths, and most synths players I know play with synths because they love modulating sounds, not because they want to replicate the piano.

      To each their things. Personnally I really love my Eowave Ribbon πŸ™‚

      1. I’ve been learning to play the piano for a fair while (I’m at grade 6) but I also like playing synths. I don’t really care about minikeys etc (Never played a proper synth with minikeys, but I’ve used a few old casio keyboards with tiny keys or even just buttons and not had any problems); the only type of keyboards I particularly dislike are weighted action keyboards (they never seem to get it right with them). I don’t play the gladiolis rag on a synth, and I don’t play mono basslines on a piano.

    2. I have to disagree with you. I have played both jazz and classical piano for over ten years and i actually have found new ways of playing through using mini keys. I bought an Akai MPK mini a few months ago and i have sort of developed a more percussive style of playing on it that brings out fresh ideas! I also try to implement it into my live-rig for playing sounds that don’t require too much dynamic precision and range. It can be a lifesaver when you’re dealing with a lot of sounds! If you check my soundcloud all of the music i’ve made the last half year was made with the MPK mini.

    3. thats fine with me, i would never let anyone play it that classifies music like that πŸ™‚

      true this and true that .. i dont know .. when i was 20 i played bass in black/death metal bands … believe me iam fed up with true this and true that hehe

      at the beginning we where making metal, at the end we where making hardcore-melodic-death-core we couldnt say just metal, it was un-true πŸ™‚

      can you believe that ? someone takes a beautiful thing like music and then just classifies everything in it ?

      ah yes you can i guess ..

      for me making music is a completely different thing like it is for you, obviously

      think about what you lose by classifications like yours πŸ˜‰

  2. Tough crowd here. Good luck with your project. Feeding the output of various digital synth simulations through pieces of the Korg monotron may be very interesting. I do agree about the mini-keys though…maybe make it a desktop module? Real knobs are part of the plan I think…just not installed yet.

  3. It’s really cute but needs more development (and the wheels as mentioned). I’d like to see it made available as a DIY kit.

  4. guys if that controller already pisses you off then wait until you here my next idea to build:

    i take an iphone (o my god!) and use a synth app to produce waveforms and use that as a DCO with complete analog subtractive synthesis afterwards, filters adsr generators etc

    and i build everything in a 3u rack unit with midi/audio i/o

    why is there no iphone doespfer unit with two channel 24bit audio you can get pretty clean osc out i guess, or as a sequencer, doepfer should make an iphone dock with an app πŸ™‚

      1. Exactly, show some respect when the “purists” call your little project you’ve worked so hard on pointless and derivative! And remember, they don’t need to show you respect, because they’re not the ones admitting that they use substandard equipment, now are they? Lol

        1. hehe

          i wonder if i should build a birdhouse with built in ipad-mini snapshot cam next weekend, then i could piss A LOT of guys off πŸ™‚

          birdhouse purists at first .. i mean a tablet ? … in a birdhouse …. crazy …
          then the android crowd because i use an ipad mini
          then the ipad users because i use the holy ipad for shi*t like that
          and of course steve jobs … an iPad what ??? no one will ever want a 7″ ipad!!

          and a new class of “over the weekend” projects is born, the “offensive do it yourself”, the ODIY-project just to piss people off haha

  5. Although it requires more development and such, there’s no need to justify this homemade controller to anyone. Well done anyway.

    Furthermore, people are always envious of what others can do.

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