Building A Custom MIDI Controller Using Arduino

The latest Switch & Lever video takes a look at building a custom MIDI controller, based on the Arduino platform.

Arduino is an open-source electronics platform, based on easy-to-use hardware and software

TheMIDInator is a MIDI controller based on an Arduino MEGA 2560. It uses a few potentiometers, rotary encoders, a joystick, switches and a keypad as inputs and sends MIDI commands via serial USB interface to the computer.

For this controller to work properly a program such as Hairless MIDI to Serial Bridge needs to be running on the computer to receive the commands. This can then be piped into your DAW of choice.

You can download the code and circuit diagram for this project at Github.

2 thoughts on “Building A Custom MIDI Controller Using Arduino

  1. I started building a MIDI control box a few years ago, but got stuck. I was in way over my head; under-estimating what was involved, and over-estimating my ability to grasp the steps needed.

    I had hoped to include a few high-resolution controls. I got a couple 16-bit ADCs, a couple 3-turn precision pots, and included a bunch of external inputs. But I’m not sure how to approach it both in terms of hardware and software.

    There are also aspects of the wiring I need to learn: Things like managing the ground, “de-bouncing” the buttons, creating a button matrix, and physically interfacing with the ADC and the microprocessor.

    The programming side could be fun and interesting to learn, but does require a pretty significant investment of time & effort.

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