The BIG Arduino MIDI controller thread

[BennyJ]

I thought it just sent midi notes...sorry i am a noob and their site is pretty vague

[DjNecro]

The arduino? Not at all... You can program it to send midi notes though.. The arduino is a development board that allows you to easily program the Atmega328 microcontroller that it contains (or whatever chip the board uses [ATmega1280 or ATmega2560 in the mega's]).

The microcontroller is a general purpose cpu that can do just about anything you want to it to do...

Examples would include:

Self Balancing arduino robot directly controlled with a Wiimote

Arduino Dice Game
Arduino TVout Light Pen Demo
My Arduino Web Server v2.0

[BennyJ]

Ohh wow lol didnt know that at all. So how hard is it to program it to send midi notes?

[DjNecro]

Well see... You will also have to program it to read all the buttons, decide if they have been pushed (including debouncing to remove button jitter).. You also have to read the analog values of the faders or pots..

To be honest, based on your questions and responses.. You would be much better off using something like this: http://lividinstruments.com/hardware_builder.php instead of an arduino.

[BennyJ]

Meh ive looked up that but it cost like 4 times as much as an arduino. im willing to learn.

[DjNecro]

Okie dokie

In that case, I'd suggest that you start here: http://www.ladyada.net/learn/arduino/

The arduino forums are a wealth of information: http://arduino.cc/forum/

You will have a bunch to learn before you should try your hand at a midi controller.

If you can learn the programming and the electronics, a midi controller isn't all that difficult.

[BennyJ]

Thanks buddy

[MiL0]

Meh ive looked up that but it cost like 4 times as much as an arduino. im willing to learn.

depending on your I/O needs, I'd recommmend a Highly Liquid Midi CPU instead... not much more expensive than an Arduino Mega but MUCH easier to get up and running. Also, the owner of the forum will program it for you if you tell him exactly what you need.

[BennyJ]

depending on your I/O needs, I'd recommmend a Highly Liquid Midi CPU instead... not much more expensive than an Arduino Mega but MUCH easier to get up and running. Also, the owner of the forum will program it for you if you tell him exactly what you need.

Oo thanks for the info! looks great and is affordable. Looks like 128 digital inputs and up to 14 analog right? That sounds great

[DjNecro]

You realize that that is the same product that I linked you to originally...