I know guitars, even MIDI guitars, are not really the main focus of interest here, but I thought I’d post a YouTube video about a new controller I made. It’s not far off being a regular homemade MIDI controller except that it’s sort of.. guitar shaped.
I wanted to post here because the information on this site about making your own controllers was what got me started on the project, and I’d like to say a huge thank you to the DJTT for the inspiration and information.
Nice work Kaitain! Thanks for sharing. I really like the way you used the touch strips as a guitar fret (& fretless) board for notes, not just modulating Fx. Which really makes it an instrument, and not just an Ableton clip launcher.
Thanks! What I was aiming for is to have something that was properly expressive, which the strips do a good job on. There is still a good many things I can do to improve that with the instrument as a whole, pressure sensitive “pluck” buttons for a start, and the MIDI footpedal i mention near the end of the video would really increase the expressiveness too. The nice thing about it being guitar shaped is that guitars are a really great performing instrument: you’re stood up and the instrument is facing the audience, and also, people sort of understand how guitars work. I think it’s nice to watch people play music when you know more or less how the sound is being generated/manipulated. Sometimes buttons and knobs style controllers can be a tad… arcane (from the audience’s point of view).
The one thing I would change (and you did mention it) is the arcade button placement. Instead of matching them to the “strings”, I would match them to my hand/fingers when it is in a comfortable position. Also put them in a slight arch like Moldover’s Mojo.
