Not much changes with the layout. It will increase a little in size to accommodate the new buttons and controllers for said buttons. But I think it will be worth it for what they can do. The new buttons will be OLED pushbutton switches. Now keep in mind I have no freekin’ clue how to build or program. I just have the concept for this and it’s been stewing in my head for a while. But here it goes.
The Midi Fighter will function as usual but with the added benefit of having an image mapped to whatever function you have mapped to it. There will be a clip art like library of images that come along with the new MF program. But you will be free to map ico png bmp jpg ect images to said button if you choose. This not only will make things easier. But will also look pretty bad ass. Also allowing people who like to put on finger drumming performances to map out grid like images to fill the entire controller in what ever way they want.
There. That’s about it. All I ask is that is if this is done I would at least like to get one at cost for putting the idea out there Because I am broke and couldn’t even consider making one by myself. But I know how to copy lines of code into a terminal.
Here is one place I found that will give a general idea of what the buttons are like. I’m sure there are many many more suppliers. But this is a first page google result. http://www.nkkswitches.com/oled-pushbutton.aspx
That is a cool idea and I was fascinated by them at one point as well. I really wanted this qwerty keyboard. However, A MF concept like that would be a really expensive. It’d definitely be high-end market right next to a Monome or the EMULATOR see though screen. Looking at the cost on Mouser.com, each of of those buttons are anywhere from $40-$100 USD. That’s pretty pricey. Most likely, It would have to have 16 buttons. 16 x $40 = $640. I’m sure there would be more costs on top of that which could put it way above the price of say a Push2 or Maschine.
MHO, The genius of the MidiFighter is that it repurposes a rather cheap component that has a proven track record of reliability and performance. Arcade style buttons are sensitive and reliable,exactly what a controllerist needs. They’ve been perfected over the years. Remember, Arcade games were once a multimillion dollar industry. Companies needed to have solid components to withstand the rigor of hundreds and sometimes thousands of excited Gamers/kids mashing at them almost continuously. Since arcades have lost their popularity, those components are found pretty cheap. Each button at consumer price is about $2.00 USD. I’m sure if you’re doing bulk it goes way below that. Even after the mark up, the price is reasonable to the consumer and the prophet margin is probably decent. for good business decisions!!!
It would nice to have those little screens tell you good info like time remaining on loop in the form of a gauge or or the name of the sample. I think having visual feedback on your hardware is really important but i think RGB lights provide amazing amount for the price if the functions are well thought out.
It will definitely happen one day. But right now, it is just too expensive.
Another option might be a Midi Fighter with a completely transparent 16 button grid, with a single screen mounted underneath the buttons (inside the MF) displaying 16 icons/images corresponding to the location of the buttons. That would be cheaper…
After reading the previous post, your idea seems like a better option. Also I’m very new to the forums and DJ/production in general. I’m generally good about going back into the archives and checking the posts. But I was a little too excited and wanted to get the idea out there.
Now for your idea I think it would require a new(ish) type of button. Unless it already is out there. But it would be a crystal clear square arcade button with offset switch. Every button I have seen has a switch that is located either directly under the button. Or the offset style that is available would still be in the way of the screen. The button/switch that would be needed would have to be one that has the switch completely to the outside. I’m sure they exist. I just haven’t seen them.
But then we get to the screen. These are cheap. You can get them in a variety of sizes. Even with multi touch capability for under $100. And if they were to be ordered in bulk, standard non touch screens at 4:3 then they would be super cheap.
They MF program would have a 4x4 grid laid out with a drag and drop option to load the static images, .gif files, mp4 ect. But they would have to be within some limitation for memory/processing restrictions. Not everyone has a recent Mac pro or a gaming rig. And if you were to load if up with a ton of video clips it would most likely crash if they were all h.256.
But in the end. It’s still a stock MF. Made to be mashed upon. Lifted and tilted. Maybe add a button and light sensor to it to add a theramin like effect. Hold the button down and it senses how close of far away your hand is.
Well then maybe just use a touch screen, and have clear platic (probably more like rubber) buttons that ONLY touch the screen (no actual switches in them)…?
I think so. Kinda like the buttons of a game controller. But with this, the contacts would be on the outside rim of the button. And the button would need to have a stopping point to prevent too much pressure on the screen. So to do that there would be another 4x4 cutout under the top one. I’m not sure if the buttons would have to be modified/created or if the conductive pads would/could be thick enough to handle the distance from the stopping point of the button to the screen.
The more I think about this. The more it sounds like a 3rd party piece of hardware for an ipad app.
I should fire up FreeCADand see if I remember how to use it. I should be able to draft out a rough (really rough) model of it. But as far as the app goes. That’s beyond me. I can bring most computers back from the dead. That’s about where my tech peaks out. I can barely remember how to post a hotlink in HTML.
Because I am broke and couldn’t even consider making one by myself. But I know how to copy lines of code into a terminal.
for good business decisions!!!