DIY 16 Button midi foot switch.

[Dave71]

Just finished a breadboard version of a 16 button midi over usb foot controller, with LEDs, using a Teensy 4.0 and Max7219 IC.

I’m controlling QLC+ lighting software which is configured with 16 solo soft buttons, each full of various lighting scenes etc. The LED's are setup so each button press clears whatever was illuminated and illuminates the corresponding button LED. As QLC+ locks the buttons when you configure them to work off midi, you can't use any other method to activate said buttons so hopefully they should be in sync all the time.

A couple of the Led's are dimmer than the rest but i can't be sure they are all the same spec as I've had them laying round for years. Will be buying new for the actual build.

Can’t take much of the credit as I've read up on various similar projects and copied/tweaked the code to suit.

Happy to share details if anybody’s interested

Cheers

[Folderol]

Can’t take much of the credit as I've read up on various similar projects and copied/tweaked the code to suit.

Happy to share details if anybody’s interested

Cheers

That's how the rest of us got started

[adamburgess]

It's always satisfying building something from scratch (even with the help of libraries and a bit standard code )

Keep meaning to make something bigger after my first and only Arduino thing. Converted an old Marshall amp channel footswitch to a MIDI controller to mute FX on X32/XR18.

I would love to have a look at the code and circuitry! Very kind.

[Dave71]

No point reinventing the wheel, especially if somebody has made a perfectly good one

I'm going to see if i can get something to mute the effects on my QU16, seen somebody has done it with a Pi via ethernet but I want to look at USB, if its possible.

Code is on the PJrc forum https://forum.pjrc.com/threads/69662-16 ... s-it-right

Cheers

[S2]

It's always satisfying building something from scratch (even with the help of libraries and a bit standard code )

Keep meaning to make something bigger after my first and only Arduino thing. Converted an old Marshall amp channel footswitch to a MIDI controller to mute FX on X32/XR18.

I would love to have a look at the code and circuitry! Very kind.

Sorry to bump an old thread, but can you give me some insight into how you did this? It's exactly what I'm looking for! I have an old Marshall footswitch and an Arduino and I want some way for muting the reverb on my X32, other than walking back to the mixer and switching it off which is not always convenient.

[The Elf]

Good for you, mate.

I began my Arduino journey during lockdown, and never looked back. Now every time the band needs a digital solution all eyes turn to me! Some of my inventions have been overtaken by other technology, but it was good to learn this stuff. I'm now self-sufficient in MIDI/USB controllers!

It's well worth getting stuck into projects like this. It opens doors. Now I'm turning my attention to 'Smart Home' technology, and so far the results are well worth the effort.

[OneWorld]

Back in the day I used to build my own synths, ok not designed by me, but I did learn to mod them as I learned more, there were actually magazines that published designs for kits for complete synths and/or modules, but as I say that was back in the day, the days of long hot summers, the sound of leather on the willow and we used to have milkmen bring the milk to the doorstep

[Drew Stephenson]

...but as I say that was back in the day, the days of long hot summers, the sound of leather on the willow and we used to have milkmen bring the milk to the doorstep

... and the average life expectancy meant that this forum would probably be a much quieter place!

[Folderol]

It's well worth getting stuck into projects like this. It opens doors. Now I'm turning my attention to 'Smart Home' technology, and so far the results are well worth the effort.

Absolutely agree with this. Apart from the added independence, it gives you complete control over just how 'smart' you want the devices to be!

[OneWorld]

...but as I say that was back in the day, the days of long hot summers, the sound of leather on the willow and we used to have milkmen bring the milk to the doorstep

... and the average life expectancy meant that this forum would probably be a much quieter place!

I don't know, they say you can still play an old tune on an old fiddle, or is it an old tune on a new fiddle. I just fiddle until I get a noise that brings sonic contentment. Mind you when I got a fiddle it and tried to play it, even the cat ran out the door, and it was an old cat, had seen and heard it all I would have thought

[Martin Walker]

Ah, discussions like these warm the cockels of my DIY heart

[Luke W]

It's well worth getting stuck into projects like this. It opens doors. Now I'm turning my attention to 'Smart Home' technology, and so far the results are well worth the effort.

Absolutely agree with this. Apart from the added independence, it gives you complete control over just how 'smart' you want the devices to be!

And me. I built a little three-fader MIDI controller a while back and got exactly what I needed rather than ending up with something that was just about right. Plus I felt smug about making it work, and spent about a third of what the second best option would have cost me!

[S2]

Good for you, mate.

I began my Arduino journey during lockdown, and never looked back. Now every time the band needs a digital solution all eyes turn to me! Some of my inventions have been overtaken by other technology, but it was good to learn this stuff. I'm now self-sufficient in MIDI/USB controllers!

It's well worth getting stuck into projects like this. It opens doors. Now I'm turning my attention to 'Smart Home' technology, and so far the results are well worth the effort.

I'll do some searching and see what I can find. It can't be too hard - I only need one button. So at a basic level, just a midi program change message with another one on the second press. An LED to show if it's on or off would be good too.

I'm sure there is no need to reinvent the wheel, this sort of code, or similar, must have been written before.

[ajay_m]

I see eBay has a 4 button footswitch midi controller from several sellers for as little as £27. Might be worth a punt at that price....

[Folderol]

I see eBay has a 4 button footswitch midi controller from several sellers for as little as £27. Might be worth a punt at that price....

But... but.. Where's the fun in that?

[The Elf]

I see eBay has a 4 button footswitch midi controller from several sellers for as little as £27. Might be worth a punt at that price....

But... but.. Where's the fun in that?

+1

[Drew Stephenson]

But it might be useful for me!

[OneWorld]

I see eBay has a 4 button footswitch midi controller from several sellers for as little as £27. Might be worth a punt at that price....

But... but.. Where's the fun in that?

Until you have soldered and laboured into the wee small hours, night after night, then finally got to the point where you are at the point of completion and you plug the thing in only to see a puff of smoke, a racket of sparks and then it goes into an end of life spasm, and you're left with just a puddle of melt, you'll never know

[Folderol]

I see eBay has a 4 button footswitch midi controller from several sellers for as little as £27. Might be worth a punt at that price....

But... but.. Where's the fun in that?

Until you have soldered and laboured into the wee small hours, night after night, then finally got to the point where you are at the point of completion and you plug the thing in only to see a puff of smoke, a racket of sparks and then it goes into an end of life spasm, and you're left with just a puddle of melt, you'll never know

Microsoft paid you to write that, didn't they

[OneWorld]

I see eBay has a 4 button footswitch midi controller from several sellers for as little as £27. Might be worth a punt at that price....

But... but.. Where's the fun in that?

Until you have soldered and laboured into the wee small hours, night after night, then finally got to the point where you are at the point of completion and you plug the thing in only to see a puff of smoke, a racket of sparks and then it goes into an end of life spasm, and you're left with just a puddle of melt, you'll never know

Microsoft paid you to write that, didn't they

I wish