DIY 16 Button midi foot switch.

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DIY 16 Button midi foot switch.

Post by 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
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Re: DIY 16 Button midi foot switch.

Post by Folderol »

Dave71 wrote: Sun Feb 27, 2022 9:57 am 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 :lol:
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Re: DIY 16 Button midi foot switch.

Post by adamburgess »

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

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.
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Re: DIY 16 Button midi foot switch.

Post by 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
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Re: DIY 16 Button midi foot switch.

Post by S2 »

adamburgess wrote: Sun Feb 27, 2022 1:19 pm It's always satisfying building something from scratch (even with the help of libraries and a bit standard code :clap: )

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.
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Re: DIY 16 Button midi foot switch.

Post by The Elf »

Good for you, mate. :thumbup:

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.
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Re: DIY 16 Button midi foot switch.

Post by 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
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Re: DIY 16 Button midi foot switch.

Post by Drew Stephenson »

OneWorld wrote: Fri Feb 03, 2023 1:43 pm...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! :D
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Re: DIY 16 Button midi foot switch.

Post by Folderol »

The Elf wrote: Fri Feb 03, 2023 12:40 pm 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!
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Re: DIY 16 Button midi foot switch.

Post by OneWorld »

blinddrew wrote: Fri Feb 03, 2023 1:45 pm
OneWorld wrote: Fri Feb 03, 2023 1:43 pm...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! :D


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
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Re: DIY 16 Button midi foot switch.

Post by Martin Walker »

Ah, discussions like these warm the cockels of my DIY heart ;)
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Re: DIY 16 Button midi foot switch.

Post by Luke W »

Folderol wrote: Fri Feb 03, 2023 2:07 pm
The Elf wrote: Fri Feb 03, 2023 12:40 pm 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!
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