“we go through the annoying stuff so you dont have to”
That certainly applies to my current attempt to offer a simple, inexpensive midi controller that most people could find useful. In the end I succeeded, but it required some serious investigation and re-thinking the fundamental concepts. This design is not meant to be sold or duplicated but rather to show the basic steps required in building your own midi accessory or moding an existing controller.
Do you need just a few more controls? Perhaps your wondering how hard it is to make your own controller? Then follow the steps in this 2 part series and build your first midi controller in about an hour for very little cash. Using only 8 electronics parts, a pre-made case and a DIY midi interface that is USB powered- you can build a controller and it wont require a degree in electrical engineering. Continue reading ‘DIY Controller- 59 minutes, $99.’
Have you found the perfect MIDI controller yet? Chances are the answer is “no,” and you can’t entirely blame it on the manufacturers either. In this fast-paced DIY world, where technology morphs at light speeds, big manufacturers’ R&D cycles will never be able to keep up with your imagination. So stop waiting around for a company to release the perfect controller, and make your own! You may be thinking, “That will take way too much time,” “I have no idea how to do that,” and, “Where would I start?” Those are all legitimate roadblocks, but with a little know-how and a soft push in the right direction, you may find it’s not as hard as you think. Here are two simple ways you can customize your own interface, depending on how much time you want to spend.
Hardware, software, your local grocery store- everything is going open source! Why not a dj midi controller? That’s what the guys at Aurora mixers thought, so they have created an open source mixer which you can build on or modify yourself.
I know, I know- there have been a lot of posts on the vci-300 lately. Some of you are probably wondering if you should be thinking about selling the vci-100. Don’t worry, there is a video on the way that will break down the real differences between the 2 in a clear manner. Here is a new video that demonstrates a cool tempo trick that anyone can use but is easy to perform out of the box with a vci-300.
A jog wheel may be good for cuing up a song but the top does not serve much of a purpose after that. So why not double assign it to another function that works when you hold down a shift key? Its a logical conclusion but finding something that actually works well with the jog wheel’s pitch bend type message is another story. Last week I may have found something that fits perfectly.
If your the guy who needs to get a little more midi control without sacrificing precious booth space or beer money you may have reason to rejoice. Korg has announced a clever line of midi controllers that will fit right in front of your laptop and theoretically perhaps sit on the same laptop stand
In one of our tutorials 2 weeks ago I showed you how to layer 2 filters on top of each other and assign one knob to many different functions on those 2 filters. This “super knob” is a handy way to create wild sounds with minimal effort. In that case the desired effect required a Zone 92 LP filter on the deck and a HP filter on the master effect. So if you suddenly get inspired to create some wild filter builds in the middle of a set, you would probably want to have 2 controllers dedicated to that function. A button to engage the required effects and the super knob to tweak them out. So how do you make one button do that?
Frankfurt, Germany. Once a year, inside a massive series of connecting halls, music companies from around the world converge for the European version of NAMM. All of the dj brands are accounted for, and we were expecting working models of many of the new controllers that premiered at NAMM. Sadly, only the VCI-300 was really in testing condition. Many of the new dj items we wanted to get our grubby little hands on were not functional or barely working. Some, like the Numark Ns7, were still in the exact same condition as NAMM, under a protective sheet of glass.
Frankfurt, Germany. Once a year, inside a massive series of connecting halls, music companies from around the world converge for the European version of NAMM. All of the dj brands are accounted for, and we were expecting working models of many of the new controllers that premiered at NAMM. Sadly, only the VCI-300 was really in testing condition. Many of the new dj items we wanted to get our grubby little hands on were not functional or barely working. Some, like the Numark Ns7, were still in the exact same condition as NAMM, under a protective sheet of glass.
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