Reply to Open MIDI Controller -From Scratch-

Hi everybody

A friend and I have got an Arduino at school (we study Industrial Engineering Sciences Electronics/ICT), and the goal was to "build something". Being total ubergeeks we took this project serious and in 2 minutes we decided to build an MIDI controller.

Our initial build is going to be something you can compare with a Traktor Kontrol S2. But we'll include arcadebuttons (3 guesses why we would want to do that ), and an extra touchpad for expressive effects.

Now, I myself am a huge FLOSS/H advocate (Free and Libre Open Source Software/Hardware), and so I'd like to break the project open!

But first about the initial build: We spend about 30 minutes with the arduino and we got the MIDI interface working (using 1 pot to control 1 knob). After that I spend some time discovering how to get a lot of inputs on to a device that has only 6 analog inputs. In the end we're using Multiplexers to solve our problem (we also considered latch registers, but this allows us to address better. ). And on this very own moment my teammate is drawing the layout for our controller (which I'll share as soon as I have it).

But since the simplicity of the code and the setup, we figured we might want to convince others to build their own controller! Because afterall it's more easy than most people believe. And if you don't do it because you want a different layout, do it because of the knowledge you'll gain!

Anyhow, believeing beyond this build, I'd like to ask you guys: how does your perfect controller look? I'd like to start an open MIDI controller project (like the auroramixer which was a great shot to make an open mixer, and I still hate the fact they failed). Now I'm not really a DJ, I'm just a TechGuy, so I need help in finding the perfect layout!

Because of my believe in open software, I started out talking to the people over at the MIXXX IRC channel and they said this was the best place to start. In a perfect world I'd make a controller that is really made to blend perfectly with MIXXX, but being somewhat realistic I'll believe it would be a better idea to start making a traktor controller.. (Another friend told me to take a look at the Xone 4D and aim for something better)
One of the features the people at MIXXX had in mind though was a hardware implementation to keep the same amount of base throughout the mix (now you sometimes need to put one bass higher, another one lower and at the same time switching the crossfader), due to the fact most people have only 2 hands this might be harder to do.
Now I've understand this is a standard software feature in Traktor, but it are ideas like this that can make a controller stand out...

So my plot:
- build this school controller as a beta for the open project
- set up a website and share build considerations and ideas both there and here
- make a prototype, let some DJ's play with it
- share code and schemes

Any tips or advice are more than welcome!

Grts


Wouter