Reply to I'm inspired by you lot!

And decided to take the plunge and build my own controller even though I know absolutely nothing about electronics!

I am in the UK, and have two Maplin stores nearby (which are pricey but I can pick things up as and when is required). Also got one or two othr electronics stores where I can pick things up cheaply.

Basically, I'm looking at building a Midifighter-ish controller to supplement my setup. I don't really need it (though some argue that I do, FEP more than anyone else it seems!), but I just fancied giving it a go

However, I have no idea where to start. Reading the software sticky and doing a search, it seems like most threads start off with the assumption that people doing this has some understanding already, which leaves me confused from the offset

I've seen that gamepads PCBs can be used as the "brain" and I'm wondering which conrollers are best to use? I'm considering a 4x4 arcade button setup, and if tehre are spare analog connections, to maybe include some pots or faders (not sure on layout yet - want to get an idea of what's possible first).

Do people have pointers to somewhere I can use as a starting point for building a gamepad Midifighter-esque controller? I have searched, but as I said, any threads I found seem to be assuming some kind of understanding/grasp of the concept of electronics before starting.

Any help would be HUGELY appreciated. I'd like to show everyone that if I can do it, anyone can, which will hopefully inspire future midi controller builders as you have done for me!