Jump to content


Please note: You can easily log in to MPN using your Facebook account!

Check out this midi joystick I built for my Mojo!


Recommended Posts

So my main gigging axe is my Crumar Mojo and I love it... but lately I've found myself being drawn back into synths and ended up buying a SH-01a for synthy sols and pad sounds at funk gigs. For the first couple gigs I brought along a midi controller on top of my Mojo so I could have pitch and mod wheels, but I really just wanted to be able to control the synth from the Mojo's top manual, and leave the controller at home.

 

Aside from the obvious problem that the Mojo doesn't have pitch or mod control, there was another problem that the Mojo's upper manual sends on channel 1, but this channel is also used to send CC messages everytime you touch the drawbars! I can't disable the Mojo's CC midi output and I also can't disable the CC recognition on the Sh-01a!

 

So I built this little midi joystick in a stomp box housing to solve both problems! The board inside is a Teensy 3.2 (similar to an arduino). The incoming midi gets filtered so no CC messages get passed to the synth, and the joystick is used to send pitch and mod commands.

 

Here are some pics:

 

77iP4nd.jpg

 

Here's the inside

F3uOH9s.jpg

 

Here's a view of the jacks in the back, power comes through the usb port

DPbwkTU.jpg

 

And here's how it looks velcro'd down to the Mojo:

UUeSll2.jpg

 

My first gig with it is this Thursday in Berkely and I'm pretty stoked!

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites



Very neat and nice work!

 

I have very little knowledge in this area so forgive me; how do you programme it? I presume the programme is in memory so stays there when powered off

Nord Stage 2EX | Nord Wave | Mainstage 3

K&M Spider Pro | JH Audio JH5 IEMs | Behringer XR18 | Radial Keylargo

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have very little knowledge in this area so forgive me; how do you programme it?

 

Yea, the program is stored in memory. It's written in C, but the code is very simple. The whole program is only 145 lines, which includes a lot of extra junk like comments to myself. The Arduino libraries make it very simple to send and receive midi. For example, if you want to send a midi CC message for the mod wheel it looks like this:

 

MIDI.sendControlChange(1,value,midiCh);

 

It gets a little more complicated when you are reading the position of the analog joystick, but either way the code was the easiest part of the whole project.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You could probably sell those things... one of the recurring questions here is for ways to add pitch/mod controls (besides Mojo, also useful for Electro, SK1, some stage pianos).

Maybe this is the best place for a shameless plug! Our now not-so-new new video at https://youtu.be/3ZRC3b4p4EI is a 40 minute adaptation of T. S. Eliot's "Prufrock" - check it out! And hopefully I'll have something new here this year. ;-)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You could probably sell those things...

 

I've actually thought about this. I think they would be cheap enough to manufacture, but I doubt there's really much of a market for something like this.

 

Oh, I think you're way underestimating your potential market. Just the number of posts I've read here and on places like Gearslutz from people who said "If only it had pitch/mod wheels...".

 

You might want to look into what it would take to make XX per month, and how much you'd have charge to make it worthwhile for you.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Clever!

 

Ask OBDave about manufacturing something like this. He can give you the pros and cons.

"I'm so crazy, I don't know this is impossible! Hoo hoo!" - Daffy Duck

 

"The good news is that once you start piano you never have to worry about getting laid again. More time to practice!" - MOI

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You can use kickstarter to gauge interest, and then only manufacture if there is sufficient money pledged. Or if it doesn't need upfront fabrication costs, you can build-to-order and sell on ebay/etsy.

Maybe this is the best place for a shameless plug! Our now not-so-new new video at https://youtu.be/3ZRC3b4p4EI is a 40 minute adaptation of T. S. Eliot's "Prufrock" - check it out! And hopefully I'll have something new here this year. ;-)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You could probably sell those things... one of the recurring questions here is for ways to add pitch/mod controls

 

I'd like to be the first to purchase one. Brilliant. :2thu:

 

:like: Adding my name to the list. This would be awesome to have..

'Someday, we'll look back on these days and laugh; likely a maniacal laugh from our padded cells, but a laugh nonetheless' - Mr. Boffo.

 

We need a barfing cat emoticon!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You could probably sell those things...

 

I've actually thought about this. I think they would be cheap enough to manufacture, but I doubt there's really much of a market for something like this.

 

...the number of posts I've read here and on places like Gearslutz from people who said "If only it had pitch/mod wheels...".

 

 

Also, people who have boards with wheels but who like sticks more.... :)

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Also, people who have boards with wheels but who like sticks more.... :)

 

It might be cool to make a box that has both!

 

Another thought I had was to turn this into something with audio jacks rather than MIDI. I've read up on how real-time pitch shifting is done, and I think I could build it. It would basically be a "Whammy" pedal in a box, so you could use it on anything, like a clavinet or a rhodes. I could call it the "Clav in the High Castle" (get it? Castlebar?).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Speaking only for myself, I have wanted a box that did one or both so bad that I have searched out schematics for it, then decided I would wait for someone to make one better than I could. So...I'd be in if you sold 'em.

Now out! "Mind the Gap," a 24-song album of new material.
www.joshweinstein.com

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Another thought I had was to turn this into something with audio jacks rather than MIDI. I've read up on how real-time pitch shifting is done, and I think I could build it. It would basically be a "Whammy" pedal in a box, so you could use it on anything

There are pedals like the Behringer US600, which can give you a fixed amount of bend that you program in for whenever you depress the pedal, but I believe you can also use the US600 in conjunction with a volume/expression kind of pedal to let you control the bend manually as you play.

Maybe this is the best place for a shameless plug! Our now not-so-new new video at https://youtu.be/3ZRC3b4p4EI is a 40 minute adaptation of T. S. Eliot's "Prufrock" - check it out! And hopefully I'll have something new here this year. ;-)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Heh. One thing's for sure around here - if anybody builds anything clever, the rest of us:

 

- volunteer them for producing their gizmo

- assures them they could sell zillions

- volunteers to be first in line

 

 

Hey Wannah- if you make a killjoy stick I think we have a volunteer to be first in line.

:poke::roll:

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Find a contract manufacturing company which can make these and see what price they can give you for different units.

 

Then run some calculations to see if it makes sense and worth the hassle. Try to find a friend with experience on calculating these costs and you can figure it out whether to pursue it before spending much money. It's honestly not that hard, but you have to have done it a few times to get the process down to make a solid estimate you can base your decision.

 

I'm jealous that this flows a lot smoother in the U.S. than here in Brazil. I missed out on an opportunity a few years ago (industrial sensors) based on archaic legislation.

 

Approach it professionally and you have a better chance of success, if that's something you really want to do.

 

Korg Kronos X73 / ARP Odyssey / Motif ES Rack / Roland D-05 / JP-08 / SE-05 / Jupiter Xm / Novation Mininova / NL2X / Waldorf Pulse II

MBP-LOGIC

American Deluxe P-Bass, Yamaha RBX760

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I started on a MiniMoog, but I really came into my own with Korg joysticks. Add me to the list of potential buyers who've howled and clawed at the front door for such an option for years. I'd love it even more as a USB device, but watch me accept MIDI and get on with the fun. Very nice work.

 "I want to be an intellectual, but I don't have the brainpower.
  The absent-mindedness, I've got that licked."
        ~ John Cleese

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Pardon me if this has already been requested and denied, but do you have any interest in providing the schematics/BOM and code? I would gladly provide a healthy donation in exchange for this info.

 

No donation required!

 

I put the code here:

https://pastebin.com/i6g3chj6

Feel free to PM me with specific questions.

 

I don't have schematics, but all the wiring info can be found with a simple google search for something like "arduino midi in".

 

The box is a Hammond 1590BB2BK, which is just the black painted version of the 1590BB2. A full table of the different sizes can be found here:

https://www.hammfg.com/electronics/small-case/diecast/1590

The box was the hardest part to find. It took some searching but I found one at Angela Instruments (angela.com).

 

The joystick can be found at Adafruit.com (among other places):

https://www.adafruit.com/product/3102

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

@whannah - NICE! Thanks for posting this and and the code. I'm just getting back to the hobby, and I'm looking into building a full B3-style drawbar set (Upper A/B, Lower A/B, pedals, and misc controls) that I could interface with separate upper/lower keys and pedals.

 

Your code examples really help to understand how to grab the analog values and do some averaging. I'm not much of a programmer, but I agree that MIDI library for the Arduino really makes this easy.

 

I've done a little MicroPython programming on the ESP8266 module, and I found out that the ESP8266 is supported on the Arduino IDE (you just need to load their libraries). I managed to write a little test program, so I'm on my way. When I get something worth sharing, I'll start a thread for it.

 

ESP8266 is cheap (<$8 Amazon, cheaper on ebay/ali-express on slow boat from China), and has wifi built in at that price, so can be useful for other projects.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 years later...
Pardon me if this has already been requested and denied, but do you have any interest in providing the schematics/BOM and code? I would gladly provide a healthy �donation� in exchange for this info.

 

No donation required!

 

I put the code here:

https://pastebin.com/i6g3chj6

Feel free to PM me with specific questions.

 

I don't have schematics, but all the wiring info can be found with a simple google search for something like "arduino midi in".

 

The box is a Hammond 1590BB2BK, which is just the black painted version of the 1590BB2. A full table of the different sizes can be found here:

https://www.hammfg.com/electronics/small-case/diecast/1590

The box was the hardest part to find. It took some searching but I found one at Angela Instruments (angela.com).

 

The joystick can be found at Adafruit.com (among other places):

https://www.adafruit.com/product/3102

 

Thanks for the links. Here's an alternative for people (like me) who don't have a clue about code programming:

 

http://www.doepfer.de/we.htm

 

Just connect the joystick or wheels to the pc board and midi out to your keyboard of choice.

LIFE IS SHORT, GO GET THE GEAR YOU WANT ;-)

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Heh. One thing's for sure around here - if anybody builds anything clever, the rest of us:

 

- volunteer them for producing their gizmo

- assures them they could sell zillions

- volunteers to be first in line

- asks for 20 different variations

- sell 50-75 units before the market collapses

 

FIXED

57 Hammond B3; 69 Hammond L100P; 68 Leslie 122; Kurzweil Forte7 & PC3; M-Audio Code 61; Voce V5+; Neo Vent; EV ELX112P; GSI Gemini & Burn

Delaware Dave

Exit93band

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Unfortunately, your content contains terms that we do not allow. Please edit your content to remove the highlighted words below.
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...