Once again, I’ve realised that whilst I’ve now completed a number of multi-potentiometer MIDI controller projects, I haven’t actually written up a non-multiplexed, multi-potentiometer controller.
This projects fills that gap!
Warning! I strongly recommend using old or second hand equipment for your experiments. I am not responsible for any damage to expensive instruments!
These are the key Arduino tutorials for the main concepts used in this project:
If you are new to Arduino, see the Getting Started pages.
Parts list
- Arduino Nano, Uno or similar
- 6 or 8 10K potentiometers
- Breadboard and jumper wires
The Circuit
The Code
The code is an extension of the Arduino Simple MIDI Controller but with a couple of additional features:
- Extended to 8 potentiometers (of course).
- Includes sampling of the analog readings and only updates when the reading is steady.
- Includes USB MIDI device support for boards that support it, such as those based on the ATmega32U4 or the SAMD21.
The potentiometers are hooked up to A0 to A7 on an Arduino Nano. If an Uno is used then NUMPOTS should be set to 6 and only A0 to A5 should be used.
I also have a version that can be used with my XIAO MIDI Synth Board PCB turning it into an 8-pot MIDI controller too.
Closing Thoughts
I’m getting to the stage where I’m sure I’ve done a project variation, spend quite a significant number of minutes trying to find it either on the blog, in my source code, or in YouTube… failing, and then realising that actually that variation doesn’t actually exist yet!
That is probably a cue for me to do some (significant) housekeeping and attempt to get these projects in order once again!
Still, I now have code for a basic, multi-pot, no-nonsense serial or USB MIDI CC controller.
Kevin
Simple DIY Electronic Music Projects 