I've been dabbling for a while with USB MIDI on an Arduino, but I've never really walked through all the options available or pulled together in a single place all the projects I have, so this post looks at all that in a bit more detail. Warning! I strongly recommend using old or second hand … Continue reading Arduino and USB MIDI
Author: Kevin
“Bare Metal” Raspberry Pi Synth – Part 4
I wanted to revisit my "Bare Metal" Raspberry Pi Synth as I only really just got started. But having left it some five months since last having a look, I had a bit of updating to do! But then this post describes how I built and tried out the "minisynth" application from Rene Stange (rsta2) … Continue reading “Bare Metal” Raspberry Pi Synth – Part 4
Vintage Rotary Phone MIDI Controller – Part 6
In this final (for now) post, I'm just tidying up the circuit and using a Pro Mini to embed all the electronics I need into a nice small box. This builds on the previous parts in this series. Part 1 - Understanding the telephone hardware and interfacing to an Arduino. Part 2 - Decoding the … Continue reading Vintage Rotary Phone MIDI Controller – Part 6
Pi Day MIDI Sequencer
If you write your dates month first, then 14th March is recognised as Pi day i.e. 3.14.(2022) in this case. I've long had the idea of doing something MIDI or sequencer related to number sequences. I'd like to do something with the Online Encyclopedia of Integer Sequences (OEIS) at some point, but as it is … Continue reading Pi Day MIDI Sequencer
Vintage Rotary Phone MIDI Controller – Part 5
In this post, I describe how to use my rotary phone as a simple random-note MIDI "sequencer" of sorts. The triggering of the notes is driven from the pulses of the dial. This builds on the previous parts in this series. Part 1 - Understanding the telephone hardware and interfacing to an Arduino. Part 2 … Continue reading Vintage Rotary Phone MIDI Controller – Part 5
Vintage Rotary Phone MIDI Controller – Part 4
In this post, I describe how to use my rotary phone as a MIDI program changer. This builds on the previous parts in this series. Part 1 – Understanding the telephone hardware and interfacing to an Arduino. Part 2 – Decoding the rotary dial from the Arduino. Part 3 – Rotary phone MIDI note controller. Part 4 – Rotary … Continue reading Vintage Rotary Phone MIDI Controller – Part 4
Vintage Rotary Phone MIDI Controller – Part 3
This is the first musical application of my vintage rotary phone. I'm using it as a simple MIDI note generator. Remember, I really wanted to keep this as a potentially working phone when not plugged into an Arduino. This builds on the previous parts in this series. Part 1 – Understanding the telephone hardware and interfacing … Continue reading Vintage Rotary Phone MIDI Controller – Part 3
Vintage Rotary Phone MIDI Controller – Part 2
This it the second in a series of posts looking at interfacing an Arduino to a vintage rotary telephone for musical purposes. Part 1 – Understanding the telephone hardware and interfacing to an Arduino. Part 2 – Decoding the rotary dial from the Arduino. Part 3 – Rotary phone MIDI note controller. Part 4 – Rotary phone MIDI program … Continue reading Vintage Rotary Phone MIDI Controller – Part 2
Vintage Rotary Phone MIDI Controller
I've wanted to do something musical with a vintage rotary telephone for a while now, so when I happened to come across one in a charity shop, I jumped at the chance to have a go! Be warned: there are many "vintage styled" modern phones with a pile of modern electronics inside. This is not … Continue reading Vintage Rotary Phone MIDI Controller
Toy Keyboard Tone Piano – Part 5
In this part of my series on adding an Arduino to a toy keyboard, I've taken a second keyboard and actually embedded the Nano inside it to make it a complete DIY Oskitone Scout, powered by USB. This is using the version of the hardware and code described in part 2 - i.e. without the … Continue reading Toy Keyboard Tone Piano – Part 5