a MIDI 6 Drum Pads Controller based on Arduino by Plank guitars and musical things by Shambien (Daniele Muscetta) - https://www.shambien.com
- 2025 01 04 - v1.0 - initial version
- 2025 01 06 - v1.1 - code/unused references cleanup, fixed USB-Rename
- 2025 01 08 - v1.2 - performance improvements
- 2025 01 09 - v1.3 - some refactoring and more perf improvements
Works on Arduino Pro Micro / Leonardo - UNTESTED on any other board (but it should work on all those based on the Atmega32U4 chipset).
It can be built for under 10$ with the following electronic components:
- Arduino Pro Micro (or Leonardo)
- 6 ceramic piezo discs
- 6 1MegaOhm resistors
- 6 Zener diodes 5.1V
The code includes a lot of comments and it should be easy to figure out what to tweak (thresholds for sensitivity, mostly, which might depend on how the hardware is assembled) and debug statements that can be uncommented during testing.
Besides the code, in this repository you can find several pictures I took during various phases of the build process.
Contains portions of code, inspiration and teachings derived from various sources such as:
- Arduino MIDIUSB Library https://github.com/arduino-libraries/MIDIUSB
- Responsive Analog Read library https://github.com/dxinteractive/ResponsiveAnalogRead
- Simple DYI Electronic Music Projects https://github.com/diyelectromusic/sdemp
- Arduino-USB-Rename library https://github.com/mon/Arduino-USB-Rename
- Nerd Musician (Gustavo Silveira) https://github.com/silveirago and https://www.youtube.com/@NerdMusician
- BeginnerToPro https://www.youtube.com/@BeginnerTopro https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SL-W1Ynn3c (the hardware circuit I built - piezo's, resistors and diodes - is based on this video's circuit, even if it was for an 'octapad' and mine has only six pads)
- Autonomia Digital https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sU0ZmjipUU0 https://www.youtube.com/@autonomiadigital9664
...and many other sources I consulted and learned from but I did not bookmark (but you might find them by searching for keywords such as 'octapad piezo arduino' on YouTube).
I cannot thank enough all of the authors of the above for teaching me thru their tutorials, experiences and code! May God bless you always.
Keep grooving!
Shambien