I've been kicking this idea around for a while and am finally settling on a design for a controller that I'm going to build. I am finishing the PCB design and before I have it printed I want to gauge the interest of other people to see if I should just make one or two prototypes for myself, or if I should make a run of 50 or so. Here are the details:
- * Arduino (Teensy) based, fully programmable and open source
* USB powered, shows up as a standard MIDI port on Mac/PC
* 16 RGB Buttons are rubber, from Livid instruments (small) but closer together
* Encoders are pushbutton, and could be ordered in any combination of smooth/detented
* 40x2 character LCD, 5x2 characters per encoder/button row
* Possibility of adding four expansion inputs for external buttons or knobs
* Target sell price of $179 for a kit, $250 for an assembled unit (compared to a novation compact at $399)
- * Ableton device/chain/mixer controller (ala Novation)
* Mackie Control HUI
* Standard MIDI controller
* The ability to quickly switch between and blend these layers
I'd love to know what you folks think. Is this useful/cool?