Best Midi Controller for Under £300?

David · Post by **David** » Thu Feb 21, 2002 10:29 am

I'm building one at the present. I have just developed my first pcb and I'm just testing the connections. The rest is just sloting in the components and soldering; and of course building the box. But it is so much fun to do it doesn't seem like you are building anything complex.
I would suggest anyone to try it for the pure scope of the finnished product and ease to build and as I have said what an amazingly cheap price for a creative bit of kit. Nice

Sinsation · Post by **Sinsation** » Sat Feb 23, 2002 1:26 am

I got a midiman oxygen 8 a couple months ago and its the best controller ive ever used , especially for pulsar and reaktor.And hey it fits on the desk nicely
=)

bosone · Post by **bosone** » Wed Apr 10, 2002 6:49 am

you can build a MIDI controller by your own for under 100 euro. 16 knobs and very "open source" (i added an expression pedal!)
http://www.ucapps.de

subhuman · Post by **subhuman** » Wed Apr 10, 2002 10:39 am

Also check out the Evolution line:

http://www.sonicstate.com/news/shownews.cfm?newsid=698

Immanuel · Post by **Immanuel** » Wed Apr 10, 2002 10:35 pm

bosone

How would you say the odds are, an unsciled person like me (I can solder though), can build one of those things?

Immanuel

Post by **hubird** » Thu Apr 11, 2002 4:12 am

hey spike, you prob have seen this:
<the motors are driven one after another and not at the same time.
Every Motorfader needs about 0.2 seconds until it reaches the target position>
IYou don't think this is to slow when a real switch is required?

marcuspocus · Post by **marcuspocus** » Thu Apr 11, 2002 4:23 am

I'm doing the MidiBoxPlus16 from UCapps right now, and the solder part is the easy part... In fact, it's circuit is finished and working, but the hard part is doing the casing. Do you have a tools that can make 64 slots in a sheet of metal? This is my problem now... Making round hole is easy, a drill can do this, but doing a rectangle hole for the screen and 16 slots in a sheet of metal is not an easy task.

algorhythm · Post by **algorhythm** » Thu Apr 11, 2002 4:34 am

I am using a rather "unconventional" MIDI controller at present, and I thought that I would share the info.
20 buttons, 12 knobs $200USD
The Electrix MO-FX live performance effects unit! It is basically a hardware Zorba, http://www.planetz.com/Zorba.html - but a little slimmer on features. However, it is a hardware unit. The important part - It sports 20 buttons and 12 knobs, all of which send CC messages. You are limited to one MIDI channel and the CC #'s are hardwired, but I do not know of a controller with this much "surface" so litte cash . . .

Really though, I got it for live performance, especially its infinite [overdub-capable!

] delay . . . but it now works in the studio too! - hehe

The Vocodizer and Filter-Factory from Electrix would work too, but AFAIK, the MO-FX has more knobs/buttons . . .

thought ya might wanna know . . .

bosone · Post by **bosone** » Thu Apr 11, 2002 5:00 am

On 2002-04-11 05:23, marcuspocus wrote:
... Do you have a tools that can make 64 slots in a sheet of metal? This is my problem now... Making round hole is easy, a drill can do this, but doing a rectangle hole for the screen and 16 slots in a sheet of metal is not an easy task.

that was my problem too... i solved it by put my circuit in a shoe box.. yes, you understood right, a hard-paper show box!! i painted it black, and doing holes in it was VERY easy!

(you can see it in thorsten gallery:
http://www.ucapps.de/midibox_gallery/matteo.jpg
look beautiful, isn't it=

) )

borg · Post by **borg** » Thu Apr 11, 2002 5:25 am

hhhhaaaaa, technology!!! a shoe box!

is it reinforced on the inside? maybe you did, but here's a tip: make a thin plywood rectangular with the dimensions of the vertical sides...

to marcuspocus: maybe plexiglass is easier to manipulate... and cool too, you can look inside your midi controller... very industrial

marcuspocus · Post by **marcuspocus** » Thu Apr 11, 2002 9:31 am

Hi bosone, yes i saw your showbox... And i laugh alot! But the best one i think is this one : http://www.ucapps.de/midibox_gallery/daniel.jpg

Man, i tough it was a stolen artifact if MIB movie!!!

RedSun · Post by **RedSun** » Fri Apr 12, 2002 10:30 am

to borg:

A plexiglass casing would be very cool on this controler but, from what we have seen so far, this circuit is quite sensible to interference.

It can be done safely but you would have to shield the cables going to the controler pots. If you don't, it will still work but you might get a lot of jitter.

RedSun .:.