New Guide! MIDI Controller with LED Arcade Buttons and Raspberry Pi Pico by @ecken @BlitzCityDIY

Learn Guide: MIDI Controller with LED Arcade Buttons and Raspberry Pi Pico

https://learn.adafruit.com/raspberry-pi-pico-led-arcade-button-midi-controller-fighter/

DIY MIDI Controller

Build your own CircuitPython powered MIDI controller! This “MIDI fighter”-like controller features 16 arcade buttons with built-in LEDs, an OLED screen and joystick. Play drums, synthesizers or anything MIDI related! All of the electronics are housed in a snap-fit 3D printed case.

Buttons and LEDs

The Raspberry Pi Pico has plenty of GPIO for connecting 4×4 buttons. The AW9525 GPIO expander / LED driver powers the LEDs and connects to the Raspberry Pi Pico over I2C.

The LEDs light up when the buttons are pressed and stay lit until released. Awesome!

Edit MIDI on the Fly

This MIDI controller’s special sauce is the ability to change and save MIDI notes directly on the device. This allows quick MIDI notes remapping. Perfect for crafting your own kits and setups for performances.

Intuitive UI/UX

The OLED screen shows the 16 buttons as little circles with numbers. The numbers are the MIDI notes assigned to each button. Use the joystick to select a button and edit the MIDI note. In edit mode, the button will blink the LED, letting you know it’s been activated. While in edit mode, the buttons can be pressed to compare MIDI notes.

Kickstand Handle

Lunchbox vibes? Yes! The handle is 3d printed, print-in-place, with no support material. Can you handle it? It also works great as a kickstand to prop up the case.

Code by Liz Clark @BlitzCityDIY
https://github.com/adafruit/Adafruit_Learning_System_Guides/blob/master/Pico_MIDI_Fighter/code.py

Raspberry Pi Pico
https://www.adafruit.com/product/4864

AW9523 GPIO Expander and LED Driver
https://www.adafruit.com/product/4886

1.5in OLED grayscale
https://www.adafruit.com/product/4741

Arcade Button with LED – 30mm
https://www.adafruit.com/product/3491

5-way navigation switch
https://www.adafruit.com/product/504

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Every Thursday is #3dthursday here at Adafruit! The DIY 3D printing community has passion and dedication for making solid objects from digital models. Recently, we have noticed electronics projects integrated with 3D printed enclosures, brackets, and sculptures, so each Thursday we celebrate and highlight these bold pioneers!

Have you considered building a 3D project around an Arduino or other microcontroller? How about printing a bracket to mount your Raspberry Pi to the back of your HD monitor? And don’t forget the countless LED projects that are possible when you are modeling your projects in 3D!

The Adafruit Learning System has dozens of great tools to get you well on your way to creating incredible works of engineering, interactive art, and design with your 3D printer! If you’ve made a cool project that combines 3D printing and electronics, be sure to let us know, and we’ll feature it here!