
Converting a Guitar Effects Pedal to Output MIDI - igpay
http://www.csun.io/2017/08/25/midi-guitar-pedal.html
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dharma1
Anybody come across a pedal/switch that would output sustain MIDI signal? Or
would Arduino's MIDIUSB work for a DIY version? I have a couple of keyboards
(Roli Seaboard block and Roland JD-Xi) without sustain pedal inputs and would
like to use a sustain pedal with them

edit: found one - [https://webaudiotech.com/2017/02/20/a-piano-sustain-pedal-
to...](https://webaudiotech.com/2017/02/20/a-piano-sustain-pedal-to-midi-usb-
adapter/)

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hammock
I remember being in a guitar store and hearing a pedal that converted a
guitar, chords and all, into MIDI piano samples of each note being played. Or
that's what it sounded like. It blew my mind! Does anyone know what pedal this
was?

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damnfine
I bet it was the Roland setup. I forget the model, but it uses individual
pickups for each string and some huge 9 conductor cable to go to a decoding
box. I still have one somewhere. The latency was terrible, and more than one
note at a time was a gamble, but it was fun for string sounds with a slow
attack. Some guitars in the 90s even had the setup built in.

To go back even further, check ot the original, the VOX Guitar Organ. Lots of
vids on youtube.

~~~
photojosh
With more modern tech it should be possible to make quite a small decoder that
fits into the body cavity, then shoots out the MIDI via Bluetooth LE. (And fix
the latency issue to boot.)

Do you know if anyone has attempted such a feat?

Am embedded electronics designer, for context.

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tofflos
Awesome! The market is really short on good MIDI pedals. Most pedals are in
the €150 - €500 range and they have no versatility. You have to buy different
pedals to be able to connect it to different gear. When you compare them to
MIDI controllers from of the likes of Akai and Korg it's just depressing. They
have velocity sensitive buttons, wireless-, USB-, standard MIDI and beautiful
hardware for less than $80.

Someone go make a Kickstarter!

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damnfine
Okay, I will be the guy.

MIDI is dead.

The latency, is simply not musical. I have worked with midi since the early
90s. Its a low baud serial connection. Play 5 notes at once? Nope, its now a
really fast appregio. Got a nicer keyboard that sends velocity, aftertouch and
control commands? Even more quickly flooded.

The problem is, its such a widely implemented standard, and yet there are few,
if any, out of the box midi-on-chip solutions that make sense.

If someone produced a new standard, focusing on latency, and somehow made a
midi failover/compatibility mode. Midi2 if you will... that could be easily
implemented by device makers. The whole world would get better music.

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michielderhaeg
Correct me if I'm wrong, but these days everyone usually sends MIDI over USB.
It doesn't have any of the problems you described, every computer has USB
ports in some form or another. Every operating system has default drivers for
these devices, so they usually work out of the box. Yes, MIDI as a hardware
standard is dying. But why should we care when we have something more
universal that replaces it?

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SeanLuke
USB isn't optoisolated. This is its killer flaw as a replacement MIDI
transport.

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photojosh
It can be, see
[https://www.adafruit.com/product/2107](https://www.adafruit.com/product/2107)

Surprised the high-end gear doesn't built it in!

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meggar
I bet you could also use Dictation Commands if you're recording on a Mac, to
press the record button by talking.

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mhfs
Depending on what you’re activating via the pedal, the timing is very
important (e.g. starting/stopping a loop). Voice wouldn’t be a good fit in
that case.

