Modifying an Old DJ Hero Controller to Play Spin Rhythm XD

Rhythm games have existed for a long time, going at least back to the early ‘70s in Japanese arcades. The genre has evolved since then, with many notable titles like Dance Dance Revolution, Guitar Hero, and Rock Band becoming quite popular. Later games, such as Rocksmith, made it possible to play with real instruments. Spin Rhythm XD takes a similar approach to the fine art of DJ’ing and challenged players to use actual DJ MIDI controllers. Dave Madison, of the website Parts Not Included, didn’t have one of those, so he modified a DJ Hero controller to work with Spin Rhythm XD.

DJ Hero was developed by the same team that created Guitar Hero, and also used a toy-like version of the instrument in question as a controller. While that controller looks a bit like the kind of turntable-style MIDI controller that a DJ would use, it doesn’t actually have any MIDI capability that would make it compatible with Spin Rhythm XD. The solution Madison came up with was to convert his Nintendo Wii version of the DJ Hero controller to something that could be used with the game. Madison had previously modified this controller to play Overwatch — as strange as that sounds — and only had to alter the firmware to make it work with Spin Rhythm XD.

That firmware is running on a Teensy LC board. It receives button and turntable position data from the controller via the Nunchuk connection. That is, conveniently, an I2C connection, which is easy for the Teensy to understand. After receiving the controller data, the Teensy sends key presses to the PC as a USB HID keyboard. Those key presses are then used to control the Spin Rhythm XD gameplay. This even supports the dual turntables that the DJ Hero controller can accommodate. Other than the addition of the Teensy LC, the only modification Madison chose to make was the placement of a couple of “XD” stickers on the center of the turntables. Those were made on a Silhouette Cameo 3. Madison is able to play Spin Rhythm XD with this modified controller pretty well, but notes that the experience can be a tad frustrating due to the somewhat low-quality construction of the original controller.