Ruggedized Arduino Uno Synth Controller

Over the past few months, I’ve been making a physical drum machine and realized that I had no good way to control it. As it just so happened, I did have a day that I could dedicate to creating such a device, as well as a vague notion of how to do this with parts already in my garage.

Could I build and program a new controller in one day? The short answer is yes, but there were certainly challenges along the way. I also revised a couple things later.

Based on available parts, I implemented an Arduino Uno with a MIDI expansion shield as the brains of the device, and eight arcade-style buttons from a long-abandoned project as the main "play note" interface. A light-up option button was added for… options, and an emergency stop-style button was used to toggle power. An “Apache” case from Harbor Freight was used as the enclosure, giving it a nice ruggedized aesthetic.

Since the recycled note buttons were pre-wired from the previous project, it was easy to connect to the Arduino inputs via screw terminals. A small USB power bank provides power for the unit, and its cable was cut and wired into the emergency stop button for control. From there, it was a matter of programming and testing everything, which would have been much simpler if I’d remembered to solder up the ground MIDI connection.

Be sure to check out the video below to see the construction process and a few of the struggles that I encountered. It’s actually a lot of fun to play on more standard synth instruments, and I’ve made a few improvements since then, so perhaps I’ll make a followup at some point.

Code for the device can be found here, along with a retroactively-created schematic. While this may be a one-off build, the rugged hard case controller aesthetic – and its actual ability to stand up to abuse – are certainly worthy of consideration!