DIY Arduino Midi Controller for Line6 M5 

Good to know, thanks!

Oh really?? I must try to make this!! Thanks!

Not at all! As far as Arduino projects go, it’s mainly just buttons and LEDs.. I didn’t have any experience before this. I just broke it down into steps - getting the buttons to work, then the LEDs/display, then the banking, then the midi, so in that respect it was a great introduction to the Arduino basics while working towards something useful. It took me quite a while to wrap my head around how to logically lay out the code to do everything I wanted but that was a good challenge. There are so many good resources online too and I’m sure if you’ve had even a bit of programming experience before, it won’t be hard at all. Let me know how you get on with it if you try

Thanks. It's connected directly to the M5

Hey @ScheliJR, have you built a midi for your hx? it's working? All be glad if you share the project.. I'm thinking about make one for my hx stomp unity

I’m not 100% on the correct name - they’re ‘PCB Connectors’ on the site where I bought them - www.musikding.de/PCB-Connectors, but seems like they also go by polarised connectors/headers. They have the same spacing as the Arduino pins, so yeah, I soldered the detachable end on at 90 degrees so I have an easier way of swapping out the Arduino if it ever dies.

Cool. Yes, or just leave it out entirely

yes, you can toggle each effect on and off

Ah that was just to secure the Arduino to; there's nothing on it. I don't have any circuit diagrams sorry, and I'd have to take it apart to remember how it all went together.

Parts were tricky for me, but I really enjoyed the process. If I was able to end up with something usable means it can't be too hard! I'd recommend one of these: store.arduino.cc/usa/arduino-starter-kit or you can find a knockoff version for under 20 bucks..

Yeah that sounds like it would work

Yes it's working, but with only one possibility, would you be able to add it to the other buttons?

Sorry for the requests! Because I'm starting to learn C ++ programming, I know the basics for now! Thank you

Example ! You used a Constant number 11 to turn the Fx on and off. I would like to know how it is possible to declare more constants for each button, you know?

Sorry for the delay.. do you mean like a Boss ES5 type switcher?

No I didn't have to do anything for it to work. I can't remember if I had to change any settings in the M5 but don't think so and I've never never had any issues with range.

Yeah it would work but as it sends the midi over a 5 pin cable and not usb, you'd need a usb midi interface, or an audio interface that has midi in (most do and I've had it working in Ableton through my cheap Steinberg interface). The midi commands would also need to be changed in the code depending on what Amplitube uses and what functions you'd want it for

I got it here: www.musikding.de/Hammond-1590BX2_1 but if you Google 'Hammond 1590BX2' you can find other places to buy it

It would, but would maybe require a few tweaks based on the M9 midi commands as there is more midi functionality than the M5 (controlling the looper etc.)

220 seems standard for LEDs I think and mostly what I used. Code is here: goo.gl/8B2R1R

Workshy thank you!

Finally got around to making a diagram: goo.gl/8B2R1R

did you manage to remake the editing on the arduino? i don't :-/

You can program it to send out any midi messages you want, so it should work with anything provided you know what midi to send and tweak the code accordingly. I uploaded a video a couple of month ago with a single button footswitch for use with Ableton Live. Same basic concept as this but much simpler, so might be a good place to start if you want to play around with sending midi

If you don’t need banking it’ll be much more straightforward. You can use any Arduino (I used a nano), and apart from resistors, LEDs, DC jack and midi jack (Female DIN 5/180) I got at my local electronics store, I bought the footswitches (SPST momentary), and enclosure (Hammond 254x70x30mm) online. I can point you to some specific stuff if you need, depending where you are.

Hey, if you have a part list it would be nice for me to start! I want to build this like you have but I never worked with midi. I'm from Germany, but musikding do not have all parts, maybe you can give me some help?

Not with the Arduino board I used, but some do support midi over usb; some of the larger ones, the micro, and I think all the Teensy boards. Otherwise you could probably just use it as-is with a usb to midi cable

Yeah it could be programmed to send any midi data you want, so would work with any pedal that has a midi in - you just need to know which commands to send for the required functions. Most pedals' user manuals will tell you what midi messages will do what.

It operates at 5v yes, but can take a 7-12v DC input to power it, so I just added a regular pedal jack and I daisy chain it with some other 9v pedals.

Hey, no I haven't - it's pretty robust. I've not had any issues with it but if I made it again, or was going to use it live a lot, I'd maybe simplify things.

Workshy ah how would you do it? I'm planning to make one for myself

Yeah, you could just use 5, or as many as the presets that can be stored

Do you mean the specific pins I used, or generally how the din connection works?. I think I used this guide when setting it up: www.instructables.com/id/Send-and-Receive-MIDI-with-Arduino

@@FixedFrequencies1 Thank you for the answer! The arduino Pin A1 ( momentary) it's necessary to be connected? and what is her function? Thanks again.

@@ivanolo4 Hey, sorry for the delay. So that pin is for an on/off switch that changes whether the effect is latching i.e. on or off with each footswitch press, or if the effect is on only while the footswitch is held down and off when lifted. It's definitely not necessary, and if you don't want that option, you can ignore it and you don't need to use the switch/case block of code, you just need to keep the part that is below 'case 0'

goo.gl/8B2R1R

Thank you friend.

I don't recall ever seeing that happening - I'll try it out when I get a chance and see if it does the same for me

Hey, I'm not familiar with the gigboard but yeah it should work fine with some tweaks. A cursory search brought up this page: www.thegearpage.net/board/index.php?threads/headrush-gigboard-midi-question.2022166/ where the midi CC parameters for the different buttons are shown.

@@FixedFrequencies1 actually the official manual includes the chart with the CC values. The only requierement is that footswitches must be momentary, I mean, with a single punch of the button an ON - OFF must be sent to the gigboard.

@@roccanto86 I can't recall exactly how I set it up for this, but that's definitely possible. If you check out the last video I made to control the Looper in Ableton, that needed an on message when the momentary switch is pressed, and off as soon as it's released which might be what you mean? that effectively sends the two messages for what would be a 'normal' press of a footswitch.

@@FixedFrequencies1 I aprrecistte your time! Regards from Mexico

I don't think so, it doesn't look like it is controllable via midi

Yes, but you'd have to change the midi messages to the ones that boss uses for that pedal

Hello, thank you for your answer, could you suggest how I do to get that information since I do not get the idea. Thank you again

@@lamparolalo2036 look for it in the manual.. under assignment

www.banggood.com/Electric-Guitar-Effect-Momentary-Push-Button-Stomp-Foot-Pedal-Switch-p-973965.html if you can wait a while for shipping..

No, I used an Arduino Nano. I've not used a Teensy before but they're pretty similar

Thanks for info bro, and which color type that u use on this project thats look good. btw nice built really.

The paint's called Hammerite Dark Green. It's not really meant for aluminium but works well

It's a common cathode display

Hmm good question..., I had the Arduino and almost all the components already (LEDs, display, resistors etc.) but you can get kits with all that included fairly cheaply, and Arduino clones are a couple of bucks each as were the footswitches. I paid almost 15 - 20 for the enclosure as I wanted it quickly, but you can find them way cheaper online, or reuse an old amp footswitch as I was originally gonna do so you could probably get everything online for 40 - 50 euro/dollars if you shopped around.

Thank you! The cheapest pre-built thing I can find that is similar to this is a Disaster area DMC 3 which cost almost $300 AUD where I am

You should be able to use any momentary switch for the 5 footswitches. What kind do you have?

@@FixedFrequencies1 i go to buy DPDT footswitch momentary

Thanks! No, it uses a standard 9v jack, so I just daisy chain it from other pedal

I mounted it to a cutoff piece of perfboard and the just superglued that directly to the enclosure

@@FixedFrequencies1 Ahh I see, then what about the resistor for each element fo the display? did you just leave it hanging out from the PCB or ...

@@joyielai1619 I bent the legs of the display inwards then cut the resistor legs fairly short and then used some heat shrink over each one, so yeah, while they are pretty much hanging out the back, they're kept fairly solid

Not with the Arduino I used and I haven't done before it but you can get boards which will handle midi over USB - those with an atmega32u4 chip. There's a MIDIUSB library so this code would need tweaking.

Not with the Arduino I used and I haven't done it before but you can get boards which will handle midi over USB - those with an atmega32u4 chip. There's a MIDIUSB library so this code would need tweaking.

@@FixedFrequencies1thanks man👌, i need more reference like what command code to controll my multiprocessor effect, its kinda tricky lol

It's a Hammond 1590BX2 - 254x70x30mm

Yes, if your unit is controllable via midi. You'd just need to use the correct midi commands which you can usually find in the user manual

@@FixedFrequencies1 thanks for your response, im using nux mg300 and still trial and error at building my own controller. I hope i can make it as good as yours😁

I'm not too sure as to the exact cost, I had some parts already, but if you were to buy everything from Banggood or similar (and wait a while), you could do it for around 50€. I might have spent closer to 100 buying some things locally. Is it worth it? For me it absolutely was for the challenge alone, and making something to the exact specs I wanted.

No sorry

@@FixedFrequencies1 ill figure it out myself then. thanks

did you manage to remake the editing on the arduino?

Could you send me your CODE? ;) p.jesionek@gmail.com ;)

goo.gl/8B2R1R

Workshy thnx

goo.gl/8B2R1R

They're easy to find online, if not in an electronics store - just search for a '7 segment display'

@@FixedFrequencies1 would there be a way that you could share the wiring diagram and the code?

@@therockbrigade check the description

@@FixedFrequencies1 what's the size of the enclosure?

254mm x 70mm x 35mm - Hammond 1590BX2

Did you get any responses yet? I'm working on a foot controller now that is similar to the one in the video.

Brian Kirby no responses

Brian Kirby There are companies that make them but they are around $300 and at that price point I would just make sense to buy another looper

254mm x 70mm x 35mm - Hammond 1590BX2