KVR Audio

Equilibrium · Post by **Equilibrium** » Sat Nov 21, 2009 8:05 pm

I was wondering about how to go about this. I've done a fair few google searches but not come up with much.

I want to create an interface where I will be able to control a set of hammers by midi. What I mean by hammers is something that would be considered very similar to the hammers found in a piano. I want a device that when triggered will hit an object and then rebound again. I plan for the hammer to be hitting metalic objects so they will have to stike with some force.

Has anyone got any experience with anything like this? Since it's so similar to a piano there much be the technology out there to do this... I'm just not sure where to start, either with the digital hardware, or with the mechanism for actually controlling the hammer action.

Any help would be GREATLY appreciated!

Many thanks

justin3am · Post by **justin3am** » Sat Nov 21, 2009 8:14 pm

Solenoids and some kind of DIY midi to voltage kit.

maybe this http://www.doepfer.de/MTV16.htm
plus one of these http://www.allelectronics.com/make-a-st ... ids/1.html

Equilibrium · Post by **Equilibrium** » Sat Nov 21, 2009 8:33 pm

Hey thanks for the reply; reading up on these things right now

Equilibrium · Post by **Equilibrium** » Sat Nov 21, 2009 9:20 pm

For anyone else reading this I found this guide which is great.

justin3am · Post by **justin3am** » Sat Nov 21, 2009 10:10 pm

Glad I could help. I was looking for that very page to reference but it looks like you found it.

stk · Post by **stk** » Sat Nov 21, 2009 11:52 pm

http://highlyliquid.com/kits/decoder.html - MIDI > CV decoders.
Hooked up to a bunch of servos, would do the job.

Same concept as this:
http://texascentralpositronics.com/blog ... /10/steve/ ..or any of the other MIDI-controlled drumming 'bots out there.

mckenic · Post by **mckenic** » Sat Nov 21, 2009 11:57 pm

Ive been looking at Arduino to do this too...

knockman · Post by **knockman** » Sun Nov 22, 2009 12:05 am

maywa denki - not a source of technical info, but perhaps good for inspiration? lots of midi driven solenoid nonsense machines:

(might want to jump the first couple of minutes, to see actual mechanics in action)

Equilibrium · Post by **Equilibrium** » Sun Nov 22, 2009 9:44 pm

Thanks again for all the replies. I've checked out everyone's links. I've got a much better idea of what I'm doing now. I'm not just uncertain of where to start on the electronics side. I know what I need, it's just where do you get starting with wiring up hardware midi devices? What I mean is the electronics knowledge required to do something like that?

Does anyone have any experience with this? Has anyone tried to do it. And if you have where did you learn the electronics. The musical side of things I know what I want and how to do it, the electronics I'm not sure...

Thanks again for any replies, it really does help

Hammers controlled by midi?