GE35 MIDI Arduino stuff.

The nerdy details of my GE35 Midi control build v1. Each bulb is assigned a midi note starting at 0 (C -2 I think) and three CC controls to send Red Green and Blue values. I send the CC value, the controller stores the value for the bulb. When the Note On is received the controller reads the velocity attribute for the note and sends tells the string to turn on the associated bulb with the brightness set to the note velocity and the stored color values.

The DAW has the midi commands synched to the music. I have to put the CC commands in the tracker and then I am sending the notes to control the bulbs.  

For this build I set the power and midi data to go over CAT5 ethernet cable to power the string and an arduino to receive the midi and control the light string.

Here are some instagramed pictures to show that you plug in the midi and power in one box and the bulbs and arduino are at the other end.  Some thoughts on v2 after the pictures.

So, always seeing how things could be different, maybe better but perhaps not is the mind killer. I could fight my self on each decision or wait for a new material or technique I don't know but I would never finish anything. Next time:

Punch the light string directly into the keystone jack.

More lights! Addressable by MIDI channel.

Set the arduino up to connect as an USB MIDI device.

Figue out a better control protocol in midi. I chose what I did because I understood it, but it is laborious to input the control codes in Rosegarden. I need to find if Rosegarden or another DAW might have better options with scene or sequence triggering. Sysex might be easier to send color information or the color values might be packed into the velocity information. It would be nice to send aftertouch and set up a more synth like Attack Decay Sustain Release for brightness.

Make an arduino based hardware controller or use Processing or other software app for programing the DAW.

Replace the arduino with a RaspberryPi and use it to play the sounds and use GPIO directly to control the lights and custom software and app based control.

?????

Profit.

I'll have code and video up when I have something to show other than me pushing a note on the keyboard and a cat sniffing the bulb that just lit up.