Dissecting an old broken organ I got the idea to turn it into a MIDI keyboard.
I've since gotten a keybed that already had dual key switches for the velocity sensitivity, and been working on circuitry and code to support velocity sensitivity.
My plan is to produce a versatile open source keyboard controller board that can be used in various keyboard projects.
Works:
- Velocity sensitive multiplexed keyboard scanning
- Note off velocity sensitivity (not common in commercial keyboards, fun to be had here)
Plans:
- Work out the bugs in the keyboard scanner (keys sometimes hang or go undetected)
- Pot/slider (analog input) multiplexing
- Dedicated PCB with all required components and connectors
- Aftertouch support (channel pressure)
- Maybe pseudo-polyphonic aftertouch is possible using a handful of pressure sensors (one per octave?) and interpolating the key pressure. Not sure about this.
Maybe in time:
- Mackie style DAW control support
- Keyboard splits and layers
- Interactive configuration from computer
- Arpeggiator with some cool touches?
- Internal or MIDI timing
- Oneshot/lick mode: Only arpeggiate when multiple keys are on, and in play order. Lay a chord and let the keyboard "slide" through the notes for you. In tempo.