#1

Hey guys. Long time monome owner, first time poster here.

I wanted to share some photos of a device that I engineered with my brother and a friend. It’s basically a fancy USB MIDI controller concept - we call it Turn. We wanted to get your thoughts and feedback. This has been a long time engineering project that we did for a learning experience.

Features include:

  • All aluminum design - anodized finish
  • 12, high resolution, magnetic encoders (12 bit, 4096 discreet positions per revolution)
  • 4, RGB silicone buttons
  • Programmable via the Arduino IDE (Open Source Firmware)

And now for photos - I hope you enjoy!

[Album] Turn

15 Likes
#2

looks fantastic

i’d love to see how you use it

1 Like
#3

Here is a short demonstration of it in action. I’m not editing tunes or anything so it’s kind of anticlimactic.

7 Likes
#4

Nice – although I’d prefer a bit larger openings for the LEDs for better feedback.

#5

Looks great man!
Would love to try it

#6

Yeah drilling the microhole that let the light pass through the aluminum is tricky. In this prototype, the lighting was a little on the dim size because the spec on the microhole diameter was a little small. It would be nice to get a new one made with the correct spec but its fairly involved 0_o

#7

Thanks! We might continue tinkering with it and post some more videos down the line.

#8

wow this is great it looks very smooth

1 Like
#9

Thanks, wednesdayayay!

#10

Something like this would be great for controlling my UAD plugins - accurate and smooth. If only UA would open up for OSC control.

#11

Yeah OSC is awesome. We need more OSC in our lives. And that’s a good point - UAD users probably appreciate the accuracy of our device given the analog emulation that UAD strives for in their plugins.

#12

looks nice! what magnetic encoders are you using?

1 Like
#13

Thanks! I mentioned this in a PM to another user. We went with the AMS AS5600s. We wanted 14 bit resolution since MIDI supports 14 bit but honestly 12 bit is more than enough. They are unusual little encoders. They are tough to package because they don’t include a shaft or a magnet - they are simply an SMD integrated circuit. It was a fun and challenging project.

1 Like
#14

Those look like they have a nice feel. I’ve been looking for elektron-like feel encoders… Just a regular encoder w/ a nicer feel.

1 Like
#15

has anything happened further with this project?

#16

Very elegant design! A little technical question: how does 12bit work with MIDI, I know there is workarounds to get 14bits, but how do you transmit 12bit info?

#17

You could always just leave the last two bits at 0