Knobs & switches

The black/silver knobs are just as I hoped. Switches are nice and chunky although require a fairly large 1/2 inch hole to mount but good nonetheless.

Cardboard template is 4U which I made when trying to determine the best size for the project. 6U is much better.

I decided to avoid trying to replicate the on-screen look of the Fabfilter One too closely as this adds unnecessary complication. Controls are laid out neatly and in the same relative positions to the source but spaced for ergonimics.

Parts List.

Step one: make a list of all required parts, track them down and order them for as little cost as possible.

I decided to opt for a 19" rack panel rather than build a box for the controller. I already own a DBX compressor and it looks a bit lonely on my cheap wooden rack frame. After much looking around I found 6U rack blank available for a reasonable $23.99 (inc. delivery) at Sweetwater Sound via eBay. Sizewise this should work nicely.

A quick scout around Home Depot turned up a nice spray-can of "Spa Blue" paint. A close match to the colour of the famous PulTec units.

Potentiometers (10K rotary) came from eBay while Newark & SparkFun supplied all the necessary knobs in varying sizes and shapes. Not forgetting the Hale Microsystems controller plus ribbon cable kit.

Finally a trip to Fry's Electronics for wire, solder and sundries.

Choosing a project

I've looked before at what's available to help the DIY builder and since then the options have increased. For between $80 and $200 a controller brain can be bought which gives up to 64 inputs. For a third of that a commercial controller can be bought and then customised. I decided to start with the Hale UMC32 which offered 32 inputs for $80 with USB connectivity and a nice software editor for setting up the inputs depending on what you have attached (buttons, slider-pots, rotary-pots etc.).

The focus of the controller would be to operate the Fabfilter One single oscillator soft-synth. I chose the Fabfilter because I use and love their other plugins and they have a great reputation for quality products.

The interface requires only 30 controls as opposed to my other preferences such as Native Instruments Massive or Arturia's Moog. Another important consideration is that there are no hidden menus or other funcitons that would be very difficult to implement on my controller. I wanted something that could, to all intents and purposes, work as a standalone device and not require reference to the computer screen. The next best thing to owning an actual vintage analogue synth.

The need for a custom MIDI controller

Like many computer-music producers I often get frustrated at having to control complex virtual interfaces using only a mouse/trackpad and QWERTY  keyboard. MIDI controllers offering a handful of knobs, sliders and buttons are never that easy to set up in a satisfactory way. To be of any real use the various controls need to be labeled properly but if they get used for more than one soft-synth or effects unit this can be a problem. Additionally these controllers never have enough controls to cover all the bases on even the simplest synth. Ideally the controller would be dedicated to just one task at which point it makes the most sense for it to physically match the software. 

So the time has come to start a DIY build.