Beginners building audio controllers: General questions

Hey there, tech heads!

I've come to a point where I'm a bit unsure of how to start creating an audio controller for digital audio workstations or equavalent other software that can change/modify/edit audio sent to them from real instruments, like guitars or keyboards.

Point is, that we have a school project in Uni, where we need to program Arduino Nano and create something practical with it. Our team decided to go with audio controller that could control Amplitube software. Amplitube is a virtual guitar pedal system with built-in presets and features in making sound as user wants.

We have nano board in use, but alternatively we could be able to use uno board as well. First we thought we'd make the controller with midi-out connection, which would require Midi-Usb cable in between Arduino and PC. Then our teachers came to think that it would be possible to make that controller with Usb-out.

Here's what I think and am unsure of:

  1. I read (and hopefully understood it correctly), that nano can't send data through usb without external pcb that has usb shield in it.
  • This would require more components..
  • ..more wiring
  • ..less code(?)

compared to

  1. Using midi-out, that could be programmed directly from nano board and use it with midi-usb cable
  • Which in turn would probably need less components..
  • ..less wiring
  • ..more code(?)

How much "wrong" I have in there? Personally, I have at least somewhat knowledge in using midi-controllers as I've been using keyboard to control my FL Studio and sometimes even Synthesia, which is basically a virtual piano that reads midi files and you can play those, or learn how to play with keyboard. I've also seen quite a few tutorials on how to program Arduino to use midi-outputs. I've seen tutorials for usb-out as well, but it seems these are not possible with nano/uno boards without forementioned external pcb's.

How should I progress with this project?

Then our teachers came to think that it would be possible to make that controller with Usb-out.

Yes you can do that BUT you will need a different processor the Nano will not do.
An Arduino Leonardo or an Arduino Micro or one of the Teensy boards and you can program that to have an output that looks like to the computer as a USB HID MIDI device.
The advantage of the Teensy is that in addition it can also have a serial output as well so you can monitor debug messages.

For ideas of what to do see my book :- Arduino Audio Projects

Specific answers:-

  1. I read (and hopefully understood it correctly), that nano can't send data through usb without external pcb that has usb shield in it.

That is wrong.

Any serial input from an Arduino can be made into a MIDI device by the use of a helper program on the PC, a free good one is called Hairless.