Complex MIDI Controller for an elaborate McGuffin I'm working on.

Projects General Guidance
1

Hi Gang,

So here is the thing. I make camera-ready fantasy/sci-fi props for cosplayers and filmmakers. Thus far I have kept my creations as "static display models" with no real moving bits, lights or sounds. Basically, I make McGuffins (If you have never heard of a McGuffin, look it up you'll see what I mean) But, I want to up my game.

I have decided that ARDUINO and Rasberry Pi tech will definitely be factoring into this next evolution of McGuffins. And, I'm sooooo looking forward to learning it all. But as of now... I know so little about the tech, I don't even know what I don't know. For example, every time I write the word "ARDUINO" I have to double check that I'm spelling it right.

So, before I go waste a bunch of time researching a project that can't be accomplished, I figured I'd ask the community if my plan is even possible. And, I do understand that with cubic time and cubic money, all things are possible. So, I'm not looking just to know if what I have in mind is "possible" but also is it plausible that a novice could pull it off? Basically, what's the difficulty of what I have in mind on a scale of 1-10 (1= Any fool could pull it off and 10= this is a job for Tony Stark... maybe he can do it???).

I have an idea for big sci-fi weapon that will be covered with switches, dials and keypads (probably about a dozen various "input devices". I want each one to activate a sound file that will either play out its recorded sound entirely or may be interrupted by a particular other input (like one button starts a countdown and a combination on a keypad deactivates the sound clip, i.e. stopping the countdown). Ideally, I would like the various inputs to trigger the sound bites randomly so that each input would play an unpredictable sound bite from a file. So, press this switch or that dial and it will activate a sound bite at random (or in some undiscernible order sequence).

Is this a feasible Arduino or Rasberry Pi project, or am I chasing a unicorn with this one?

Or, can I program a board to record my voice at the press of a button and then repeat the phrase back with a digitally altered filter when I release the button? Basically, can I make an annoying robot that will repeat anything I say?

Thanks in advance for the help guys and gals. I'm excited to be a part of this community.

2

Reading buttons and switches is dead easy. Reading a code from a keypad is a little bit harder, but still doable for beginners. Selecting random noises is not hard at all. Actually playing the sounds can be hard if you don't use the right hardware. But if you use something like a DFPlayer, you can just insert a micro SD card with MP3's, and use the libraries to select which files you want to play, not what I'd call rocket science.

If this is your first time programming, you'll have to start with the basics (reading a single button, for example), and gradually increase the complexity.

Programming and building a voice changer from scratch is not something I'd recommend for a beginner. You'd need to learn a lot about DSP and real-time audio, and most simple Arduinos won't be up to the task. (Recording, buffering, filtering, and playing back audio at tens of kilohertz is a pretty hard task and requires sufficient processing power and memory, as well as some hardware features like DMA.) Some more powerful ARM Arduinos may be able to do it (e.g. Teensy), but it's probably easiest to use a Raspberry Pi in that case. You have to understand that an Arduino and a Raspberry Pi are completely different things. An RPi is a single board computer, an Arduino is a microcontroller.

Good luck!
Pieter

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If you want a board that plays sound when buttons are pressed, search adafruit.com and sparkfun.com for the word "trigger". No coding and no Arduino required. The boards are intended to build stage or cosplay props.

The boards do not do MIDI. And they do not do voice recording and playback.

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Thanks for the help and advice.

I'm excited to get going on some of these new projects. I'm in the process of moving right now and I don't have a workshop... AND IT'S KILLING ME!!! But, I'm already (mentally) designing a new workstation in my new space, and I'm planning to put in a dedicated electronics bay with built-in breadboards for mock-ups.

Anyway, thanks for the encouragement.