precision rotary encoder midi controller

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1

Hi there :slight_smile:

Im looking into making a high precision midi controller for mastering but im not sure if the arduino uno is suitable to achieve this.
I also dont know if parts exist in the specs im looking for or even what encoder is best suitable (absolute, incremental, VA). Regardless, ive dabbled with several oem controllers and while in creative stages i never had the need for more than 7 bits, when controlling mastering parameters ive noticed how all of them have problems retaining precise increments that makes tuning to critial levels ( around -0.1 db) quite tidious.

So! has anybody done or looked into this already ?

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For interfacing those rotary encoders, you'll probably want to use my Encoder library....

http://www.pjrc.com/teensy/td_libs_Encoder.html

It provides "4X" counting, so a commonly available 24 pulse/rev encoder will give you 96 steps per revolution. Of course, there are much higher precision encoders available, but they tend to be expensive. Maybe for your application they're worth the cost?

The library works best if every encoder uses at least 1 interrupt pin. Arduino Uno only has 2 such pins, so if you plan to connect more than 2 encoders, you might want to consider using a board with more interrupts available.

3

Arduino Uno only has 2 such pins,

Well while there are two pins that generate interrupts on different vectors any arduino pin can generate an interrupt in the pin change mode.

ive dabbled with several oem controllers and while in creative stages i never had the need for more than 7 bits

Which is lucky because that is all the MIDI control standard will give you unless you split it up into more than one message.

when controlling mastering parameters ive noticed how all of them have problems retaining precise increments

Odd that because there is no reason why that should be technically.