USB MIDI on uno

Using Arduino Programming Questions
1

Hi,
I'm making a midi instrument and i need a usb midi device.
However, i have an arduino uno,
and i read online that i can't use the library with the uno.
Is there a safe way to use it with the uno ?

Regards

2

I don't know what library you're talking about.

There is a way to do USB MIDI on Uno boards that use the ATmega16U2 USB chip. That is what's used on the official Unos and faithful clones. The Uno derivative boards usually use a different chip like the CH340 and it is not possible on those boards.

Using the ATmega16U2 on the Uno for this purpose is quite complicated and offers a greater than normal chance of "bricking" your Uno, So I think it would be better to just use an Arduino board with native USB capability. The Leonardo, Pro Micro, and Micro are commonly used but most of the more modern Arduino boards (e.g. Zero, MKR, Teensy) should also have this capability.

3

There are a number of ways of getting the UNO to turn out MIDI stuff.

  • You can re-program the chip controlling the USB connector and turn it into a HID. This will render the USB port useless for programming, requiring you to either use another UNO to behave like an ISP programmer, or purchase an ISP programmer so that you can upload sketches.
  • You can use a 'soft' USB library. This will require you to build a USB circuit and attach it to a couple of digital pins on the UNO
  • You can use the standard MIDI library (or a more fully featured one) and attach a standard MIDI plug to a couple of digital pins (a small circuit will be required, to get full I/O). This will also require the purchase of a midi to USB dongle.

Or you can follow perts' suggestion. Of the four options available, it's the easiest and (possibly) the cheapest