Arcade Buttons + Ableton

[jasondwild]

I know it's kind of backwards to hook it up to real buttons, but I love the way these arcade buttons feel.
This was just a quick test to get some ideas on how to make a full controller for Ableton. I'll be working on more complex versions of this to come. I'd like to know what you think.

http://youtu.be/i3mEbcjeEP8

[Rezl]

This is awesome!

My Makey Makey is still in the mail, but I'm intending to use it for the exact same setup.
The only difference, is I'll be looking for a variety of button sizes and installing them into a small robot.

Where did you get your buttons? Is your other hand holding the ground?
I'd appreciate anymore details you can offer!

Cheers,
Rezl

[jasondwild]

Glad you like it! I am not grounded, actually. If you look at the buttons at about 00:04 in the video, you can kind of see my set up. I have one lead from each of the buttons (any one will work since they aren't polarized), and twisted them all together, then alligator that to a single ground slot to save alligator clips. The remaining leads of the buttons each get their own keyboard input. I used A,S,D, and F. You can then use that keyboard input for machine control, or you can get more complex with it and program in button combinations and midi output.

Right now in Ableton, I've configured these four buttons to launch clips when pressed individually. The cool part is that when I press a combination of buttons, say all four, it will send a 5th midi note to Ableton that triggers effects instead of launching clips.

Oh, for the "programming," I use ControllerMate MIDI.

Hope this helps. Feel free to ask more questions if you want. Also, I would love to see what you come up with!

Stay inventive,
Jason

[zum1]

Whered you get the buttons.... Also a bit confused how you got the ground to work without holding it....

[lightnin]

Woah, awesome! I know what you mean about loving those classic arcade buttons. They're super awesome!

As to where you can find 'em - looks like SparkFun has 'em!
https://www.sparkfun.com/products/9336

[flo]

Nice... I'm still trying to find a way to turn the MM signals to MIDI on a PC... ControllerMate sounds awesome but it's just for Mac...help, anyone! ;-)

[arivera]

Cool.

I also made a game controller using arcade buttons and joystick from XGaming and a wooden cigar box.

[jasondwild]

Nice... I'm still trying to find a way to turn the MM signals to MIDI on a PC... ControllerMate sounds awesome but it's just for Mac...help, anyone! ;-)

Here's a giant list of converter softwares. I believe Rejoice and Mjoy are the popular ones for Windows, but I'm not quite sure, though.

http://forum.djtechtools.com/showthread.php?t=2862

[jasondwild]

Whered you get the buttons.... Also a bit confused how you got the ground to work without holding it....

I started to create a little diagram to demonstrate why you don't need to hold the ground, and I ended up getting a bit carried away. Anyways, I hope it helps clear up the confusion, and possibly more.

[Rezl]

Amazing Diagram!  That explains it very well and thoroughly. Thank you!

I thought you found some magic way to eliminate the ground entirely, but that is not really possible.

Although, I am looking for a way to create more intuitive inputs with my project. I think I may have found a way, or general principle that can be applied.

In my scenario, people will be discovering a small robot with a digital facial display. The display will load a simple game where you play the robot. I've been looking for a way to allow players to touch various parts of the robot's (metal) body to control him in the game.

Asking someone to attach a ground to themselves seems a bit unintuitive (especially for those unaware of the concept), and arcade buttons would isolate the location of the inputs as well as just look like basic buttons.

I'm going to compromise by combining the ground and input contact points in a focused area where the players are likely to touch both at once. For example, to move the robot to the right in the game you will touch his right foot. Most plays will grasp the entire foot, so I intend to separate the foot into two sections. One will ground the player, and the other will activate the key to trigger the input.

I'm expecting this to work, but I'm still constructing the robot, and haven't added the full circuits yet. He will still have two additional buttons on his chest for other functions.

I think this concept can be applied to other scenarios or projects where people don't want to maintain constant ground contact or allow a more intuitive interface.

[jasondwild]

Thank you! I'm glad that you enjoyed it! I put a lot of work into it, and was worried that it was hard to understand.

Your robot seems like a really cool project.
separating the body parts of the robot is a clever idea. Do you plan on running each input with a separate ground, or are you going to combine them all? Is the user going to only touch one button at a time, or multiple?

[Rezl]

I could tell, I'm guessing you do other design work?

Each input's ground will lead to a single intersection, which will then lead to a single ground cord and connection to the board. This should allow me to isolate any breaks in the ground connection to the board or each button at the intersection independently. Or is there a reason the board has multiple ground inputs and I should spread them out a bit?

They will mostly touch one button at time, but I do intend to allow the player to make the robot jump by touching both feet at the same time. I'll post my results once I'm done.

Currently there are 2 hand and 2 foot inputs (using the setup in the diagram) and three arcade buttons (nipples, side of head). I may add a missile switch or key switch, but only because they look awesome for other functions.