Cybrid - a DIY MIDI controller with grand piano action

CyberGene · 2021-10-17T11:25:15+00:00

I'm creating this thread as a landing page that I will link to in my Cybrid YouTube videos because I often get asked some questions on YouTube regarding Cybrid. It should also attract more users to this forum 😉 Cybrid is a DIY project that turned a real grand piano action into a MIDI controller by installing optical sensors that measure the hammer velocity. The entire keyboard unit (keys, frame, action and hammers) is removed from the piano and is used by installing a rail that stops the hammers. The completed project involved creating a design of the schematics and the printed circuit boards (PCB-s), soldering of electronic elements, restoration and regulation of an old grand piano action, construction of an aluminum frame to hold everything and finally implementing software code for the Teensy controller (a USB-based microcontroller development system that is freely available and inexpensive, similar to Arduino but much more powerful). There are a lot of discussions on the PW forums which followed the progress of the project, however since the project is now finished and freely published as Cybrid on GitHub where there's the actual technical description and info, this thread can serve as a discussion space for anyone who is interested and needs more details. Here's one of the original demos right after the controller was finished and (almost) fully working: There are many other videos in my YouTube channel that follow the progress of the project from the initial proof of concept to pure music recorded with Cybrid with Garritan CFX.

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