DIY MIDI accordion

[jjj]

It was always my ambition to create an easy to learn and play accordion style musical instrument, but it took me ages to get my act together. Finally, step by step I built the DIY components for it: Result:
1) I converted a 120-button accordion bass to Midi.
2) From 3 PC plates I created a 6x6 JANKO keyboard
3) I created a WYSIWYG notation for it (similar to Klavar notation).
It can't get any easier (!!) and to make it sound like a real accordion I got myself the latest XXL MASTER ACCORDION from V3 sound modules, pairing it with an equally excellent MidiToolEx software and voilą, now I'm enjoying the sound of 206 top accordions at a fraction of Roland Midi accordion's costs.

In case anyone of you would like to have some more details, please feel free to contact me.
To accelerate the notation conversion I would need to find a programmer for it.

[J M Fahey]

Thanks. Interesting instrument you made.
Now we deserve some tunes

[jjj]

I'm still practicing the new JANKO Kbd....

[nickb]

..and being, MIDI I guess you could make it sound like almost anything, not just accordions. Did you include any features to reproduce the dynamics from the action of the bellows?

BTW, accordions are ferociously hard instruments to play, my hat goes off to anyone who can play one.

[Enzo]

Myron...

[jjj]

..and being, MIDI I guess you could make it sound like almost anything, not just accordions. Did you include any featuresto reproduce the dynamics from the action of the bellows? .

That's what I really miss... but then again, with my innovative setup I'm lucky enough to have gotten that far and as usual... one can't have everything in life! - I'm sure there's a way of solving that void. Joh

[nickb]

That's what I really miss... but then again, with my innovative setup I'm lucky enough to have gotten that far and as usual... one can't have everything in life! - I'm sure there's a way of solving that void. Joh

Maybe a foot pedal wired up to control swell, either MIDI expression or direct volume, would be a start?

[jjj]

Maybe a foot pedal wired up to control swell, either MDI expression or direct volume, would be a start?

For that Parkinson would come in handy.
Some time ago, I actually did what you described: I wired the 10K foot pedal Pot an LDR to a LED, but it somehow failed to approximate an accordion bellow shake. I guess suspending my (400g) Janko Kbd in springs and shaking it would control it similarly to an accordion bellow... "would be a start"?
To professionally go about one has to analyze the bellow-shake waveform: its volume starts low, then rises to the top, and then drops. There surely is a way to recreate it electronically and attach its sensor or lever to the shaking Kbd. - That's what Music Electronics is all about.
Look at the incredible achievements of electronics in music: great-sounding organs, MIDI accordions, etc. So, I have no doubt that a universal electronic bellow shake could fairly easily be developed. - It's quite an impressive, useful effect enriching any kind of music, and wonder why there's fo little interest in that. It adds excitement to certain pieces, as you could hear in that accordion piece on this page.

[nickb]

Pushing or pulling the bellows is simply a force. For a flexible solution I suggest the output from a force to voltage transducer (piezo for example) be sent to a microcontroler via a high impedance buffer. The voltage is converted to digital by the micro controller's ADC and used as the index to a look up table. The LUT would contain the desired bellow characteristic. Finally, the micro spits out MIDI controller commands to change the output volume. Quite a simple arrangement really. You might even already have a micro to handle all the switch to MIDI stuff that you could use.

It's not clear to me why you fed the pedal to an optocupler to control the volume. Wouldn't just using the pedal as a volume control directly be the thing to do? Although pressing the accordion buttons at the same time as operating the foot pedal sounds like a new kind of torment to me

[Enzo]

A common volume pedal like in an FX loop requires running signal in and out of a unit. An opto with a remote controlling it with voltage keeps the signal path all inside the unit.

Seems to me the bellows could be simulated by the old breath controller circuit as used by Yamaha in DX7 and others of that era.

Piezos work as simple triggers pretty well. But I don't think they would respond to steady pressure.

[TheWOZ]

I'm trying to make a MIDI accordion myself, and was wondering where do you get the XXL MASTER ACCORDION from V3 sound modules?

[jjj]

I'm trying to make a MIDI accordion myself, and was wondering where do you get the XXL MASTER ACCORDION from V3 sound modules?

Hi, I can sell you mine for only $US200 (plus PayPal charge) & postage (jdrinda@hotmail.com)

[TheWOZ]

Hi, I can sell you mine for only $US200 (plus PayPal charge) & postage (jdrinda@hotmail.com)

I thought it was software - is it only a hardware MIDI device?

[g1]

I thought it was software - is it only a hardware MIDI device?

It's a hardware module. They retail for over $400. https://www.v3sound.com/en-accordionmasterxxl.html

[jjj]

The thing I liked on accordions was their ergonomic arrangement that makes the musician physically connected to the intrument. Yet, the thing that always bothered me was their cumbersome weight of 12kg or more. The advent of MIDI instruments renewed my hope that an accordion manufacturer will create a light-weight MIDI accordion. Bad luck.. because all big Roland accordions have the same weight as reeded accordions because the include heavy batteries and speakers. My latest ambition is to somehow add the bellow shake to my MID setup. I believe the latest breath controller might be able to realize it? Has anyone of you successfully recreated this affect in any way??