Keyboard Builders' Digest / Projects
Melodicade MX
The Melodicade MX is a portable 6+ octave MIDI keyboard by Michael from KOOP Instruments showcasing the Wicki-Hayden layout.
Published April 28, 2022
KOOP Instruments' Michael released the files of his Melodicade MX, a 6+ octave MIDI keyboard built around a Teensy 4.1 and sporting Cherry compatible keyswitches beneath the 3D-printed caps arranged according to the Wicki-Hayden layout.
I've already featured some musical keyboard projects here on kbd.news, e.g. xpercipio's XP64, the Plinky PCB-synth or mpark's Gadgetina which uses the Wicki-Hayden layout as well. (And more.)
However, the Melodicade is simply too well-documented to leave it out. And as a surprising turn of events, its final form was inspired by the mechanical keyboard of the author's son (earlier prototypes sported the bulky arcade buttons):
So when my son built a mechanical keyboard in late 2020 I purchased a couple hundred additional switches to see if cheap switches with 3D-printed keycaps could work as a viable alternative – KOOP.
To sum it up real quickly, the Wicki-Hayden layout is a brilliant idea which ensures you can play all the chords by using the same pattern, regardless of the key. This may sound not that extraordinary for guitar players but it definitely is for pianists.
Patented by Kaspar Wicki in 1896, and independently rediscovered by Brian Hayden in 1986, the W/H layout is a compact musical keyboard layout which actually makes sense. If you play any musical instrument, just spend some time thinking about how much easier this layout could make learning all the scales and chords.
As a DIY keyboard project, the Melodicade excels with its great documentation.
To tease the project, here is a quite comprehensive video demonstration – as already told, the layout was not entirely new to me so this time I was especially flattered by the transposing part and the insane "stretching" possibilities:
Project page with detailed build guide: https://www.koopinstruments.com/instrument-projects/melodicade-mx
Thingiverse repo: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:5237193
Published on Thu 28th Apr 2022. Featured in KBD #76.
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