Rock band instruments draft

content/blog/2023/12-27-rock-band.md

@@ -0,0 +1,77 @@
+---
+title: Rock Band / Clone Hero instruments
+date: 2023-13-27
+draft: true
+---
+
+My project this winter break is to get our Wii copy of LEGO Rock Band some controllers again. We sold the original ones years ago because they were gigantic, so any replacements need to be small and easily stored.
+
+## Step one: Working Arduino controller
+
+Before any other work, I needed to make sure I could actually interface with the software.
+There's one really popular project
+right now, 
+with published source code,
+but it requires some binary desktop app to configure the firmware.
+I had a hunch I could find something simpler,
+and after a day of searching,
+I discovered 
+[Nicholas Angle's Work](https://www.niangames.com/articles/reverse-engineering-rockband-guitar-controllers)
+doing exactly what I wanted.
+Following the instructions on that page,
+I was able to get my old Arduino Micro
+recognized as a guitar,
+and utterly fail a level as
+I attempted to ground the right pins
+with a bit of wire
+to register button presses.
+
+I used an old 4-port USB hub
+I had lying around,
+to make sure that would work too.
+It did: it appears there's nothing
+special about the one that came with
+the controllers originally.
+
+Yay!
+I have a working controller!
+
+
+## Step 2: Guitars
+
+There are a number of options for
+3D printed guitars.
+I chose 
+[Vlad the Inhaler's MiniCaster](https://www.printables.com/model/479046-minicaster-mini-clone-heromidi-controller),
+which looks like a nice easy job
+without needing to order a PCB.
+
+I did need to order some switches,
+new microcontrollers,
+and some tilt switches.
+I already had M3 screws,
+which are used all the time in
+3D printed builds.
+
+
+## Drum controller
+
+The first decision to make was
+finger drumming vs hitting things
+with sticks: we decided sticks
+would be more fun.
+
+The second decision was
+MIDI vs destructive conversion.
+Conversion looked cheaper and easier,
+so we went that way.
+
+I wound up buying a $26 children's 
+roll up drum mat.
+I'm assuming it uses piezos,
+and once I rip out the controller
+board, I can just wire up analog
+inputs to the Arduino.
+
+I'll update when I'm on the 
+other side of this one!