HX Stomp MIDI Controller

[soundog]

I just finished making a controller for my studio, including control of my HX Stomp. The project is based on a Teensy 3.2 microcontroller (Arduino based), with 16 rotary encoders and two toggle switches. It’s sorta like a MIDI Fighter Twister, but only cost me about $50 (and way too much time soldering and debugging code!).

 

The controller is USB MIDI, although it could be wired for 5-pin DIN. For Stomp control, I settled on using “standard” amp controls for the top 6 controls, and the others can be used for whatever I want. I can change the stick-on label strips as needed, but have only made one (the one in the photo) so far.

 

I can easily upload different code to the controller to customize it for whatever I’m working on (guitar recording, DAW plugin control, etc). Caveat: the Stomp only supports “absolute” CC parameter control (a big bummer), so I wrote code so that the encoders start position matches the Stomp preset settings. That way, I can twist the knobs and they always start relative to the preset settings, without jumping to the encoder value. (For DAW control, I wrote code to use “relative” CC mode, which is perfect for plugin control of channel strip EQ and compression.)

 

The best part is being able to control amps and effects with knobs instead of a mouse!

 

 

 

 

[HonestOpinion]

1 hour ago, soundog said:

I just finished making a controller for my studio, including control of my HX Stomp. The project is based on a Teensy 3.2 microcontroller (Arduino based), with 16 rotary encoders and two toggle switches. It’s sorta like a MIDI Fighter Twister, but only cost me about $50 (and way too much time soldering and debugging code!).

 

The controller is USB MIDI, although it could be wired for 5-pin DIN. For Stomp control, I settled on using “standard” amp controls for the top 6 controls, and the others can be used for whatever I want. I can change the stick-on label strips as needed, but have only made one (the one in the photo) so far.

 

I can easily upload different code to the controller to customize it for whatever I’m working on (guitar recording, DAW plugin control, etc). Caveat: the Stomp only supports “absolute” CC parameter control (a big bummer), so I wrote code so that the encoders start position matches the Stomp preset settings. That way, I can twist the knobs and they always start relative to the preset settings, without jumping to the encoder value. (For DAW control, I wrote code to use “relative” CC mode, which is perfect for plugin control of channel strip EQ and compression.)

 

The best part is being able to control amps and effects with knobs instead of a mouse!

 

 

 

 

 

Wow! That is one very impressive homemade electronics project!

[FunkyButter]

Are you able to connect this to the stomp without a laptop/host? I've set up my MF Twister to control my Stomp, but haven't figured out how to do it without using a computer as an intermediate host.

[silverhead]

On 8/5/2024 at 5:22 PM, FunkyButter said:

Are you able to connect this to the stomp without a laptop/host? I've set up my MF Twister to control my Stomp, but haven't figured out how to do it without using a computer as an intermediate host.

Here’s a quote from the FAQ section of the MF Twister product pages:

 

Is the Twister standalone or do I need a computer?

You need a computer. The Twister will work with any computer that has a USB port and supports MIDI. The MidiFighter Twister is a class compliant, plug and play controller.