Creating hardware controller for specific Software Instrument: patch cables

Software Instruments V Collection
#1

I love my Buchla V, but I would like to have a more ‘hands on’ experience by building a dedicated hardware controller for it (or better: create a standalone hardware instrument with the Buchla V as a basis).
All the sliders/knobs/switches can be accessed via MIDI, that is easy enough to access. But there are also patch cables, and this is where it gets complicated.

Does anyone have any expertise/experience how to add patch cables via an external controller? (I guess the way Arturia implements this is not specific to the Buchla V, but also works on other synths that have patch points).

I tried studying the preset-files, but after a few hours I still haven’t figured out how patched connections are handled here, and even when I do figure it out, that still doesn’t make it obvious how to tackle this.

Is there anyone here who has already tried a similar thing?

#2

HI @brumd

Great to see you’ve made it here to the new Sound Explorers Forum!

I’m not sure about the Buchla V, but i do know of these https://sound-force.nl/?page_id=2318, in fact they’re the only ones i know of, except the Korg MS20 one too.

Maybe hit them up and see if it’s on their radar?

Hopefully someone else might be able to chip in here too…

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#3

Thank you for your reply!
Unfortunately that’s not what i meant: what they are offering there, I can build that too. MIDI controllers are remarkably easy to make with any microcontroller.

The knowledge that is missing is how to make a controller for the patch cables which are not controllable my MIDI, and I was wondering if anyone how to approach the Buchla V when you do that externally. In other words: patching real life input/output jacks togethers and make that send a software message to the Buchla V.

But, after I posted this topic, I also realized that it’s going to be difficult to make real LEDs respond to the LEDs on the Buchla V (e.g. the steps of the sequencer).

So, on 2nd thought I might abondon the idea of making a screenless device with the Buchla V at its core, but instead run the Buchla V on a screen, do the virtual cable patching there, and build a MIDI controller with the 22 sliders, 14 pots, 15 ON-OFF switches and 15 ON-OFF-ON switches. That’s very feasible.

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