We Could Make Such Beautiful Music Together

Musicians can be very particular about their instruments. Even the most casual player often has strong opinions on brands, materials, and maintenance routines. Xavier Dumont is so particular about the tools he uses to create electronic music, that he designed a custom keyboard from scratch to perfectly suit his tastes.

Dumont created a 48-key isomorphic keyboard with velocity-sensing keys and breath control. It is heavily customizable, with adjustable key layouts that rearrange notes for different applications. It also looks great, with a slick, machined aluminum case and custom keys with individually-addressable LEDs.

Inside the case, there are three different types of PCBs. One controls the onboard 2.4-inch LCD display that is used to configure the keyboard. The keys are laid out on a set of identical PCBs, each with a microcontroller that watches for key presses and velocity information that is measured by hall effect sensors. Silent mechanical key switches were selected for the build so as to not interfere with the music being played.

The keyboard PCBs feed information about key presses into another custom board that is powered by an ESP32-S3 chip. This handles MIDI and serial outputs, and also accepts inputs from a pedal via a ¼-inch jack.

Finally, there is a simple PCB with a pressure sensor, which is connected to a tube to collect information for breath control. This board also has a rotary encoder which is used by the menu system.

Sometimes, only a DIY solution will do. While creating this keyboard took a lot of effort, Dumont now has the perfect keyboard for making electronic music.