I’m finally releasing the second iteration of Dodepan, a portable musical instrument and Midi controller that I’ve been working on. It’s played by tapping on its 12 capacitive pads, and features a tilting mechanism that bends pitch and modulates filter cutoff frequency.
Dodepan is built around a Raspberry Pi Pico 2. It can store new instruments as user presets, it’s powered by a rechargeable battery, has a built-in speaker and audio jack, and can control music software or other instruments when connected via Midi.
It’s open source, and anyone can build it and modify it. The project includes the 3D-printed enclosure, a custom PCB, and a comprehensive guide to get you started.
Compared to the original version, this iteration offers several improvements:
- Raspberry Pi Pico 2 as the central unit
- Better audio quality using an I²S DAC and power amplifier
- An SSD1306 OLED display
- A rotary encoder for navigation and parameter selection
- Direct digital synthesis engine
- 9 instrument presets, plus 4 slots for user presets
- Filter cutoff frequency modulation controlled by device tilt
- Sequence looper with diatonic transport selector
- Digital volume control
- Extended note range
- Automatic storage and retrieval of last used settings
- Fewer components
Source code and step-by-step instructions: github.com/TuriSc/Dodepan