Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Digital Pianos - Electronic Pianos - Synths & Keyboards CyberGene's DIY hybrid MIDI controller is finally here!

Ahh, I see. So you did meticulous hardware and software adjustments. Thanks for the feedback!
Hoping to get my hands on my own keybed...

I don't know where the last two months went (well, actually I do: two online conferences, one of which I led, one big tutorial, bought a very nice grand piano and need to arrange the move which is complicated by my wife wanting me to sell the one I have first, a plumbing emergency with a blown up pipe which I fixed myself, and few other minor or not-so-minor things). So, I haven't touched base with Jay (or made progress on mine, which electronically is a clone of his, but mechanically slightly different) since March.

He does post on github when he has a good update. Last time I heard, he was producing sound with good dynamics for one note, and needed "only" to assemble the hardware for 88 of them (the design was already completed for all of them, in my understanding). In fact we were supposed to meet to share some old-grand-piano parts, but that never happened. I told him that if he was ordering more electronics (presoldered PCB) I was interested and that would have reduced unit price and shipping costs, but I did not hear back on that. As soon as I get a moment from being so busy (which I hope will be in a week or two) I will ask him again.

Whoa there! I nearly missed this part. First, congratulations on the new grand!!

Second, what did you get, if you don't mind sharing?

Yeah, congrats on your new piano, what is it?

Well, you guys missed it because I wanted to have it in my home before "announcing" (and the logistics is proving to be more complicated than I hoped), but since I have piqued your curiosity I now can't delay. Just make sure you are solidly seated to your chair, because I still fall from mine that I can't believe what I've got!!!

It's a 1930 Mason & Hamlin AA, with some updates (among them new strings and new hammers). I'll post pictures and hopefully a recording, when I'll get it, which as I said is stopped from the sale of what I have now (otherwise the M&H must go in storage for now )

Hi CyberGene. I’m not a prolific poster but when I saw the results of your project I just had to leave you a message to say, wow! That is some achievement. I am in awe. Congratulations.

Thank you, Andy 🍻

Hello,

@CyberGene, Yesterday, out of the unexpected blue, the YouTube algorithm presented me with one of your Cybrid videos. I hadn't seen any of those before. So:

*** Cybrid looks so splendidly neat and beautiful!! ***

I have said it before, I actually should do some more reading in your thread(s) about your controller coming into existence.

There are also some questions puzzling me:
-> Am I right that you play your regular music/practise on an N1X instead of your own Cybrid? If so, why?
-> Would you say Cybrid is a one-of or could it be useful (musically as well as economically) for someone like me to pursue building a similar true action? (With, in my case, the aim to use it as my main piano).

Thanks for any light on this,

Cheers and happy playing,

HZ

Hello,


@CyberGene, I started reading this thread from page 1 and already got a picture with these questions that puzzled me 🙂.

In any case, once again a big Thumbs Up.

Cheers and happy projects,

HZ

PS For all my life so far I have been going about my projects just as you do -- knowing nothing, setting a desirable or purposeful goal, and learning every single detail needed as the work progresses. A strategy of blood, sweat, and tears, of cursing, throwing things, screaming and pain, and sometimes also huge satisfaction when a plan finally comes together. Wouldn't have it any other way 😋.

👍🏻 Thank you for the warm words!

Unfortunately the Cybrid stays stashed at my sister’s apartment and I miss it so much… 😢

Thanks to COVID though, it seems I can now work officially from anywhere, our company is very flexible. Which is why I have some plans to renovate/rebuild our family house in my home town for a semi-permanent living. This can allow me to have an acoustic, as well as my entire arsenal of digital pianos and keyboards. Time will tell 🙏🏻

Hello,

Oh! How did that happen! (Cybrid stashed).

And boy, that's another huge commitment (the family house). All the best with that!

Cheers and happy transitions,

HZ

I just don’t have space at my flat. And the N1X is the better hybrid. Yeah, I admit it 😀

Hello,


😄

Oh well, just Enjoy!

🙂

HZ

So much impressive work, that I decided to create here an account. Very inspiring!

I desire to implement your idea with my uprigth-action piano. Is there any members out here who tried to do it this way?
Cybergene, I have a question. If you had to make another one Cybrid, how much all the stuff would cost in total, approximately?

Yes, in fact he has inspired me to do it. I'm working on it ;-)

Why upright? Just because you have it, or other reasons? Where are you located?

Yes, exactly because I have one. Even are garbage grand pianos in Ukraine are over-priced. But on other hand, it's so easy to find an old upright just for free or at an affordable price. People just get rid of them because they don't need pianos they get with bought appartaments.

I'm glad I met someone who can share his experience. I have some questions for you

1) What stage are you at now?
2) Is an abillity to play manually remains? Or set of hammers removed completely?
3) Set of sensors and other stuff same as at Cybrid, or different?
4) Any threads/blogs where we can follow your progress?

Thank you!

The total cost for the electronics is a few hundred euros, but it depends on the availability and current price of electronic elements. The most expensive ones are the CNY70 sensors and the trim pots. And you also add the mounting frames, etc. They are inexpensive and the total cost in my case was probably no more then 30 Euro.

What’s necessary though is that you are handy and can work with metal, wood, you can solder and be patient and improvise a lot and adapt to the piano you have. BTW, I think a grand piano action might be a bit easier due to the placement of the sensors above the bases of the hammer shanks where there’s nothing else. In an upright piano if you keep the entire piano (because the action is not as independent from the piano frame and body ad on a grand) you may have to see if it’s easy to put the sensor frame where it can measure hammer speed.

I guess you know that but just in case. Some designs, descriptions and the code are published here:

https://github.com/ekumanov/cybrid

I recently updated the description to include parts of conversations with our forum member vagfilm who was interested in doing this project (vagfilm, no worries, just technical details, no personal stuff there 😀). It includes links to electronic parts, etc. He was even interested in ordering ready made PCB-s with soldered elements. He may chime in and give more details. There’s a more recent project by Jay Kominek (also linked on my GitHub page) which is better designed. I’m not sure if it was finalized though. Del Vento may provide more details. I think it’s the more mature project and will be easier for people to recreate themselves.

Got it. The same is true in the USA with grand pianos.



1) I bought a trashed grand piano (I also bought an excellent grand piano, in case you look for my posts here on the forum, do not confound one with the other). The action was in good shape besides a few missing hammers. I bought this book http://www.pianosinsideout.com/Excerpts.html and learned to regulate the action, which I have done. The cabinet was poorly disassembled (basically sawed in pieces without any thought) which made transportation a piece of cake, but now reassembling is complicated. I am not reassembling the tail, just the front in a upright-like shape. This is what is taking my time at the moment.

2) I did not get the strings, so in my case no (and I have another instrument for that purpose, as I wrote above). The beauty of this design (compared to any other competitor) is that the sensors measure the hammers, so there is no "software guesswork" to create a "good feeling" of the instrument. What is measured is the "feeling" that the strings got! The easiest way to assemble it correctly is to have the sensors placed where the strings would be and the hammers hit them. Hence you'll need to remove the strings. I think if you REALLY want and if you REALLY work hard you may maintain the ability to play acoustically on the strings, but it's very complicated. Plus, servicing the piano will also be very complicated, most tuners will probably refuse to work on it if you do it. I'd suggest you find a second instrument for that purpose.

3) sensors are the same. The rest is different.

4) Any time I'd spend to post my progress would be time removed from doing it. As such, I don't post any progress status. In any case, I have only started playing with the electronics and I plan to follow Jay's and/or Cybergene's projects. Should I do anything different, I'd post it to their github repositories with the details of the whys.


It is more sophisticated, which is good in that it's a better project, but it might be bad if you don't know what you are doing and need to make any change. As for the "maturity" and (especially) robustness of the project, I can't speak because I'd need to build both and compare, which I have not done.

PS: the upright action CAN be removed. It's not so easy as in a grand, but it CAN be done. The keyboard is even more complicated, but that too CAN be removed. So buying only the keyboard and the action of an upright is possible, and it could then installed in a custom made cabinet, and avoid the hassle of dealing with the heaviest parts of the instrument.

Hmm, there is something to think about. I can get another one upright piano just to take it apart and left only keyboard. Therefore, I may modify the key by adding to opposite side a weight bar. And then, put the electronics at the back, wich will react to weight bars movement.
Work in progress. I'll make a note of them, thanks