An update on my sequencer project! It's finally functional

[Niisse]

Hey all,

So, about a year ago I posted a video of my work in progress sequencer - back then it didn't sequence much. I've just finished work on my second video showcasing much of the progress I've made. The sequencer is now at a very functional stage, and this first prototype is nearly finished. It's my first electronics project, and I'm really stoked to see how well it's working already! It's essentially a MIDI-based sequencer written in Python, with custom hardware controls. It currently runs on a Raspberry Pi, but eventually I hope to convert it to something Arduino-based to make it truly portable (an RPi is, of course, a bit overkill - albeit easy to develop for )

I'd love to hear what you think! Any feedback or (constructive) criticism is appreciated.

[RJSV]

   Nice look, to your board layouts...that shows a sharp mind, and some artistic bend!
   I've moved on, to your Helium vintage Pipe Organ video, that's a lot of work, (and fine old wood).  What year was that made, and now, I'm going to try to find the previous Parts, 1-4 on that!
   Might be nice, to hear a few words on your sequencer program aspects, too.
Thank you !  - -Rick.

[Niisse]

Hey Rick,

That Helium Pipe Organ video must be by LookMumNoComputer - great guy, but it's not me! Thanks for the kind words, however.

The program is essentially a big list of lists - keeping track of what plays when, and outputting the correct MIDI data at the right time. The relevant bits of the internal state of that program then get transformed into a long string of bits, which gets sent into the output shift registers of the hardware - causing the 7-segment displays and LEDs to light up accordingly.

Meanwhile, the input shift registers check for any button presses. If a button gets pressed, the relevant function (such as "toggle play/pause", or "move one step forward", or "turn on sustain for this step") gets executed.

The code can be found in this GitHub repository, for anyone interested.

[KellyGreené]

Your board's layout for the sequencer is insane. Shows a lot effort and talent put into it.

I came across this sequencer project earlier this year https://www.pcbway.com/project/shareproject/Santa_s_sequencer.html but looking at all the steps it requires made me put it on hold to focus on other projects. Seeing your progress, I think I'll add it to my projects for this month.