xp120 mechanical midi keyboard

This is a MIDI controller that uses mechanical keyboard parts as buttons.
email me at percipiostart@gmail.com to order.

xp120 support page

These are the features of the current generation.
-Cherry MX Clear switches
-DSA profile keycaps from Signature Plastics
-Teensy 4.0 microcontroller, micro-b USB, flashed with Arduino code
-6061 Aluminum switch plate
-Black acrylic sandwich layer case with 5 M2.5 sockets with nuts and sticky felt pad protectors
-Neon transparent green top cover protector.
-Custom PCB featuring diode matrix

Other details/facts
-Only velocity 127
-Only one channel for entire board (you can choose which channel 1-16)
-USB bus powered
-USB class compliant MIDI device (works with MAC or WINDOWS) No driver installation.
-About 9.6″ x-length. 9.2″ y-width. 1.4″ z-height.

Video demo of the board and some close up shots.
top view of xp120 midi controller
top view

This board has 120 buttons and allows for as much polyphony as your DAW can utilize.
This layout uses one octave per row. The color of the keycaps correlates to the keys on a piano.
Left column is C, far right column is B.

side view of xp120 showing teensy microcontroller and top cover acrylic.
Teensy 4.0 soldered into PCB with top cover acrylic protector.
bottom side of xp120
Bottom view with felt pads. The pad thickness is equal to the head of the socket, conveniently keeping the contact pad in place on a flat desk.

I am pricing this full assembly build at $500.00 USD (free shipping).
I will accommodate DIY builders also. For example if you want to solder your own switches, or use your own keycaps.

Right now I am doing a groupbuy/build to order. It takes about 3 weeks to order PCB, that is the longest time for a part. Teensy 4.0 units often sell out and some are due to be available in August.

I have 4 units worth of parts right now. My final step for delivery is making sure packaging is right. I should be able to send outside of the USA, a great shipping cost might increase the price.

Here are some pitch layout options to consider:

This layout is based on the 8 row, 8 column xp64 model. I enjoy playing it because the column has root note(C36), stacked with flat sixth(44Ab), third(52E), and again the root(C60). It makes experimenting fun because you can play diagonal left for major (stacking fifths), or diagonal right for diminished (stacking sixths).

Another thing that makes that layout fun is its very easy to play Major 7ths. This is because you can use your other hand to play the perfect fifth, seventh, and another perfect fifth(2 octaves above).

One thing to notice about this layout is that 36C is the third note in the bottom row. This was done because of traditional sake. It lets me use the xp64 layout while being able to easily move left and right ‘out of bounds’ so to speak. The very top 2 rows are not conformed to the layout. Pianos don’t have the range for 24 more notes above 101, so I use the top 2 rows for the very low notes, and extra that are unused for piano.

Here is my default xp120 layout. It is best for those that want straight data starting with 0 C-2. It can be shifted to have 24 or 36 on the bottom row. Shifting would be best for those that want practical usage of the rows, so that most common synth patches can be played with bass octave on bottom row.

I use the default layout shifted for 24 on the bottom row. This is a good range for synth basses usually, and I only need to move my fingers up one row to disregard that octave. Much easier to do that than if it were the xp64 layout.

Download custom pitch text file
Download

^^^Download the file above to edit your own pitch layout, and email that to me so that I can flash the board for you. Remember to choose a channel or it will default to “1”.

Everything that is for sale
Here is a page describing everything for sale in some more detail.