AudioAlchemist

Hey guys! Official newb to the DIY community and am beyond excited to take on the challenge of creating my own custom MIDI controller! While I'm catching up on all the necessary reading to become as knowledgeable as possible on what I'm doing, I've put together a small list of questions that I'm hoping some of you would be willing to take the time to share your knowledge on. Any help on any of these would be VERY appreciated as I'm trying to put together my starter notes as well as make a final decision as to whether or not this is something that I have the time and money to do! Also, I know I'm not using the actual Midibox setup but this is the forum I've been reading and what got me hooked on this stuff. There's an incredible amount of knowledge floating around in this forum and didn't think anyone would mind be posting here as my questions mostly deal in design. Basically, what I'm trying to do is make a futuristic looking version of the Akai APC40 Ableton Live MIDI controller (in which I'm currently using). If you're not familiar with the APC40, the link is below.. http://www.akaipro.com/apc40 So with all that said and apart from the basics of DIY 101 that I'm currently reading, I have these questions for anyone willing to help me.. 1. I'd like to use an Acrylic see-through type enclosure like the NTH Synth ( http://nthsynth.wordpress.com ). I guess this is a two part question in A) Is a material such as acrylic plastic such as this any less reliable than something like aluminum? Also, any recommendations on how many mm thick the plastic for the enclosure should be? 2. On the subject of the NTH Synth, if you look at the top you'll see that the letters "NTH" as well as many other parts of the faceplate (ie. the faders numbered 1-8) are painted on... come to think of it the Akai APC40 has the logo/values painted on there as well. How would I go about getting that done on the faceplate of my unit upon completion? When I scratch at the numbers on the APC40 I can tell it's definitely not some type of vinyl overlay or anything like that. 3. I use Ableton in a very basic way. The Akai I'm currently using works perfectly for me needs (I don't need it to step sequence or be compatible with M4L). So I'm assuming I'll need a basic script for my controller. Is getting someone to write a basic script for my controller going to end up costing me an arm and a leg? 4. As of now, I am planning on using a Livid Instruments Brain V2 as my controller will have a total of approximately 100 RGB backlit buttons (the bulk of them making up the clip launch grid and the rest as misc. buttons), 10 linear potentiometers (sliders/crossfader), and 17 regular potentiometers (knobs to control various parameters along the right side. For the sake of all I have going on, does the Brain V2 by Livid sound like the best bet or is there something else you think I should be looking into? 5. One thing I'd really like to do is put backlit LED type encoders around the knobs (as opposed to the current green ones on the APC40). Ideally I'd really love to put encoders around each knob that have a similar look to the Livid Instruments Code ( link to Code controller: http://lividinstruments.com/hardware_code.php). In my search to something similar to this, can anyone tell me where I might have luck finding a place that sells something similar to those? That's all I've got for now. Again, I'm very new to this and I know it's not going to be as easy and fun as just attaching knobs, faders, assembling an enclosure and powering it up. While I take the step by step learning process of all this, I'm just trying to piece together parts of the end game with these questions. It really helps when you can start to picture the "end result" when you're doing the work.. well at least for me =). Thanks in advance for any help with these questions and if there's anything else you think I should be aware of as I start this process please feel free to let me know. I know I'm asking for your time and knowledge and my skin is thick so no need to sugar coat anything. THANK YOU so much!