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Sugestion for pots and switches


Pingaaas
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Hello, I am building my first DIY midi controller and, browsing through some component websites, I feel kind of lost on what kinds and brands of potentiometers and switches I should buy. Do you have any suggestions?  Also, what are the best online stores in Europe and what factors does price really affect?

Thanks in advance

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Hola and welcome :)

Quick recommendations for shops in Europe:

reichelt.de ("standard" service for germany, many parts on ucapps.de have reichelt partslists)

tme.eu (good prices, quick shipping)

mouser.com (quick shipping, a lot of parts, free shipping over 75€)

Parts: there are many available brands, a good encoder brand for pots (also encoders) and switches would be Alps. Some very cheaply bought mechanical products from china can have limited lifetime, or wobbly shafts (encoders/pots), or for tactile switches, button presses won't be recognized anymore. But this can also happen with quality products, we had some problems with switches for Wilba's MBSEQ control surface, and these were manufactured by a "quality brand" :-).

Many greets and have fun!

Peter

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Here's some more!

***

 

Hi, the hardware/case is usually the most expensive part, so you should ask yourself what you're willing to spend. Quality normally correlates with price.

You can get a lot of parts from Tayda in Thailand, e.g.
Pots (5-10k are good values)
Switches (take your pick, normally you want momentary ones, perhaps some toggles or rockers. While cheap, these are considered to be quite poor quality, e.g. the moulding resin tends to melt very quickly during soldering.)

It's simple to order under the customs threshold for the EU and you'll normally get your parts within 1-3 weeks. Check on their Face* page for a ~monthly discount of 10-15%

 

http://www.banzaimusic.com/ (Germany)
http://www.watterott.com/de/Komponenten/Mechanisch/Schalter-Taster (Germany)
http://smallbear-electronics.mybigcommerce.com/ (US)

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  • 2 weeks later...

Thank so much for your suggestions! I am in the last stages of my build... Know I face the choice of choosing potentiometer knobs and button caps but I don't know how to choose them... Especially I am afraid that the caps and knobs don't fit the components I bought. Any suggestions?

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Check the data sheets of your caps and knobs to see what size button and pots are needed. Also with knobs they will be Spline, or D-shaped. Then find the pots and buttons you like and check their datasheets to ensure your caps and knobs will fit. With knobs check the depth/height of the stem as well as the diameter.

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