deej - Arduino Volume Mixer

A project in a day. deej is a open-source hardware volume mixer for Windows and Linux built using an Arduino and a few potentiometers. If you are looking at a GoXLR it might be worth checking this out first.
Items used in this video:
❗️These links are affiliated and I may earn a small commission if you purchase❗️
Arduino Nano (Clone): s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_A8afUw
Potentiometers 10k: s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_AEv83M
Slide Potentiometer: ebay.us/JoEUzr
Brass Inserts: s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_ATFxds
deej on Github: github.com/omriharel/deej
3d Print Files: www.thingiverse.com/thing:480...
Chapters:
0:00 Intro
1:35 Parts
2:38 3D Case design
4:04 Case discussion
6:16 Schematic
6:56 Build
12:26 Knobs
13:57 Programming
15:58 Software & Testing
18:07 Conclusion

[@pileofstuff]

Its things like this that reinforce my choice to have a large collection of components on hand. When inspiration strikes, having everything you need available is an excellent feeling.

[@AdamWelchUK]

Absolutely. It’s a great excuse for our piles of stuff :-)

[@DirkArnez]

Same!

[@alvaroaugustomeridio]

Just what the doctor ordered! You hit right on the nail head! Thanks so much!!

[@Boomer112]

I found someone who made his own 3D printed volume mixer in a lovely little tech related group on facebook. A few people were actually interested in buying 1 from him, including me. A couple weeks later and he has decided to actually 3D print some and sell it to the ones who are still interested. I'll hopefully get mine this week and hopefully set it up correctly and get it to work! This is literally what i've needed for 3+ years and i'm so happy i stumbled upon that post on facebook. I could also obviously follow this video if i don't get it to work but the guy making it and selling it were going to make a step-by-step guide for me too, so that's great!

[@nicholaskuczek4161]

I 3d printed this and made my own shell for this and it is really an amazing adjuster, adjusting Spotify and my games is so so so convenient, I would totally suggest anyone to make this, so so simple and easy to make changes to the code. 10/10

[@kilmersklassiskakanal]

This made everything much more clear for me thanks!

[@IcyRespawn]

Awesome video, I'm glad you like the project :)

[@AdamWelchUK]

I do. It’s a really cool solution to the problem. Cheers

[@miguelorpin]

GENIOUS!!! I`VE DONE WITH ELEGO R3 AND EVERYTHING FINE!!! CRAAACK

[@Chickey]

I like the pretend volume adjusting at the end lol. Nice project and as mentioned by others i think i have the parts lying around to do this one!

[@DuroLabs85]

Thank you great project it helped me a lot really appreciate it :)

[@infinitemediaok]

Amazing video! I will try to do it. It would be great if you can add a LED display to show a graph of volume.

[@optimus6858]

Perfect

[@electronic7979]

Nice

[@dejayrezme8617]

Yeah? What? Why you keep calling my name :D

[@AdamWelchUK]

Thanks for finally responding! :-)

[@jeffmerlin2580]

Nice!

[@AdamWelchUK]

Thanks Jeff

[@pass319]

This looks like an awesome project, and I am probably gonna pick up the parts to build one. I was curios how hard would it be to make a button to change audio output between speakers and headphone? Thanks!

[@ryanbar-zion5057]

I tried building this although i used sliders instead. Having some issues, when at the serial monitor, all of the numbers stay around 1000 whether I move the slides up or down.

[@andrewgayton]

Great video Adam with a real intuitive Arduino program part. I’ve just 3d printed the 7 segment led clock but the KZbin video is really sketching both the wiring and programming, I’ve attempted it mostly by studying screenshots of the video!! Nightmare...alas I’ve ran into a problem...it’s not working lol

[@gacherumburu9958]

👍👍

[@PhG1961]

Nice video. Escpecially the printed box ! Just what I need... ;-)

[@AdamWelchUK]

Ace, thanks. Let me know if you build one.

[@PhG1961]

@@AdamWelchUK I will. Since I was struggling to create a similar box/shape myself...

[@muzzy1013]

hi there , is it possible if i want to make each knob to increase 20% or capped at 50% volume?

[@fredflintstone1]

nice video and for those with out a 3D printer like poor me I can still do it but in a project box:-)

[@AdamWelchUK]

Absolutely - or a cardboard box if you need to!

[@fredflintstone1]

@@AdamWelchUK I am not going to use my house, I live in that cardboard box as I am so poor:-)

[@MrEdwardhartmann]

Nice project - any idea if it works with microsoft games like solitaire adds?

[@dejayrezme8617]

I've bought a PCB for a "split ergo" mechanical keyboard (Lily58) which features at least one rotary encoder. But haven't gotten to soldering it yet. Would like to have more encoders. Also for zooming on a website which has become somewhat of an issue on a 4k screen and side by side layout. My ideal keyboard would also have a trackball instead of a central spacebar. No more switching to mouse for a few little adjustments.

[@AdamWelchUK]

I designed my own macro keyboard using an atmega32u4 which has twenty keys, or 18 and two encoders. I use the encoder mainly for zooming in to thinks. Cheers

[@dreamcat4]

what a great project! had the same exact problem myself for many years. I have since gotten used to hitting the media keys + and - volume on my keyboard. But While holding down another button. But my problem now is that i cannot use multiple keyboard modifiers in conjunction with those media keys. To specify and multiplex the volume control across different channels. Why do i bring this up? well because most of the time we are only ever adjusting the first 1-2 of the most commonly used audio channels. And then very much less occasionally we need for something less common like skype etc. So being able to do everything 'by feel alone'. without having to look down every single time becomes important. SO: rather than have a bank of completely equally sized and equally spaced faders. it should be that the usability is prioritized. For example if you have 5-6 such audio faders. Each for a different channel. Then the more channels you have it then becomes slower to feel your way across to distinguish between the middle channels. For example channel 4 much be used much less often than channel 3. Yet you can frequently find yourself 'by feel' being unable to distinguish between 3 and 4. Since they are right next to each other. So for this project I would suggest a customized grouping of controls. Tailored to how much you relatively use each one. With a combination of faders and different style rotary pots. Different sizes, spacings and locations. You may achieve an extra level of speed when attempting to aquire any given control. The muscle memory of reaching for something. Through appropriate differentiation.

[@AdamWelchUK]

I think you make some great points here, and in many ways I agree with you. However I have a bit of history as a small time sound engineer, and you’ll note that typically all pro sound gear use the same fader for all audio channel, or the in same knobs. They do however sometimes space them differently - the master faders spaced a little closer than the individual inputs for example. The beauty here is that each person can position knobs and faders exactly where they desire. Cheers.

[@dreamcat4]

@@AdamWelchUK another thing i've seen in certain products: is a kind of a zig zag pattern for the dials. so that each next row has alternating high and low vertical positions on the panel. this then lets more room around each knob to get your fingers / hands without it feeling so cramped. or accidentally moving the adjacent ones... yet without increasing the horizontal width which would be making the whole thing wider and less dense,

[@hassiebassie19]

Can you also include music buttons: Play/pause, previous, next. To this device?

[@RWBHere]

Thanks Adam. At 14:34, your comment, 'The code is straightforward...' had me laughing. Most people, who have no coding abilities, would disagree with that assessment. 😉 It's an interesting, if somewhat overcomplicated, way to adjust software volume levels, leaving another item to locate on a busy workbench. But I do like the idea. One question arises though, and please forgive me for asking it, because I rarely see Windows: Wouldn't a customisable on-screen mixer be much more convenient and tidy to use? Surely somebody must have designed one for the OS? Windows has been around for over 35 years, after all. Of course, the question is begged for those using Linux, because several decent and customisable Open Source mixers already exist.

[@AdamWelchUK]

That’s fair. The code is only straightforward if you know it. I guess what I meant was that it is essentially only doing two things - reading the voltage and sending out via serial. A commenter has suggested the software EarTrumpet which is apparently a handy windows software mixer. Cheers RWB

[@RWBHere]

@@AdamWelchUK Thanks for the reply, Adam. Now the code makes a some sense. 😉 Glad that there is a software solution to the mixer issue. It would have been unlikely that, with maybe thousands of millions of users, nobody had managed to code something suitable. Stay well.

[@dustinsiemers4766]

There are a bunch of ways to do the same thing using software however I really like having something physical that only does one thing. There are mixers you can use hotkeys for. You can adjust things via the programs, via windows, etc. Like would you rather have a volume knob on your car or a touch screen menu? While someone would prefer the touch screen I prefer the knob. I think the hardware interface is better because you can use it without looking at it.

[@PetRatty]

thats windows for you!

[@scopiques]

Looking forward to trying this! What M3 inserts did you use M3 x D x L ?

[@AdamWelchUK]

4.6x5.7mm according to the listing. However, they can be considerably longer because the channel is pretty much the full width of the case.

[@DJSteenkampMusic]

Hi, great vid. Trying this build. Unfortunately the nano i have does not do anything after uploading the code. Question: 1. Would there be a way to make this code work with an Arduino Pro Micro? 2. I have no coding knowledge, do you perhaps have a code on hand that you'd be able to share, please? The Pro micro codes from Nerd Musician is too complicated for me to implement :(

[@lorancehack4876]

If you adjust the volume through the PC software will it make the knobs automatically turn to the right volume level on the DEEJ?

[@AdamWelchUK]

No, but next time you adjust the physical knob, the software volume will jump to the corresponding position.

[@DylanPlayzz87]

Hey if you don’t mind, what exact wire or cable did you use? I want to do this but I’m not sure what kind of wire you used to wire everything together

[@AdamWelchUK]

Anything will do really, no current passing but I think I used 24awg hookup wire like this: amzn.to/3ezE92J

[@DylanPlayzz87]

@@AdamWelchUK okay thank you.

[@hanzo52]

Anyone know how to make the software that connects to the windows audio mixer? Or how to read the code of deej.

[@thecircusb0y1]

I always wondered where Robin Leach went after Life Styles of the Rich and Famous.

[@MrGUYSTYLAZ]

If anyone is looking for a great software alternative try EarTrumpet in the Microsoft store, it's free but only works on Windows 10.

[@blogJM]

Does it have to be an original Arduino Nano or clones like CH340G will suffice?

[@AdamWelchUK]

Any clone will be fine.

[@blogJM]

@@AdamWelchUK Thanks man.

[@weenig1387]

Im a little late to the party here, but i got a few B10k potentiometers - but the reading goes all the way to 4095, and even starts reading values from the other potentiometers if i turn it colpmetely. What am i doing wrong?

[@vincenzo1734]

Can it be done with arduino UNO?

[@kiliankoller349]

Does it make a difference what potiometers i use? Because i have 2x 100k 2x 50k and 1x 20k. The serial monitor always write 1023 on the 100k and 50k, and the 20k varies between 995 and 1017.

[@MUTILATEDFILTH]

As long as they are linear then it shouldnt be an issue. You'll know once you try to adjust the volumes

[@MUTILATEDFILTH]

How did you get on? If still having issues check wires/solder isn't touching or not connecting properly. I had the same problem. All good now

[@kiliankoller349]

@@MUTILATEDFILTH it was a issue at the connection. I am on the road to finish ^^

[@brennanjohnson2520]

My numbers arent stable they just go up and down, or just to random numbers. What do i do?

[@AdamWelchUK]

Sounds like your potentiometers aren't grounded to the Arduino. Each one should have 5v, gnd and an analog input connection.

[@trickyriky1]

Not something i would use myself, but i cant help thinking it needs a level of complication and is missing LED bar graphs to show volume level lol

[@AdamWelchUK]

v2. :-)

[@luki0864]

Work arduino uno?

[@ANDYMCNET]

If this had RGB lighting it would be perfect for gamers lol. 🙂

[@AdamWelchUK]

Easily done with some ws2812 or similar :-)

[@ANDYMCNET]

@@AdamWelchUK adding an uneasy hard to install driver that always needs updating and demands full administration permissions just to make the RGB work, well that would also attract the gamer market lol. ❤️ Joking aside I really enjoyed your project and I didn't know that was even possible. Good skills 👍

[@Hydra_Scale]

its blue

[@JohnJohn-gy2st]

Hel 600