You can turn an old Guitar Hero accessory into a USB MIDI controller for your synthesizer! Wii accessories use I2C to send all of their data, so we'll couple the Guitar Hero controller with a STEMMA QT Nunchuck Breakout and an Adafruit QT Py to read all the fret buttons, whammy bar, strum bar, and joystick data.

You'll be able to send MIDI notes, chords, octave changes, whammy bar pitch bends, and joystick CC messages to any software synth or a USB MIDI host-capable synthesizer.

Parts

Animation of Adafruit QT Py with onboard NeoPixel in a rainbow swirl.
What a cutie pie! Or is it... a QT Py? This diminutive dev board comes with our favorite lil chip, the SAMD21 (as made famous in our GEMMA M0 and Trinket M0 boards).This time it...
$7.50
In Stock
Hand holding a Wiichuck controller pressing buttons. The controller is connected to the breakout wired to a Feather with OLED showing the streaming controller data
Dig out that old Wii controller and use it as a sleek controller for your next robot if you like. The Adafruit Adafruit Wii Nunchuck Breakout Adapter fits snugly into the Wii connector...
$2.95
In Stock
Angled shot of STEMMA QT / Qwiic JST SH 4-pin Cable.
This 4-wire cable is a little over 100mm / 4" long and fitted with JST-SH female 4-pin connectors on both ends. Compared with the chunkier JST-PH these are 1mm pitch instead of...
Out of Stock
USB C to USB C cable. USB 3.1 gen 4 with E-Mark. 1 meter long
As technology changes and adapts, so does Adafruit! Rather than the regular USB A, this cable has USB C to USB C plugs!USB C is the latest...
Out of Stock
Angled shot of a shot of USB A to USB C Adapter.
As technology changes and adapts, so does Adafruit, and speaking of adapting, this adapter has a USB A plug and a USB C socket so your older...
$2.95
In Stock

Wii Guitar Hero Controller

You have one in your closet. If not, ~$30 on eBay, less at a thrift shop.

Optional

This guide was first published on Jan 17, 2021. It was last updated on Mar 18, 2024.

This page (Overview) was last updated on Mar 08, 2024.

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