This DIY Guitar MIDI Controller Will Blow Your Mind

In this video from Timbre Farm, we get a demonstration of Nick Demopoulos’s DIY guitar MIDI controller. The futuristic-looking controller was created under Demopoulos’s project Smomid, a project that is centered on glitchy and scattered beats, sampling, abstract textures, ambient spaces, and improvisation.

From information provided in the video’s description, we learn more about the Smomid project:

It was summer 2013, at the Paper Box in Brooklyn, New York City. My friends had just finished their gig at a low key weekday music event called Pumped Up, and we stepped out for some fresh air. By the time we got back inside, the next act was up. We were greeted by flashing lights, bleeps, bloops and a sound that resembled the “Pungi”, a flute like instrument used by Indian snake charmers. The light and sound show instantly sucked us in. Here was this guy on stage, playing music unlike anything you’ve ever heard, coming from light emitting instruments you’ve never seen before. My musician friend, in awe, yelled “Fuuuuck dude, this is crazy. This guy is from outer space. He is the future”. It truly did feel like an interstellar experience.

And that was the first time I came across the Smomid.

Smomid is a project by Brooklyn based musician and instrument builder, Nick Demopoulos.

What started as a creative way to solve a simple problem, soon turned into a passion project and completely shifted the trajectory of Nick’s career. The project only utilizes completely original instruments he has personally designed and built from scratch. The name Smomid is derived from an acronym of his primary instrument, : “String Modeling Midi Device.” – midi controller designed for the guitarist’s brain. Building the instruments he uses today was not any easy feat, it required combining musical, electronics, and programming knowledge. Coming from a musical background, he decided to take additional classes to learn skills in electronics and programming in order to achieve his goals.

You can visit the Smomid website to learn more about Nick Demopoulos’s interesting projects and musical creations.

Next: These MIDI Devices Turn Everyday Objects Into MIDI Controllers