Crumar D9U in the house! - Sand, software and sound

When I saw the Crumar D9U Drawbar Controller, I knew “Man, I have got to get one of these.” Und, I did.

In short, the D9U is an Arduino-based drawbar controller done right. It has nine real drawbars, a MIDI OUT mini-jack and is USB powered through the Arduino Pro Micro which provides the brains. Because it’s Arduino, it’s programmable. Yes, you can, will and should write your own sketches.

If you’re interested, I recommend downloading the ZIP file on the Crumar D9U page. The ZIP file contains assembly instructions, a sketch to get your coding started, and a schematic. The assembly instructions are top-notch.

I haven’t assembled the D9U yet, but here is a mock-up to show you what it will eventually look like. [Click on images to enlarge.]

Best yet, the entire unit is housed in a very sturdy metal case.

One of the biggest challenges in DIY is building or finding a suitable case for the finished project. The D9U case is hefty and gig-worthy. Honest to goodness, the case, the drawbars and the knobs are enough to justify an order (and the price).

I placed my order through My Rig Shop, which is located in Italy. Not to worry, fulfillment was excellent and took only a few days — quite good for an international order.

The pictures below show you just what you’ll get if you order the D9U kit.

If you don’t feel up to assembling the D9U, My Rig Shop also sells a fully assembled unit (at a higher price, of course).

Please stay tuned! I’ve been itching to build and the D9U arrived at just the right moment. Yamaha Genos™/PSR and Yamaha MODX will require custom sketches, but that is still far down the road. First, I need an up-and-running D9U.

The other big questions is “Where am I going to put the D9U when I play?” First things first.