[sdiy] Adding MIDI to cheap non-MIDI keyboard?

[Pete Hartman]

It may depend on WHICH keyboard.

There are some midi refit kits out there that span several of the
smaller models.  One I bought was to refit midi into a Yamaha CS-01
for example.

That's pretty much a "follow the instructions and put a midi jack on
the back somewhere" solution, if you don't want to roll your own.






On Thu, May 21, 2026 at 8:57 PM Oren Leavitt via Synth-diy
<synth-diy at synth-diy.org> wrote:
>
> Probably easiest to interface that to the scanner of a cheap MIDI
> keyboard controller (M-Audio, Arturia, et al). Just route the switches
> of that floor pad parallel to those of the controller's keyboard.
>
> On 5/21/26 7:49 PM, Didier Leplae via Synth-diy wrote:
> > Does anyone have ideas about adding MIDI capability to a cheap keyboard
> > that doesn’t have midi out?
> >
> > A friend of mine is interested in using a piano mat, made for kids, in
> > performances, but these kinds of keyboards are very limited in their
> > sounds. So, I wondered how feasible it would be to add a midi out.
> >
> > 204980-z1.jpg
> > Giant Piano Mat | 25-Key Floor Keyboard | Sharper Image <https://
> > sharperimage.com/products/giant-piano-mat?
> > pc=20GOOGLE&utm_source=Google&utm_medium=CPC&utm_campaign=&Keyword=&device=m&creative=&cm_mmc=CPC-_-Toys_Games-High-Pmax_-NA&network=x&matchtype=&adpos=&creative=&cpgnid=20449531410&mkwid=%7Cpkw%7C%7Cpcrid%7C%7Cpmt%7C%7Cpdv%7Cm%7Cslid%7C%7Cproductid%7C204980-01%7Cpgrid%3D&ptaid=&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=20458902433&gbraid=0AAAAAD2cqCUI8MxDTjDLfNL7uhdfViWv-&_su_rec=FP-aYnzs-FKQsDD5SjkbPUuyo_NUye2kNIfmrONztX7vXumZd3RUk-WF0h9EE9ek2zNsZMvR4TXZ8wKri93C7mtufd8LotpefTdUmK2mcbk5ZGx1SCFfV2720Enp-R4mkJH6cRwnt9LWXee-BbJkldeIl7ZHPavMo3BiArr8avD0iTmfma6jl9XUkuJBy8rm916xrJAV4u8vFqyFAk00oHYYCX3JvVqXWV2KlVUayl2x9Y8r48irA1NPc758&_su_rec_id=93701661-d517-4b9b-a02e-ba2d43d9984f-1779410685>
> > sharperimage.com <https://sharperimage.com/products/giant-piano-mat?
> > pc=20GOOGLE&utm_source=Google&utm_medium=CPC&utm_campaign=&Keyword=&device=m&creative=&cm_mmc=CPC-_-Toys_Games-High-Pmax_-NA&network=x&matchtype=&adpos=&creative=&cpgnid=20449531410&mkwid=%7Cpkw%7C%7Cpcrid%7C%7Cpmt%7C%7Cpdv%7Cm%7Cslid%7C%7Cproductid%7C204980-01%7Cpgrid%3D&ptaid=&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=20458902433&gbraid=0AAAAAD2cqCUI8MxDTjDLfNL7uhdfViWv-&_su_rec=FP-aYnzs-FKQsDD5SjkbPUuyo_NUye2kNIfmrONztX7vXumZd3RUk-WF0h9EE9ek2zNsZMvR4TXZ8wKri93C7mtufd8LotpefTdUmK2mcbk5ZGx1SCFfV2720Enp-R4mkJH6cRwnt9LWXee-BbJkldeIl7ZHPavMo3BiArr8avD0iTmfma6jl9XUkuJBy8rm916xrJAV4u8vFqyFAk00oHYYCX3JvVqXWV2KlVUayl2x9Y8r48irA1NPc758&_su_rec_id=93701661-d517-4b9b-a02e-ba2d43d9984f-1779410685>
> >
> > <https://sharperimage.com/products/giant-piano-mat?
> > pc=20GOOGLE&utm_source=Google&utm_medium=CPC&utm_campaign=&Keyword=&device=m&creative=&cm_mmc=CPC-_-Toys_Games-High-Pmax_-NA&network=x&matchtype=&adpos=&creative=&cpgnid=20449531410&mkwid=%7Cpkw%7C%7Cpcrid%7C%7Cpmt%7C%7Cpdv%7Cm%7Cslid%7C%7Cproductid%7C204980-01%7Cpgrid%3D&ptaid=&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=20458902433&gbraid=0AAAAAD2cqCUI8MxDTjDLfNL7uhdfViWv-&_su_rec=FP-aYnzs-FKQsDD5SjkbPUuyo_NUye2kNIfmrONztX7vXumZd3RUk-WF0h9EE9ek2zNsZMvR4TXZ8wKri93C7mtufd8LotpefTdUmK2mcbk5ZGx1SCFfV2720Enp-R4mkJH6cRwnt9LWXee-BbJkldeIl7ZHPavMo3BiArr8avD0iTmfma6jl9XUkuJBy8rm916xrJAV4u8vFqyFAk00oHYYCX3JvVqXWV2KlVUayl2x9Y8r48irA1NPc758&_su_rec_id=93701661-d517-4b9b-a02e-ba2d43d9984f-1779410685>
> >
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