Raspberry Pi Zero Guitar Pedal

Pedal-Pi is a lo-fi programmable guitar pedal that works with the Raspberry Pi ZERO Board. The project is totally Open Source & Open Hardware and made for hackers, programmers and musicians that want to experiment with sounds and learn about digital audio.

You can code your own effects using standard C and get inspiration from the ready-to-use effects from the forum, like the Clean/Transparent, Booster/Volume, Distortion, Fuzz, Delay, Echo,Octaver, Reverb, Tremolo, Looper, etc.

Update:

Build Guitar Pedal using Raspberry Pi Zero

Using a Raspberry Pi Zero as a guitar pedal can be a fun and rewarding project for musicians and DIY enthusiasts. To turn your Raspberry Pi Zero into a guitar pedal, you'll need some basic components and a bit of coding. Here's a general outline of the steps involved:

1. Gather the necessary components:

- Raspberry Pi Zero (with appropriate power supply and microSD card)

- USB audio interface (to convert analog audio signals from the guitar to digital for processing)

- Guitar and 1/4" audio cable

- Case or enclosure to protect the Raspberry Pi and components

- Momentary footswitch(es) or buttons to control the pedal's functions

- Optional: LED(s) for visual feedback

2. Set up the Raspberry Pi Zero:

- Download and install the Raspberry Pi OS on the microSD card.

- Connect the Raspberry Pi to the internet and update it with the latest software packages using the following commands:

sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade

3. Configure the USB audio interface:

- Plug in the USB audio interface to one of the Raspberry Pi's USB ports.

- Use the arecord and aplay commands to check if the USB audio interface is recognized and working correctly. Adjust the audio settings as needed.

4. Install the necessary software:

- You'll need to install an audio processing software like Pure Data (Pd) or Guitarix on the Raspberry Pi. These software packages allow you to design your own guitar effects.

5. Create your guitar effects patch:

- If you're using Pure Data (Pd), design your guitar effects patch by connecting audio processing modules together. Pd provides a graphical interface for building patches.

- If you're using Guitarix, configure your effects chain using its interface.

6. Map the footswitch(es) and controls:

- Decide on the functions you want to control with the footswitch(es) or buttons. For example, turning effects on/off, changing presets, etc.

- Write a Python script to handle the input from the footswitches/buttons and interact with the audio processing software accordingly.

7. Assemble and test:

- Place all the components inside the enclosure, ensuring proper connections.

- Test your guitar pedal with the Raspberry Pi Zero and make any necessary adjustments to the code and configuration.

8. Optional enhancements:

- You can add an OLED display or LED indicators to show the active effects or preset names.

- Implement MIDI support for additional control options.

Remember that this project involves both hardware and software components, and it requires some programming and electronics knowledge. Always be cautious when working with electronics to avoid damaging components or injuring yourself. If you're new to this type of project, you may want to start with some smaller Raspberry Pi projects to gain some experience before attempting to create a guitar pedal.