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A low latency guitar effects processor suitable for running on a Raspberry Pi

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Re: A low latency guitar effects processor suitable for running on a Raspberry Pi

#41

Post by nightowl_games »

sklarsa wrote: post #8

> Note that since the server program exposes an HTTP server you can actually navigate to the IP address of your PI from any device connected to the same wifi and control your pedal chain from there. That's a killer feature for me, hiding at the end of the README. I have a Fractal Audio FM3[0] at home, and the only way I edit my patches is using their editing software over a USB connection to the device. Adding the ab…

Somebody should make a device that plugs into a fractal axe FX and hijacks the USB connection and exposes a web interface. Now that'd be cool!

Re: A low latency guitar effects processor suitable for running on a Raspberry Pi

#42

Post by digitallyfree »

huehehue wrote: post #23
digitallyfree wrote: post #18

I'm still patiently waiting for future digital mixing consoles to do all processing in software on inexpensive x86 or ARM processors. Currently due to latency and reliability requirements all DSP work is done on dedicated chips or FPGA which brings up the BOM and engineering cost. They often have a small ARM/Linux module which is used for the displays and network control. The CPU tech is here today, and modern genera…

Not exactly what you're describing, but I've been running my band directly into Logic Pro on an M1 (both for recording, and live shows). Dry signals go through amp sims and effects processors, and then route to both a FOH mix and an in-ear mix all on the laptop. Wish I had seen the OP's project months ago, but one bonus of the setup I describe is the ability to swap effects after the fact (by virtue of having the dry…

I've done live mixing with a laptop, DAW, and interface in the past and it does work but it's not something I would be comfortable with for an important show. Even with something like SAC (which is specifically designed for the task) the chance of hangs, crashes, etc. go up as at the end of the day it's just a program running on top of your OS. The setup and config also gets a bit hacky and you'll be the only one able to use it. As far as I know the only specialized system that does this is the Waves LV1 which has a dedicated OS running on top of x86 hardware for processing. While I haven't tried it apparently it works quite well.

However I was more thinking of mixers like the QSC Touchmix/X32/etc. where the DSP probably eats up quite a bit of the unit cost, and how the price could be significantly brought down if the innards merely contained analog I/O and converters all tying into a powerful SoC.

Re: A low latency guitar effects processor suitable for running on a Raspberry Pi

#43

Post by honkycat »

I've had some amazing ( horrible ) adventures in low latency music stuff lately. It has made me think about going back to the hardware side of music production. Previously I was an ableton-only dude.

All of the vst plugins are CPU bound and even though i have a top of the line i7 and 32 gigs of ram, my computer slows to a crawl when editing even moderate sized songs.

Specifically, there is an nvidia bug that introduces latency to real time audio, making guitar and other live performance unplayable.

It really sucks! At least it has finally been ack'd (Increase in DPC latency observed in Latencymon [3952556]): https://us.download.nvidia.com/Windows/531.18/531.18-win11-w...

This has been a problem for YEARS. Hopefully they will finally fix it.

Re: A low latency guitar effects processor suitable for running on a Raspberry Pi

#44

Post by mr_sturd »

woudsma wrote: post #7

Very cool, I've ordered a Raspberry Pi touchscreen this weekend and it should arrive today. I want to make a MIDI sequencer with it, or at least play with the idea. I hope my old Raspberry Pi can work with MIDI (over USB) without too much latency..

I've seen it done with the Pico, where it acts as a midi device when plugged in to a host machine; not so sure about the main boards.

Re: A low latency guitar effects processor suitable for running on a Raspberry Pi

#45

Post by worik »

mr_sturd wrote: post #39
sklarsa wrote: post #8

> Note that since the server program exposes an HTTP server you can actually navigate to the IP address of your PI from any device connected to the same wifi and control your pedal chain from there. That's a killer feature for me, hiding at the end of the README. I have a Fractal Audio FM3[0] at home, and the only way I edit my patches is using their editing software over a USB connection to the device. Adding the ab…

Don't go leaving it exposed if you connect it up to the venue's WiFi, if you're playing live. ;)

Don't run wifi and real-time software at the same time.

Re: A low latency guitar effects processor suitable for running on a Raspberry Pi

#46

Post by digitallyfree »

TylerE wrote: post #22
digitallyfree wrote: post #18

I'm still patiently waiting for future digital mixing consoles to do all processing in software on inexpensive x86 or ARM processors. Currently due to latency and reliability requirements all DSP work is done on dedicated chips or FPGA which brings up the BOM and engineering cost. They often have a small ARM/Linux module which is used for the displays and network control. The CPU tech is here today, and modern genera…

Modern CPUs are great if your watt (and thus thermal) profile is unlimited. Not so great when they aren't.

Modern consoles are plugged into the wall and are large enough for active cooling. For a 1U rack unit they can be cooled with small server fans; noise is not an issue as the amp fans are just as loud and the music will drown them all out anyways.

Re: A low latency guitar effects processor suitable for running on a Raspberry Pi

#47

Post by worik »

rotexo wrote: post #29
metmac wrote: post #15

While not a guitar effects box another project that does low latency audio things with an RPI at it’s core: https://monome.org/docs/norns/ Open source version: https://monome.org/docs/norns/shield/

Also Pisound ( https://blokas.io/pisound/ ) which has the benefit of built-in din MIDI, but without the active community sharing software (you kind of have to build everything yourself with PD or SuperCollider). Some people have gotten Norns running on pisound, but I could never get it to work.

I do not know about Noms, but I have a Pisound

It has audio in so needs no external usb sound hardware.

It also has a programmable button. A simple idea but very useful

Re: A low latency guitar effects processor suitable for running on a Raspberry Pi

#48

Post by worik »

snarfy wrote: post #30

> A Low Latency Guitar Effects Processor What's the latency? I can't find numbers anywhere.

Exactly

What is the expected latency of those cheap usb devices?

I had one that was unusable live. Noticeable latency. Have they gotten better?

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