Guitar Effect System phi-T (MIDI Controller + FX Software)

[Oddgit]

Hi,

I want to present some of my DIY projects, I have worked on during the last months.

First, I want to introduce myself. I'm a 24 year old student from Germany. At the moment, I'm finishing my bachelor's degree at the university of applied sciences in Ulm. Since I've been playing guitar for a long time, my focus is on DIY projects for guitar players.

Several months ago, I ordered the Rig Kontrol for Native Instruments' Guitar Rig. But the device wasn't available and so I decided to built my own controller. The controller sends MIDI Control Change Messages via USB to the PC. This is done with an ATmega8 microprocessor. Since the firmware is based on the V-USB-MIDI project, there are no drivers necessary. I've tested the hardware with WinXP, Win7 and Ubuntu and it works excellent. To use the controller with Guitar Rig, you simply have to use the midi-learn function within the software.

A detailed description of the controller can be found on my website:
http://philaudio.wordpress.com/projects ... t-control/






When the controller was finished, I was very enthusiastic and so I decided to built my own effect software, especially for the controller. To build the software, I've used the JUCE library. The software is controlled by the MIDI signals of the hardware (or by mouse, of course). It implements four effects so far:

- Distortion: In combination with an amp simulation this makes a heavy guitar distortion sound.
- Amplifier: Drive for the input signal, 3-band EQ and a cabinet simulation.
- Delay: Simple delay effect, time and amount adjustable.
- Wah-Wah: Uses a 2-pole bandpass filter. The pedal changes the frequency of the filter, the sound can be tweaked with the resonance or the gain of the filter.

There is a stand alone version, that runs with the audio drivers ASIO, DirectSound, Windows Audio and ALSA (Linux). Furthermore there is a VST plugin. The software can be downloaded for free from my website:

http://philaudio.wordpress.com/projects ... t-effects/



At the beginning, it was very hard to get into that stuff, but it was also lots of fun and I've learned a lot. Maybe someone is inspired by this project. Comments and suggestions are welcome!

Best,
Philipp.

[GaryG]

quoted for clickability: http://philaudio.wordpress.com/projects ... t-control/

That looks great, love that steel/pine combo you have there.

And certainly looks sturdier than any controller you can buy too.

[Hink]

welcome to KvR Philipp and thank you for sharing your projects, amazing work...I'm quite humbled tbh and I look forward to seeing more

Thanx Gary for making his link clickable

[Oddgit]

Hi,

thanks a lot for the feedback. I'm glad you like the stuff!

The casing of the pedal is simple but it works well. It's made of two pieces of bended sheet metal (1 mm thick). Together with the wood, this design is pretty sturdy.

Btw, the parts for the pedal (the potentiometer with the pinion and the rack) originate from an old volume pedal.

Best,
Philipp!

[kpsychedelic]

Jesus that looks great. +1 internet for you Sir.
Certainly cooler and geeker than an USB keyboard + key-2-midi solution haha.

I didn't get the JUCE part at all though, and how it fits into the final product, but thanks for sharing.

I feel tempted to try it out, it even seems protoboard friendly.

[Oddgit]

Jesus that looks great. +1 internet for you Sir.
Certainly cooler and geeker than an USB keyboard + key-2-midi solution haha.

I didn't get the JUCE part at all though, and how it fits into the final product, but thanks for sharing.

JUCE is a C++ library, that can be used to program audio software. With this library, I've implemented an effect software for PC and Linux, as well as a VST plugin (the last picture of my first post).

The guitar is connected to the audio interface of your PC, the MIDI controller is connected to the PC via USB. The effect software is used to apply several effects on the guitar signal. Finally, the software outputs the processed signal to the PC speakers (without audible latency). With the MIDI controller, the effect software is controlled.

Hopefully, it's more clear now...

Edit: Here is an example of a possible setup:

I feel tempted to try it out, it even seems protoboard friendly.

Yes it is. I've built my prototype on a breadboard, too.

[kpsychedelic]

Late reply (haven't been on KVR much lately) but thanks a lot for the answers.

And as a total electronics n00b myself, this is inspiring indeed.

Looking forward to the phi-Z :p