Aurora Echo

MidiPi - an Introduction Creating the ideal MIDI controller with a cable duct and some other things Wow. So this got a little out of hand. All I wanted were some extra controls for my Zoom Multistomp multi-effect pedal. Thinking of the Raspberry Pi I had lying around that my Dad had gifted me I asked myself “Why don’t I give this a shot?”. Soon after connecting the two devices up with each other the first successful MIDI transmissions took place. I was immediately hooked and determined to somehow get this setup from my desk onto my guitar pedalboard. My next thought went something like this: “If I do this for the MultiStomp, then why don’t I add 5-pin MIDI to hook up all my other pedals as well?”. At this point I already knew there was no turning back. Take a few more questions along the line of “How about I do X?” and “Couldn’t I also add Y?”, and you end up with something like the MidiPi. What is the MidiPi If you haven’t guessed it, the MidiPi is a MIDI controller. In other words, you press buttons (or an expression pedal), and MIDI messages are sent out that control electronic effects and sounds. It’s not just any MIDI controller though. Since it contains a Raspberry Pi, it is literally fully programmable, meaning I can fully tailor it to my use case. This unfortunately also means that I spend more time tinkering with it than actually playing guitar, but for all the fun I am having, this is fine by me. This video right here is a good rundown of how I use the MidiPi - in those rare moments that I do get away from the computer screen. XY TODO: Video; Possible script (exact order is TBD): Play a chord that sounds off, activate the tuner and tune Lay down bass line, make a mistake, delete loop, make a clean take Switch banks and preset, play a few notes, adjust volume, change function of expression pedal to Wah, overdub with Wah effect Switch to “HX Stomp Synth” preset (or make this happen automatically on switching button configuration), switch to button configuration that plays chords, overdub Long press on button four to recall drum preset on Zoia, add Snare, HiHat and Kick Switch to Standard preset and maybe do some noodling Stop playback How it works First off, the device whose buttons you see being pressed isn’t actually the one that is sending out the MIDI messages. This is just the foot switch, and it contains an Arduino Nano that merely passes on the information about the button presses to the “control unit” that is mounted underneath the board. This device houses a Raspberry Pi Zero, which is the centerpiece of this whole project. The rationale here was to move all connectors to the bottom of the board with the control unit, thus saving a lot of space on the top of the board and keeping it clean. The whole setup can be seen untangled and in its fullest possible configuration in the image XY. For more information on the possible connections, checkout the following table XY.

A lot happens over its built in USB connection, but there is also some extra circuitry for the 5 pin MIDI out port as well as for reading the position of the expression pedal.