Raspberry Pi RP2040 PicoStepSeq Music Machine
Raspberry Pi enthusiasts might be interested in a new article posted on the official Raspberry Pi Magazine website featuring a musical project created by Tod Kurt. The RP2040 music machine uses both USB MIDI and serial MIDI and is powered by a Raspberry Pi Pico mini PC/microcontroller.
"Embedded systems and hardware hacking don't scare Tod Kurt, who has years of experience in both. Tod shares expert advice on Arduino and MicroPython, and recently unveiled this PicoStepSeq MIDI sequencer based on our favorite microcontroller board Since Pico has PWM (pulse width modulation) and mobile UARTs, Tod could simply assign a command to any pin, as well as use Dimmable LEDs Getting the timings right for the I2C displays was trickier: their 35ms refresh rate is relatively slow compared to the rate of incoming MIDI messages."
"Before his adventures in Raspberry Pi Pico programming, Tod's company, ThingM, released a 'simple but popular' USB notification light known as blink(1). This provides an indication visual that you've received a message, email, retweet, etc. The idea behind PicoStepSeq is also visual: using GPIO pins, Tod planned to program Pico to light up a series of LEDs at varying intensities with every note played. "The Pico and RP2040 are wonderful pieces. So many possibilities in such a small, inexpensive package!"
"Tod found readily available 'step switches' - toggle switches with LEDs - as inspiration. "I wanted to create a MIDI step sequencer, resembling synths and drum machines 1980s that had these switches," he says. "Their built-in LED makes it very clear what the status of the parameter being controlled by the switch is, and they only take up a little more space than a regular tactile switch. And their clicky-clicky sound is 'chef's-kiss'."
Source: RPiF
Filed Under: Hardware, Top News Latest geek gadget deals Disclosure: Some of our articles include affiliate links. If you purchase something through one of these links, Geeky Gadgets may earn an affiliate commission. Learn more.
Raspberry Pi enthusiasts might be interested in a new article posted on the official Raspberry Pi Magazine website featuring a musical project created by Tod Kurt. The RP2040 music machine uses both USB MIDI and serial MIDI and is powered by a Raspberry Pi Pico mini PC/microcontroller.
"Embedded systems and hardware hacking don't scare Tod Kurt, who has years of experience in both. Tod shares expert advice on Arduino and MicroPython, and recently unveiled this PicoStepSeq MIDI sequencer based on our favorite microcontroller board Since Pico has PWM (pulse width modulation) and mobile UARTs, Tod could simply assign a command to any pin, as well as use Dimmable LEDs Getting the timings right for the I2C displays was trickier: their 35ms refresh rate is relatively slow compared to the rate of incoming MIDI messages."
"Before his adventures in Raspberry Pi Pico programming, Tod's company, ThingM, released a 'simple but popular' USB notification light known as blink(1). This provides an indication visual that you've received a message, email, retweet, etc. The idea behind PicoStepSeq is also visual: using GPIO pins, Tod planned to program Pico to light up a series of LEDs at varying intensities with every note played. "The Pico and RP2040 are wonderful pieces. So many possibilities in such a small, inexpensive package!"
"Tod found readily available 'step switches' - toggle switches with LEDs - as inspiration. "I wanted to create a MIDI step sequencer, resembling synths and drum machines 1980s that had these switches," he says. "Their built-in LED makes it very clear what the status of the parameter being controlled by the switch is, and they only take up a little more space than a regular tactile switch. And their clicky-clicky sound is 'chef's-kiss'."
Source: RPiF
Filed Under: Hardware, Top News Latest geek gadget deals Disclosure: Some of our articles include affiliate links. If you purchase something through one of these links, Geeky Gadgets may earn an affiliate commission. Learn more.What's Your Reaction?
