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Programmable Do-All Pedal w/ open source code?

scotch

scotch

It's not rocket science!
Nov 12, 2006
6,944
2,081
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Albany, NY USA
www.justinoscarcary.com
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#1
I did a search & found nothing, so I hope this is fresh news...:hiding:

My computer-programmer brother-in-law sent me this:
http://www.openstomp.com/index.html

It's interesting, but still in the works. A fully customizable effects pedal that can be setup via usb! Obviously, it will be sure to have many bugs from the outset, but who knows where this will lead? I understand the developer of the hardware & software wants to keep the price below $300...

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
 
#2
That's cool. I'll be interested to see if an online community does build up in support of the project. I'm not super into digital multi-effects, but I think open source and collaborative online development is great. Good for this guy.
 
#6
cybersnyder said:
Cool. I hope something comes of this idea. There's a lot of work in between good ideas and a product you can purchase.
Click to expand...

Isn't that the truth! My high-end gigbag / roast beef sandwich has been a lot more work than I bargained for!!! ;)


Seriously though, I think it will be a long time before this thing:
a) works
b) has sounds comparable to existing hardware
c) sounds decent on bass!

Anyhow,... back to work on my horseradish sauce zippers!
 
#7
Well, he seems to have done it! He is sending pre-release versions as of last Friday (09/08/2008) and list the price at $350USD

In other words, this is a free bump for a really cool concept, in case anybody there has $350USD looking for a new home. If I had the money I would buy it to play around with.

Cheers
 
#9
Marill said:
Sorry for the OT but.....

My belief is that every electronic device that is open and programmable will eventually become a gaming platform.

Expect to see pong on this baby... the turning knobs are ideal for the game!!
Click to expand...

It does have NTSC output...

Looking forward to see what happens with this. The first pedals shipped (9 units) so it should be interesting to see where this goes.
 
#10
im guessing that might be the end of it. 9. or maybe a few more down the road. hmmm
that said, it would be interesting tho, but to be a lil more vision minded, something that edits and virtually creates circuits etc should be done first. then implement it into a form. my thoughts atleast, and i didnt read through much of the site either.
 
#13
irvinz said:
hmm. similar concepts to a line 6 pod? wonder how digital it would sound =p and if u can put tubes on it =p
Click to expand...

Well that is the beauty (and pitfall) of the idea. You write the sound processing routine after better than CD quality sampling (44 KHz, 24 bit depth vs 44 Khz, 16 bit depth) from scratch. Guess who is to blame if the sound stinks?:bawl: This is different from the POD offerings where you can only tweak the parameters of the models they have programmed.

That is why it is Open Source.

You cannot put tubes into it for sure but you could put a tube preamp before or after it. I think it might not be very good for overdrive, but modulation effects should be good.
 
#15
What I'm not clear on is if you can create effects with the editor or just arrange the effects with the editor. Also, I'm under the impression that you program the pedal and that's it, no patch changes.

I'm tired of being the early adopter, so I'm going to hold out until I see some more development.
 
#16
While the pedal is a good idea, I really don't think that this will catch on. Why? you have to program it. When I read on talkbass that a lot of bass players don't like rack effects because you have to program them or that people don't like MIDI pedals because you have to program them, I really don't see there being any draw to something that you have to program completely. By the sound of it, you are looking at a whole new computer language that you'd have to learn and when people complain about midi, This isn't going to be any easier...it may even be...harder.

plus, I have a feeling that this isn't any new technology. If you want to program effects from scratch, MAX/MSP along with the many other computer based pieces of software have been around, and this also seems way to similar to the MUSE receptor, which is a rackmountable VST host. Just write some of your own VSTs and you've got the same thing--you would be doing the same thing.

on the other hand, to make it user-friendly, they could have a GUI with blocks (for instance flanger, tremolo, or delay) and you could edit the parameters to what you want, like cybersnyder just said. now you are looking at the yamaha magicstomp or just about any decent rack effects unit.

I really don't think this thing will catch on imo.
 
#17
I agree it is not for everyone. I happen to like open source software and have been contemplating migrating my home computer over to a Linux operating system but haven't done so yet. I guess you could say this is similar to LaTex vs Word; writing in LaTex is harder but you have much more control over the outcome than with Word.

Here is what he says you can do with the pedal
That's my whole goal. The architecture is designed from the ground up to enable users to freely create and exchange custom effects at many different skill levels. Here's kind of what I had in mind for the range of levels at which the device can be approached:
1) Take existing patches and twiddle the knobs (child's play)
2) Download new effects/patches from the community (easy)
3) Take existing effects and create new patches (easy to moderate)
4) Modify existing effects at the source code level (moderate to intermediate; programming skill required)
5) Modify the OS at the source code level (moderate to intermediate; programming skill required)
6) Write new effects (intermediate to complex; programming skill required)
7) Customize the OS and do something completely different with the 4 open cogs (complex; programming skill required)
(Examples: Graphical tuner with TV out, spectrum analyzer, effect loop analyzer, room response analyzer, TV out "light pattern" generator, Audio Oscilloscope, Audio tone generator)
8) Dump everything and write something completely custom using all 8 cogs (complex; hardware knowledge and programming skill required)
Click to expand...

There is a GUI made for it
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By the way, I'm not saying people should buy it. I find it a really fascinating idea, unique and thought people in this forum might want to know about it being available now. I also don't know if or how much profit he is making on it; typically open source is free/cost-recovery-only and the payback is in contributing to the body of knowledge.
If I had money (and time) for it I would get one.
 
#18
superbassman2000 said:
While the pedal is a good idea, I really don't think that this will catch on. Why? you have to program it. When I read on talkbass that a lot of bass players don't like rack effects because you have to program them or that people don't like MIDI pedals because you have to program them, I really don't see there being any draw to something that you have to program completely. By the sound of it, you are looking at a whole new computer language that you'd have to learn and when people complain about midi, This isn't going to be any easier...it may even be...harder.

plus, I have a feeling that this isn't any new technology. If you want to program effects from scratch, MAX/MSP along with the many other computer based pieces of software have been around, and this also seems way to similar to the MUSE receptor, which is a rackmountable VST host. Just write some of your own VSTs and you've got the same thing--you would be doing the same thing.

on the other hand, to make it user-friendly, they could have a GUI with blocks (for instance flanger, tremolo, or delay) and you could edit the parameters to what you want, like cybersnyder just said. now you are looking at the yamaha magicstomp or just about any decent rack effects unit.

I really don't think this thing will catch on imo.
Click to expand...

I'd have to disagree. I think a lot of people would be more into a tweakable open-source $350 box than the $500 for basic MAX/MSP and ~$1000 laptop, or the $2000-$3500 Receptor.

It might not appeal to your average plug-n-play bassist, but could be a lot of fun for someone with programming chops and more time than money.
 

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