how to "pull out" VST plug-ins for pedal use?

[GreenEye]

I'm starting to dig VST plug-ins for recording guitars.  I'm sure it's way complicated and over my head, but it seems to me the "wave of the future" (or maybe wav of the future) could be designing a pedal for which you could load VST plug-ins and it would process them with no latency between you and an amp, or a laptop or recording device.

I goofed around with the JCM900 emu in the below link in the top 2 clips, and if I could just harness that in a pedal, I think I'd have a fun sound to play with through an amp, but my computer is not fast enough to process it, and I have to apply it AFTER I record something.

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/pagemusic.cfm?bandID=696820

to top it off, the .dll plug-ins seem so....small.  they take no time to copy and paste.  it's like there's hardly anything to them!  I guess you would need a screen on the pedal to be able to tweak the parameters - maybe it would need to operate in a windows-type environment.

[Seljer]

not cheap, but there are standalone hardware VST hosts:

http://emusician.com/mag/emusic_muse_research_receptor/
http://aes.harmony-central.com/113AES/Content/Manifold_Labs/PR/PlugZilla.html

and if you have a good computer with a good audio interface so latency is very low I you could just use your computer as part of your live rig...


some people have gone and built their own DSP effect processors, I assume if someone is really crafty they could code a JCM900 emulator for one?
http://www.gweep.net/~shifty/death/

[Chuck]

It would have to be a pretty big pedal to hold a Athlon or Intel processor, hard drive, ram and audio card.
Maybe some day, when PocketPCs run as fast as 2.3 gb computers.
Check back next year.

[GreenEye]

yeah, it looks a ways off for stomp-world, but cool rack and palm units, nonetheless!  for me, I'll keep just adding the effects after I record, to alter a cleanish guitar track.

[GREEN FUZ]

Have you seen this
http://www.amtelectronics.com/products/product_pages/cardplayer2.html


or this
http://www.amtelectronics.com/products/product_pages/matrix.html

They still seem very much in the development stage.

I`ve got to say I came upon this site some time ago and there doesn`t seem to have been much progress although they do sell more conventional pedals.

The blurb is interesting and in places hilarious.
http://www.amtelectronics.com/Company.htm

It is amazing what human ingenuity will come up with in a society where you can`t just walk into a shop and buy whatever the latest and greatest "must have" is. Anyway I`m digressing. Those programmable pedals are intriguing ideas. Far too advanced for me. I`m still sitting in my cave rubbing two transistors together to make...  FUZZ!!!

[GreenEye]

Have you seen this
http://www.amtelectronics.com/products/product_pages/cardplayer2.html


or this
http://www.amtelectronics.com/products/product_pages/matrix.html

They still seem very much in the development stage.

I`ve got to say I came upon this site some time ago and there doesn`t seem to have been much progress although they do sell more conventional pedals.

The blurb is interesting and in places hilarious.
http://www.amtelectronics.com/Company.htm

It is amazing what human ingenuity will come up with in a society where you can`t just walk into a shop and buy whatever the latest and greatest "must have" is. Anyway I`m digressing. Those programmable pedals are intriguing ideas. Far too advanced for me. I`m still sitting in my cave rubbing two transistors together to make...  FUZZ!!!

those look pretty cool.  hope they continue with it, they make it sound like a breakthru

[jalien21]

i have a buddy that does this. he uses this fairly inexpensive piece of hardware:

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Behringer-FCB1010-MIDI-Footcontroller-?sku=182469

and writes simple programs in max/msp that link audio plugins to the buttons. it's a neat thing to think about. because he's also used it for complicated amp/guitar switching and cross fading in live performances and all sorts of neat stuff.

[Chuck]

So he uses the footcontroller to control the program on a PC right?

[widdly]

You could start with a mini-itx motherboard.  These can be 1u half width rack mounted.  Run a very trimmed down linux installation with no x-server from a compact flash card.  There are quite a few native linux plugins for processing guitar.

The beauty of something like this is you could have switch between being an effects processor, echoplex like looper or a synthesizer using scripts and midi control signals.

Of course it would be a LOT of work.  but definetly possible

[SeanCostello]

Somewhere out there I have seen an article about rack mounting a Mac Mini. Not quite pedal, but pretty close. The Mac Mini would run pretty much any plugin you want, without much effort. You could probably get by with a used G4 (I am typing on a G4 Mac Mini right now, and it works like a charm).

Plus, you could then run Supercollider, Max/MSP, Reaktor, and other processing environments that won't fit on the mini-itx Linux board.

Not sure what the cost difference would be between the MiniITX and Mac Mini. Last time I priced out such a thing, the Mac Mini ended up cheaper, but things change.

The idea of a MiniITX installation running off of compact flash is cool - no moving parts.

Sean Costello

[widdly]

Supercollider and puredata (an excellent max/msp clone) run on an mini-itx under linux.  In fact people have been running Reaktor using WINE under linux and bsd but I don't think I'd want to do that myself.

The advantage of the Linux is that you can really strip it down so it boots fast and is not huge in terms of hard disk size and memory footprint.  You can get passively cooled mini-itx boards with built in video and sound. That means the unit can be very small and requires no moving parts just a big heatsink.  Something like this http://linuxdevices.com/news/NS7620458175.html looks ideal.

[8ravo4lpha7ango]

I have picked up the guitar again after a bit of a lay off, pretty much not touched it for the last five years. But when I was still playing I started using my pc to record and demo songs for a band I was in and got quite heavily into programming and synths. To cut a long story short I used to process my guitar with a nord micromodular and my new interest in diy effects has made me dig it out and think about it again. There is a really great potential, it is very simple to make patches like moogerfoogers, (the Murf for example) but with the option of much greater complexity. It would be a great way to experiment with new effects types and you can pick them up for any where between £75-150. Pretty cheap considering that wouldn't even by you an ooh wah! (A clone of which could be made in seconds on a micromodular)

The main draw back is that there is only 3 knobs on it and no bypass, so I was thinking about making a kind of guitar stompbox addon. It would be connected via midi and a bypass loop and have say 16 midi control knobs 4 of which have the option of plugging in an external expression pedal, 4 momentary foot switches, a prog up and down, a bypass and a volume cut/boost on the in and out and maybe a limiter on the input (to prevent digital clipping). The same idea could be used as a controller for a laptop setup to keep it out of harms way. I have looked into this briefly but I don't know when I will have time to start, let alone finish, it given whats involved and the fact that I am new even to diy stompboxing. If anyone could help me out or wants to join me in micromodular/reaktor experimentation please let me know.