A Raspberry Pi effects pedal
A Raspberry Pi Effects Pedal that uses your keyboard and mouse as a MIDI controller to apply unique effects to your computer’s audio is the work of maker Guy Dupont, who has documented the build on YouTube and GitHub. By connecting the pedal to your computer via USB, it can utilise the hardware as a MIDI controller, which in turn allows for a variety of different effects.
While the Raspberry Pi effects pedal may not be the most practical of peripherals, the variety of options Dupont provides are entertaining, and I can imagine someone finding an unconventional use case for at least some of them. For instance, you can set the mouse to ‘Reverb,’ causing it to continually move in one direction, or the “Looper” effect that records and replays your mouse input.
You can also apply effects to your keyboard, such as ‘Tremolo’ which adjusts the input volume by periodically applying the shift key. One of the standout effects is ‘Crossover’ mode, which swaps the functionality of your keyboard and mouse. So, if you hit the ‘W’ key on your keyboard, the mouse will move in that direction, while hitting the ‘A’ key will act as a left click on the mouse.
Dupont created a custom PCB to connect the main processor to the components, using a SEEED Studio Xiao RP2040. The project is open source, meaning you can explore the source code if you’re interested. It’s based on C/C++ and uses the Raspberry Pi Pico SDK and Pico PIO USB library.
If you want to build your own Raspberry Pi effects pedal, you can find the parts list at Digikey. Check out the demo video below and the project’s GitHub page for a closer look at the Raspberry Pi effects pedal in action.
Check out the Raspberry Pi effects pedal for yourself in the video below:
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