Category Archives: Updates

Triggered Guitar Effects Platform

Abstract

In live performance, guitar effect pedals are a versatile yet limiting asset. They require presence of mind on the part of the performer and restrict the performer to the area of the stage in which the pedal board is located. These constraints limit the performance quality and stage presence by splitting the performer’s focus. This project proposes an automatic solution to the restrictions that guitar effect pedals present. The performer will record the first performance into the proposed software, which will analyze and store the sequential frequencies in relation to the effect trigger points. The performer will then utilize the software during a subsequent live performance. The effect is triggered when the preceding frequencies of the live performance are recognized against the first performance. This concept will be achieved through the use of Pure Data, a GUI for audio manipulation applications. Currently, our team is tackling two approaches to track performances. The first approach implements a dynamic time warping algorithm, which is a more robust approach to mitigating live performance error. The alternate approach encompasses a counting scheme that tracks the instances of the change in a specific note immediately preceding the trigger event. Our team has created a system to read in a guitar signal, isolate subsections of a performance, and implement the aforementioned alternate approach. When this system counts the predetermined number of instances of a specific note within a given tolerance, the effect will activate.