NAM A2 Raspberry project

[balazs.bencs]

Many of you seen my vibe coded projects for the Daisy Seed which was an awesome experiment for me, but I always had issues with the CPU constraints, I could not improve the quality of the reverbs going higher with other effects in the chain and I had so much struggle with NAM A2, to get it working with the IRs and still have a screen, etc…

This led me to the Raspberry Pi, so much more CPU and for me easier development since I am already working with a lot of Linux based stuff every day.

My goal was simple: get parts that are available for everyone, build a modeler platform that is capable of running NAM A2 and have other effects as well, with a great user experience that is customizable and works well in any environment. I never wanted to reach the levels of the Quad Cortex but I wanted something that works in a similar way but still keep it on a DIY level.

So far I have a working prototype of a pedal that is capable of running NAM A2 full as well as IRs and other effects in any order you want.

Hardware is a Raspberry Pi 4B 1GB of RAM (so it is still not expensive to buy), a Raspberry Pi Codec Zero for ADC/DAC and a Raspberry pi touch display 2 (5in). These should be available everywhere, you can get these pretty easy. The only custom part is the buffer for guitar input, which is copied from the Terrarium project - works great here too.

Also I wanted to move my effects from my Daisy Seed multi fx project ( from the other thread) to this project since those are sounding great already, so I already have a lot of effects to use.

Currently the software has a preset screen and an Edit screen, where you can drag and drop effect blocks into the chain, reorder them, adjust parameters, etc…

The device does have a REST API interface so you can manage presets and upload NAM files and IRs and I also made a small desktop app that uses this API and makes managing presets and modeler files easy.

The project will be open sourced within a couple of weeks, with some assembly instructions and you can have the same hardware as I do - I just need some time for proper testing and a tons of adjustments to the UI is still in the backlog.

Let me know what you think!

github link is coming soon, when I properly had the time to test and document everything.

 

[Passinwind]

Looking forward to seeing where this goes, it's definitely looks like something I might want to develop and add some analog modules to.

 

[balazs.bencs]

I did a quick video of the UI so you can get a feeling on how it works currently:

I think most of the effects are working fine and sounds great! I changed the knobs design to these slider things, easier to control on the touchscreen. The knobs look nice but they are not really functional.
I uploaded the current state of the source code to github: https://github.com/balazsbencs/ardor

I am very open to any suggestions, UI improvements, if anyone wants to do a Pull Request, feel free. Let's make this project the best DIY modeler project ever!

 

[jubal81]

Really nice work! The interface looks pretty intuitive to me.

What about using other audio HATs? I've seen some that include a headphone or power amplifier.

 

[balazs.bencs]

The issue I had with other audio hats is that they don't have inputs! Look around, there aren't so many audio hats that have an AUX IN or line in, or any input -> most of them are built for a better audio output for the Pi, which most people need understandably.

 

[jubal81]

The issue I had with other audio hats is that they don't have inputs! Look around, there aren't so many audio hats that have an AUX IN or line in, or any input -> most of them are built for a better audio output for the Pi, which most people need understandably.

I'd be open to making a custom HAT. We could do one designed for guitar.

 

[karter3000]

Raspberry Pi's are hard to come by in my neck of the woods (at least for a reasonable price). Are there other cheaper or easy to find platforms that will run the same code base without too many mods?

 

[balazs.bencs]

I'd be open to making a custom HAT. We could do one designed for guitar.

Well, I was tempted too to make something like that, and sure, we can do that.
The only reason I did not do that is that I wanted something that you can put together, parts are readily available at Raspberry Pi resellers all around the world, so anyone who might want to build this project, would have an easier time to get the parts at one place.

If we design something with the DA7212 in mind, that would make a custom board compatible with the Codec Zero, that would be the easiest way I believe.

 

[balazs.bencs]

Raspberry Pi's are hard to come by in my neck of the woods (at least for a reasonable price). Are there other cheaper or easy to find platforms that will run the same code base without too many mods?

This project is specifically built for a raspberry pi, so no. There aren't many projects that have a good enough CPU to run the effects, screen, etc..

Also with other projects, you have to think about screen, how you would attach it, and so on.. With the Raspberry Pi that is solved, you just buy the part, attach the flex cable and you are done, drivers are done, everything is working out of the box.
So sure.. you might find something that is cheaper, but there are so many other things you have to figure out and build. This will save you time and headache.
And a RPI4B with 1G RAM is about 50USD right now, which is not a lot of money, screen is about 60 I believe, codec zero 20-30 USD? (Not so sure about it).
Overall, you can buy the parts for 110-130USD, which for a complete amp in a box solution like this is crazy good deal I think.

Which country are you in? Raspberry pi has a very good availability overall...

 

[karter3000]

This project is specifically built for a raspberry pi, so no. There aren't many projects that have a good enough CPU to run the effects, screen, etc..

Also with other projects, you have to think about screen, how you would attach it, and so on.. With the Raspberry Pi that is solved, you just buy the part, attach the flex cable and you are done, drivers are done, everything is working out of the box.
So sure.. you might find something that is cheaper, but there are so many other things you have to figure out and build. This will save you time and headache.
And a RPI4B with 1G RAM is about 50USD right now, which is not a lot of money, screen is about 60 I believe, codec zero 20-30 USD? (Not so sure about it).
Overall, you can buy the parts for 110-130USD, which for a complete amp in a box solution like this is crazy good deal I think.

Which country are you in? Raspberry pi has a very good availability overall...

Makes sense. I'm in Canada, but after posting my message I started looking around. Seems like decent availability for around that price.

 

[vigilante398]

I really don't need this, but it's a neat project, I think I'm going to try it out. Pi 4B from PiShop (US authorized retailer) is $35 and the codec zero is $20, then $10 or so for shipping. Their reasonable size screens were sold out so I snagged a Waveshare 5" screen on amazon for $45. So I'm right around $110 total for parts so far.

Thanks for sharing @balazs.bencs !