“A low-cost multi-effects pedal for amateur electric guitarists”
Nicolas Ontiveros, S.B. ’18, electrical engineering
Advisor: Rob Wood, Charles River Professor of Engineering and Applied Sciences
Effects pedals for amateur guitarists run the gamut from digital systems that are customizable but difficult to use, to amplifier-built effects that are simpler but not dynamic. Ontiveros created a device that could offer the best of both worlds—a low cost, user-friendly, open source effects pedal. He built a digital processing unit using a specially printed circuit board designed to maximize sound quality and enable the use of effects that require large amounts of memory. The unit features a simple software platform for creating and implementing effects, and allows users to quickly interface between their guitar, amplifier, and software. The software gives guitarists with programming backgrounds nearly complete control over their sound, while also providing user-friendly code for basic audio effects. The entire system cost $180 to manufacture, making it competitive with many other effects pedals currently on the market.
“Getting my printed circuit board (PCB) to work was definitely the biggest challenge. I had never designed a PCB before, so there were a few flaws I had to overcome when debugging and building my device. Some of the circuit flaws caused electrical components to break; I had to figure out ways to compensate for destroyed parts,” he said. “I learned quite a bit about low-noise PCB design and digital signal processing for audio applications.”