Use Fitlet as a Guitar Effects Processor in Linux

[hassellbear]

Overview

Those of us who play electric guitar have likely used some sort of effects processor in order to get that "special sound". Such processors range from simple single-purpose "stomp boxes" to complex multi-effects units which can generate almost any sound imaginable.

rsz_playing.jpg (10.46 KiB) Viewed 19738 times

The use of multiple single-purpose effects processors connected in a daisy chain can prove to be cumbersome and problematic - at least that has been my experience. Every processor connected adds noise. Plus, all the audio and power cabling becomes unwieldy, and sometimes that cabling is unreliable. The following picture makes my point about the clutter.

Individual Effects Processors - Cumbersome and Problematic

Pedals.JPG (64.8 KiB) Viewed 19757 times

Multi-effects processors solve many of the problems associated with single-purpose processors, but they can be quite expensive. However, if you have a Fitlet, you already have the makings of a decent multi-effects guitar processor. You simply need to add a relatively inexpensive audio interface and some free and open source software.



If using Fitlet as a Guitar Effects Processor interests you, then keep reading and check out the sample audio files included at the end of this Application Note.





Hardware

I used the following hardware to set up my Fitlet Guitar Effects Processor.

1. Les Paul Guitar

2. iRig Stompbox Guitar Interface (for iOS devices - around $45 US)

3. Fender Princeton 112 Guitar Amplifier

4. Headphones - Optional - For recording, post processing, or when you don't want to use your amplifier.

5. A variety of cables

Hardware Diagram (Right Click and Click View Image In Order to See Detail)

Hardware Diagram.jpg (352.68 KiB) Viewed 19757 times

Software

I used 3 software packages to implement my setup. All are avalable in the Linux Mint repositories. Installation is straight forward using the available package managers.

1. Jack Audio Connection Kit (required) (Packages: jackd, libjack-jackd2-dev, qjackctl, libjack-jackd2-0, jackd2, libjack-jackd2-0:i386, libasound2-plugins, vlc-nox, and pulseaudio)

2. Rakarrack Guitar Effects Processor (required)

3. Audacity Audio Editor and Recorder (optional)



Software (Right Click and Click View Image In Order to See Detail)

Software.jpeg (311.48 KiB) Viewed 19757 times

[hassellbear]

Operating The System

Jack Audio

After the software is installed and the hardware is interconnected, the first order of business is to configure the Jack Audio Interconnection Kit. The following screen shots show how I configured Jack for my particular setup.

Proper configuration of the Jack Audio Connection Kit is essential for everything to work. Jack is the software patch panel that allows everything else to be interconnected and routed properly. Unfortunately, for the new user Jack can sometimes be a bit difficult to get working. This is often due to the selection of an incorrect audio driver and/or hardware interface. For Fitlet, the correct driver is alsa, and the correct hardware interface is hwGeneris_1,0 which corresponds to ALC886 Analog (hw:1,0).

Jack Audio Configuration

Jack Audio Config.jpeg (143.25 KiB) Viewed 19756 times

Rakarrack

Rakarrack is where all the cool sounds come from. It can be a bit complicated at first, but after a bit of trial and error things become easier. There are infinite configurations and combinations of effects and settings. Some very cool sounds are possible.

rakarrack.png (251.05 KiB) Viewed 19756 times

Audacity

If you wish to record and post process your guitar creations, Audacity is a good way to go. Audacity provides a great number of tools and effects for use in making recordings. It also provides the ability to combine multiple tracks from various instruments into one unified recording.

Audacity.png (61.14 KiB) Viewed 19756 times

Controlling Noise

The hardware configuration I am using includes 3 amplified devices (Fitlet, iRig Stomp, and Guitar Amplifier) which have the potential to add noise. Noise levels can be minimized by carefully adjusting the gain settings of each device. I found it is better to use a little more gain in the IRig Stomp Interface and my guitar amplifier and a little less gain in the Rakarrack app running on Fitlet. Minimizing the noise takes a bit of trial and error.

[hassellbear]

Results

Here are 5 mp3 audio files I recorded using Fitlet. The effects were generated by Rakarrack and the recordings were made using Audacity.

The screen shots shown below provide the Rakarrack setting which were used to produce these sounds and recordings.

Please excuse my lack of playing ability.

Rakarrack Sound Bank = Big Stack

Fitlet Big Stack.mp3

(645.3 KiB) Downloaded 1040 times

Rakarrack Sound Bank = Dist Dead

Fitlet Dist Dead Small.mp3

(1.19 MiB) Downloaded 1221 times

Rackarrack Sound Bank = Jazz Bright Chorus

Fitlet Jazz Brightr Chorus.mp3

(335.51 KiB) Downloaded 1015 times

Rakarrack Sound Bank = Octavibe - Dirty Echo

Fitlet Octavibe.mp3

(660.81 KiB) Downloaded 987 times

Rakarrack Sound Bank = Stereo Ecstasy

Fitlet Stereo Ecstasy.mp3

(1.2 MiB) Downloaded 1006 times

Test Rakarrack Setups.jpeg (1.36 MiB) Viewed 19755 times

Conclusions

1. This project was a lot of fun.

2. Fitlet works well as a Guitar Effects Processor.

3. Fitlet once again demonstrates its versatility.

4. Using Fitlet as a Guitar Effects Processor will produce a big smile on your face!!!

Cool Smile.jpg (12.27 KiB) Viewed 19755 times