Introduction

Welcome the DreamMaker FX! This is an audio platform that designed to help musicians and effect designers to explore and create effects and synths that have never been heard before.

It is designed to be accesible for experienced programmers and those who have done no programming.

At its core, this platform consists of a microprocessor connected to a powerful SHARC DSP. SHARC DSPs are specialized audio processors used in lots of high-end audio gear. But we don’t need to worry about writing DSP code or dealing with the complexities of DSP system design.

Beyond audio processing, the DreamMaker FX hardware offers lots of options for expanding the hardware. External sensors can be easily wired and connected to various effect parameters.

Option 1: No programming at all!

When you plug the DreamMakerFX pedal into your Mac or PC, it will show up as a mounted drive (DM_FX). You can download a “UF2” file of the sketch right to that drive and it will start running. This is a great option if you have no interest in programming and just wnat to start playing through some of the creations you find on this site!

Option 2: Start building your own creations with Arduino

Arduino is a programming platform that is designed to make programming easier and more accessible than it normally is. With just a few lines of code, you can begin creating your own pedal creations.

There are a few ways you can get started:

  • Download a “pedal pack” from the Browse Pedals page and start playing with these

  • Download a pedal design that someone else has created on this site.

  • Start with the Basic echo pedal tutorial and start building from the ground up!

What is that word, Arduino?

Have you heard about Arduino? If not, Arduino is this little circuit board created about 10 years ago which was designed to make programming hardware easy. I won’t bore you with the details but that shit got huge. Now lots of people make Arduino-compatible boards (that use their simple programming software) and accessory boards with sensors and other batshit crazy stuff.

So rather than learning some arcane programming language and software tools, you’re using one of the easiest programming tools ever created. And there are plenty of resources for learning and getting help out there. Here’s a great set of tutorials to get started if you’re new to Arduino in general:

https://www.arduino.cc/en/Tutorial/HomePage?from=Main.Tutorials

Okay, so buckle in and get ready to blow some minds.