Microphone for standalone tapeloop effects box

Troubleshooting and Support
1

Hello everyone,

I’m new here and this is my first post - so please let me know if this is maybe the wrong category for it. Thank you !

I’m interested in microcontrollers in the context of musical instruments and audio effects. I have some experience with Arduino programming and soldering, but have never completed a microcontroller-based hardware project.

My goal is to develop a standalone tapeloop effect box, intended as an experimental toy and Christmas gift for my niece.

The idea is that she can use her own voice as an instrument, pitch it, reverse it, and overdub. Additionally, I want to convey the concept of tape as a medium, similar to how I experienced playing with audio cassettes and cassette recorders in my childhood.

I have compared different microcontrollers, and the Daisy Seed seemed most suitable for this project, especially because of its large RAM.

Currently, I am using the Daisy Pod for prototyping and Plugdata for developing the tapeloop patches. Thanks to numerous example projects in the forum as well as YouTube tutorials, I have now reached a functional state of my patch.

My implementation idea is to replicate a simplified subset of the Daisy Pod on a breadboard or perfboard, without MIDI, SD card, line-out, and micro-USB.

Currently, I am using my Mac’s microphone for audio input, which works well. However, in the future, the microphone should be part of the standalone box, which, to my current knowledge, seems complicated.

I am looking for ways to integrate a microphone. I have searched the Daisy forum and Discord for the keyword “microphone,” but unfortunately, I found only a few entries that don’t answer my questions.

Unfortunately, Daisy doesn’t have a built-in mic input, so I probably have to amplify the mic signal myself, either via an op-amp or using a breakout board that combines microphone amplification and ADC.

I know that there are different types of microphones (Electret, MEMS, USB mic) and that Daisy can internally process I2S, however, I have no experience in this area.

I would need some guidance or direction on which technology is needed or which pre-made components I can use to implement my project. Due to my limited programming knowledge, it would be advantageous if this could be realized via Plugdata/Pure Data, but I am open to any solution.

Thank you for your time, have a nice day.

2

I’d try an electret into the Daisy audio input. This might do it:
https://www.amazon.com/Electret-Microphone-Amplifier-Adjustable-Breakout/dp/B08N4FNFTR/ref=sr_1_13?crid=3PUP9BH31QIXW&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.UXG5X2FDRTgpMirSJcVIqtoC1JDSVdacbBj5RSqtfTL_zuTnt6kML6mwYNpLn5JuPzyVLjQG_BcJDNwFrMx00y12Jw9SU_OoDNJDTnnH_MPVTRcnJisL3eTPRDMQw1YOCSj5GQM-_0_8B_vd77lz_7hKeJb6F-rdet1BhMkHdbuOuI1y-jKrjZQBPeZTrAMO0AJNzbbW9LwEH-iBxMkJsg1XQaUiD0szBjvniTWk-PNy9BTSWeLgPZSBdgYSFPNsoIU2UqHqg8piWbVhvyy4Pw0euh_h2zixVxJg4J48F9A.6Svz1DnKdBg2c3C16eq09do0MTDg_CJ0TxEneQyWpj4&dib_tag=se&keywords=mems+microphone&qid=1730208355&sprefix=mems+microphone%2Caps%2C184&sr=8-13

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3

Thank you some much for your recommendation, I’m looking at it now. Did you already use this model yourself? If so, what was the noise level like?

Regarding the Daisy audio input - if I’m replicating the Daisy Pod architecture for my project, that would leave the Analog Pins 1 and 7 to be used, if I’m not mistaken?

4

I have not used that device, but it looks like an appropriate choice. I would connect it to Audio Input, NOT A1 or A7.

The Pod schematic is available on the Pod product page. It shows that the Audio input on the Pod is directly connected to the Daisy Seed’s audio input pins.

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5

Ah ok! After looking at the schematic of the Daisy Seed, I think understand now - you are talking about the Pins 16 / 17 which are used for the LineIn on the Daisy Pod, right?

6

Yes, exactly. The device only needs 3 wires: 3.3v, GROUND, and OUT goes to the Daisy Audio_IN. It should ‘just work’, maybe with some tweaking of the gain knob.

I expect that part will be perfect for this application, and it’s super cheap.

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7

Excellent, thank you so much for your help! :pray:

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