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PicoStepSeq

PicoStepSeq is an 8-step MIDI sequencer using a Raspberry Pi Pico, an I2C SSD1306 OLED display, a rotary encoder. and 8 "Step Switches". It outputs via USB MIDI and Serial MIDI via TRS-A 3.5mm.

It is designed as a potential DIY kit for people with beginner-level soldering skills Part count is minimal, with all parts are through-hole, except for the two MIDI jacks, which are easily solderable by hand.

<a href="./docs/picostepseq_photo1.jpg"><img width=400 src="./docs/picostepseq_photo1.jpg"/></a> <a href="./docs/picostepseq_render2.jpg"><img width=400 src="./docs/picostepseq_render2.jpg"/></a>

Demo videos

https://user-images.githubusercontent.com/274093/185005269-afb4c3f7-0ca1-40c8-a17d-6e4756943d87.mov

https://user-images.githubusercontent.com/274093/196536711-abd25514-53b9-4710-8ff6-1fa3559f0028.mp4

Also featured in MagPi Magazine #123, and in print too!

How to use

In use, PicoStepSeq has two states: Play and Pause. It is designed so you never have to stop playing to edit and save/load a sequence. It has 8 sequence slots that can be edited and are persistently saved to flash.

While Playing, the actions are:

When Paused, the actions are:

Sequence Save & Load:

Step Keys

The 8 "step keys" have an LED that indicate current mute/unmute status and which step is currently being played. Tap on a step key to mute/unmute it. Hold a key and turn the encoder knob to change the pitch of that step.

Rotary Encoder

Turning the encoder adjusts the transpose amount of the playing sequence. Push + turning adjusts the tempo.

Display

PicoStepSeq can be used without really looking at the display (which is good because the display is very small). The display is hopefully clear. It's divided into the top section showing 8 notes with gate info and the bottom section showing which sequence, current BPM & transpose, and if the sequencer is in play/pause mode.

<a href="./docs/picostepseq_display1.jpg"><img width=700 src="./docs/picostepseq_display1.jpg"/></a>

MIDI

PicoStepSeq outputs both USB MIDI and Serial MIDI.

There is preliminary support for syncing to MIDI Clock.

Building

The schematic and PCB design is in the hardware directory.

An OSHPark project of the PCBs is ready to go.

[Build guide to come!]

Enclosure

A 3d-printable enclosure is available on Printables

The current enclosure is designed for the case where sockets are used for both the Pico and the OLED display. This is so either can be removed for other uses, so you don't have to sacrifice a Pico if you want to try this out.

Installing Firmware (CircuitPython)

Arduino version:

Probalby the easiest way to get PicoStepSeq running is to install the precompiled Arduino UF2 version in the Releases section.

The Arduino firmware lives in arduino/picostepseq. To compile the Arduino firmware, see the top of the picostepseq.ino file.

CircuitPython version:

To install the CircuitPython version:

The firmware lives in the circuitpython/picostepseq directory.

  1. Copy all files in the circuitpython/picostepseq directory to the CIRCUITPY disk.

    If using a Mac terminal, you can do:

    cd picostepseq/circuitpython/picostepseq
cp -rX * /Volumes/CIRUITPY

  2. Install the CircuitPython libraries adafruit_displayio_ssd1306 and adafruit_display_text

    You can use the circup tool in Terminal for this:

    circup install adafruit_displayio_ssd1306 adafruit_display_text

    If you do not have circup, then you will need to copy the following files/dirs from the Adafruit_CircuitPython_Bundle 8.x:

    adafruit_bitmap_font/
adafruit_display_text/
adafruit_displayio_ssd1306.mpy

  3. Reset the board and the sequencer should come up!

    (The reset is important so that boot.py is run, which allows you to save sequences)

Installing the Firmware (Arduino)

The Arduino version is a bit more tricky to get going. See the top of the picostepseq.ino file for details.

Bill of Materials

Here is a Digikey cart with most parts.

Links also included below for major parts

For basic USB MIDI functionality:

For both USB + Serial MIDI, add:

And if you've not used "TRS MIDI" and have normal 5-pin DIN MIDI jacks on your gear, you'll need a few:

You can attach the Pico & the OLED display how you like, but if using the 3d-printable "picostepseq_headers" case, you will also need:

Firmware Design (CircuitPython)

Timing in CircuitPython is all over the place and there's no periodic timer support (like Timer in MicroPython). So, in order to minimize timing jitter due to I2C displayio transactions, the UI & display update code is designed so only the minimal amount of information is changed on the display in one iteration of the main UI loop. This is most noticable when loading a new sequence: the entire sequence is revealed only after a full loop.

The sequencer "beat scheduler" also tries to account for the variation in CircuitPython timing by measuring an "error" on the delta_t between beats and applies that to the next beat

[More to come!]

Thanks to Winterbloom and @theacodes for the awesome SmolMIDI library for efficient MIDI parsing. (and for really cool Eurorack synthesizer devices)

Note: If you have an Adafruit MacroPad RP2040, you can experiment with the sequencer without building any hardware! The code will auto-detect if it's running on a MacroPad. Rotate the MacroPad so the display is on the left, then the sequencer keys are arranged as two rows of four.

Here's a demo video of an early dev version of the sequencer running on the MacroPad:

https://user-images.githubusercontent.com/274093/196534059-c9460560-1983-42a2-818f-853e90acd9bf.mp4

PCB layout

This is the original version that has a typo on the MIDI jacks.

<img width=700 src="./docs/picostepseq_pcbtop.png"/> <img width=700 src="./docs/picostepseq_pcbbot.png"/>