KASCADE screenshot 1

KASCADE

Shipped

Tape stop and delay hybrid pedal with 3 routing modes, 3 trigger modes, and true stereo with Haas offset.

CTO at Keystone Musical Instruments. Sole engineer and technical decision-maker.

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Tech Stack

MCU: STM32H750 (ARM Cortex-M7, 480MHz) via Daisy SeedMemory: 128KB Flash + 480KB SRAM + 64MB SDRAM + 8MB QSPI FlashAudio: 24-bit/96kHz stereo codec, DMA-managed buffersLanguages: C++, ARM assembly (VTOR/FPU setup)Build: GNU Make, ARM GCC toolchainLibraries: libDaisy, DaisySP, CMSIS-DSPI/O: 6 pots, 2 footswitches, 3 rotary switches, MIDI (5-pin DIN + USB), expression pedal, RGB LEDs

Stats

0.1s – 2.0s
Delay range
3 (Delay→Stop / Stop→Delay / Parallel)
Routing modes
3 (Random / OneShot / Repeat)
Trigger modes
1ms L/R
Haas offset
128
Presets
9
MIDI CCs

Overview

A hardware echo bender pedal built on the STM32H750 (ARM Cortex-M7, 480MHz) via Daisy Seed. Combines tape stop with integrated delay in three routing modes: Delay>TapeStop, TapeStop>Delay, and Parallel. Three trigger modes (Random, OneShot, Repeat). True stereo with 1ms L/R Haas offset. Smart tempo transition handling detects tempo changes and gracefully manages feedback. 128 presets, expression pedal mapping via APEX mode, and configurable I/O modes (mono true bypass, mono-to-stereo, stereo buffered). 24-bit/96kHz stereo audio with custom QSPI bootloader for OTA firmware updates. Part of the Keystone Musical Instruments pedal line, launched January 2026.

Engineering Highlights

  1. 01Three routing architectures — Delay>TapeStop, TapeStop>Delay, and Parallel modes from a single DSP engine, each producing fundamentally different sonic character.
  2. 02Smart tempo transitions — Detects tempo changes and gracefully manages delay feedback to prevent timing artifacts during transitions.
  3. 03True stereo with Haas offset — 1ms L/R offset creates spatial width without phase cancellation in mono summing.
  4. 04Cross-platform DSP core — Same C++ algorithm compiles for both STM32H750 firmware (ARM) and VST3 plugin (x86_64/ARM64) without modification.
  5. 05Custom QSPI bootloader — Firmware exceeds 128KB internal flash, boots from 8MB QSPI. OTA updates via USB MIDI SysEx.