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has anybody ever thought of or done this?
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What would you hope to accomplish? It's a no-brainer to use a Pic processor in production. They're cheap and powerful. If you're talking about controlling pedals or effects, there could be some neat projects there.
The SM-1 photocell on Sunn amps is no longer available. It would not be hard to use a Pic processor to create an analog-to-analog converter that uses a different cell, such as an LED-based LDR, to create the exact response that the SM-1 produces. It would necessitate measuring the voltage-versus-resistance of the SM-1 and then duplicating it in the Pic. I may do it one day, but I'm just starting to learn the Pic. It will be a while. -
Using a Raspberry PI is definitely an overkill. You don't need that. As patlaw said a processor in production would do it. This has been discussed in depth already. Check out the these two threads:
http://music-electronics-forum.com/t1015/
http://music-electronics-forum.com/t27058/Comment
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I looked into this in the past and decided it isn't worth it. In a solid state pedal or preamp it would be really simple because you could use common SPI, I2C, or 1-wire digital potentiometers, but those parts can't handle the voltages in a tube amp. The LDR and relay based solutions are cool and will totally work but will make your amp super complex and really expensive to build.
The least complex / costly way to do it is probably to use motorized dual-gang pots, with one gang for the signal and the other for the controller to sense the position of the pot.Comment
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If you want to digitally control a tube amp there will be always a price to pay and comprises to make.
Personally I don't like the idea of motorized pots and find it more complicated but as I said every version of digital control has its pros and cons.Comment
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