[sdiy] external memory for microcontrollers

[Chris McDowell]

Howdy list, 

I've been thinking about delays, reverbs, and loopers a bit lately, and wondering what the best way to add more memory to a microcontroller.

I've been using STM32, especially the F3 series that tops out around 32k. The part I'm really digging on (STM32F334) has 12k only. I've played with the 23LC1024 SPI SRAM chips, and it seems like they're fast enough with dual or quad SPI (and maybe just barely fast enough with regular SPI @ 18Mbits/sec). They cost about as much as the micro itself, though, which isn't quite cool, and I'd really need a few. I know some of the ST parts have the "FSMC" memory controller for SDRAM etc, and maybe that's the way to go here. not worried about the storage being non-volatile, I just want more ram to play with. I'm seeing some ~$50 looper pedals from not-too-huge manufacturers with over 5 minutes of time, so I figure this must be reasonably affordable. 

anyone have better ideas or experience here? 

Cheers, 
Chris