Vector BETA firmware 1.1.2

[jim]

First a note about version numbers: In order to make it clear which builds are beta builds -- meaning, builds that I am still actively adding features to, I will split them off into odd-numbered minor versions., e.g. 1.1.2 (this build), 1.1.X, etc. Release builds and maintenance builds will be even-numbered: 1.0.X, 1.2.0, etc.

Also, a quick shout-out to steve.turner for doing the initial testing on this build.

Now on to the goodies:

The download:
http://files.five12.com/VS-1.1.2/VECTOR.BIN.zip

RELEASE NOTES:

IMPORTANT: Be sure to read these notes in detail. This is a big update and it will update the Sub-Sequence modulation params in your projects as it loads them. I recommend your backup your projects in case you need to move back to an earlier build. The changes are just to the Sub-Sequence step values and their target param, but I prefer to err on the side of caution. See the notes below for details.

1.1.2:

Fixed a stuck-note issue that could happen when muting a part on the Part page.
Fixed a stuck-note issue that could happen when moving a part to an empty preset.

1.1.1:

IMPORTANT: This build has a significant behavior change in the way
sub-sequencer modulation works. The Vector will auto-update
existing projects as they are loaded to accomodate the changes, but
there is always a slight chance that the project will not load
correctly. I recommend you both back up your existing projects, and
temporarily turn off auto-save until you have verified that the
sub-sequencer settings in your projects are loaded correctly.

Sub-Sequencers:

Sub-Seq modulation is now offset based, which brings it in line with
how external modulation works. One of the advantages of the 'direct
set' approach used before is that when programming the sub-sequence,
you could see the actual values that would be set for the target
param. With the new approach, that benefit is mostly retained by
showing both the sequence value (which is now a generic numeric
value from -50 to +50) and the estimated resulting value for the
target param. It is an estimate as it doesn't take into account any
other modulation (or chance ops) on that param.

Sub-Seq modulation is also now fully additive -- e.g. you can target
the same parameter with both sequencers, which can be an interesting
way to manipulate pitch in particular.

Preset Playlist:

The indicator for the playlist is now an icon, instead of just
'PL'. It always appears to the top-left of step 7 in all edit modes.
A few beats before a playlist-initiated preset change happens on the
current part, the next preset will start blinking next to the
readout for the current playlist. When a playlist-inititated preset
change happens, all values on the current edit page are now updated
immediately. When a preset change is initated by a Scene or
manually, any playlist behavior currently in progress is now
(correctly) interrupted.

Scenes:

When a Scene is queued, the new scene will show a blinking
background until it is set. Presets that have playlist ops set on
them will show an icon next to them: An arrow pointing right for
'play for, then go fwd' playlist ops, and a curved arrow for 'play
for, then loop backwards' playlist ops. Presets that are changing
due to playlist ops will also blink as they are queued up.

Sync:

A timing adjument to the Vector's DIN sync algorithm now allows it
to more reliably sync to Pamelas's New Workout in RC24 mode. Set one
trigger of PNW to "ON", route that to Run on the Vector, another to
"*24", route that to Clock on the Vector.

Fixes & Updates: - CHORD SEQs : Now only generate 1 note event for
unison, 2 notes events for dyads, and 3 note events for triads. -
SUB-SEQs : the 'foreground' LED now draws immedately when navigating
to any of the Sub-Sequencer pages. - GLOBALS : The Vector FW
version now appears on the top-left of the 2nd OLED (instead of
top-right)

Vector Sequencer Firmware Update Instructions

• Download and un-zip the Vector firmware file (VECTOR.BIN.zip).
• Press and hold the Shift button while powering up the Vector to enter USB Disk mode.
• Use a USB ‘A to B’ cable to connect the Vector to your computer. After a few seconds,
the SD Card for the Vector will show up as a new disk.
• Unzip VECTOR.BIN.zip. On a Mac, the Finder may do that for you. Do not double-click on VECTOR.BIN,
which the Finder will try to de-compress into something not useful.
• Make sure the filename is exactly VECTOR.BIN, and copy it to the root directory of Vector’s SD Card – Delete
or move any previous VECTOR.BIN firmware files.
• Now is also a good time to backup your Vector's PROJECT directory.
• Unmount/Eject the Vector’s SD Card from your computer, and power off your eurorack system.
• Hold down the Rec button on the Vector while powering up your system.
• Press Next to load the new Firmware, which takes about 20 seconds.
• Verify the Firmware is the correct version in Globals -- first page, 2nd OLED, top-left corner.

[cliffman]

Question... on one old project and one new one, some preset names have an added arrow character, so 'A01->' instead of 'A01'
Does the arrow means something, or is this just a bit of bit-shift?

Ah, figured it out - the presets are getting some playlist values turned on, ('play 4 bars' instead of 'forever') The release notes imply you only see those when playlist is active.
It seems to have randomly set some playlist values on the old project, even though playlists were not enabled.

[jim]

The arrows are indeed to show if there are playlist settings active -- and yes, I saw couple cases recently where playlist settings seem to have been activated when they should not. I'll be looking at it this week.

Also: The Vector should draw those indicators in gray when the playlist is not active.

Cheers,
Jim

[SolarRainUK]

Regarding the RC24 mode with Pam's. I tried doing this as per instructions with Pam as the main clock, and found nice tight timing between the two, but also a major issue..The expander triggers drift way out of sync and very quickly. If I switch back to Vector's internal clock, they sync perfectly.

[jim]

Issue confirmed and I'm testing a fix now. I'm also looking into ways to have the timer values re-sync on the next bar after a value change...

Jim

[blackdoors]

Hi Jim, just to report a couple of 1.1.2 crashes during sequencer run using external clock (RC24).

No weird changes of the external clock or anything, just an error message (cue error from memory) followed by a blank screen, needing a reboot.

Other report is that there are still hung midi notes occurring under some scenarios. Editing a chord track seemed to bring them on yesterday. I am not convinced that ties are working in chord mode as well, what should they do in this case? Certainly sounded like I was getting new notes every step even when ties were used.

John

[brister13]

Jim

Just wanted to confirm that the bug mentioned previously whereby the internal tempo, when saved in a project, reloads as 1BPM lower when the Vector is restarted. I loaded in the beta to see whether this fixed the bug but its still the same.

Example - project has 125 BPM tempo. After saving and restarting always loads as 1 BPM lower (124 BPM in this case).

thx

Brian

[SolarRainUK]

Been using Scenes/Presets/Playlists quite heavily today and unfortunately hit a nasty bug where I'm causing a crash/complete lock-up whenever I try to cue Scene#1. I can start the song on Scene#1 without any crash, then switch to #2 or #3 etc, but soon as I cue up Scene#1 again, immediate crash every single time.

This isn't the external sync bug either. I'm using Internal Sync.

[philgro]

How do you set one trigger of PNW to "on"? I can't find that option. Is it in a newer firmware?

[SolarRainUK]

Originally Posted by philgro

How do you set one trigger of PNW to "on"? I can't find that option. Is it in a newer firmware?

Just choose an output, press the button in and scroll through the divide/multiply settings until you find 'ON', it might take quite a bit of scrolling.