blackbox 1.9 feedback

[Georges]

Thank you for the great update!

Here are some minor bugs / quirks I’ve noticed - please note that I skipped version 1.7 and I’m coming from 1.6:

* [SEQS - pads] when you record events on pad #16, they cover the bar numbers (top row) - this also happens with other pads when zooming in but with the difference that you can still swipe up - not so with pad #16;

* [SEQS - pads] tap the Event soft button, the row number of pads #1, #6, #11 disappears;

* [SEQS - pads] zoom out and the top row showing the bar numbers disappears and does not come back until you push the SEQS button and go back into the sequence view;

* [PADS] when switching pads via the mini pads view, after each switch one lands on the Main tab, no matter which tab you’ve used before. This can be annoying if you want to change specific parameters in a particular tab for all pads;

* [FX-EQ] the font size of the parameters (gain, etc.) could be more generous;

* [PADS-Pos] for clips, the Rev and Loop Mode items have no effect -> maybe remove them from the list? or even better make them work? :-)

[srirupa]

Amazing update, i'm especially thrilled by the MIDI recording control. I've played around with it just long enough to think I have a hang on how it works, and have some feedback and answers to some of my own initial questions

* I was curious how the channels would work out - BB is listening for notes on the "Pads" channel. Presumably the MIDI Rec setting toggles between recording functionality and normal playback functionality. I wonder if it would make more sense to have a third "MIDI Rec" or "Control" channel setting instead of the MIDI Rec toggle.

* I wondered why the one-channel-at-a-time workflow had a "Play" command and the per-pad ones didn't for a minute, until i realized those are already mapped to lower MIDI notes

* There isn't a formal Stop command, but Play respects how a pad is confgured, so when it's set up to loop it's a Play/Stop toggle. Nice

* Requiring a pad to be cleared in separate step, rather than having further presses of Rec just start new recording, makes some sense to me given the way BB workflow goes, and as accident prevention. However, this leaves the Rec command a no-op when there's something loaded on a pad. Ordinarily, for a looper, I'd expect/want further presses of Rec to toggle in and out of overdubbing, but as BB is not overdub oriented I'm not going to be holding my breath for that functionality. I wonder if instead the Rec command could just default to "Play" behavior when there's a sound loaded. Could save some space on mappings

* The Prev/Next Pad commands open up a lot of interesting possibilities. Like having a bunch of CCs mapped to "current pad" parameters

It's working like a champ so far with a Morningstar MC8 (via USB, and BB seems happy to power it too). I've also got a (one-button) MIDI baby, that I bet will be able to send just enough commands to record/clear/select pads

[Steve]

FYI. Multi sample recording works with a slight caveat.

make sure to explicitly set/change the directory name before recording. Otherwise, sometimes the box places the new files in the root of the preset rather than a new directory.

[fruitnut]

Love the LFOs so far. Brings new life in the BB, and I use it daily instead of a DAW. To use the LFO on the granulator would be nice. Don't seem to work.

The loop start and end meters have disappeared so it's a hassle to setup loops from longer files att the moment.

[circuitghost]

Aaron Got a more sollid repro on the master eq now. It seems -
It works fine on any new project started since 1.9

It works on random (or so it seems) sample slots on any projects started before 1.9 - so some are dead, some are not.

Some slots seem cursed, the eq just don't affect them. Loading up a new sample into these new slots doesn't make a difference. They are just excluded from the master eq (to interesting effect, although I guess it's not supposed to work like that).

However, the slots that do work, loading any sample into them are affected by the master eq. So if I really want my drum loop on the master eq, I can load it up into another slot where it seems to work, and the effect is applied.

While obviously this isn't the intended result, it's an interesting idea to let each sample slot pass or bypass through the master eq. I wouldn't mind this bug turning into a feature, where I can just tick "Master EQ on / off" for each sample.

[maxman]

anyone mind to share a photo of the new layout/display?

[Georges]

new layout is from the bluebox, so you can check out some of its screenshots having encoders in them

[beazmusix]

anyone mind to share a photo of the new layout/display?

[jayneural]

Looking at this layout, makes me think : they just need to add a 2nd envelope for the filter and a waveform generator in place of the sample player to get an actual synth-engine pad mode ;-) Just saying !

[circuitghost]

Aaron Sorry for wasting your time on the master EQ thing. It works perfectly fine.

But it only works on Output 1. Which I didn't understand until now.

But it makes total sense

So yeah, I'm gonna go and get one of them pointy hats now and stand in a corner for about a week or so.

Though this _does_ mean, I can't make a close enough mix on the Blackbox _and_ route it into the SiX and improve it even more there.

But again, it makes sense. All good.

[lerugray]

FYI. Multi sample recording works with a slight caveat.

make sure to explicitly set/change the directory name before recording. Otherwise, sometimes the box places the new files in the root of the preset rather than a new directory.

This is good to hear, I will consider downloading the new update today then.

[Kaaareeegar]

Resam / The master file seems to stop writing after sometime. And leaves blank space. Have attached photographs. Yesterday it seem to work fine. This is second time of working with this firmware today. The preset it is happening with is an old firmware preset.

also some of the older preset pads have broken samples, similar no readable wav form, empty single line. I have to reload the file on the pad multiple times to make it work. It happens across other pads also sometimes. I might have to reboot bb sometimes to make it work. Or re insert sd card again. Basically trial and error to work smoothly with the older presets.

i hope this is fixed soon perhaps ? Since i suppose one is always going to work with older firware presets.

I shall try and resam, on a new preset today to see. Shall also try and open the resam file in a daw to see if the writing is there and not missing.

[Michal Ho]

I‘m having the sample dropout problem too, as you describe. Reload fixes it, but it makes me insecure about playing live with 1.9.3. Looks like 1.7 remains the safe choice for now.

[Kaaareeegar]

I changed the power outlet and it seems to work for now. I think it was the power. I shall update if it resurfaces.

[renacuajo]

also encountered the same problem today + at one point the info button took me form the wave view to the MOD: LEVEL screen on every pad, with or without samples loaded to them. it was after playing 2 hours at least... rebooting it fixed it though.

[echiotiope]

Hello ! Thx a lot for this wonderful update ! Does someone knows what's the function of the "trig" button on the right side of the lfo screen ?

[papertiger]

Probably sets whether the LFO retriggers when it receives a note/gate/trigger (however you think of that signal). Extremely useful.

[KCraig]

Just updated and the interface and LFO's are superb. No bugs noticed yet, but will have a deeper dive over the next few weeks.
Excellent and much appreciated.

[srirupa]

Spending more time today with the MIDI Record stuff. I've been tinkering with a 3 button workflow, with Rec and Play on the outer buttons, Clear on the inner. I've got long Press on Play/Rec set up for Next/Prev pad, and set Clear to require a long press. Tidy.

I've had problems with the Play command (Note 102) working consistently on all Pads. It may be me not understanding things, but I've started with a blank project. some pads don't seem to register the Play command at all, one really wants to just trigger as a one-shot, on one pad the note seemed to be changing the tempo or division(!). Rec and Clear have always worked as expected so far.

I've also noticed that when Rec Length is set to Custom, "Rec to Play" doesn't seem to work. Set back to 4 or 8 bars and it works.

[rev-eng]

I've also noticed that when Rec Length is set to Custom, "Rec to Play" doesn't seem to work. Set back to 4 or 8 bars and it works.

That's always been the case (or at least it was in 1.7). I really wish it wasn't!

[Ademali]

This is the one thing that I'm sad to see didn't get fixed in this otherwise beast of an update!

Actually it's probably the most important fix for me, when recording an improvisation I'm never sure how many bars I'll feel like doing and it is very frustrating having to manually start playing after recording. It sucks all the wind out of my flow.

[Fo00odm]

Hooraaay!)!) Huge thanks to the team for keeping the magic happen!))

Is there a way to implement "midi in" for the new MIDI mode for patterns?...