Song mode: incorrect samples, loops and sequences are playing/song sections lose data

[chuckleone]

I am experiencing several ongoing issue with my Blackbox most notably projects that use the song mode feature where Blackbox will play incorrect loops and sequences that are not part of the song section. I have also experienced issues where song sections lose all sequence data and I am forced to clear the song section then record the sequences for that again. Sometimes it will save the section data only to lose it again later on.

In addition, I have been experiencing more and more sample playback issues where samples set as regular samples(not sliced, clips or granular) will not play from either the pad, the play button in the sample info screen or via a sequence. Today I experienced samples playing back partially(only a brief second of a sample) or not at all.

Cycling power or loading another project can sometimes help correct these issues but some projects seem to experience the issues more than others.

Since the Blackbox has no power switch, it stays on for days and even weeks at a time. Not sure if this is related but I thought I would mention it.

I've updated to ver 2.1.0 firmware, tried several different SD cards(including the 32GB Samsung it came with) and reformatted all of them multiple times using SD Memory Card Formatter.

I've fully vested in using the Blackbox to write and perform live, building my studio/live rig around it so I would really appreciate any help getting these issues resolved.

[steveg]

I too have had wavs not playing when hitting the pad and a preset reload sorts it out, so maybe it’s a bug?

[Steve]

I need more specifics to help. And there is a lot to unpack here. First, update your microSD card. I suggest the SanDisk Extreme Pro A2 for the best performance. The card is not likely your issue with Song mode. But it could be connected to samples not loading/playing correctly. Admittedly, Song mode is primitive on the blackbox...and can be difficult to diagnose. Consider sending me a (packed) preset that shows this issue.

[Steve]

I can see that you already posted here and sent an email to support. I will continue helping via email.

[chuckleone]

Thank you Steve! I responded to your email with a link to one of my projects that is experiencing these issues.

[chuckleone]

Thanks Steve I got your message and will send you one of the projects that’s experiencing this issue. I tried a newer, higher speed card a couple months ago when I first started experiencing sample dropout issues but that didn’t seem to resolve my issues. If all else fails I could grab yet another card but I’d rather get this resolved without investing any additional money into this device until I know for sure what will fix these issues.

I know you can’t comment on firmware updates but can you comment on whether or not a future update to song mode is being worked on? I agree that it’s very primitive and could really benefit from further development.