Firmware 1.2.7 - "ERROR" while recording multitrack after 'x' iterations.

[Fairlight2cx]

I upgraded firmware to 1.2.7 a few months ago. When recording stereo tracks 1 through 6, plus the master, things seem to work fine...for several takes. Then I start getting ERROR and a count in orange at the top of the screen, and the playback will be all garbled. This seems to happen after 4-10 takes. It's variable, and I can't find a commonality between occurrances. The only way to get rid of the problem is to unplug the USB to power cycle it, as far as I can tell. Then it acts normal again...for another 1-5 takes, and then it'll pull the error nonsense again.

Also, I've noticed in the Proj screen, after pressing the button to go view the tracks, the Active track is not -switching- to just the latest recorded automatically. You'll end up with multiple Active files per channel, unless you deactivate them. Not sure if this is related.

In any event, the unit is now -less- stable than when I bought it. I love this little mixer, but it seriously needs to be made stable.

[sirshannon]

The newest firmware (1.2.14) is out of beta so the first step is to try it and see if it helps.

Then I start getting ERROR and a count in orange at the top of the screen, and the playback will be all garbled.

I spent about a month working with the Bluebox a lot and I saw this a few times. I can't be 100% sure but I believe formatting the SD Card fixed the issue. Maybe it was a coincidence but it hasn't happened at all since I reformatted. I think firmware updates are a good time to reformat (after backing up everything on the SD Card) so you have a better chance of starting with a clean slate.

after pressing the button to go view the tracks, the Active track is not -switching- to just the latest recorded automatically. You'll end up with multiple Active files per channel, unless you deactivate them.

This happens to me every time I go to that screen, too. I rarely use Bluebox for playback but when I do, I always have to set the correct active file. There are always multiples labeled as "active" after I've recorded a few takes. This and some other issues are pretty low on my priority list and easily worked around so I ignore them in hopes that the showstopper bugs (for me) are fixed instead. I haven't touched my Bluebox in the last week so I haven't had a chance to update and test 1.2.14 yet.

[Steve]

I upgraded firmware to 1.2.7 a few months ago. When recording stereo tracks 1 through 6, plus the master, things seem to work fine...for several takes. Then I start getting ERROR and a count in orange at the top of the screen, and the playback will be all garbled. This seems to happen after 4-10 takes. It's variable, and I can't find a commonality between occurrances. The only way to get rid of the problem is to unplug the USB to power cycle it, as far as I can tell. Then it acts normal again...for another 1-5 takes, and then it'll pull the error nonsense again.

To be clear - there is a limit to the number of active tracks available in a session. This includes takes. 10 takes x 6 tracks is more than likely the issue here. As suggested above, please try the latest firmware. 1.2.14 specifically addressed this. The red text with error numbers is almost always caused by your microSD card. It is important to use a higher quality card when pushing the bluebox. We specifically recommend SanDisk Extreme Pro A2 128GB or larger for bluebox.

Also, I've noticed in the Proj screen, after pressing the button to go view the tracks, the Active track is not -switching- to just the latest recorded automatically. You'll end up with multiple Active files per channel, unless you deactivate them. Not sure if this is related.

In the EDIT > B screen you can see the Active tracks. if you are doing multiple passes, you may expect to see multiple Active tracks. Better handling of this was also addressed in 1.2.14.

In any event, the unit is now -less- stable than when I bought it. I love this little mixer, but it seriously needs to be made stable.

Please update your firmware and try again. let us know if you have undesired results.

[Fairlight2cx]

I'll try 1.2.14beta tomorrow, and I'll also pick up a Samsung Pro A2 512GB. I currently have a SanDisk Extreme Pro 128GB U3 A2 in there, which I'd have expected to be fine, but apparently you can get bad cards, too... So there are two things to try. I'd very much rather just get the BlueBox working stably than splash out on a second Tascam Model 12, much as I love those things. The BlueBox actually fits into my existing Elektron rig. It's also honestly a fair bit more capable, when it's being stable. Different creatures.

Anyway, will try firmware and a new card, and advise on the results in this thread.

Thanks, folks!!

[Steve]

I have had some bad cards. I'm pretty sure I bought a few fakes from Amazon. Beyond this, regular formatting is a good idea. Especially, when you push the box/card. Make sure to use SD Card Formatter.

[Fairlight2cx]

I have had some bad cards. I'm pretty sure I bought a few fakes from Amazon. Beyond this, regular formatting is a good idea. Especially, when you push the box/card. Make sure to use SD Card Formatter.

Well, I didn't minimise variables, but I only did a quick format of the CD card I had. I didn't even get the new one. I also upgraded to 1.2.14.

I have yet to run into the recording errors since upgrading. Awesome!

That said, a few things need to be addressed yet.

* Active tracks are no longer being stranded if you stop recording via MIDI IN. If you stop recording via the onboard Stop switch, the tracks you just recorded will still be flagged Active. This is with recording being done on the master screen.

* I mention that last bit because if you record from the tracks display under Edit, all tracks you record are flagged Active, no matter which way you stop recording.

So...lots of positive stability increases, but some of the behaviours are not uniform just yet, apparently.

I'm just happy as heck to be able to track take after take without it bombing on me. This patch, beta though it is, just saved my sanity. Now I will consider a twin BlueBox with which to increase my input count, and then just mux the outputs through a Mackie VLZ4 or similar, into the audio interface. That gives me streaming of the master outs, plus preserves full multitrack for later fine mixing and mastering. Any idea if you can daisy-chain the MIDI Out of the BlueBox to the MIDI In of another Bluebox with a simple 3.5mm male/male cable?

[Steve]

* Active tracks are no longer being stranded if you stop recording via MIDI IN. If you stop recording via the onboard Stop switch, the tracks you just recorded will still be flagged Active. This is with recording being done on the master screen.

* I mention that last bit because if you record from the tracks display under Edit, all tracks you record are flagged Active, no matter which way you stop recording.

Please upload or send us a video of this.

Any idea if you can daisy-chain the MIDI Out of the BlueBox to the MIDI In of another Bluebox with a simple 3.5mm male/male cable?

Yes. This should work with no issue.

[LogicalPhallusy]

I have had some bad cards. I'm pretty sure I bought a few fakes from Amazon. Beyond this, regular formatting is a good idea. Especially, when you push the box/card. Make sure to use SD Card Formatter.

Slight necro but thank you for this! I was having terrible freezing and write error issues. Tried various usb cables and bricks thinking it was a power issue. Then I thought it might be an SD card issue, so I reformatted in Windows 11, tried different allocation sizes, still no dice. After I read your comment and tried SD Card Formatter it's working flawlessly while recording 6 tracks + master and using (what I expect are) some of the more resource-heavy reverb algorithms.

I'm not even using the recommended SD card. I'm using a much slower U1/V10. SD Card Formatter did the trick.

[duncanrmi]

Any idea if you can daisy-chain the MIDI Out of the BlueBox to the MIDI In of another Bluebox with a simple 3.5mm male/male cable?

did anyone try this? I'd be concerned about achieveing sample-level synchronisation across stems recorded on two blueboxes with only midi to keep them in sync- they'd need an NTP module each to do this properly! :-)

also, is there enough control over the other commands to make sure that you're not going to put track one into record on both of them at once when you want to do an overdub?

I have a workflow where I record my electronics as stems on the bb & send the stereo mix to a pair on an audio interface that's also receiving signals from another player's electronics, & various mics including guitar cabs & whatnot.
syncing this lot up afterwards was no picnic, but it was a great deal easier with having a stereo pair overlapping betwen the two recorders.