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Firmware 1.1.2 Released

Today we’ve released firmware version 1.1.2 for Pianophonic. This addresses some stability issues when load from the SD card. We are also releasing a new factory sound card SD1_Smooth, this includes all the original factory sounds only they have been reprocessed using a new smoothing algorithm. The smooth versions are less susceptible to low frequency artifacts which could cause clipping and popping on some systems. Check it out here.

15 comments

Comments (15)

Seantron

Nov 03

Same issues as @NOiSEA on my unit as well. I also changed out to the smooth versions and still am plagued with clipping and popping. I'm soooo disappointed, because the module sounds amazing the 30% of time that it isn't crashing or not loading the sounds. I'm hoping that Vintage King will take mine back because I bought a B Stock/Demo model (I know that's not the reason for these issues). It's a bummer.

NOiSEA

Oct 31

@Jason Mayo I returned the previous one to Perfect Circuit and they sent me a new one. I am having the same problems - parts don't load consistently and some freezing. Is it possible that they got a bad batch? The only review at perfect circuit is from another user who had similar issues that I am having. Is there a way I can exchange this new one for one that is tested and confirmed working straight from Knobula? Or do i just have the wrong expectations about this product?

I feel like I am doing all the right things and I have experience with other modules that use similar update systems (I have several QuBit modules for example that use the Daisy update system) without any issue.

For the replacement one that I got, I didn't seem to be having any problems with the parts not loading when i tried it right out of the box but the sound quality was poor and distorted so I didn't try it very long - might have just been lucky. I then tried all 3 firmwares listed on your download page and the sound seemed better on the 1.1.1 and 1.1.2 firmwares but they both frequently had problems loading parts and occasionally freezing. For some reason, the part loading failures occurred most often on specific numbers (regardless of which card I was using) especially part #1 but also #4 - that is not a comprehensive list though. I cycled between the different SD card files to see if that mattered - all on Lexar 32 GB high speed cards - but the issues happened no matter what file i chose.

At the end of the day, I am able to use this module to make great music as long as I don't change any parts. If I do, I am rolling the dice on whether or not it will load or freeze, which means I can't use this module in a live set or even a live recording that includes a part change. Thats a pretty big limitation for a musical instrument to have.

Jason Mayo

Oct 31

Replying to

You are doing all the right things to test the module and I’m sorry you are still having issues. I’ve unwrapped a recent module from the same batch as yours to try to replicate issues but have yet to reproduce any consistent fault. Nevertheless I will endeavour to get to the bottom of this until we see 100% reliability. If there’s anything you find that can consistently reproduce any issue then let me know and I’ll pass it on to the developer.

jason mayo

Oct 19

Oh no. Not good. That needs to come back for a closer look. I really appreciate the trouble you've gone to to test this out with the video and everything, it really helps. There is only one thing you might want to try before returning it, since you have done such a thorough job of testing it so far - try deleting the Settings.dat file on the SD card, once this gets corrupted it can cause disk load problems. If that doesnt help then contact your dealer and we'll get you another one.

Edited

NOiSEA

Oct 19

Replying to

Hi Jason,

thanks for all your help. I deleted the settings.dat file on the card, but I continued to have the same issues. I have contacted the dealer and will get a fresh module.

Edited

Jason Mayo

Oct 20

Replying to

I really appreciate your patience on this. I’d like to take a look at the module, can you let me know which dealer you bought it from.

NOiSEA

Oct 20

Replying to

Perfect Circuit

NOiSEA

Oct 16

I bought the Pianophonic Module after reading about this firmware update. I downloaded the bootloader and installed the 1.12 firmware. I have tried all of the new SD files on your downloads page and all on new SD cards. The module fails to load new parts fairly often. When it fails to load them, the Trigger light blinks for longer than usual and then after that, the light will blink when the module receives a midi signal but no sound will come out. Also, The module sometimes becomes completely unresponsive and requires either a power cycle or hitting the left button on the back of the module (by the usb port) to continue.

Is there any other advice you have for preventing the module from freezing or increasing the success when loading a new part? Are there any more firmware updates planned?

I really like the sound of this module when it works properly, but in its current state it is unuseable because I cannot rely on it staying on or belingable to play the part that I want it to play. I only have about a week to decide if I need to return it or not.

Please respond. I really really want you guys to succeed. Did this module ever work properly? (is there a way to reset it back to the condition it launched in - if it worked at launch?)

NOiSEA

Oct 16

Replying to

I decided to redo the FW update since you said that you are not having any issues with the new firmware and I think I may have found the problem. After i drag the 1.1.2uf2 file onto the the external Pianophonic drive, the drive dissapears very quickly and I get the attached message saying that the operation failed because the device disappeared. Further, it doesn't appear to be installing any firmware on the device because when i open up the attached Pianophonic drive, there are only 2 files: info,htm and version.txt .

the info file is just a link to your website and the version file says this:

"UF2 Bootloader v1.0

Model: Knobula Ltd. / Daisy Seed Bootloader

Board-ID: 1.0"

Does this mean that I am not installing the FW update? Where would i see my current FW version?

EDIT: I bought some Lexar 32 GB 100 MB/s microSDHC cards (So name brand, high capacity, and fast) I can't tell a difference in the results. Some of the loads may be fractions of a second faster but I still get failures to load parts at about the same rate - somewhere between 1-3x out of 10. I think it must be the firmware issue discussed above. Please let me know how I can check that firmware version installed on my device.

Edited

NOiSEA

Oct 19

Replying to

Well, I tried installing the firmware again today and as you can see in the video (attached below) it did not go well at all As far as I know, it is installing corrrectly every time but I did it again just to be sure. This time I installed it on PC in case that made a difference. On PC, It didn't give me the message I screenshotted for you a few days ago saying that "the operation can't be completed because the device disappeared", but there still isn't any way that I know of to check the FW version.

In the video, I am using the PFON_SD1_smooth SD card on a brand new Lexar 32GB 100MB/s microSDHC (see photo attached).

It seems to be getting worse. I note 4 things that went wrong in the 2 minute video, with escalating severity to the issues:

1.) Part 1 never loads

2.) Part 2 plays a weird sound at first, (after playing the weird sound from part 2, i went back to part one, which still didn't work, but then the second time I went back to part 2 it played the expected sound)

3.) By the time i get to part 6, the device freezes and no longer responds to my input at all anymore (I didn't try miidi in this video, but i have had this happen enough times to know that it would not have mattered. I have had this happen with midi too)

4.) After I hit reset, it made a high pitch noise and was unresponsive

After i shut off the video, i power cycled the unit and it "worked" again for a little bit in the sense that, when i could get a part to load, it would make the correct sound, however part one still didn't load at first but I got it to eventually work. Going around clockwise, just like in the video, I was able to make it all the way to part 14 before the device froze again (this was the silent freeze with no lights or sound, not the stuck high pitch freeze).

What can I do? Is there a way to factory reset the device? is there a way to check the firmware number? Please help, I want to use this module so badly.

Edited

jason mayo

Oct 19

Replying to

the error message is normal, the pianophonic ejects itself after a succesful firmware update.

NOiSEA

Oct 03

Has anyone tried this firmware update? I would like to know if anyone is still experiencing issues before I purchase the module.