Newbie and update.htm small issue

[fpezzatini]

Hi mario,

glad to be part of the Gecholoop v2 family! This synth is great, I see plenty of potential in musical way but also to develop a few python skills when I'll have the time to study

Anyways, I had a small issue. When opening the update.htm file and clicking on "Get the latest firmware" hyperlink, it sends to a page that does not exist.

here is the link it sends me to:

https://gechologic.com/v2/ef5baff960ee2e34323a32c3c63e9888f4713dd9/latest/

After trying to reformat the sd, and installing the file again the same error came up.

As a last trial, I deleted most of the link leaving only https://gechlogic.com/v2/ and what I reckon is the default page came up. I downloaded the config.txt file and gecho_fw.bin. Once installed in the gecho, when checking which update it was (by pressing 4112-SET) it showed up as version 1.0.118.

Hoping that I managed to find a workaround to this first issue (I'm not at all a programmer, but mainly a musician), I noticed a few things and a question that I'd like to ask you:

#31 B1 which should play pre-programmed demo songs, results in all 8 red led flashing for a couple of seconds and then going back to idle mode with RDY flashing. I suppose it can’t find the song. Also when I tried the first time the led worked but as of now none of them lights up and don't work other than RDY and PWR. I clearly remember working before.


#221 SD Mellotron does not work: steady rdy led and blue pwr show up. Sensors light up but there is complete silence. By the way I haven't connected it to a midi host+Midi keyboard, but should it work without it or is it necessary to control it?


#222 This is more of a question than an issue: is there a way to use sampled sounds not directly recorded from the gecho? I tried putting in the “rec” folder some .wav files at 16bits but it would only read the ones recorded by it.

I thought maybe these issues may be due to a corrupted/wrong config.text file(?) but maybe I'm wrong.

I really appreciate your dedication to this project, I don't know anyone who spent so much time and passion in a project open-sourced like this one, making this wonderful synth. So, keep going Mario and really congrats to Gechologic!

[fpezzatini]

Ok, I just figured why the leds did not work: I inadvertently activated the 3D sensors. 

Sorry about it, there are so functions, and that's the reason why I bought it. Now it's time to study hahaha

[mario]

Hi Federico,

Welcome and thank you for your support and kind words, happy to hear that you like the little lizard synth!

I've added a detailed explanation to the error message, as this also happens when your unit is "too new" and already has the latest firmware. Not sure what exactly happened but if you found some other binary file from outside of that link, it is not likely to work - your unit probably just ignored it (as it does a couple of checks first) and thankfully did not try to re-flash it, as that would possibly brick it.

#31 B1 which should play pre-programmed demo songs, results in all 8 red led flashing for a couple of seconds and then going back to idle mode with RDY flashing. I suppose it can’t find the song. Also when I tried the first time the led worked but as of now none of them lights up and don't work other than RDY and PWR. I clearly remember working before.

-- i'll check the B1 function, it might be broken, or there might be a bug that causes it not working if some other channel ran previously and corrupted something in the memory (to be sure it's not this, you can do "hard reset" by holding RST for a few seconds, until the machine restarts, then run the #31 as the first thing).

I first thought the LEDs were switched off temporarily (that function is handy when using Loopsynth in the dark and you don't want too much light), glad that you later found out that 3D sensors were activated instead of proximity sensors. You can always reset everything with #4321 if not sure what's wrong.

#221 SD Mellotron does not work: steady rdy led and blue pwr show up. Sensors light up but there is complete silence. By the way I haven't connected it to a midi host+Midi keyboard, but should it work without it or is it necessary to control it?

-- did you upload samples in correct format and directory structure? there was a discussion about this here, with an example sample pack that is proven to work.

#222 This is more of a question than an issue: is there a way to use sampled sounds not directly recorded from the gecho? I tried putting in the “rec” folder some .wav files at 16bits but it would only read the ones recorded by it.

-- this should work, what are file names? they need to keep the existing format, if you can't make it work feel free to upload an example of such wav file here and I'll check it out.

Have fun!

[mario]

Btw if you think config may be corrupted, then you can download a good one here:

https://gechologic.com/v2/ef5baff960ee2e34323a32c3c63e9888f4713dd9/latest/config.txt

(this should always work, even if there is no binary to download)

[fpezzatini]

I've added a detailed explanation to the error message, as this also happens when your unit is "too new" and already has the latest firmware. Not sure what exactly happened but if you found some other binary file from outside of that link, it is not likely to work - your unit probably just ignored it (as it does a couple of checks first) and thankfully did not try to re-flash it, as that would possibly brick it.

Riiight, that makes sense! The message surely will help the next dummies like me.

-- i'll check the B1 function, it might be broken, or there might be a bug that causes it not working if some other channel ran previously and corrupted something in the memory (to be sure it's not this, you can do "hard reset" by holding RST for a few seconds, until the machine restarts, then run the #31 as the first thing).

I have tried a few times but still B1 doesn't seem to start any song. Bu that's ok, not the end of the world, just pointing it out for feedback.

-- did you upload samples in correct format and directory structure? there was a discussion about this here, with an example sample pack that is proven to work.

The uploaded files and folder match the instructions in the post you've linked. I'll try again with the ready-made folder soon

-- this should work, what are file names? they need to keep the existing format, if you can't make it work feel free to upload an example of such wav file here and I'll check it out.

I see, I thought the process was like the mellotron in the way that filename wasn't important. Now renaming by it rec000xx it works

Thank you so much Mario! Best customer service ever )

[mario]

I have tried a few times but still B1 doesn't seem to start any song. Bu that's ok, not the end of the world, just pointing it out for feedback.

-- OK this works fine in my unit, but (as I forgot to mention) not right away after start, you need to sample a sound first (or at some point later) using sensor S2 to hear anything. Ideally you should sample a clean tone without noises and scratches, so you can hear the chords nicely. Then you can use S4 to make the sound richer.

I see, I thought the process was like the mellotron in the way that filename wasn't important. Now renaming by it rec000xx it works

-- cool, thank you for the update!

[mario]

The uploaded files and folder match the instructions in the post you've linked. I'll try again with the ready-made folder soon

-- ah and I also forgot to say that this #221 mellotron will not emit sound without an external MIDI keyboard, it does not use internal chord generator or stored songs, I may add that later but perhaps it is not that interesting or useful, the real fun is when you can start and stop individual samples at will. A better idea would be to: 1) control replay speed (add a pitch shifter) so you don't need to generate samples for every single note, and 2) split the keyboard into more zones, where each zone uses different rules - one or more samples with or without pitch shifting.