M:S Saving/Shutdown issue - is my unit faulty..or is this normal?

Elektron Gear Model:Samples
#1

I love my Model:Samples - I’ve made hundreds of beats on it…the only thing is that my power cable always falls out when I work on my lap and the unit powers down. That’s very annoying, but expected… but -
what is not expected is that ANY work that I’ve been doing on the M:S prior to that is lost - even if I’ve saved the pattern AND saved the project (!!). Literally the only way I can protect my work (that I’ve found) is to do a manual shutdown and restart. Then my beats are actually “safe”.

I fully understand that if I don’t save a pattern and then switch to another, I’ll lose my work… but even after saving the entire project manually - if that cable slips out, everything in that last session is gone - even the stuff before the project save.

Is this normal/ ‘correct’? I’ve lost so many beats …it’s quite disheartening.

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Model:Samples Feature Requests Thread
Lost my pattern : (
#2

You could try using the DC input on the left side (behind the little circle, where the power handle was supposed to go). I think it uses a 2.1mm barrell though, so you’d need a different 5v power supply or at least an adaptor.

Here’s the specs from the manual:

Power inlet: Center positive 3.5 × 1.35 mm barrel
jack, 5 V DC, 1 A
Battery In: Center positive 5.5 × 2.1 barrel jack, 4–10
V DC

#3

be careful … that’s how I broke the socket on mine. Same experience with all you’re saying.

Pretty disappointed. Make sure to file a support ticket and tell them I am disappointed as well.

Now that the powerhandle was a massive fail… there is no way other than building / using a battery pack. There are some instructions somewhere here.

#4

So you’re saying you’ve had a flaky connection and lost work ? Or, more specifically, exactly this problem here:

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#5

Sounds weird I’d need to check mine, it has been weeks since I used it but I don’t remember losing anything.

It won’t solve the saving issue but one thing you can do is buy one of those battery pack UPS combo that are sold on amazon with USB / 5 and 12V DC, velcro it to the bottom of the M:S and power the M:S through it to the DC input on the side, the one under the gommet that was used by the handle. That way even if the cable slip and unplug from the UPS battery pack your M:S is still powered on.

Velcroing at the bottom works better if you are using a stand but surely you can make it work on your laps as well provided you use some kind of laptop lap tray to avoid discomfort or getting burned/sterilized if the battery gets hot.

#6

Thanks Tomi - That is a good idea!

#7

I’ve filed a support ticket - I’d love someone to check
To try and describe the issue closer: When I restart after a power failure, the Model:Samples loads the latest project as expected - however, the project reverts to the state when I last shut down manually, prior to the power failure. All the pattern saves & project saves (I do both of these manually & regularly whilst working) are lost - back to the point when I successfully did the full shutdown procedure (holding the powerup button).

So project & pattern saves are essentially not written to “disk” unless I shutdown ‘properly’ - Is this anyone else having this issue?

#8

Coming from an M:C I can add that I had also a terrible lost of all my work and honestly I don’t know what I have missed.

In my case I did many many shut downs manually besides “Temp Save” only since beginning of December. Many patterns all in “01: STOCK”. After backup with “Transfer” with no luck. No pattern saved.

#9

Another victim of the very bad saving logics on the models.

Your project is saved. You just need to explicitly load it from the project menu. What you re looking at is the active / working project. That gets saved separately when shutting down properly.

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#10

Ohh … that makes sense of this

I hadn’t thought of it that way before.

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#11

both … it’s like I don’t trust this gear any more and thus never used it too much since then. Flaky device imho. But lovely sound.

#12

It s not flaky. It s badly designed. It works completely reliably but the way it works is confusing from the user perspective, making appear flaky.

#13

Temp save is just that: a temporary save, not a permanent one. Sounds like you d do good to review the manual.

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#14

thanks for all the info here - the good news is that I guess I can recover projects as long as I’ve saved - which I didn’t know before (I’ve just been writing over all my saved versions!) - thank you!

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#15

I never had a total lost over two decades on any other device. Honestly, this is the first time failed saving completely. So is it also Elektron or just me?

That being said, my [temp save] workflow worked over weeks since day 1 with my M:C. I thought that by manually shutting down everything (sounds/pattern) will be saved to the project. Just to find out after doing my first “Backup” its not.

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#16

Will you keep doing the thing that you now know doesn’t actually work the way you thought it does?

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#17

you always have to save with the M:S …but I’m glad to learn that those saves are actually saved (just not loaded upon restart) :slight_smile:

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#18

I’ve had a flaky connection and lost work, the barrel connector was not a good idea in application and i hope it’s never used again by Elektron.

Fine on a table!
Horrible on a lap or sofa, where i imagine a lot of these devices are going to be used.

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#19

Ma’am this is a Wendy’s!

#20

What works for me is to do an explicit project save when loading another project. I also make sure never to pull the cord without doing a power OFF. Knock wood, no issues to date BUT I’m going to backup all my data NOW just in case. :slight_smile:

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