I’m not sure, but it was acting up (probably me) and I just got sick of feeling stupid 
You don’t need to use the display online, it should work fine as an offline program.
When you open TouchDesigner the background has diagonal pink lines, then you change the option under “Serial Port” to connect to get to the M8 screen. I just see a green square on yours.
Do you see pink lines at any point when you open the program? If not you need to back up a step earlier.
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Thanks for trying to help! Yeah, when I open it, it’s pink lines, then when I select the connection as per the instructions, I just get a black screen with the one little square and even still, the connection is intermittent
@trash80 would probably know the right answer, but I would guess that something is off with the firmware installation.
Definitely double-check these steps from the guide before you throw in the towel.
- Download the latest M8 Headless firmware. To do this:
- Visit M8HeadlessFirmware/Releases at main · Dirtywave/M8HeadlessFirmware · GitHub.
- Click on the most recent M8_Vx_x_x_HEADLESS.hex file.
- Right click on the View raw link, and click Save link as… (or the similarly-named option in your browser). Save the .hex file on your computer.
Make sure you are right clicking the “View raw” link and saving it instead of clicking the Download button. The Download button won’t download the file correctly.
- If you own an M8 or other Teensy devices, unplug them from your computer.
- Plug in your microUSB cable to your Teensy device, and plug the other end directly into your computer. Do not plug the USB cable into a USB hub, or you may run into problems!
- Open the TyUpdater tool that was part of the TyTools installation you performed earlier. Another app called TyCommander was installed too, but that’s not what you want.
- You should see your Teensy device in the dropdown list. It may be named something like “HalfKay,” “Teensyduino,” or “M8” if there is existing M8 firmware on the device. Make sure your device is selected.
- Click the Upload button.
- Select the .hex file you downloaded earlier.
- Wait for the process to complete. The device’s name should change to M8 in the dropdown.
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Thanks! I have a 7am bus call, so maybe I’ll try again Sunday or Monday
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Just a quick tip if you’re interested in buying one and own an iPhone: access the page on the phone and use Apple Pay. (Or Samsung pay or whatever other digital wallet allows one-click purchasing.)
I managed to get one of the ones that were released on Monday and I credit it entirely to being in and done with the transaction in seconds with Apple Pay.
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if connection is intermittent on both touchdesigner and the web display i suggest trying a different usb lead and different usb port on your computer
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Probably completely against the tracker philosophy, but …
Can you create a sequence by recording midi notes from a keyboard in real time ?
My primary interest is a compact sequencer, but I definitely need something analogous to model:cycles ‘live record’ feature.
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mine arrived a day early… it’s beautiful 
I’ve watched a tonne of vids already so navigating is 2nd nature. adding deleting notes n fx commands is so quick.
Im in love with the fx command shortcut list. entering fx commands in renoise is the 1 thing that slows down my workflow. this makes it ultra fast & intuitive.
so damn good 
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Agreed!
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I get this (intermittently! Which is frustrating) when running through a usb hub. So if you’re not plugged directly in to the computer, maybe try that?
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The m8webdisplay route was easier to set up for me and doesn’t make my (old) macbook’s fan spin and battery drain fast like using touch designer did.
Like others have said, it might be a good idea to re flash the firmware, for what it’s worth I think you can do that directly from the m8webdisplay interface as well.
It is very much worth persevering with because once you get it working you get access to an amazing piece of software for about 5% of the hardware price… if you use a gamepad and plug your host computer into a big screen it is an excellent experience
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Yep. It totally works. And I’m not ashamed to say that I do it. Often.
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No hub, but thanks for the suggestion!
I sold my OP-Z to get an M8 - an amazing bit of kit. It totally fits my groove-box need and the tracker paradigm appeals to the maths nerd in me.
One thing to watch out for, when you dive in, the hours will fly by!
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my opz is up for sale as I type lol 
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Any good resources for that intersection between math, music theory and trackers?
Sorry, no. There are a few few papers and ebooks out there. My favourite resource in that vein is chromatone.center !
Anyone know what the hell is going on in the “Clap” preset? It’s an FM synth but all the operators are Sine, no modulation. Everything that’s happening appears to be within an envelope and the table but I’m not getting it…. Yet it’s a super convincing clap sound!
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I’d guess the massive feedback on every operator has something to do with it
Edit: nvm, check the table.
Granted the massive amount of levels and feedback add to the spastic noise, duration cut by the env and frequency carved out from the filter.
But that table is doing some pretty wild things im unaware of as of yet
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