Monomachine buggy

obscurerobot · 2022-12-15T17:46:43.661Z

elgenkeep.Stelling:

I will post other bugs, which might happen in the future here aswell.

If you have the tools and are comfortable working with static-sensitive devices you could try opening up the MnM and gently and carefully reseating all ribbon cables. That often fixes “flakey” digital synth problems.

Patience is required to gently remove all the screws, keep track of them, and put them back in place. Avoid carpet & synthetic clothing to keep the static down. If you have a friend who has successfully built a lot of PCs or repairs phones, offer them a six pack of their favorite beer or a few fancy espresso drinks and they may do it for you.

Edit: if you need help, let your friend know that the MnM is worth $3500 or so, and isn’t some weird old thrift store find.

thermionic · 2022-12-15T18:08:56.199Z

elgenkeep.Stelling:

Clock/Start/Stop is coming from Ableton through the Octatrack into the Mono

As with any of these problems, the next step of isolation is to go direct to the MnM and see if this goes away and we can progress

elgenkeep.Stelling · 2022-12-15T18:36:52.267Z

It went already away after i turned it off and back on again - but i will check if it’s going to happen again

elgenkeep.Stelling · 2022-12-15T18:38:54.512Z

Thanks, i will - if it is acting weird in the future.

And yeah, haha, i will make sure that the person knows the price of the MnM!

So, re-loading the firmware wouldn’t help in any case?

Thanks y’all!

obscurerobot · 2022-12-15T18:45:37.291Z

elgenkeep.Stelling:

So, re-loading the firmware wouldn’t help in any case?

I would worry about the flakiness interrupting your firmware update. If your firmware worked well in the past it should still be good today. Code doesn’t go bad without an underlying hardware problem. Flash memory made in the last 30 years should be extremely reliable. Electrical problems could be caused by bad electrical connections between PCBs or dying capacitors. Reseating cables is an easy fix that requires minimal skill / tooling. Recapping the PCBs requires significantly more skill and effort. Another possibility is that the battery needs replacement.

I would prioritize:

follow @thermionic’s testing advice for now, removing other devices from the chain to narrow the problem down
Reseat internal cables
Before you do the cables, find out what kind of battery the MnM has and have one on hand so you can replace it when it is open for the cable reseat
If all else fails, hire a tech who can evaluate and replace capacitors

elgenkeep.Stelling · 2022-12-15T18:54:44.055Z

okay, thank you very much!

elgenkeep.Stelling · 2022-12-17T14:43:13.331Z

Another thing: If the Mono is set to ext midi clk and i’m using the delay i get artefacts like crazyyy.
Same thing wether clock is coming from ableton or the OT. That also happens when the mono is set to ext midi clk but i start it via pressing the playbutton on it anyway (instead of pressing the spacebar or play on the OT).

Have someone else experienced this? I know that an unstable midi clk could be the reason for this and it seems like clock is sent anyway, even if ableton/OT is paused?

Does that mean that the MIDI clock of the OT is unstable too? Or is it another bug of (my?) MnM?
Or is the Monomachine unable to receive clock if i want to use the delay (and do not want to have crazy artefacts) or is the clock from the octatrack shitty like the clock from ableton is?!

vestibule · 2022-12-17T16:10:48.025Z

Weird. My MnM is always following the clock from Live and I haven’t noticed any artifacts. Can you post an example?

elgenkeep.Stelling · 2022-12-17T17:21:05.104Z

damn. i’m happy for you, but it seems more and more that my MnM is damaged in some way and i don’t know how to find out what it is and how to fix it and that fucks my up big time.

i also don’t know anyone who is able to open it and reseat all ribbon cables or something like @obscurerobot suggested

Don’t know if an example is necessary actually, if you say that you haven’t noticed any artefacts it’s clear that mine is acting weird. If i set it to internal clock the delay is running as it should, if i set it to external midi clk there are hearable artefacs immediatly…

thermionic · 2022-12-17T17:26:19.751Z

Can you give example of the patch with “normal delay”, and another with the same patch externally clocked?

elgenkeep.Stelling:

is the clock from the octatrack shitty like the clock from ableton is?!

Clock from Ableton shouldn’t be that bad with any reasonable interface, not for interacting with just one device and recording into a channel that’s not being previewed at the time.

elgenkeep.Stelling · 2022-12-17T18:18:21.890Z

Thank you for your interest in helping me. I don’t see why an example could help tbh, if y’all don’t know what i’m talking about, it’s clear that my MnM is acting faulty.

I’ll check if i get to it tomorrow, i need some distance from it now - so much of my stuff is fucking up atm and i’m completely overwhelmed by it.

Sorry and thank you!

waftlord · 2022-12-17T18:38:15.999Z

an audio example would be really helpful in truth, it would probably demonstrate if unstable clock is moving the delay or if you have a cc message affecting it or some kind of loopback issue. or it’s on the fritz.

LaughingAnimal · 2022-12-17T18:48:05.025Z

I have noticed that with mine since I got it ten years ago, with any external clock source. It might not be very noticeable in a mix but it’s easy to hear once you become aware of it. The slight fluctuations in the incoming clock are enough to mess with the delay timing just enough to create a faint click.

I always use internal clock for that reason, just sync transport, but I’m always just sampling the Monomachine so it’s easy to deal with compared to trying to work into a live set.

Only actual bug I have noticed is if I power off the Monomachine in poly mode, when turning back on the pitches on note entries will be all over the place, jumping random octaves. Power cycle when not in poly mode fixes it.

phading · 2022-12-17T20:01:28.114Z

I think nobody suggested this yet:
Try doing a Soft Reset (press shift when turning on the machine); backup your data first.
Empty reset is also worth trying (this will clear all your patterns/kits).

Otherwise, Audio demo would really help figuring it out.

HoldMyBeer · 2022-12-17T20:21:48.224Z

Monomachine-Buggy

kairos · 2022-12-18T06:55:48.290Z

Haha yes, was expecting some kind of drivable synth thread. Is disappoint.

rbn · 2022-12-18T07:04:17.257Z

I am not sure if this has been mentioned - I confess I haven’t read through all the responses.

Whenever I get issues with MIDI sync working at first and then not working, it always turns out to be a faulty MIDI cable. Luckily I have tons of MIDI cables that I can swap with and can get it back to work. That also leads me to believe that my MnM’s MIDI jacks may also not be making good contact with the MIDI cable’s pins, which I can assume it is a possibility since it is almost 2 decades old.

thermionic · 2022-12-18T17:13:58.530Z

I debated suggesting that, my cheap cable tester can check connectivity for MIDI, and it doesn’t hurt to swap anything out!

I’ve just never had a MIDI cable bust so far, maybe I don’t keep most long enough

wGe23 · 2022-12-18T18:26:17.788Z

Speaking of buggy machines, quick question about the MnM - should it work flawlessly when using it as a multi-timbral sound module?

It seems that when I have a good sequence going, and I want to trigger another machine… the behavior I get from it sounds like the midi notes for the new machine are interfering with the initial machine - I’m hearing a bit of a glitch, as well as getting hanging notes, where I have to press Stop twice to clear the hanged note. (Then the initial sequence sounds good again)

I make sure to use the appropriate midi / auto channel for the respective machine, so not sure if this is a bug, or just a common issue.

Sorry for the derailment, but this was a burning question.

:- )

rbn · 2022-12-18T19:05:53.253Z

You should start a new post to get more visibility and therefore more answers, don’t you think?