The greatest firmware upgrades of all time

avantronica · 2024-04-11T07:39:36.764Z

The release firmware of the Monotribe was pretty special anyway, but they really ramped it up by version 2 … not sure when they dropped that the CV i/o ws baked into a TRRS port but all the goodies for 2.0 made it a total hoot

hmm, just googling and looking up that link it appears there’s a 2.11 release i wasn’t perhaps aware of … need to investigate, instant-fun awaits when you power those up (i have two)

Elek_dude_98 · 2024-04-11T07:52:07.473Z

Nova Desktop 2.0 which added 4 extra voices of polyphony (from 12 to 16), double saw oscillators, more filter types sur as the Rez filter.

Zoom Arq 96 2.0 which added sample playback to the instr. mode, lengthened patterns from 4 to 8 bars and some MIDI USB support.

Typhoon OS on the TX16W which made the sampler somehow usable.

JJOS of course which sold a lot of MPC 1000/ 2500 since it added an unbelievable wealth of functions, even things the MPC Live series still can’t do today, and made AKAI Pro look like a$$…

The MC101 update that added significant patch editing capabilities, although not everything the MC707 can do.

wavenumber · 2024-04-11T07:54:05.266Z

Mistercharlie:

The original OP-1 got USB audio after ten years, which is pretty amazing

I was going to write that too. I remember being really excited about this update.

qlamerand · 2024-04-11T08:12:53.637Z

I remember fondly (and with regrets because I sold it… WHY?!) the firmware update of the OTO Biscuit, changing into Der Oto, a monosynth !!!

Amy · 2024-04-11T08:27:21.359Z

Yes, Blast beats has evolved a lot. Tons of great updates.

Digitone song mode has been another great update.
Zoia has been a great development too.
And the SP 404 mk2 updates, specially 3 and 4

Finally, worst company for update is KORG imho.

electricthing · 2024-04-11T08:46:05.970Z

RME interfaces.

Gunark · 2024-04-11T08:46:51.277Z

Isn’t that Magnus from Sonic Charge? Not sure about Elektron but definitely with Propellerhead and Teenage Engineering.

alexwasashrimp · 2024-04-11T08:55:19.917Z

Medusa 4.0, added a whole new mode (3-op FM) right as they discontinued it.

reeloy · 2024-04-11T09:37:50.528Z

…i still remember clearly the day, when dtakt saw it’s latest firmware…
i was truly grumpy, that i sold mine one and a half years before…

and the greatest upgrade of all time was, when the last real mpc’s saw the jjos…

but there’s a good chance, syntakts next one more thing moment will leave us breathtaken…

ato · 2024-04-11T09:41:27.739Z

Not from manufacturer, but the BCR2000 ZAQUENCER impressed me.

jaijaison · 2024-04-11T10:09:27.330Z

OG novation circuit, they added so many features after the release. It was the blueprint how companies should interact with their users. Too bad they lost that touch after the release of the new circuits.
Roland toke over that interaction releasing awesome firmware updates voor de mc101, Verselab and 404 mk2. Still hoping for patch editing on the Verselab.

re5et · 2024-04-11T11:44:32.476Z

One of the biggest I remember was an early digitakt firmware that allowed it to send a midi note and not crash

They’ve made up for it since - in huge ways.

shigginpit · 2024-04-11T12:05:00.909Z

I’m looking forward to remembering the day digitone gets that epic fw update which faith tells me is coming.

Also, and this is extremely niche, but my midisid recently got full midi cc implementation and fixed a condition where it always responded to all midi channels (what a headache) but now it will respond to a single channel thus can be used with other gear.

Other than that I think people already brought up most of the important ones!

djenzyme · 2024-04-11T12:13:17.421Z

Octatrack TRC’s was a big one, especially so being as they previously stated it wouldn’t be possible

dmtri · 2024-04-11T12:14:44.453Z

Well, now I need an M8.

4Litre · 2024-04-11T13:20:09.568Z

Sonicware SmplTrk has seen several masssive jumps in functionality from launch date to current version 3 firmware.

protrusion · 2024-04-11T13:34:44.844Z

ZAQUENCER would be amazing even if it were its own standalone device. That he managed to make it by retrofitting into an existing device without open hardware/software is that much more impressive. It’s elegant and so powerful. It has those “meta-sequencing” features whereby the sequencer can be controlled via its own sequencer tracks … and the way it uses the BCR LEDs is so cool.

Also wanted to give a shout-out to the open-source LinnStrument firmware. The step sequencer added in 2.0+ is so cool.

Bob Grieb’s aftermarket firmware for Oberheim Matrix-6/6R/1000 is also very impressive.

I’m a fan of any firmware update which fixes a bug I’ve experienced. Usually that’s more satisfying than new features. It’s nice when existing features are made to work properly.

stoic_dolphin · 2024-04-11T16:08:32.235Z

I know they’re not so fondly looked upon now due to manufacturing and warping issues, but the firmware update that added sampling to the OP-Z was a big deal for a hot minute.

Birdzeye · 2024-04-11T17:02:06.810Z

The Deluge - Even before the firmware was opened, it had some good updates

My two favourite few updates are Dirtywave M8 3.0 and the last (maybe couple) OT updates, which really put the cherry on what was already a good package of features…

The 404 updates have been impressive. I don’t own it anymore, but I can see how find the 404 update would be.

The Machinedrum unofficial X updates has been impressive.

The most unfulfilled for me was the Maschine. It started off with some good updates, but then it took absolutely ages for them to implement promised updates. I have used mine in years now, but I don’t think they’ve done much further substantial updates (?)

I’m not sure how feasible it is on most samplers, but I’d love them to adopt the stem separation feature that recent released on the MPC. That’s the stuff of dreams for sample users. I look over at that feature enviously!

homealone · 2024-04-11T17:07:16.746Z

It is. And what’s even more cool is that he made a TX16W emulator VST running his original OS. And it’s free.