LinnStrument Firmware 2.0.2 is released!

[gbevin]

Hi everyone,

Happy Holidays from Roger & Geert! The animation above was created by LinnStrumentalist Nikolai Noaka. Roger and I liked it so much that we coded it as a screensaver into the new version 2.0.2 update.

You can get the 2.0.2 installers from here:

linnstrument-firmware-2.0.2-macos.dmg
linnstrument-firmware-2.0.2-windows.zip

These are the changes since version 2.0.1:

• New setting "Pressure Sensitivity Prescale" permits adjusting the touch sensitivity over a wide range to better fit your personal playing style, so that the 3 fixed settings (low, medium, high) will be more useful to you. In Global Settings, first select Pressure Sens > Medium, then hold Calibration while pressing Pressure Sens > Medium again. You will see the number "100" in large digits, which can be changed by swiping left or right. 100 = highest sensitivity (default), lower settings require more pressure or strike force to produce output pressure or velocity values of 127. Minimum value is 50.
• Strum mode (Per-Split Settings > Special column > Strum) improved to be more guitar-like:
  • Only highest note on row (string) is recognized
  • Hammer-ons and pull-offs can now be performed
  • Fingered notes do not sound until strummed.
  • Strumming area is much more sensitive to touch
• New Sleep animation: Snow Falling on Christmas trees. In Global Settings, hold Sleep (column 15, row 3) and swipe right to show “XMS”. Then swipe down to set delay before sleep animation starts.
• Split on/off status is now remembered after power off/on. After changing Split status, press Per-Split Settings or Global Settings once to save it.
• Default USB MIDI data rate (hold Global Settings > USB) is slightly slower (235) to avoid overloading slower computers or synths.
• Bug fix: Sometimes when syncing the Sequencer or Arpeggiator to external MIDI clock, the internal tempo would jump to very fast setting. Fixed.

Warm regards,

Geert

[docsunset]

The new pressure sensitivity setting rocks! Just when I was thinking it would be nice to be able to press even harder without reaching 127, that's when y'all release an update which lets me do just that. Brilliant.

[tbeltrans]

I want to add my thanks Roger and Geert for yet another fine upgrade. My new faceplate should arrive on Thursday this week too.

Tony

[CaseyD]

After installing the new faceplate ( thanks for the quick service ) I applied this update.

I ran into a few wrinkles. These were eventually resolved by a couple of tries on another Mac.

Wrinkles:
1) eventually on MacPro the updated announced it was able to read the settings, the instrument blacked out, and then the update failed. Apparent bricking came after using different USB jacks, cards, and cables. a couple of times before blacking out the instrument displayed '.26' when entering UPDATE OS mode.
2) after blacking out I moved yet more cables and jacks about. the installer went through the 'retrieving settings' bit a couple of times but there was no indication that it was actually in communication with the instrument. Of course the retrieving settings thread timed out eventually and the installer proceeded to attempt to update. an incrementing percentage display would range from, well, not appearing, to 1% sometimes lurching up to 5% before giving up.
3) it was hard to tell if the hardware reset option ( depressing 'Global Settings' while resetting USB cable to achieve a power cycle ) did anything. the box continued to be unresponsive.

Resolution:
moving to another Mac ( an Air ) resulted in the apparently bricked instrument successfully taking the update. The first try balked but the second was fine. Note: I did use the same USB cable between the last set of attempts on the Mac Pro & this little Air.

Questions:
What is the '.26' message about?
Where do these settings go? ( this may be in a readme I haven't found )

Suggestion:
Confirming handshake on the 'retrieving settings' step would help the user in these odd circumstances.

now I get to play with the new bits on a cold winters night!

[Roger_Linn]

Hi Casey,

Sorry about the problem. I don't know what the problem is, but you mentioned that the LinnStrument blacked out, which it is supposed to do while updating. Regarding the Update App stopping its progress indicator during the update, this means that it isn't getting a response from the LinnStrument, which could be due to:

1) Data in either direction not arriving intact due to using a USB hub or a poor USB cable or a cable longer than around 10 feet. If you experience problems, it can often help to try a shorter or better quality cable.

2) LinnStrument's power from USB dipping below the level needed for operation. Some older computers share power between the USB jacks. (I don't know about your Mac Pro.) If you experience problems, it can often help to remove other USB devices in order to insure that LinnStrument's USB jack is getting the full USB power it needs. USB hubs also frequently supply insufficient power.

Regarding your questions:

1) What is the .26 message about?
I don't know. It could be that the OS update loaded incomplete and jumped to a numeric data screen.

2) Where do these settings go?
If you are asking where the new settings in the new 2.0.2 update are located, this is explained on the "Updating OS" page, immediately below the link you clicked to download the update.

Regarding your suggestion:
"Confirming handshake on the 'retrieving settings' step would help the user in this odd circumstances".
If the settings have been retrieved, the Updater app move on to the next step very quickly. If there is no response from the LinnStrument, it waits until it gets a response from LinnStrument. If it does not receive a response, then it waits for a few seconds and displays "Couldn't retrieve LinnStrument's settings, interrupting firmware upgrade" and presents a button "Go ahead with default settings". How would you prefer it to be changed?

I did notice one thing in your post: "it was hard to tell if the hardware reset option ( depressing 'Global Settings' while resetting USB cable to achieve a power cycle ) did anything".
That isn't a hardware reset, but rather wakes LinnStrument ready to receive a firmware update and displays "FWUP" in large red letters. Did you not see the large red letters when you did this? And if you saw on my site that holding Global Settings while connecting USB power causes a reset of LinnStrument, could you please tell me where you saw it so I can remove it?

One last thought-- this forum is more for discussions between users. Your post seemed more like a support inquiry. For support, it's better to contact me at support@rogerlinndesign.com. If so, please include your LinnStrument serial number, and any helpful information about your system like the age of your mac pro and any special configuration or connections.

[CaseyD]

Thanks for the quick response. I'll follow up in an email to support. but first, this casey must cook dinner!

however I do like, when using technical devices, the 'arrows in the back' discussions among users.

I think this his how I shot myself with arrows: I had just replaced the faceplate, which I did on a workbench in my work area. This is quite a distance from the MacPro ( 2009, heavily upgraded via 2 Core 3.33GHz Xeon X5680 Westmere Dual CPUs, etc ) so I used a very long USB cable. this cable worked for regular operation, but...

[thedigitalDog]

thank you so much for the updates and for your work ! merry christmas and happy holidays to you all.

[Gamma-UT]

I tried the update from my main Mac Pro (4,1 running 10.11.6) and the update failed at 0%, apparently bricking the Linnstrument after also failing to retrieve settings. The device still showed up as Linnstrument SERIAL in the USB device tree in System Information. Trying to roll back to 1.2.5 failed, with the update failing at about 3%. This was with two different cables and two different directly connected ports. I don't believe there is a power issue as most of the other USB peripherals on this machine go through powered hubs on the rear panel. I tried the update from a rear and then a front USB port.

However, rolling back to 1.2.5 on a MacBook Pro (10.11.6 also) with a Focusrite interface in the other direct USB port succeeded (although without retrieving settings again). It then successfully updated to 2.0.2. This was using the same USB cable as that use in the front port of the Mac Pro (and it's a short cable).

The Mac Pro 4,1 is an early 2009 design. One possibility I thought of is that there is an interaction between the UEFI firmware of these machines and El Capitan or later, given that it seems to be USB transmissions that are affected. Updates worked fine on Yosemite, but I upgraded to El Cap a few weeks back during a quiet period. This machine in its current form won't run Sierra because of the age of the firmware.

[CaseyD]

interesting; my MacPro ( see above ) is a 4,1 which I patched up to a 5,1 to take the CPU upgrade.
It's running El Cap.
thanks for sharing.

[Gamma-UT]

interesting; my MacPro ( see above ) is a 4,1 which I patched up to a 5,1 to take the CPU upgrade.
It's running El Cap.
thanks for sharing.

I saw on a thread about the 2.0.0 beta, the machines that failed seemed also to be Mac Pros and possibly the same vintage. Though the difference in firmware suggests that it's maybe not that – maybe something more structural. They have a lot of USB ports which, naturally, the MacBooks don't.

[RO-mix]

Dig into a new sequencer finally! Great... but there an issue with sync while switching to triplets and back WHEN EXTERNAL sync is recieved. Can it be somehow fixed to be able to smoothly switch between durations?

[gbevin]

Dig into a new sequencer finally! Great... but there an issue with sync while switching to triplets and back WHEN EXTERNAL sync is recieved. Can it be somehow fixed to be able to smoothly switch between durations?

We have been making improvements to the sequencer in the last few months. It's very possible that this behavior has improved for the next firmware release. Please try it when it comes out.

Take care,

Geert

[RO-mix]

THank you for your work!