Patch Store button in patch library

Website
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#1

We’ve deployed a new feature (and a few bug fixes) on the main website : you can now store patches in flash memory on an OWL, Alchemist or Wizard directly from the browser :smile:

As with uploading patches, it relies on Web MIDI which is only natively supported in Chrome.

Go to any patch you want to store, click Connect to OWL, then instead of LOAD select STORE. You will be asked which slot to store in.

For OWL Pedal and OWL Modular hardware, please select a number between 0 and 3 to store in the four available user slots.

For Alchemist and Wizard, you can either overwrite one of the pre-loaded patches by selecting 1 to 5, or store in the next available slot by selecting 6.

Your patch will then be saved to Flash memory and your device will still be able to load it after you have powered it down.

We will be refining this function over time, consider this a first draft.

Next up we’re working on a device page, which will give you a bit more insight and control so that you can easily list, select and delete patches from Flash memory.

3 Likes
Own patches on Wizard disappears
#2

@mars, any plan to pull in a file system for flash, i assume there is currently still a fixed amount of memory allocated per patch slot? (-> havent really checked OpenWare sources for this so sorry if im asking stupid questions here :stuck_out_tongue: )

#3

@mars Thanks, I’m really looking forward to trying this new feature. However, I can only see the LOAD button after connecting to the device as if nothing has changed. What am I doing wrong?

#4

Could be the browser cache. Did you try a ‘hard’ page refresh? Shift-control/command-R usually does it.

#5

Yep, clearing the cache helped, thanks!

#6

Hi there.

Just unboxed my alchemist earlier today. After playing around with the built in patches,
I loaded up chrome, went to the patch library, and stored a patch (https://www.rebeltech.org/patch-library/patch/DroneBox) at location 5. There was a slight pause while the new patch was being loaded, and then the previous patch resumed playing.

On power cycling, the led starts flashing rapid green lights. The audio out is a rapid beating sound (synched to the led flashes). None of the knobs do anything any more. Mode change does not work. Only pressing B results in solid green light. No sound out, but nothing works.

Storing a new patch on the unit makes the led red and booting back results in the flashing green lights again.

Ideas for fixes?
I saw in the flyer provided, that firmware changes are possible. I did not however find the location for the current firmware, and methods for loading it on to the machine.
thanks much in advance.

#7

Oh no! I wonder what might have happened. Storing a patch should, in theory, never affect the firmware. I’ll try reproducing it - will report back tomorrow.

#8

I just tested doing the same thing on a brand new Alchemist and it worked fine - patch is stored, and recalled after power cycle.
I guess that means something must have gone wrong for you in the upload process which has somehow corrupted the firmware.
When you uploaded the patch, did you have anything else plugged in to the Alchemist apart from the USB cable?

I’m going to wrap up a release of the firmware so you can re-flash it.

#9

The alchemist was plugged in to the mac using the supplied usb cable. Headphones were connected to the audio out.

#10

Hi everyone and @q83 in particular!

I’ve created a firmware release with binary and sysex images: Releases · pingdynasty/OpenWare · GitHub

To load this on your Alchemist:

  1. download the Alchemist.syx file
  2. connect a USB lead to your Alchemist while holding down the bottom right button (the LED should flash three times)
  3. use a MIDI program to send the sysex file Alchemist.syx to the MIDI device called OWL-BOOT
  4. power cycle the Alchemist and it should start up with the new firmware

MIDI programs that will send Sysex files include Sysex Librarian on Mac and MIDI-OX on Windows, as well as some DAWs. On Linux you can use amidi. The command I used was amidi -p hw:2 -s Alchemist.syx

1 Like
#11

Hello @mars,
no luck here with the new firmware. Tried different ports, cables. Still stuck in the same cycle.

#12

sorry to hear that - can you please DM me so that we can arrange a return. Hopefully we’ll be able to find out what’s gone wrong with the STORE process and fix it. You’ll get a new Alchemist sent out of course.

#13

Sadly having the same issue with Alchemist as @q83: when powering the device any way we get a rapidly blinking green LED (and no USB device detected on the system). On the Device page, we get “Cannot connect to OWL device” in Boot mode or otherwise.

Pushing Button B enters the device into MIDI Boot mode (alternate red and green LED for a few cycles then solid green) “OWL-BOOT” appears in the devices list.

To remedy, tried to send latest Alchemist firmware Sysex file in this mode, which seemed to take. But power-cycling the device just puts us back into rapidly blinking green LED.

This occurred after roughly the following sequence:

  • Used “Reset Device” button on the Device page with success (clear patches)
  • Then tried to Store a new patch, which led to this stuck state

Anything else I should try?