[Michael]

Ok, I’m glad you got the new firmware and are able to move forward! Make music!

With the original firmware, channels 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 all wrap around just like 4-8 do. So 9 wraps to 1, and so on.

[Michael]

The channels would not wrap at all, so anything above 4 can be used for something else, with the exception of channel 10 which has a special meaning for the drum channel.

Here is a link to the firmware .hex file. If the file content displays in your browser, just “Save as…” to save it to a file. This is the .hex file you will use in the instructions.

http://synthino.com/downloads/firmware/synthino_xm_midi_nowrap.hex

[Michael]

Also, to answer your other question about it being monophonic, no I’m afraid there’s no monophonic only mode.

[Michael]

Hi Math,

You are correct about the channels wrapping around, so channels 5,6,7,8 are just like 1,2,3,4. I have an alternative firmware version that does not do this. The Synthino listens for 1,2,3,4 and also the drum channel 10. Would this be helpful? Can you make your other synths listen on channels above 4?

I do this you would need to load new firmware onto the device. It is not that hard, but if you are not technical, it could be tricky for you (some people find it too difficult I guess).
Windows Instructions

Mac Instructions

If you only want it to listen on channel 1, just say the word and I can make a version that does that. But you’d have to load it according to the Windows or Mac instructions above. Just let me know.

[Michael]

Each track is monophonic, so the behavior you are hearing is correct. Since the synth can only play a max of 5 notes polyphonically, each of the 4 tracks needs to be monophonic. Think of each track as a 16-step sequencer. To make a chord, you can play each of the notes on different tracks.

[Michael]

Firmware with synth, arpeggiator and drone is possible, but would require many hours of work. Hard to prioritize against everything else.

[Michael]

The instructions are to run the programmer by typing the command above. The programmer has to be run with the correct arguments. I’m not sure how you ran it without any arguments (did you just double click on it?). I guess I assume that Mac users are familiar with typing commands in a terminal window, but maybe not. Sorry for the confusion.

[Michael]

jasper, it does not look like you ran the command in the instructions. I’m not sure how you got the output you just posted.

Do this:

Open the terminal app. It is in /Applications/Utilities/Terminal.app

Change to the directory you have your dfu-programmer in by typing this at the command prompt:
cd /Users/jasperkomassa1/Desktop/synthino\ xm/dfu-programmer-0.6.2

Run the dfu-programmer command as described above:
./dfu-programmer atxmega128a4u flash --erase-first synthino_xm_v1.1.hex

…where “synthinog_xm_v1.1.hex” is the name of the .hex file you want to load. It is assumed that you saved this file in the same folder as the dfu-programmer utility.

[Michael]

jasper_ryder, just right-click on the link and choose “Save as…” to save the file.

[Michael]

I can assure you that the device is perfectly stable with the feet placed just inside the screws. Flat head screws would not be flush with the acrylic surface, though. They would need to be countersunk into the acrylic. I think the acrylic is probably too thin to drill out the holes for countersunk screws, but you can give it a try.

[Author]

Posts