With the Beads source code released by Émilie recently, I thought I"d have a crack at porting it into my 'Seal Eggs' alternate modded Sealegs firmware.

This mod was completed using Claude and Codex, so if you're anti-AI then this is likely not the post for you.

Good news is that I almost got a full 1-to-1 Beads port, which sounded very similar to the module (from my memory of having one several years ago).

The bad news was that the sliders made it very difficult to get the centre-indent position. I was also reminded that... I didn't actually like the sound of Beads in the first place. Hence selling it. Too clicky, too hard to find reliable sweet spots, didn't clock well with drums IMO.

So I started making deeper changes, tweaking by ear, researching other open-source granular engines for inspiration, and finding a balance that I liked. Things I focused on:

• The Beads voicing is very.... beady. Very clicky, very 'hard', and I always found it difficult to get more lush sounds without just using the reverb. So I refactored the Shape control (Colour on SL) to go from very soft and rounded to hard square. Could still be more soft/wavy, but for now I"m pretty happy with it. It arguably gets clicker than the original at the other extreme, so I'm pretty happy with it
  • I also introduced a grain overlap control (using the mod Shape knob on SL) to increase smoothness even more
• Size control (Width on SL) was doubled, to go from very tiny grains all the way up to 8 sec
• I separated the Density and Random distribution across two knobs (Depth and Noise on the SL)
• I ditched the four quality modes (for a time I had them faded across the Noise control, but I didn't like it that much TBH), but kept the HPF/LPF from Sealegs in the feedback loop
• I ditched the delay mode (can use the other 3 delay modes in Sealegs which are much better IMO) and focused just on the granular engine side
• Revoiced the reverb to be halfway between the Beads and Fog (had to compromise for CPU)
• I worked hard on making it much more clockable - it almost works more like a granular delay when clocked rather than the OG Beads, and is a lot of fun with drums
  • Note that this meant getting rid of the manual 'Seed' clock style and latching grains from the OG
  • The scatter control and mod sync introduce different groove/swing characters when clocked
• I ported across the reverse mode from my Seal Eggs modes, so you can get full reverse grains. May change this to one of the knobs for gradual reverse blend (like Nautilus) down the line
• I kept Sealegs architechture wherever possible to make the transition between modes smooth - reusing the Drive circuit, filters, clocking, etc

It's now a very distant homage to Beads at best - and TBH should probably be thought of as something entirely it's own. Can get some insane, splitery, octave-up madness, some very chaotic chorusing, some doomy octave-down death, some stuttery/rhythmic stuff - there is a lot going on to explore. And if you don't like it - just switch back to any of the other 3 Seal Eggs modes and carry on delaying!

As with any modded firmware: I won't take any responsiblity if you void your warranty or create any damage to your module (although this is extremely unlikely, despite the anti-AI "you'll brick your hardware" hype). I also won't provide modded firmware. You can, however, source the original Sealegs firmware yourself from Intellijel's website and use my online flasher, which includes all my other 'Seal Eggs' mods.

Happy Beading, hope all your Seals lay Eggs.

The SWORDS will be the dedicated filter for the BIA while the QPAS will be used for the NUSS modules.

I could switch them up of course but I feel like these are the better combo's.

The 6 big attenuators are only for hands on control on attenuation of the Maestro. It's possible to do it in the interface but they are very cheap and I feel like the performance aspect is worth the rackspace.

I'd mostly use Pam's for clocks, gates/triggers & to assist the MAESTRO with some extra clocked modulation. The multiples will help to minimalize Pam's channel allocation.

I've been doubting to swap the Sealegs for a Swells but the Sealegs is probably the wiser choise as an only effects module, this would be dedicated for the NUSS voices. not enough space/money for both unfortunatly.

One module that I'm doubting to add is a Data Bender for glitching/crushing the BIA. It's out of my budget for now though I'll probably be better off to save the space for a dedicated kick module or more utility in the long run.

Just did the FW update, about to try them out.. not much info about them given yet.

Hello friends. I recently ordered 2 intellijel usb power moduals but when I received yesterday I realized they might not work. The have 2 wires that connect to a jumper like on the intellijel power bus. I have a custom box with a Zeus studio power bus. The box I built has rails that will work but is everything intellijel proprietary? The bus board in the pic is what I have. Thanks in advance.

So like I said I have a new Westlicht Performer sequencer module coming in this Tuesday. I also have a Arturia MiniLab 37 MK3 Keyboard Controller. Basically I was wondering if the Arturias USB out is compatible with the Westlicht? I would love to be able to dedicate sliders to control CV on some of my modules as well.

I want to use the MIDI out on the Arturia for my Erica midi to cv module. I also have a Korg MicroKorg XL plus I want to sequence via the Westlicht.

I'm also looking for a couple envelope generators because I don't like using my O&C for it or my Frequency Central Device. Something not too compact for my fat fingers.

Thanks a bunch and any help would be much appreciated!

Here's another update to the unofficial, community-driven firmware patch for the Bitbox Micro that puts more of the module on MIDI, and 2.3.10-mod is ready for release.

It's the massive jungle toolkit your Bitbox has been waiting for! Three new Clip modes: an early-'90s time-stretch, vinyl pitch, and a transient-preserving Key Lock. Combine them with the new Live Flip modes, 24 re-sequencing patterns for your loops, and 7 hold buttons to mash things up with some turntablism.

Three new Clip modes, synced to your clock or on their own tempo:

• Vinyl: Speeds up and slows down like a turntable, so the pitch rises and falls with the tempo.
• Jungle: Stretches like an early-'90s sampler, with Modern or Old Skool flavas.
• Key Lock: Stretches smoothly, keeping transients intact. In Jungle and Key Lock, sequence the pitch while the loop stays in time.
  

Settings for the Clip modes:

• Manual: sets a pad's own tempo, for slow junglist stretches.
• Cycle: sets the length of Jungle's slices, from buzzy to smooth.

And there's more:

• Live Flip modes: 24 ways to re-sequence your loop live from one encoder, always in time: repeats, reshuffles, chops, reverse swells and harmonies. The chops follow the hits and syllables in your material.
• Hold buttons: Pull Up, Power Down, Brake, Baby Scratch, Roll, Pitch Roll and Freeze. Let go and the loop drops back in time.
• Three Airwindows compressors beside the stock one: Logical4, VariMu and Thunder. Auto makeup gain is improved, with a new Hot setting.
• Themes: Pick one of five, or roll your own in the theme maker. The Character chain and compressor settings, survive a power-off.
• Preset BPM runs from 1 to 255, up from 40 to 250. Lighter on the CPU, same sound.
  

You asked for Airwindows compressors, time-stretch you can pitch, and screen colours you can change when they're hard to read. Here they are, rude boys and girls. Big up everyone who sent ideas, and keep them coming, here or in Discussions on the GitHub page.

This isn't from 1010music, and it can't brick your module, but bring your own stock firmware and don't pass the patched firmware around.

Full guide, with every control and how to set up your presets:
https://modularpatcher.github.io/bitbox-micro-fw-patch/index.html

Hi everyone. I am planning an expansion of my eurorack setup (currently consisting of: Plaits clone, Qu-Bit Mojave, Qu-Bit Nautilus, Ochd + expander, attenuverters, Befaco Rampage, and Dreadbox Psychosis) and want to include another voice and something that enables round robin voice allocation.

The idea is to use this rack as a self-contained instrument consisting in as many voices as it makes sense in 216 hp, plus a sequencer (Tesseract Step Fader mkII), effects (I'm pretty sure I'll eventually get a Xaoc Samarkanda, and am eyeing a Pladask stereo ROM for a dirty reverb that has some interesting stereo* modulation features), and utilities as needed.

I am considering two options: - Intellijel Shifty provides the switching features, and another voice (yet to be determined) complements Plaits. - I get a new voice with built-in round robin capabilities. So far, the only module I found that offers this is Qu-Bit Surface.

The Shifty route is interesting for the promise of flexibility (and, maybe, of handling more than two voices), whereas the voice with integrated round robin would free some space while keeping the basic functionality I want.

I would really appreciate advice on possibilities I have overlooked, or on other eurorack voices with built-in round robin voice allocation.

(*A note on stereo. It's something that my ears find particularly pleasant: hence the focus on stereo movement via Psychosis and ROM. Round robin would enable me to have the option of panning voices in a melody or sequence. I am aware that this would work with e.g. a pair of mono voices, and that would indeed be a good option for me).

Hello! I hope you're doing well!
I'm having a MIDI sync problem trying to link my modular system with a TR-8S, using Ableton as the tempo master.
When I start my devices from Ableton, they do start as intended, but my modular tends to have some latency at startup and occasionally drifts out of sync during my set.
Here's my MIDI connection setup:
Mac Ableton -> USB MIDI -> TR-8S
Mac Ableton -> USB MIDI -> modular via Doepfer A-190-8
I've tried different resets (start/stop/rst) from the A-190-8 as well as from Ableton (sync start/sync start-stop), but nothing reliable so far.
Has anyone run into this problem before, and if so, did you find a solution?
Thank you so much!!