Quixotic7/ChoralRootFM1 v0.26

ChoralRoot 0.26

on GitHub

ChoralRoot 0.26 gives dense VA and FM6 chords room to breathe: with Dual Core On, a VA or FM6 chord's notes are now
shared between the FM-1's two processor cores, and the VA's sound code runs from the chip's fast memory, so an 8-note
VA pad over a bass that used to run out of time and drop notes now plays with about a quarter of its time to spare,
and FM6 chords keep a good margin while you record. The sound is the same, bit for bit. The screen's background is
now pure black, and the installer recognises the Bubba Machine firmware and shows the way from it. 0.26 replaces
0.25.1 as the web installer's default; updating keeps your settings, sounds, loops and favorites, and going back to
0.25.1 is possible at any time.

VA and FM6 chords on both cores (new in 0.26)

• The chord's notes are shared between the cores. With Options > Dual Core On (the default), the second core
  renders the bass and then part of the chord's notes, the first core the rest, and the two halves are added together.
  P5's chords have been shared this way since 0.22; VA and FM6 chords now are too.
• The VA's sound code runs from fast memory (RAM instead of the flash), on both cores and in the Single core
  package too, so every VA voice takes less time.
• What it gives, measured on an FM-1 (8 notes over a bass, the time one block of audio takes against the time it
  has):
  • a VA MORPH PAD chord over PUNCH BASS took 112 % of its time in 0.25.1 (117 % while recording): it ran late and
    dropped notes. In 0.26 it takes about 75 %, recording included, with nothing late and nothing dropped.
  • an FM6 TINE EP chord over DEEP SUB took 94 % (101 % while recording, with a few late blocks and dropped notes).
    In 0.26: 69 %, and 73 % while recording.
• The same sound. The sums are exact: a chord played on two cores is the same samples as on one. Nothing about
  your sounds or how they play changes; there is simply more room before the FM-1 runs out of time.
• CZ-1 and GRAIN chords are not shared yet, and neither is anything with Dual Core Off.

A black background (new in 0.26)

• The screen's background is pure black instead of a very dark grey, everywhere ChoralRoot draws on it, and the
  LED windows of the panel pictures and P5's cells with it. On the FM-1's screen the old grey could look like the
  backlight showing through. The other colours are as they were, and every text stays as readable.

The installer and Bubba Machine (new in 0.26)

• Bubba Machine (a groovebox firmware for the FM-1) introduces itself as an old official firmware, so the
  installer took it for M-VAVE's own. Its updater takes only M-VAVE's official package: an install of ChoralRoot over
  it was refused by the FM-1 after the first reads, with nothing written.
• The web installer and tools/fm1_install.py now recognise it by its USB name ("FM-1 Bubba Machine"), say so ("What
  is on my FM-1?" and --info name it), and refuse the install at once, with or without the override, with the way
  out: return to the official V15 first (the page's "Return to official V15" with M-VAVE's FM-1.fwsc, or
  python3 tools/fm1_install.py FM-1.fwsc, or Bubba Machine's own installer), then install ChoralRoot.
  INSTALL-COMPAT.md "Bubba Machine" has the details.

Installing

• The web installer's default is 0.26: press Install. Options > Version reads ChoralRoot 0.26.
• From 0.25.1 nothing needs doing: your sounds, loops, favorites and settings are all there, the chord keys
  included. 0.25.1.md says what 0.25.1 brought (the FM-1 chord keys the default).
• From 0.25, 0.24 or older: install 0.26 as you would 0.25.1; 0.25.1.md "Installing" says what the
  update from those changes (your FM-1 is moved to the FM-1 chord keys once).
• A Single core package for FM-1s that have trouble with Dual Core: the web installer's Advanced > Hardware
  fallback. Options > Version then reads ChoralRoot 0.26 1-core. It plays everything on one core, as before, with
  the VA's faster code.
• The SMK-37: a community test build of 0.26, 0.26-smk37, SMK37.md.

Going back to 0.25.1

The installer offers 0.25.1 under Other versions.

• Your settings, sounds, loops and favorites stay as they are: 0.26 stores everything exactly as 0.25.1 does, and
  nothing is moved or rewritten at the update or on the way back.
• On 0.25.1 the VA and FM6 chords are rendered on one core again: the same sound, with less room, so an 8-note VA pad
  over a bass can run late and drop notes there as it did before.
• The background is the dark grey again.

ChoralRoot 0.26 for the M-VAVE FM-1 (identity FM-1_920).

Install from the browser at https://quixotic7.github.io/ChoralRootFM1/ (Chrome or Edge, the FM-1 connected by USB), or with the command-line installer: python3 tools/fm1_install.py choralroot-0.26.fwsc.

choralroot-0.26-1core.fwsc is the same firmware on one processor core, for an FM-1 that crashes or freezes with the standard package (the installer offers it under Advanced > Hardware fallback). Settings, sounds and loops stay when you switch between the two.

SHA256SUMS lists both packages and their apps. The package holds three JieLi AC79 SDK files (Apache-2.0); LICENSE, LICENSING.md and LICENSES.zip carry every licence. Installing firmware is at your own risk.

Full Changelog: v0.25.1...v0.26