OB-X8 Desktop 1.1.0 Arp bug?

[DaveInSanFran]

It's Day 1 with my OB-X8 Desktop and I'm having a blast!

I'm having minor problems with the patch (Double, Group 2, Bank 1) "Exotic Drums". 

For now, I'm sending MIDI (DIN) from an Arturia Keystep, and when I hold 1 note, the patch is cycling through 8 voices alternating pan-L/pan-R.  (This sounds amazing!)  As I add and remove notes, the arpeggio gains complexity and sends the new notes to various voices.

However, sometimes when I release all the notes except the first, the arp gets stuck on a single voice panned-left.  Other times, it behaves as expected and recovers all 8 voices.  To fix the glitch, I can sometimes add and drop a new note, or simply release and press the first key again.

This is far from a critical issue, but I wanted to share in case anyone else has run into this.

My OS version is listed as 1.1.0.

[Analog Prophet]

Didn’t know 1.1 is out

[DaveInSanFran]

I suspect this 1.1 version is shipping on the Desktop modules because the Global menu is different.  There are no aftertouch or velocity curves and 32 menu items instead of 36.

[Quatschmacher]

There are no velocity curves on the 6-series desktops either but they use the same firmware as their keyboard counterparts. That but of code is likely simply switched off when the the firmware recognises what device is running it.

[DaveInSanFran]

No one in the forum has acknowledged or confirmed the minor issue I'm hearing when releasing notes on the "Exotic Drums" patch.  Should I report it to product support, or do they monitor the forums?

[Manbird]

No one in the forum has acknowledged or confirmed the minor issue I'm hearing when releasing notes on the "Exotic Drums" patch.  Should I report it to product support, or do they monitor the forums?

Contacting support directly is the advised route for any tech issues. The Sequential peeps do chime in on the forum once in a while, but even then, it's often to suggest contacting directly via support!

[The Real MC]

No one in the forum has acknowledged or confirmed the minor issue I'm hearing when releasing notes on the "Exotic Drums" patch.

They started shipping 6/9
You reported the bug 6/13
You complained no one acknowledged 6/19

Since you received one of the first units out the door, what did you expect?  Mine didn't arrive until 6/19.

[The Real MC]

It's Day 1 with my OB-X8 Desktop and I'm having a blast!

I'm having minor problems with the patch (Double, Group 2, Bank 1) "Exotic Drums". 

For now, I'm sending MIDI (DIN) from an Arturia Keystep, and when I hold 1 note, the patch is cycling through 8 voices alternating pan-L/pan-R.  (This sounds amazing!)  As I add and remove notes, the arpeggio gains complexity and sends the new notes to various voices.

However, sometimes when I release all the notes except the first, the arp gets stuck on a single voice panned-left.  Other times, it behaves as expected and recovers all 8 voices.  To fix the glitch, I can sometimes add and drop a new note, or simply release and press the first key again.

This is far from a critical issue, but I wanted to share in case anyone else has run into this.

My OS version is listed as 1.1.0.

I had tried this with a MIDIBoard controlling my desktop module, and I can't get a note to stick.

I'd say the issue is your MIDI controller.  Do you have a different one?

[DaveInSanFran]

Thanks for the follow-up.  (Sorry for coming across as impatient.  Let's just say I'm excited to be part of the Oberheim community and share my discovery.)

It was pretty easy to reproduce this with MIDI from the Moog Matriarch as well.  I also swapped cables.

"Stuck" might be the wrong word.  I'm still holding the first key, so the arp keeps playing as expected.  However, instead of this note cycling through all the voices, it keeps triggering only a single voice panned left.  If I add keys it resumes all voices, or if I release key 1 and hit it again, all voices will play.  It doesn't do this every time I go from 2 keys to 1 key, but it isn't hard to reproduce in just a few seconds.

It's something like this:
 1. hold C... drums bounce left and right with slight variations in timbre.
 2. add G... drums bounce between two notes with variations in voice.
 3. release G... usually sounds like step 1 above as expected.
 4. repeat adding and releasing G.
 After a few attempts you'll just hear a mono voice repeating on one side.  If this happens, just release and retrigger C.

As noted, it's easy to work around when playing, and I haven't heard this on any of the other arpeggio patches yet.  I'll dig deeper and try it separately with each of the patches comprising the "double."

[DaveInSanFran]

I've posted a crude recording on YouTube to hopefully show the issue.  I'm not set up for proper audio recording, so this is just showing the MIDI controller and enough audio to show the inconsistency when holding only "C".  Patch DOUBLE Exotic Drums.

[DaveInSanFran]

I reported this to product support.  Their response was pretty quick...

Thanks very much for the video! I was able to reproduce this on our shop units, and can confirm it is definitely a bug. Good catch! I'm going to spend some time tracking it down a bit more, but rest assured I will document it for our software team's review.

I cannot say if or when this bug will get addressed, but considering it is a pretty significant Arp bug, my hope is that they will address it in the next OS release. I appreciate you reaching out about this -- and my apologies that there isn't a workaround in the meantime.

Let me know if there's anything else I can assist with!

While digging deeper into this myself, I got to learn a bit more about the arpeggiator and the "hidden features" described in the manual.  I'm impressed!  While it isn't the most flexible arp I've used, I found that it sparked my creativity and got me working in ways I haven't previously done.