Yes, I think I saw the 16383 value in a preset (perhaps one of yours). When I was experimenting I stopped at a value that gave me an octave up because I didn't see a use for going further. I didn't really explore going through lower values because beyond a whole tone it didn't seem to work on my first attempts and since again it didn't seem so useful. I'm really just looking to expand what I can do for my own playing and sharing what I learn.
Well, it was inevitable - my Orba 2 is now in a state of bootlooping uselessness. I have tried most of what I can think of but I don't hold much hope of recovery. I have a new Orba on it's way to me but I will stop experimenting and load it with the presets that I will find most pleasing and useful for my own purposes and leave it at that. Given all the things I've done to my Orba I can hardly expect Artiphon to help.
I do have it in mind to create a document to share what I do (and don't) know but I won't be able to attach examples in a coherent way since I won't be able to check on which versions of presets illustrate things.
In case any one is interested I will mention now the main things I have played around with - ask if anything is of particular interest to you I'll try and answer if I can.
I did some experiments with drum presets mostly to increase the number of sounds that can be accessed in a single preset using the velocityThresholds. They also showed that sample and synth sounds could be blended together, although I never worked out how to do that at will, rather than just accident. The examples may give clues though. The sets aren't particularly useful - I used some "eccentric" samples to try and make it clear to tell what was happening.
Much of the rest was about using pitchbend - in chords I was able to create presets with a wider range of chords (and unusual combinations) available and they also created options that I find musically quite inspiring. With lead presets (and that would apply to bass presets) I wanted to find ways to make playing them more expressive. I had limited success with that - in particular I didn't do well trying to add other gestures with pitchbend to get the effects I hoped for. I also tried to improve the ranges without having to interrupt playing. That was successful but I couldn't find a good way of getting two octaves with accidentals. It may be possible to get further and do better on that.
...oops. Been there done that. I eventually got a replacement although it took several months.I'm being very cautious with this one. As we know, there's no complete "factory reset" on Orba 2 like there was on Orba 1.
I messed mine up by opening partitions that aren't supposed to be opened (thanks @Subskybox! ;-) ) and messing with the device directly. I wasn't sure if it was possible to bork it just by messing with the XML.
If you can't get it replaced and it's basically a doorstop anyway, I'll dig out some notes on the stuff I tried with mine before giving up. It's possible that yours isn't so far gone, though a bootlooping Orba 2 isn't good news.
Thanks @BLG145 - I certainly have been to places on the Orba no sane man should go. @Subskybox was right to be cagey about that, but then I think it was one of his videos that tipped the balance for me when I decided to buy one! I got through a couple of crashes previously and survived - this time I may have gone too far in my attempts to recover and done more damage to the system.
The lack of "factory reset" is an infuriating issue, it's not just a matter of keeping users happy but also making their own lives easier. It seems a theme with Kickstarter projects for creators not to give enough thought to how the products will be used in the wild.
The big shame for me personally is that I like the device, limited yes, but likeable. If I end up without one I will miss it! (But I'm not going to spend any more money on it now.)
I frequently looped Orba 1 but it was always recoverable. My theory about breaking Orba 2 was that I'd created an invalid preset, and each time it started up it tried and failed to load it, and reset. I couldn[t find a way out of it. Since Gear2Music's repair shop (UK) couldn't either, they eventually refunded it...and I stupidly bought another. :))
(I'd encourage you to contact Artiphon tech support, because they did offer to replace mine. I opted to go via the UK reseller instead, which was quite irritating as it took them 6 months to conclude they couldn't fix it.)
This is a video I made of what my loop looked like. If your looks the same, it's probably had it.
https://youtu.be/LOtRwo4UvXM
If it appears in Device Manager (Windows), it may be possible to work with it. The problem with mine was that it only appeared in Device Manager very briefly while looping, and not long enough to send any commands to it.
I think it stopped looping after something like 16 cycles. After this, I think one of the partitions was available in File Explorer on Windows. Manually resetting the contents of that partition didn't save it, but may be worth a try. I think Artiphon Tech Support provided a copy of the file(s) for it. I admitted I'd broken it by messing with it, but they still did their best and offered to replace it.
...I found what I was sent Dec 2022.
""When it's constantly trying to boot, that means it has corrupted firmware which can typically be remedied by reinstalling it. A full reinstall can be done via the app. I've attached the full firmware below that you can drag (still zipped) anywhere onto the settings page of the app. This of course will need to be after the app has first recovered Orba 2. The other method is the one you already tried, where you can just drop the partial firmware (.bin file) onto the bootloader drive.
If you can get the firmware stable, I can send you the correct partition contents. Otherwise, I can look into replacing the Orba 2 for you.""
(Attached)
I presume the app can't recover yours, but if you wait for it to stop looping you may see a partition containing this zip file, or its contents, which you could use to replace whatever's there.
Like I say, didn't work for me, but worth a go. Otherwise you can hopefully get a replacement.
@BJG145 - Thanks indeed for that file and the note about it and your other notes. I have had sight of those other partitions and I think I can access them again. (By the way had you noticed one is named ORBA2FALLBK which made me think there may still be a way of doing it.) I have seen similar symptoms as you.
I imagine I may have corrupted the bootloader, but I don't feel certain about that. I sort of think it boots then fails to find a viable system and restarts. After a while it goes into what I think is a download mode (not sure about that). I've found a system bin file I captured a while ago that I think may not be corrupted.
For the moment I'm going to think of other things and come back to it tomorrow.
But again, regardless of whether it works or not, many thanks, it's appreciated.
...yep, there seems to be a partition which acts as a bootloader, and another partition which acts as a fallback bootloader if the first one gets messed up. I seem to remember that I could still access those, but I lost access to a third one containing the data which is only accessible by using some command after establishing a serial link to it AFAIK. With the loop mode that my one got into though, that command was no longer available. (Like I say, you can usually see the Orba listed in Device Manager on Windows, and without that, there's no known way top access the data partition.)
I think it was the data partition that was the problem with mine; I reckon it kept trying and failing to load an altered preset.
Yes, that's consistent with what I have experienced. I didn't keep an eye on the Device Manager - I found that file Explorer is popping up or disappearing which pretty much tells me the same things.
Oh, the OrbaRelease zip file you posted seems to have the same set of files that I found in a hidden folder on my computer. There's other stuff there that may interest you if you haven't already seen them yourself!
"Users>Public>Public Documents>Artiphon>Orba>UpdateUtilities>orbaFw"
Well, it's been no luck so far. I should have a new Orba to play with (assuming it works OK) arriving tomorrow. I'll spend a bit of time setting it up with the presets I most want to use and do some recording I've had in mind.
I'll have another go at recovering this one once I've cleared my head again.
Had either of you ever tried leaving it on until the battery dies? Maybe if the battery dies and then is charged it will act differently? Not likely but worth a try.
Thought of it, hadn't quite to the point of trying it. The problem with the fixes so seems to be that the app only connects to the update partition when you try to and rewrite the zips or bin files (and/or it rejects them) and does nothing. The silver lining would be it'll helpful for sunning down the battery!
I will try and see if I can find a way to get to other partitions - but don't hold much hope so the battery thing might have to be tried I think.
You guys are more techy than me - you might find those hidden files may hold info you can use more than I ever could.
Incidently I've just thought of an approach to programming looping that would offer flexibility for time signatures - not for the Orba, but I think it's a neat idea.
Subskybox
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