Alexander Syntax Error

[damnableman]

Yeah, I wonder if it's a limitation of hardware or of coding. The Outward doesn't have such a pronounced click, in my experience. I was just suggesting those folks because they all have experience with time-based programming and may have encountered a buffer's sharp edges before. Even if it's a different platform and different context, the principles should/could be the same.

[codetocontra]

I'm not a huge fan of the clicking either. Just based on my own experience, that noise also happens on similar algorithms from Drolo and CooperFX pedals that use the FV-1. I don't know what's in Dwarfcraft's Grazer but, from demos, it sounds similar. The Sonic Crayon and Montreal Assembly pedals use different hardware. I'm curious about whether that artifact will appear in the Red Panda Tensor.

Possessed too. But it is just like part of the glitch in a way.

[AlexanderPedals]

It's easier to manage if you're using the chip in the intended manner - in other words, allowing the playback buffer to just go and then pointing where you want to listen. The Syntax Error (and to a lesser extent the Reverse Radical) "brute force" the buffer pointer position and so there can be a click or pop when we move past the end of the buffer. A more powerful DSP would get around this by loading in the other end of the buffer and performing a cross-fade operation, and that's what we're working on. Whether we'll get it to work remains to be seen.

[damnableman]

It's easier to manage if you're using the chip in the intended manner - in other words, allowing the playback buffer to just go and then pointing where you want to listen. The Syntax Error (and to a lesser extent the Reverse Radical) "brute force" the buffer pointer position and so there can be a click or pop when we move past the end of the buffer. A more powerful DSP would get around this by loading in the other end of the buffer and performing a cross-fade operation, and that's what we're working on. Whether we'll get it to work remains to be seen.

Huh. Very interesting.
Good luck!

[Jwar]

It's easier to manage if you're using the chip in the intended manner - in other words, allowing the playback buffer to just go and then pointing where you want to listen. The Syntax Error (and to a lesser extent the Reverse Radical) "brute force" the buffer pointer position and so there can be a click or pop when we move past the end of the buffer. A more powerful DSP would get around this by loading in the other end of the buffer and performing a cross-fade operation, and that's what we're working on. Whether we'll get it to work remains to be seen.

You just broke my brain and my boner.

Ok, the second part is a lie. You made it harder.

[zoooombiex]

Hey AlexanderPedals, just throwing this out there:

I have a couple of requests/suggestions for future firmware updates.
1. Switch the hierarchy of the Bonus knob so that the sample rate reducer is the 2nd layer function. It's fun and cute that there is a secret mode in the Bonus knob (like an easter egg in a video game, perhaps?), but it is less functional to have the sample rate reducer always available than it is to have the actual parameter of the activated mode available. I use the sample rate reducer sparingly, but want to adjust the mode parameters often.
2. In the timestretch mode, could you code out the clicking at the buffer's edges? I don't know what this entails, and perhaps it is an explicit aesthetic choice, but the clicking limits the usefulness of the mode. There ARE definitely contexts where the clicking complements the overall sound, but there are far more where it distracts/detracts.

I'm interested in your thoughts on these things.
Other Syntax owners, what do you think of these suggestion?

Great suggestions. I'll consider whether they make sense for the majority of our users. Swapping the Sample and Bonus controls is easy enough to do, but let me consider whether it's the best move.

Regarding the clicking, we are working on that. No idea whether we'll be able to get it but we'll try.

FWIW, I like that idea of swapping sample & bonus for the reasons he expressed

[oldangelmidnight]

I just tried the firmware update and it's not working for me.
I'm on Windows 10.
Instructions say to hold down the tap tempo footswitch but the pedal doesn't have one. I hold down the regular footswitch and the pedal shows up as an external drive, as described. I delete the FLASH.BIN that's on the pedal and drop ALEX_NEO_SYNTAX_1.04a.bin in there.
I eject and unplug. I hook it back up to guitar and amp and power supply. When the lights stop flashing, I hold the center button then the footswitch. The light turns purple when I hold the center button then flashes red for a moment then back to purple. I let go then try it out and Code and Tweak behave the same as always.

[AlexanderPedals]

I just tried the firmware update and it's not working for me.
I'm on Windows 10.
Instructions say to hold down the tap tempo footswitch but the pedal doesn't have one. I hold down the regular footswitch and the pedal shows up as an external drive, as described. I delete the FLASH.BIN that's on the pedal and drop ALEX_NEO_SYNTAX_1.04a.bin in there.
I eject and unplug. I hook it back up to guitar and amp and power supply. When the lights stop flashing, I hold the center button then the footswitch. The light turns purple when I hold the center button then flashes red for a moment then back to purple. I let go then try it out and Code and Tweak behave the same as always.

Try this:

Update the firmware then remove the USB lead.
Power on the pedal with a 9V source
Wait a tic after boot then hold the center select button
Wait one second and hold the footswitch
The main LED should turn teal (blue + green)
The small center LEDs should flash briefly

That should do it.

[oldangelmidnight]

Tried it again and the main LED flashes teal one time quickly before returning to purple and the small LEDs never do anything.

[AlexanderPedals]

Tried it again and the main LED flashes teal one time quickly before returning to purple and the small LEDs never do anything.

Send me an email and we can try to work this out. info at alexanderpedals dot com