Software to Harware Ratio

Does anyone know exactly how much this machine will have to depend on software to run? The original lasted so long with NO software needed. This new one seems to have already needed an update. This leads me to believe that over a period of time, it’ll keep needing updates in order to function. Or by the time you’ve added so many updates that it’ll become a computer in a box.

I’m just curious about how much of this machine is more hardware based than software.

brother all machines run of software where you been at??? lol and its always going to run on software like your phone or computer sir .Emu had time to get it right before people knew about the unit sir. this is 2019 @bradholland had a vision and had us see the vision and he made it where we can see the magic happen in front of us guiding us to what parts are better and what certain functions do. no other company that i know has done this sir .@bradholland made my dream come true I always wish I was older when Akai was out ( on the Mpc run not the stand alone none of this lol controller stuff (and yes i own A Renn) but we saw pictures come to life with updates as it was being created / innovated .Please understand this is not that its his own lane brother want that sp sound or firmware i guess get an sp or stay with it and dont bother lil isla its not even in its prime yet brother he just got the first couple of hundreds units out to buyers no we get to enjoy it and build together as a family a community brother us together are going to make this unit the best it can be us the people forming together to make this incredible piece of machinery and the sonics whoa brother #classic #teamisla #islacult #s2400 have a blessed day brother god bless you…and i recieved my unit with a Scratch on it( i cried and thougght about it ) i was going to hit @bradholland and let him know but i know the man has to much on his plate atm so i guess ill eat the bullet or see if i can buy the shell or Case to solve that issue. @bradholland is a god in my books thanks to him and his team #TEAMISLA

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The S2400 and the SP1200 are both computers in a box. They do nothing at all without thier software.

You are seeing the first release of the S2400 software. Bugs are being fixed and features are being added. However, with any version of the firmware, what the machine does, it will do as long as the hardware lasts. Since there is no operating system (like Windows, MacOS, or Linux), the software does not have to be updated to account for OS changes. Since the hardware does not change, updates are not “required” to keep it doing the same thing.

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I understand they all run on some form of software one way or another but I was trying to find out exactly how much this depends on software. I use to have the original so I know how it worked and back then there was no dependability on software even though it has whatever it had in it. It was mostly analog. This is simply a curiosity question. Not a complaint

@Malmoe88, I did not take it as a criticism at all. I am happy to talk about the hardware and software and how it works together.

The SP1200 is not mostly hardware. The hardware is just buttons, LEDs, DACs, filters, and jacks - same as the SP2400. Without the software, nothing happens. The software reads the buttons, lights the LEDs, digitizes the audio, stores it in RAM, saves it to disk, sends bytes from RAM to the DACs to make sound. All of those functions are software.

The only software built into the SP1200 is a bootloader that reads the full software from disk when the machine boots. The S2400 has all of its software inside the machine, so it works even without an SD card.

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Thanks for the input man. I use to have that sp1200 back in the day and sold it cuz I needed the money. But I miss the sound i got out of it. Not the work flow though. Hahaha. When I tag teamed it with my MPC, it was gold. My whole thing with software updates has been that they sometimes go overboard and end up sacrificing something for the new update when it was fine previously. Not saying for this but just in general. I know updating is a choice which is cool. I just wanna turn the damn thing on and get funky and not have to see updates every month because computer beat makers want what they get from their daws out of the s2400. I was also worried because I never got an answer about if the sound was based off that stupid emulation that the MPC Live has or based off the actual wiring that the Sp1200 was built on. But I saw a video about how its made so I feel a bit better in that department. Idk when ill get mine. Ordered the case as well, but I plan to team it with my S950, SP404SX or possibly my Zoom ST224. Can’t wait. But I gotta use that thing on its own for a solid 3 months before I do any tag teaming just to make sure I can use it as a stand alone and get “that sound”

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Look at it a different way @Malmoe88 if you like how the machine sounds and behaves you will never need an update. There is a target feature set roadmap that Brad and team have laid out. Instead of trying to boil the ocean, they are starting with a usable ‘OS’ and then each release will fix defects and add features. If the current feature set satisfies the SP-1200 itch you have and/or newer planned features don’t interest you, then ignore the updates. :slight_smile: Also keep in mind that in the Windows/Mac world software updates involve a bunch of other factors. Security patches, Operating system changes that make software break, higher complexity overall. I understand where you’re coming from though for sure, and weve all seen overly ambitious software struggle its way to reliability(Im looking at you Ableton)

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Nice. Thanks for the info man. Cool break down too

As I am reading this Ableton just crashed on me btw… :woozy_face:

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Good lord

I think some of this can be confusing too because of the old Eprom form of updating vs software updates via sysex. I just bought an update to my JD990. I have to open it up take out the old eprom from the socket and install a new one to bring it to the latest OS. It is a software program that I’m updating via a hardware insert. It would be easy to think of it is as a hardware upgrade but it isn’t.

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All new equipment requires updating to address issues you will only find by using the equipment. Hopefully not too many that are for anything serious.