Getting started with beta testing
Requirements for beta testing
Please update to the latest firmware version before installing the beta firmware.
Installing Beta Firmware
- Open the ML:2 Control Panel in your web browser
- Navigate to the Firmware Updates page
- Look for the light grey text “Beta Code”. Click on this text to reveal the Beta Code section.
- Enter the beta code provided to you and press the Check For Beta button
- A firmware update button should appear above the Beta Code section. Click this to start the firmware installation. Your ML:2 will restart once the firmware is installed.
Reverting Back to the Main Public Firmware
- Go to the Beta Code section of the Firmware Update page.
- Click the Clear Code button
- A firmware update button should appear that will revert your system back to the latest official firmware version.
Available Beta Releases
Beta Code: buttons
This beta focuses on two new features:
- Shuffled clocks
- Shift button actions and a secondary menu for accessing additional settings without needing to use the web UI.
Steps to Test Shuffle
- Go to the web control panel “Home” page
- When Output A or B is in Clock or Clock (Always On) modes a preview of the clock output and a Shuffle slider will appear.
- Clicking and dragging the slider will adjust Shuffle upon the release of the slider widget. It does not update shuffle until you release the slider widget.
Note: Shuffle only appears at PPQN below 24. Shuffle is also disabled in Square Wave mode.
Questions to answer
When PPQN is in a triplet value (e.g. 3 PPQN, 6 PPQN) the shuffle algorithm is slightly different. The first clock is always on time and the second clock pulse is delayed. The third clock pulse is pulled early. You can see the effect of this in the clock preview display in the web UI. The second and third pulses essentially merge towards each other. Do you like this effect for triplet PPQN values?
Tap button as shift key
- Hold the Tap button and press the + or – buttons. PPQN should shift up or down as if you are dividing or multiplying the clock
- Hold the Tap and press the Play button. Link’s timeline should reset to the moment you pressed the button. This re-aligns the Link timeline (grid) in case you are performing with musicians or devices not paired with Link. Your Link peers should all now follow the new timeline grid.
Secondary Button Menu
- Hold the Tap button for about 3 seconds.
- The lights will flash and Tap will blink steadily
- Pressing +/- buttons will increase or decrease shuffle
- Pressing the Play button will toggle Start/Stop Sync. Start/Stop Sync will start or stop playback of any Link peer that has this enabled whenever another Stop/Stop peer starts playing. For example, enable Start/Stop sync on ML:2 and Ableton Live. Any time either device starts playing, the other will also start or stop.
- Pressing the Tap button again will exit this menu. Pressing the Tap + another button will execute the shift action as detailed in “Tap button as shift key”. It will also cause an exit of the secondary menu.
Questions to Answer
- Are these extra button modes intuitive and easy to navigate? Any feedback would be appreciated.
Known Issues
- PPQN and shuffle values in web UI do not update after changed via Tap + Up/Down buttons. Refreshing the page will update the PPQN.