Donner have announced the release of a major firmware update for their Essential B1 Bass Synthesizer. V1.1.0 introduces a range of new features and enhancements that aim to make the compact instrument even more versatile and user-friendly, as well as tackling a number of known bugs.
The headline feature of the update is the introduction of a new Song Mode, which greatly expands the capabilities of the instrument’s onboard sequencer. With the new mode active, users can now chain together up to 16 patterns with seamless transitions, increasing the sequencer’s total step count from 16 to 256.
The process of editing steps has also been improved, with the backlit keys now indicating the pitch of each step whilst the instrument is in Rec/Edit mode, and editing the Oct, Gate, Length and Ratchet parameters for each step can now be carried out by holding the corresponding buttons and pressing the instrument’s up and down arrow keys.
A Smart Save Indicator has been introduced, which illuminates the Save button (and flashes it when changing patterns) to alert users of unsaved changes, and the Random Note Generator can now be accessed via the instrument’s Play/Stop and Rec/Edit modes to simplify its use during sequence playback. Additionally, the update also addresses some known bugs, fixing issues that were affecting the Sequence Edit and Slide functions.
Availability
The V1.1.0 firmware is available now, and can be accessed via the company’s Donner Control software.
