Ribbons 2.0 Firmware Now Available

Announcements
1

Hi everyone,

I’m excited to share that firmware 2.0 is now available for current users. This is a soft launch for the forum before we announce it more widely. A change list of everything that’s new can be found on the Ribbons Development Blog.

If your Ribbons is from 2024, you are already running firmware 2.0 and you do not need to update. 2024 units are grey or matte pink with black text.

If you have a Ribbons from 2023 or 2022, please read this post carefully — how the update works depends on when your unit was manufactured.

2023 vs 2022 Ribbons

Since launching Ribbons we’ve had to make 3 PCB revisions due to supply chain issues that made it very difficult to source our DSP chip. The 2024 revision is our third and (hopefully) final design. Each one uses a slightly different microprocessor, but they’re all from the same family and in general the specs are nearly identical. There aren’t any major differences for the end user.

How can I tell which version I have?

An easy way to tell without removing the backplate is to check the bootloader LED pattern.
Hold down the push button while applying power:

  • 2023 units glow blue and purple in bootloader mode
  • 2022 units glow blue and green in bootloader mode

2023 Ribbons — Firmware update

Most Ribbons out there are from 2023. If you have a 2023 unit you can install firmware 2.0 at home. This is our normal update process — you simply play an audio file into the input jack of Ribbons. It only takes a few minutes.

To run 2.0 though, you must complete two (2) updates in a row. The first update installs a new bootloader, and the second one is the 2.0 firmware itself.

Instructions and download files can be found here.

If you have any trouble completing the update, don’t worry! Please email support@kinotonaudio.com and we’ll help you directly. We have installed firmware on every single Ribbons using this method and hundreds have been updated in the field — it’s very reliable.

Once you’re running 2.0 you cannot go back to an earlier firmware version. Also, your current presets will be erased and replaced with new ones. If you have a favorite preset, take note of the settings before updating.

2022 Ribbons — RAM chip upgrade

In the beginning we truly had no intention of adding as many new features to this device as we have. We also didn’t even think some of the stuff in 2.0 would be possible. The original units from 2022 unfortunately don’t have enough RAM to run the 2.0 firmware. We tried to make it work but they have half the memory space. These account for about 15% of Ribbons out there.

Luckily though, we can easily replace the RAM chip with some advanced tools in our shop. We are offering a free hardware upgrade to anyone who owns a Ribbons from 2022. Please email support@kinotoneaudio.com to coordinate. We’ll upgrade the RAM chip and install the 2.0 firmware on your behalf.

We just ask that you cover the cost of shipping to and from our shop. For international users, we’ll work with you to make sure there are no customs / import fees. We’re not charging a bench fee, and we think this is very fair, especially considering that most companies probably would have just made a mk 2!

If you are an international user and do not want to ship your unit to our shop, we can instead mail you a kit to replace the motherboard on your unit which accomplishes the upgrade. This requires no soldering, but it does require a high degree of mechanical aptitude and there is some risk that you could damage your unit in the process, so please only request this if you feel comfortable handling electronics or have someone in mind who might be able to help you.

Appreciate everyone’s patience while we worked to pull this together. Any questions, let us know. Thanks!

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2

First, kudos on delivering this! You go above and beyond in what you deliver in your products.

I have a 2023 version based on how you mentioned to check (blue and purple lights in the bootloader). I installed the 2.0 bootloader first and got the 6 green lights. I powered down the pedal and powered it back on into bootloader again and ran the second file (application wav) but after it finished playing the entire file, the pedal never restarted, the blue and purple lights kept pulsating like it does when you first enter the bootloader. I didn’t want to try it again in case it would cause issues so I wanted to reach out here for your guidance.

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If it helps, I did the upgrade on a Ribbons of similar vintage and what happened to me was:

  1. I got the bootloader wav loadaed but the pedal didn’t automatically restart. I unpowered and booted back up, and.
  2. I loaded the Application wav and it worked okay and automatically restarted. Based on updating other instruments with this method, I don’t think there’s any risk at trying again with a different volume if it doesn’t work right the first (or second) time—and I had to do that with the bootloader—but let’s see what Jaak says…

Also, a bug (?) report from me - in the manual, it says the Unreal Player (amazing) has a red LED, but for me it seems like it’s a green/blue pulsating LED… is that correct?

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I tried it again and it worked this time, thanks for the vote of confidence on running it again :slight_smile:

1 Like
5

If the firmware is actually installing you will see both footwsitch LEDs blinking green.

If you just see the bootloader color pattern the whole time the application.wav update is playing back, then it’s just sitting in bootloader mode. Try troubleshooting your setup, re-enter the bootloader (it’s fine to remove power and try again), and then play the file from the beginning. Make sure audio is coming out of the correct output of your device, check cable connections, volume etc.

Woohoo! Glad to know you got it sorted.

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It’s not supposed to! You have to manually remove power and re-enter bootloader mode before installing the part 2 application update. We’ll make this clearer on the Development Blog.

Not a bug, we just have a bit of documentation left to update in the online manual. This will be done by tomorrow. The 2023/2022 Ribbons only have green and blue LEDs on the footswitches, so we had to get creative with the color patterns and the visual feedback is different for a couple things.

1 Like
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Thanks for the clarification! Excellent - blue/green is probably better for colorblind accessibility than red anyway!

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Thank you for the nice new features for the Kinotone.
The update on the 2023 model was a bit scary, as I turned my iPhone volume to low , no response, then higher and it receives the first file and the second don’t. I thought I bricked it, but after several tries it worked out.
All my presets are gone, that was terrible as I have to create it again.
The Midi CCs have changed in V2.0. I found the new CCs in the manual.

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Just troubleshoot your setup and try again. Glad you got it to work!

I know there’s a lot of text to read but we did call this out in a few places — the post above, the Development Blog where you download the files, and new presets are a feature on the 2.0 change list.

Yes, be sure to check out the change list. The MIDI CC implementation for 2.0 has been overhauled to improve compatibility with more MIDI controllers. The manual on our site reflects 2.0 and all of the CCs are up-to-date. It sounds like you were maybe looking for the CC to switch between compresssion and saturation? You can switch between comp and sat on the pedal itself now.

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Thanks for doing this Jaak. Very cool. I beleive I have a 2022 model as well as a 2023 model so have emailed you about getting the hardwear upgrade sent over to install myself. Cheers, Ian

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Updated my 2023 pedal. Super easy to do and everything went smooth for me. Need to track down an updated quick start guide to reprint for firmware 2.0

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Hey @jaakjensen! Thanks so much for investing the time effort to get 2.0 ported to the older hardware.

I’ve successfully updated my 2023 Ribbons to 2.0, but I’ve run into one snag: I wanted to check the input level setting, and whilst I can get into the correct mode by holding down the TOUCH button while applying power, the push button only toggles between the two blue settings, and doesn’t seem to cycle to the red options for switching from instrument to line level. Am I missing something here, or is this a bug? Thanks in advance for your help!

1 Like
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@jeffe - sorry I need to update that spot in the online manual, I’ll do it asap. 2023/2022 units do not have a line level switch, the input level options remain the same. There are also no red LEDs on the footswitches so visual feedback is different in a couple spots.

Edit: all of the UI nuances between 2024 and earlier units are called out in the online manual now. If you find something that needs more clarification just let us know. Thanks!

1 Like
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@jaakjensen You’re a legend for this one. Never seen a v1 updated to near parity with a new hardware revision v2 for free. I appreciate your hard work and customer support.

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Updated my 2023 model tonight. Fairly smooth going
thanks for doing this

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This is great so far.

Update wasn’t anywhere near as much of a faff as I thought, once I got my head around it.

Switching comp/sat without a MIDI controller is great.

Not really dug in to all the smaller changes, but the reverb still sounds great and the mix amount seems much less volatile. I was a bit aprehensive when I saw this change on the notes as this is my favourite reverb on my board, but it’s not lost anything.

Has the tape stop been altered? It wasn’t one I used much but I hadn’t appreciated what ridiculous sounds you can make with this. Maybe I hadn’t ever tried this at the slowest stop/start rate before.

20 second loop on Magnetic Dance is the big one for me. I had completely missed this was a new feature. I love the sound of it but was often frustrated at the ‘micro’ loop length, especailly when I’m using it with my hands on the desktop. Being able to then record in to the 4 track looper independantly is ridiculous.

Amazing stuff.

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I understand—the double update and all the instructions might seem overwhelming at first, but the process is actually pretty straightforward. While a few people have encountered minor difficulties, these were easily resolved with a setup adjustment. To my knowledge we’ve had a 100% success rate.

Glad to hear you’re liking it! It was tough to make the reverb sound less echo-y / more diffuse at short decay times and not change the sound at long/infinite decay times (my favorite part) but I found a way and I’m really happy with the current state in 2.0.

No change to this one. It’s just the default touch mode when you load the Init preset so maybe you’re noticing it for the first time in awhile.

I’m loving that too! Thanks for the kind words. :white_heart:

2 Likes
18

I like the features of 2.0. The best feature for me is that it is on when it gets power and the longer looping time in magnetic dance.

But if I had a wish I would like to have gain compensation for the compressor. When you crank the compressor really hard and you get this nice clicky sound, the level drops quite a bit.

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As someone who’s pedal shipped with v2.0, I’m stoked for everyone who’s experiencing the magic of this upgrade for the first time.

I just wanted to comment how awesome it is to see this company willing to upgrade old hardware ram chips for free! This alone speaks volumes of how phenomenal this company truly is.

Have fun everyone!

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There is a way to add some volume back into the pedal in 2.0: hold down the right (bypass) footswitch and turn the top right knob. This now allows for cutting and boosting the volume. Unity should be noon and above that boosts volume.

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