This update is a new SD card image and includes a number of fixes for bugs present in the previous update, which can be found here for reference purposes:
Where to download the update
The update is an SD card image and can be downloaded here:
https://sw13072022.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/ssp-sdcard-130720221320.zip
The size of the compressed card image has been reduced to about 5GB. The card image from the previous update has been removed as it was much larger and is not supported anymore now.
How to decompress and write the image to your card
WARNING: by overwriting your card you will lose your samples and presets, unless you backup them first! Don’t forget to do this. You might also want to simply make a backup image of your card first before you overwrite your card. You can use win32diskimager on windows or balena etcher on mac osx to do this. On linux you can use the dd tool.
The above compressed card image is a ZIP file, so you should not need any special software to unzip the image file.
Once you have uncompressed the image file, write the file to your SD card using win32diskimager (on windows) or balena etcher (mac osx). On linux you can use the dd tool.
Important info for plugin developers
You can find the SSP SDK repository at https://github.com/percussa/ssp-sdk.
With the new SDK you will no longer need to use a chroot. You will just need a cross compiler for ARM and the shared and static libraries you need to link against.
For the libraries you need to link against, download the buildroot SDK here:
https://sw13072022.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/arm-rockchip-linux-gnueabihf_sdk-buildroot.tar.gz
For more info about buildroot and the SDK that buildroot exports, see The Buildroot user manual
When you write a plugin, it’s important you link against the libraries that are in the rootfs on the SD card. That is what the above buildroot SDK package is for. See also the instructions (contributed by @thetechnobear) in the above ssp-sdk on github.
This also means that the above buildroot SDK package is only valid for this particular SD card image. In the future, for new SD card images, you will need to download a new buildroot SDK package to go with it. If you have any questions you can post them in the forum.
High level summary of what’s new in this update:
- Fixed bugs with switching sample rates. Switching between 48k/96k/192k should now work reliably.
- Fixed USB audio enumeration problems on Windows.
- Fixed crashes when unplugging the SSP’s USB audio port from the computer.
Usage Notes
If you switch sample rate on the SSP, make sure to quit your audio software first, because the SSP will disconnect and reconnect to your computer when it switches sample rate, which could crash your audio software.
Make sure to use the same sample rate in your audio software as on the SSP. If you hear distorted audio or hear clicks, try switching buffer sizes. Try 128, 256, 512, etc.
Note that whether you can run a patch at a higher sample rate depends on the complexity of the patch.
If you want to send audio from your computer to the SSP’s output jacks, you will need to insert an input and output module in the grid and patch them together.
Tests
Windows
Tested on Windows 10 with Reaper and VCV rack, using ASIO4ALL which can be found at https://www.asio4all.org/.
ASIO4ALL is the recommended solution to use the SSP on Windows with audio software.
When using ASIO, all sample rates and channel counts work over USB: 48k/24ch, 96k/16ch, 192k/8ch.
The SSP also works via WASAPI but only at 192k/8ch. This is because WASAPI does not support more than 8 channels on Windows.
Therefore, if you want to use the SSP to play back audio in applications that do not support ASIO, switch the SSP to 192k first.
Due to the above channel limitation with WASAPI and the fact that WASAPI exclusive mode doesn’t seem to work reliably on Windows,
we recommend you simply use ASIO and use the ASIO4ALL driver.
Mac OSX
Tested on Big Sur (11.6.7) with Reaper and VCV rack. All sample rates and channel counts work over USB: 48k/24ch, 96k/16ch, 192k/8ch.
Conclusion
We hope you enjoy the update. Please make some videos and help spread the word!