Sequence does not make any sound unless turning sequencer OFF and then ON again

[fede bts]

Hi all! I am here to report a strange sequencer behaviour. I was working on a drum patch, and I saved a preset with a sequence in it (link function selected; sequence activated). When I was working on the patch I selected the "key hold" command. As far a I knew left hand commands aren't meant to be saved whenever a patch is stored; but - one way or other - the "key hold" function was saved. Now, whenever I select this patch and I press a key (or I press the play button) the sequencer starts running, the play button keeps blinking but I can hear just the first note (first step) of the sequencer. Even the envelopes' leds blink just for the first step. If I stop the sequence and restart it again nothing happens; the only way to make the sequence work properly is to TURN OFF the sequencer and then turn it ON once again. I tried to modify the patch in order to de-select the "key hold" function and I even modified the sequence; then I saved the patch on another slot. Nothing changed, except that now the sequencer starts on the 5th step without any reason . That strange behaviour occured in another couple of patches that I programmed more or less in the same period; then it never happened again with new patches (key hold information does not get stored, sequencer starts as expected). It is worth noting that MIDI Clock is not active, so it is not a sync problem  Any clue on what's happening? 

[DrJustice]

I did some testing, and it looks like if the Sequencer button is on, saving the patch will cause it to be stored with Key Hold off even if it was on when saving.

All the left hand settings are saved with a patch. Therefore this case (Sequencer on causing Key Hold not be saved in the on state) looks like a bug.

I also note that when the Sequencer or Arpeggiator buttons are is switched on, or the Sequencer button os selected by pressing the Play button, Key Hold is temporarily switched off until the seq/arp is switched off again, or until you manually re-engage Key Hold again. I'm not sure if that's a bug or a design decision which leads to a usability issue - surely it's the user who shall decide when key hold is switched on or off.

Also, if you have the sequencer playing and looping as a result of having pressed the Play button, and if you transpose it temporarily by pressing the keyboard keys (it will go back to the root note when letting go of the keys), then when switching on Key Hold, the sequencer will be transposed to the last key you pressed. This could be by design, but it's worth knowing about as it's not obvious.

BTW, there are some Key Hold bugs that I have reported previously, but they are not related to any of this.

As for your sequencer playing only the 1st step, or starting on the 5th, that is something I can't manage to replicate here. If you provide a detailed sequence of operations to get into that state, starting from an init patch, then I can see if I can repeat it here.

Edit: Further testing reveals that it IS possible to get the Key Hold on state saved, but it's hard to make this happen consistently. Here's a cut and paste from my report to Arturia:
"...It is possible to get the Key Hold on state saved, but it requires a certain sequence of pressing the Sequencer and Key Hold button. I’m not 100% sure about the pattern yet, but starting from an init patch, recording some notes, pressing Key Hold, then pressing Sequencer, then pressing Key Hold again and finally saving the sound seems to retain the Key Hold on state. Most other sequences of Sequencer and Key Hold presses will cause the Key Hold on state to not be saved."

[fede bts]

Hi DrJustice,
 to be 100% honest, I don't remember how I built the patch: it is a heavily  modulated and rythmic patch and, since I was experimenting for the first time with drum sounds on the Matrixbrute, I didn't pay that much attention on what I was doing with the sequencer. And that happened in a couple of patches, but since then I've been (luckily) unable to replicate it. To me, it seems like it is something that originated from a pattern similar to the one you reported to Arturia. Did you receive any reply from them? I have posted on the forum and wrote a message to their FB page; I have been told to complete a form on Arturia's website, which is what I did but I didn't get any answer either. I have to say that this is starting to annoy me a little bit. I am completely in love with my Matrixbrute but it is clear to everyone that it has some minor bugs. I am not expecting Arturia to solve them in few days (I can live with 'em), but I would warmly appreciate if they told us "don't worry, we're working on it" instead of radically ignoring any kind of polite question, doubt or suggestion. It has been a year since the last firmware update and - as far as I understood from an Arturia endorser - the team is not working on any software revision, not in the near future at least.  Can I ask you your opinion about this, since you appear to be really well trained on the matrixburte subject? 

[DrJustice]

Soon it'll be 1 year since the last firmware update, and that's not good. There are no longer any responses to bug reports. I don't know why their flagship product is being ignored - it's starting to become worrying as it really needs some work on the firmware.

[Speedball030]

Since Arturia seems to ignore their flagship product I sent them a technical support ticket via https://www.arturia.com/support/askforhelp. I have reported the noise audio mod bug, pitch wheel deadband, envelope retriggering and some other things. I also questioned the lack of firmware updates. They did answer me, but can't say when the known issues will be fixed.

If everyone with a Mxb sent in their complaints, hopefully they would prioritize the updates?

Arturia, we bought your flagship product! Please make us feel like valued customers!