Octabam Bus
Bus Delay, the bus effect on FX1
A remix of Octatrack OS 1.40C, built from your own copy of it, that adds a delay and reverb bus with a send from every track, three new FX1 effects, and the core modules. It is bottleservice's bus with the core set added; the USB module uses LAYOUT MAIN CUE and INPUTS OFF here. These USB settings take effect when the image is built; on-device configuration is not implemented in this version.
The Bus
Every track's FX2 slot takes part in one delay-and-reverb chain. Tracks 1 and 5 host the two engines; every other track has a SEND with two knobs, DEL and REV, that set how much of the track goes to each. The delay's repeats also feed the reverb (the reverb's DLY knob). Each engine's wet signal comes out on the track that hosts it.
Required track setup
Set tracks 1 and 5 to THRU with no trigs of their own. This is the only bus setup tested so far. Sounds programmed on track 1 made the delay pop and click; the cause is still open. Track 5 with a sample machine or trigs has not been tested. See the failure register.
flowchart LR
S["SEND on tracks 2–4, 6–7<br/>DEL · REV"]
D["DELAY<br/>track 1"]
R["REVERB<br/>track 5"]
S -- DEL --> D
S -- REV --> R
D -- DLY --> R
D --> O1["track 1 out: the repeats"]
R --> O5["track 5 out: the tail"]| track | FX2 | knobs |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | DELAY (locked) | page 1: DEL · REV · FDBK · TONE · PING · WET; page 2: MODE · SCTR · DENS · SIZE · PTCH · TIME |
| 5 | REVERB (locked) | page 1: DEL · REV · SIZE · SHMR · SHFT · WET; page 2: MODE · TONE · DIFF · GATE · DLY · TIME |
| 2–4, 6–7 | SEND | DEL · REV |
| 8 (master) | stock DELAY | stock's, for its beat repeat |
A new part is born wired this way (the RIG HOSTS module: T1 FX2 = BusDelay, T5 = BusVerb, T8 = the stock DELAY, the rest SEND). The delay follows the project tempo (TEMPO SYNC), and the TEMPO window lists and edits both engines' knobs (TEMPO BUS). Turning a MODE on the panel re-defaults the knobs around it (MODE DEFAULTS). The FX2 chooser cannot change a track's effect (FX2 LOCK).
FX1
| effect | in place of | modes |
|---|---|---|
| SPECTRUM | FILTER | LADR · SEM · ISO · VOWL |
| CHARACTER | LO-FI | SAT: TAPE · TUBE · INFL |
| MODULATION | CHORUS | JUNO · DIM · FLNG · COMB · PHSR |
The FX1 chooser lists NONE and these three. The 13 stock effects not listed give up their DSP code to the bus.
The Modules
Every module in the image, credited to its author:
Full module list and authors
Memory Use
| Resource | Stock OS | Octabam Bus |
|---|---|---|
| Sample and recorder memory | 14,602 pages | 12,895 pages (platform reserve) |
| Free DSP words (payload A / B) | — | 44 / 605 |
Where It Has Run
Port gates only: make check REMIX=octabam-bus and the reach round. Not on
a unit. bottleservice, the same bus without the core additions, ran on Sam's
MKII (images A0–A6; the changelog).
Prepare an Existing Project
For an existing project, assign the bus effects and update its saved effect
values before playing. Replace <card>/<set>/<project> with the project's
path on the CF card:
python3 tools/hw/ot_project.py host "<card>/<set>/<project>"
python3 tools/hw/ot_project.py stamp-defaults "<card>/<set>/<project>" octabam-bus
host assigns the delay to track 1, the reverb to track 5, SEND to the
other bus tracks, and stock DELAY to track 8. stamp-defaults updates the
saved effect values for this remix. A project created on the unit after the
flash needs neither command.
Build and Install
Use Build and flash for the full procedure. Build this remix with:
make image REMIX=octabam-bus BUILD=91
After installation, SYSTEM STATUS → OS VERSION should read OCTABAM91.
For stock OS recovery, follow Safety and recovery.
If the unit misbehaves, the failure register lists what has gone wrong and why: https://github.com/sambanks/octabam/blob/main/docs/contributing/FAILURE_MODES.md