GR-MEGA firmware 1.7.0 release notes

Granular engine rework and optimization. True multi-layer presets. First GR-2 firmware. 

Date: 06 July 2026

new features:

- new tile menu (replaces tab menu on the GR-MEGA)
  - 7 x 3 tiles that lead to short menus
  - max 2 levels deep
  - top of screen _always_ shows where you are
  - back button always takes you back to top
  - preset, mtpreset, template menus

- (granular) engine update:
  - #796 pan spray distro : [Shift] + (Pan Spray) -> pushes grains towards to edges of the stereo field. use in conjunction with (Pan Spray)
  - grains visible in all layers
  - #1557 pitch spray : [View] + (Pitch) -> randomizes pitch for each grain. turn up to increase range of randomization..
  - pitch quantization in voicing, user and non-western tet scales supported
  - "patch spray": spray grains over multiple layers. [Shift] + [Layer mix] to visualize. [Amount], [A], [D] faders to control parameters.
  - #233 "granular filter": [View] + (Filter cutoff) -> toggle granular filter. Grains will now be spawned in areas of the sample based on frequency content and filter settings.
  - #1614 Akai/90's jungle time stretch. press [Grain Ratio] a few times to arrive there.
  - #1267 [Shift] + (Scan) : fine scan control
  - #1267 [View] + (Scan) : snap scan at +-0.25, +-0.5, +-0.75,.. 
  - #1691 grain clock retrigger - turn OFF to reset grain clock on NOTE ON. turn OFF to have all notes synclock their clocks.
  - slice mode now supports samples longer than 350s
  - better utilization of CPU cores: 30% higher polyphony in multitimbral.
  - #1451 Sampler and Tape engines: poly phase interpolation (better anti-alias) 

- file system
  - true standalone multi-layer presets (no longer just 4 references to monotimbral presets) 
    - can now contain 4 full patches, including samples 
    - can be set up intuitively by just switching layers to presets, and then tweaking them.
    - copy and paste the layer in focus between multis or to patches
    - copy and paste multi presets between projects
    - #1786 reset tweaks when switching between multi-layer presets
  - contextual saves, what-you-see-is-what-you-get.. reboot and you always start where you left off, no matter if you were working monotimbral or multitimbral.
    - normally only changes to visible patches and samples are saved. 
    - when having recorded audio to buffer, and then saving -> save dialog shows, and it default to type SAMPLE
    - turn context saves off, and get the full savedialog with all the options:
      - menu -> I/O -> Expert save dialog -> ON
      - [Shift] + [Save] will have same effect 
  - recall - project data like global bpm, rate are always saved.
  - #1724 firmware dropbox: using file sharing, drop firmare zip in /media/internal/firmware_dropbox to upgrade
  - Load Soundfont (.SFZ) multi samples -> slices. in the file chooser, select type "multispl", or just press [Load] on an SFZ file. 
  - Load cue points in .WAV files -> slices.
  - Load .flac samples
  - loading or modifying sample shows asterisk (*): patchname -> patchname*

- templates:
  - load, save, rename and set a default template
  - default template is used when you initialize a patch

- GR-2 features:
  - master eq
  - touchscreen voices
  - xy modulation drawings
  - keytrack -> cutoff
  - layer mute/solo

- effects:
  - Multi Band Resonator (MBR), 48 bands, including scales, (de)tune, filter modes, physical models
  - Saturator effect.
  - audio prefs menu -> FX buffer reset ON/OFF (turn OFF if you have a more fx / groovebox driven setup)
  - #1460 Factory FX and user FX Settings. This goes for FX and for entire FX chains.
  - #1758 large reverb runs a lot faster, and all memory based effects (compressor, flanger, etc) also run a bit faster
  - #1558 Shift + FX Select = Changes Currently Selected FX Type 
  - drag and drop support in fx menu - drag and drop FX titles to swap their positions in the chain
  - inputs can be boosted 24 dB

- graphics:
  - orange loop "bar" (visual hint)
  - spectrogram + [Shift] + (hor. fader) scrolling at 60 fps 
  - DSP metering - color coding - orange = fx, purple = usb audio processing, grey = housekeeping, blue = voice rendering

- other:
  - patch randomizer - menu -> randomizer
  - #1493 external hdmi now mirrors internal screen 
  - 1.7.0-a11 menu -> audio prefs -> Env follower input -> layer 1234
  - #1763 straight, dotted and triplet rates and note lengths. enable them in the system menu.
  - sequencer - when sequencer is active, press [Seq] to toggle preset select / step select
  - tooltips for all menu options
  - #1774 GR-MEGA: - Macros - [Invert] button now works in macro menu
  - #1775 [Macro Assign] followed by [Delete] now also possible. (reverse button order)
  - name of imported sample in presets
  - #1784 record with LL, RR -> should duplicate the recorded channel to both stereo channels. 

changes: 

- simplified save dialog
  - no more slots in dialog, unless specifically requested (with [Shift] + [Save])
  - use copy and paste or preset/template menus to edit load and save to other slots 
- old per-project templates replaced with global template system. 
  - templates stored globally in /media/internal/user/templates
- recording audio - no need to initialize growing buffer any more
- restructured sampling menu. some buttons combined into one. 
  - size at 0 means auto sized
- file chooser - don't traverse into folder of chosen data type
- vertical layout of dialogs, includes support for (Operator) encoder
- GR-MEGA: pitch knob shows pitch instead of root note, corresponding with transpose setting
- MIDI NRPN's layer-preset mappings moved to other range 200..207 
- #1773 envelope replay position now stops at the end of the decay stage instead of the middle of sustain (a bit easier on the eye).
- spectrogram - darker cutoff overlays

bug fixes:

- (#1814) ADSR faders in layer mix mode now send layer volume cc's
- Fix delay len and pp delay len as macro destinations.
- solved slow file copying via network sharing (especially when using a Mac)
- (Scan) knob usage followed by up and down arrow buttons now ignores deadzone. 
- file chooser / file manager - truncation now improved for filenames with dots in them but clearly no extensions (too long extensions). could crash on long patch name paths!
- #1801 delay ~1 ms with adjust mode switches to "Fade" mode could accidentally go to larger delay times.
- #1797 Mod (AUX) window destination ranges were halved. 
- #1830 external clock bpm estimation improved. flanging in synced delay effect now gone.  
- #1792 Sequencer - 2 grains when sequencer started
- 1.7.0-b1: scales: major, phrygian, and lydian were broken
- 1.7.0-b2: envelope follower : layer 1234 scale adjusted.
- 1.7.0-b2: #1843 sample preview crash - oddly padded wav header 
- 1.7.0-b3: file chooser - failed sample preview shows blocking popup that cannot be escaped and needs to be turned off by toggling sound preview option off 
- 1.7.0-b4: fix crash on end of rec buffer (5m49s)
- 1.7.0-b5: fix saturator lut out of bounds
- 1.7.0-b6: #1849 pitch knob deviates by half a semitone
- 1.7.0-b7: #1850 crash when loading short resampling, and playing sampler/tape. force resampling to size auto