Synthack-OS

RC2: MIDI parameter ownership hotfix

Syntakt MAX Modular Builder is an experimental offline Windows x64 builder for your own official Syntakt OS 1.41 file. It offers eight selectable feature groups, automatic dependencies, presets, and a checked build report. It never connects to a device.

What RC2 fixes

• FX3 no longer replaces MIDI SYN controls.
• Master Compressor no longer replaces MIDI AMP SEL1-SEL7.
• Beat Repeat no longer replaces MIDI AMP SEL8.

Major features

• SY FM4: four-operator FM on SY TONE ALGO 1-11 with a second SYN page; ALGO 0 remains stock SY TONE.
• Fully modular builder: Master Compressor, FX3, Beat Repeat, Dual Mono Input, Readable Values, Deja Vu LFO, the 31-wave SY CHORD bank, and SY FM4 can be selected independently. The builder handles dependencies automatically.
• Presets: MAX FULL + FM4, Original MAX 1.0, FM4 ONLY, and Custom selections.
• Safety checks: verified official OS 1.41 input, patch preimages, conflict checks, CPU2 and heap placement checks, container verification, decoded-section checks, and boot-margin checks.

Hardware and build evidence

The exact MAX FULL + FM4 output below was manually accepted on Kari Gardarsson's Syntakt:

83febfec562351fbd01817b9f97dd000b087eb361ea9579ed6ce5d2616090cdd

The reported session covered normal boot, MIDI AMP SEL1-SEL8 editing, MIDI SYN, MIDI-to-FX-to-MIDI transitions, FX SYN compressor controls, FX TRIG Beat Repeat controls, FX3 access/audio, and FM4 page 2/audio.

All 255 nonempty selections pass build-time structural validation. That is not a claim that every selection has hardware testing. FM4 ONLY has limited hardware evidence; custom selections remain experimental.

The reported compressor volume transient during FUNC + NO remains under investigation.

Use

1. Back up projects and sounds.
2. Keep an official Syntakt OS 1.41 file ready for recovery.
3. Run the bundled Windows builder and choose your own untouched official OS 1.41 file.
4. The builder accepts only SHA-256 8e2488f462c4a5656396a895f113bcd415e9900fa8709340dccf45d4cb9ed19e.
5. Keep the output SHA-256 and adjacent JSON report with your private build.

This ZIP contains no Elektron firmware and no generated SysEx image. Existing sounds using replaced SY CHORD waves can change timbre. The executable is unsigned.

Checksums

• ZIP: a4fd7b8fdea37d1f8a4fc96fa6e61dede2c5ef0cf3863072afd6481be9ab886c
• Embedded EXE: db4cc252975c9b144f1e31e4697f883c454f42e270874a7c0c06a688e8124671

Credits

• Rxuting / Aleksey Grechkin: original SY FM4 (MIT)
• Angelo-politek and SyntHack contributors: modular infrastructure and MAX components (MIT)
• Bezronczek: Deja Vu and SY CHORD Workbench implementations (MIT)
• Kari Gardarsson: OS 1.41 port and integration, RC2 ownership fixes, validation, and builder work

See the included README, VALIDATION, RECOVERY, attribution, and license files for details.

Superseded by Syntakt MAX Modular Builder - RC2. RC2 restores native MIDI parameter ownership for FX3, Master Compressor, and Beat Repeat.

GOOD NEWS: SY FM4 and a fully modular Syntakt firmware builder

Build your own experimental Syntakt OS 1.41 firmware locally from an unmodified official Elektron OS 1.41 .syx. This Windows x64 builder is fully offline, manages support dependencies automatically, verifies the result, and never connects to your instrument.

Choose what you want to build

• MAX FULL + FM4 — the complete MAX feature set plus four-operator SY FM4.
• Original MAX 1.0 — the proven MAX preset.
• FM4 ONLY — SY FM4 on its own heap-loader profile.
• Custom — any nonempty combination of eight selectable feature groups.

The feature groups are Master Compressor, FX3, Beat Repeat, Dual Mono Input, Readable Values, Déjà Vu LFO, the 31-wave SY CHORD bank, and SY FM4. Presets and custom selections automatically include the infrastructure they need.

SY FM4

SY FM4 adds four-operator FM to SY TONE: ALGO 0 remains stock SY TONE, while ALGO 1–11 provide FM algorithms and a second SYN page. Initial physical-Syntakt testing covered boot, FM audio, page-2 editing, parameter locks, and sound save/reload for the tested configuration.

Validation and hardware evidence

All 255 nonempty feature selections passed automated structural validation: official-input gating, patch preimages and overlap checks, decoded-section and container checksums, CPU2 limits, and boot-decompression margin.

• Original MAX 1.0 is hardware-tested.
• MAX FULL + FM4 is build-validated and byte-identical to the initially hardware-tested integrated candidate; the complete combined acceptance session remains planned.
• FM4 ONLY is build-validated, but its new modular heap-loader output has limited hardware evidence and remains experimental.
• Custom selections are build-validated; their musical behavior has not each been tested on hardware.

Please back up projects and sounds first, keep an unchanged official OS 1.41 file for recovery, and report results with the generated SHA-256 and selected-mod JSON report.

Requirements

• Windows 10/11 x64
• Your own official Elektron Syntakt OS 1.41 .syx
• Required stock SHA-256: 8e2488f462c4a5656396a895f113bcd415e9900fa8709340dccf45d4cb9ed19e

The ZIP contains the offline builder, documentation, recovery guidance, attribution, licenses, and checksums. It contains no Elektron firmware and no generated .syx image.

Checksums

• ZIP: f28fd962de1f34bdb3d04a38999c338b8388c8286526c177ab124ae59fb8a16c
• Builder EXE: 7b3cc15450f012616584af628a099ca88fe4b993cbef982658d9645520e346b8

Credits

• SY FM4 original engine: Rxuting (MIT)
• SyntHack infrastructure: Angelo-politek / SyntHack (MIT)
• Original Workbench implementations: Bezronczek / Syntakt Firmware Workbench (MIT)
• OS 1.41 integration, modular builder, validation: Kári Garðarsson

See the included README, validation notes, hardware checklist, recovery guide, attribution, and feedback template for full details.

Syntakt MAX 1.0 combines community mods for Elektron Syntakt OS 1.41, with a standalone Windows builder that creates firmware locally from your own official OS 1.41 file.

Experimental, unofficial firmware. Not affiliated with, endorsed by or supported by Elektron. Modified firmware may fail; back up your data and understand DIN recovery before installation.

Community credits

Original SyntHack mods and heap-based infrastructure: Angelo-politek / SyntHack. Déjà Vu LFO and SY CHORD wave/graphics implementation: Bezronczek / Syntakt Firmware Workbench. MAX integration, fixed wave-bank selection/recipes and Windows builder: Kári Garðarsson's fork, with Codex assistance. The container helper is by Marcel Bierling / mischa85.

Seven feature groups

1. Master compressor: analog-master compression with FX SYN controls and gain-reduction display.
2. Third send FX: chorus, flanger, phaser or crusher, with track sends, return level and delay send.
3. Beat Repeat: hold FX-track retrig keys 13/14 to repeat sequencer steps on digital and analog tracks; release resumes in time.
4. Dual mono input: independent external L/R input levels in mono mode.
5. Readable values: supported parameters shown in Hz, dB, ms and percent.
6. Déjà Vu LFO: DV-F and DV-T random-step loops, five loop lengths and SPH loop behavior; native shapes retained.
7. 31-wave SY CHORD bank: saw, pulse, harmonic, synthetic and chord textures with matching graphics. Shared WAVE 0 is unchanged.

The upstream SyntHack splash and heap modarea/vparams infrastructure are retained. SY FM4 is not included.

Use

1. Download and extract Syntakt-MAX-1.0-Windows-x64.zip. Keep its notices and licenses with the EXE.
2. Obtain official Syntakt OS 1.41 from Elektron support. The builder rejects other versions or modified inputs.
3. Run the builder on Windows, select that stock .syx, click Build and Save MAX 1.0, and choose a new output filename. Wait for the success dialog.
4. Verify the generated file's SHA-256 below. Read the installation instructions and recovery guidance before separately using Elektron Transfer. The builder performs no device transfer.

The release contains no Elektron firmware, generated .syx, extracted OS sections, projects or samples. No separate Python, WSL, compiler or Git installation is required to run the builder.

Validation and limits

Kári reports the exact MAX output booted and its musical features worked on one Syntakt. Kári also reports successful complete GUI builds with the latest EXE fingerprint below. Native Windows core tests matched the golden output; invalid input was rejected; five focused builder tests passed. The UCRT/APISet redistribution gate is resolved, with runtime provenance and notices included.

Windows 11 x64 is tested. Packaging targets Windows 10/11 x64; Windows 10, an independent clean/non-admin machine, cancelled/unwritable-destination GUI cases and exhaustive MIDI/Overbridge/project compatibility remain untested. Bright CHORD waves may alias at high pitches; replaced WAVE values change existing sounds' timbre. DV shapes do not retain their behavior on stock firmware.

The unchanged ZIP contains the validation snapshot from before the latest manual GUI test. This release description records the newer result; the EXE and ZIP are byte-identical to the verified candidate.

SHA-256

ZIP:       92d83f258a26d80cbedcaa1ddb5763f61ecbda1df1a06da4e061fe4a12db675d
EXE:       ae0c4eb65beb79baaf0634fb9107bfa2a95abd35274e6c35f4228a621e9e2f92
Stock OS:  8e2488f462c4a5656396a895f113bcd415e9900fa8709340dccf45d4cb9ed19e
MAX output:7cb4bfd3da4af9c417ae812ec205036a85a430f3be62263cf58e6ae31df2c093

The ZIP is 10,349,823 bytes; the unsigned EXE is 10,570,255 bytes. MAX 1.0 is the community bundle version; the base Elektron OS is 1.41. See the full feature list and attribution map. Original MIT notices and separate runtime licenses are included in the ZIP; they grant no rights over Elektron firmware.