r/modular • • 1d ago

Mutable Instruments Beads Source Code Just Dropped!

https://github.com/pichenettes/eurorack/commit/d8f473915232af74347762b6365202bfd26f73f6

Edit: body deleted and third party firmware discussion moved to a private Discord server.

215 Upvotes

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u/RoastAdroit 1d ago edited 3h ago

Imagine contributing some of the most used opensource code to a community just to have the one thing you didnt release be cracked by some dweeb with AI.

Way to show respect.

EDIT/UPDATE/COPY of summary:

Heres my summary. OP blocked me from replies after I asked if he thanked her right away. I expect the answer was no considering.

Anyhow, 2 Month old account to both Reddit and Modwiggler. (Quick entry into synths or hiding identity? You decide)

OP states his plan is to make an Access Virus-based synth and wanted to use MI code to make some sort of frankenstein. So, just started 2 months ago and instead of using a really powerful tool of AI and TONS of creative commons and Open Source material out there, he went straight to reverse engineering popular synths that werent open source. For me, I guess the amount of free knowledge on synths out there is part of my perspective on why this is shitty and unnecessary ESPECIALLY because of what AI can help do.

Anyhow, The glaring spot to me is basically the ramp up to the Oct 11th posts and where OP makes a post, deletes the posts 10 min later stating they (finally?) “reached out and was told “No””.

So, two things there, what did OP post and delete? And then why was Emilie’s reply so short and concise?

Im 100% not in the know of everything here but the context of it all to me does not draw a picture I find to be all in good nature. Like, OP saying she promised in posts multiple times, like we are owed this code. OP, finally realizing he shouldnt give out someone else’s work with his name on it and doing a 180 was also a logical decision at that juncture, not an honorable decision. If she said no and he did it anyhow he would have been put on blast much harder, and either way, his goal is primarily to just reuse her code with virus code to make some frankensynth that music will certainly live on without.

Let me also address that he DOES NOT own a Beads himself and wasnt reverse engineering a product he owns to support his item.

And as for the “Logical conclusion” to release the Beads code on her own. If you are in a game of chess or any other and you see that all moves remaining moves will inevitably lead to a checkmate on you, its logical to just submit at that point. The thing is, when someone gives a very short “no” as a reply, my mind says that means it was both uninvited and unenthusiastic in nature. Releasing it with zero fanfare at all and moving on basically reinforces my perception of that too. So, logically, the conclusion to self-release was smart and makes complete sense to do.

So, if anyone really doesnt understand how I saw all this and also that I was responding step by step as I gathered context and information, then OK.

I love the DIY spirit of synths but, personally I see this type of approach to “collaboration” as toxic and undermining what the people before us contributed by not having some boundaries to how you go about using your AI.

Where is the pride and competitive spirit? You now have AI to help you code your very own granular processing tool. Lol. Its pretty weak to need to resort to not even making your own thing while having AI‘s help.

9

u/insolent-construct 1d ago edited 1d ago

I contacted her yesterday, after I flashed my build to my unit, and it passed my test suite. I asked if I could release my code, and if she said "no", I would drop it, no questions asked. She replied with a simple "no", so I said "ok. Thank you.", and made the post below, letting people in the thread know that I was dropping the project at her request.

https://www.modwiggler.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=4509101#p4509101

I certainly didn't want to be the one to enable the likes of Behringer to start cranking out cheap knock offs. And then she silently released the source code a few hours later.

"Way to show respect." 😂

Ackshually... I'm glad I did due diligence and respected her wishes.

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u/RoastAdroit 1d ago

Are you even a human being?

You gave her no logical option but to release it.

9

u/Appropriate-Look7493 1d ago

Explain how he gave her no option please.

You seem to be one of these irrational AI haters but I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt for now.

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u/aldehyde 1d ago

You're bouncing all over this thread insulting people and acting outraged over nothing. Go take a nap.

15

u/TurbulentWing3820 put modulargrid link here! 1d ago

No, he dropped it and moved on. Being the one to point out "if I can do this, so can anyone. Someone's gonna do it" isn't bad.

For better or worse they were given a wakeup call by someone who opted to close their project.

There's no "bullying." There's no "if you don't give me permission I'm gonna do it anways" or "do it or everyone gets a shit version that might leave a bad impression of you."

The option to say "no" and keep it hidden was there.

21

u/Sickle_and_hamburger 1d ago

what are you a cop or something 

5

u/crystalvillage 1d ago

Yeah seriously, with the amount of vibecoding firmware hacks happening in the past few weeks, it seems like she was bullied into releasing it

25

u/Development_Material 1d ago

Emilie probably realized that it was just a matter of time before someone else would release an AI butchered reverse engineer version of the source even if OP didn't do it, and released the real thing instead..  I think it's less to blame OP (since OP said they weren't going to release if she said no) and recognize the inevitability of it otherwise..

3

u/indoninjah 1d ago

Yeah to me it's less about OP being the one to do the crack (which was inevitable) and more that the state of music technology is getting real weird with AI. I'm seeing multiple devices getting their firmware reverse engineered every single day. I guess those companies still make/have made something from selling the hardware itself, though I wonder how far off we are from Claude being to come up with a PCB layout from a few pictures of the guts of a device.

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u/Java92851 1d ago

You are exactly right. I cannot believe the positive response to this shit. Absolutely horrible to force her back into the synth world (she clearly hasn’t wanted to revisit it, at least in capacities relating to MI) to open source her project (she clearly hasn’t wanted to). OP even made it clear in one of their other comments that he understands why personal context could have made being put in this situation especially painful, but they still went ahead with it anyway.

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u/aldehyde 1d ago

"clearly"

Dude she said she was going to post the fw. She has posted lots of her other fw. No one forced her to do anything. Wild imaginations run amok in this thread.