I just want to say how excited I am to discover this project, this is exactly what I’ve been dreaming about. Someone on redit told me it might not work on the 8gb pi 4, is that true? That’s what I have but I’d be more than happy to help debug if there is a need. I’m not a sysadmin but I’m comfortable with Linux and can code any language if there is any need for that.
@adamburr - i had an 8gb rpi for a while for testing and it simply did not boot and someone here from the community had a problem to boot the sonaremin on his 4gb rpi … on my 1gb rpi4 it boots just fine … so just give it a try and if it does not work then we’ll need to have a closer look at the serial console boot output where it fails - i guess its maybe the u-boot and was planning to build a more recent u-boot for it (2020.07 most probably) to see if this fixes the problems … in the meantime you might play around with my vcvrack raspbian build (see my fist post in this thread) on raspbian to get a feeling of what is possible with vcvrack on the rpi …
best wishes - hexdump
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I tried it and it wouldn’t boot as you expected. Would it be helpful if I donated a 8gb RP4 to you for testing? I don’t mind and it would be worth it to me. Thanks!
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short update: i’m getting closer to a solution - it looks like it does not work for any rpi4 > 1gb … as a quick workaround you may add “mem=1024M” to the APPEND lines in the file menu/extlinux.conf on the first partition (then always just 1gb is used) … a proper fix will hopefully follow soon, so stay tuned
@adamburr thanks for the offer - i think i get this one sorted out without it for now - but of course feel free to send me one in case you like to 
just message me your address and I’ll stick it in the mail asap
a new sonaremin build for the rpi4 is in the works right now too which should then also support all the memory i hope - so stay tuned … should arrive today or tomorrow
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Good news ! Managed to make the Ubuntu version work from your docker build, but CPU goes overheat in an instant… do you think a heatsink is enough or active cooling with fan is required ?
is that on an rpi4? then those heat sinks where basically the heat sink forms kind of a case for the rpi can work but everything less will get too hot at least over time - a fan is better as it helps to get the heat away from the heat sink … for the rpi3 i think a fan is absolutely required
Yes rpi4.
i have uploaded a new version of the sonaremin image for the raspberry pi 4 which should now also work for models with more than 1gb of memory - you can download it from https://github.com/hexdump0815/sonaremin/releases/tag/v1.1.6_4
@adamburr @magneticstripper and @23volts - can you please give it a try an let me know if it works for you now? it should now also use all available memory on the rpi4 …
best wishes - hexdump
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@hexdump Yep, that worked. Awesome! i am a Linux invertebrate, so, all i can say is midi and audio work! Thank you!
just a quick update: i have built a new version of the sonaremin which is available here: https://github.com/hexdump0815/sonaremin/releases/tag/v1.1.6_5 … i did a lot of cleanup under the hood and removed the just added support for the sfizz sfz sampler as it did not work reliable … the raspberry pi 4 support i would still call “beta” - it works with my earlier mentioned hack to limit the ram to the first 1gb (which is the default for now on the rpi4) on the 1gb (tested), 2gb (untested, but should work) and 4gb (tested) model (thanks a lot for the hw donation to @adamburr btw.) but it does not yet work on the 8gb model - i tried different kernel versions, but nothing worked really good all around and nothing worked on a borrowed 8gb model at all … looks like i’ll have to follow the actual rpi 4 kernel development a little longer … but in general it should work quite well on all rpi 4’s except the 8gb model now already and out of the box … i’ll update you in case i’m having any progress in this area
best wishes - hexdump
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Hi all - Amazing project, @hexdump
Since learning about this I’ve dreamt of building a standalone VCV rack box in a 40hp 4ms podX case I’ve had lying around, with Expert Sleepers es-3 and es-6 for the inputs and outputs.
Looking around for soundcards I found the Hifi Berry Digi+ I/O which has lightpipe in and out. Does anyone have any experience using this sound card with the expert sleepers stuff?
The Hifi berry digi+ I/O has optical SPDIF - not ADAT Lightpipe. Same TOSLINK connector - different signals.
miniDSP usb streamer is the least expensive USB ADAT interface i have seen - don’t know if it has raspi drivers. But then the ES-9 probably would be a better solution - if it works in raspi.
Hifiberry Spdif interface perhaps can be used with ES-40 and expanders, using the electrical connectors - but “the ES-40 requires particular software in order to generate meaningful output signals” - Not avalable for raspi it seems.
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just a little update: i have created a fresh arm build of vcvrack (now with 150 open source plugins included resulting in 1640 vcvrack modules!) and have updated the sonaremin images: https://github.com/hexdump0815/sonaremin/releases/tag/v1.1.6_6 … besides that in this version it is now possible to set the sample rate used by jack and vcvrack in the sonaremin.conf and some minor improvements and fixes went in … the raspberry pi 4 situation is still the same: it should run on all versions except the 8gb version and so far only uses 1gb of the ram (which is fine for now for the sonaremin) - maybe the next linux kernel version brings some progress and i’m also looking around for possible patches (the problem seems to be a new handling of the usb controller firmware in the 8gb model and for this some u-boot kernel interaction will be required in the setup i use)
best wishes - hexdump
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i have created a new build of vcvrack for arm and the sonaremin - they are available from:
and:here are some of the changes:
- using a new vcvrack build (1.1.16_5 - 25.08.2020) with 162 open source plugins included resulting in 1700+ vcvrack modules!
- allow setting a default kbd language for the display mode in sonaremin.txt config file
- linux kernel and mesa 3d graphics library (where used) updated
- raspberry pi kernel updated to v5.8.2 - still limited to using 1gb ram on the rpi4 1/2/4gb model - the 8gb model still does not work yet - rpi 3b/3b+ works fine too
- small fixes here and there
best wishes - hexdump
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Hi amb3nt-gsa,
Please let us know if you make any progress! I was thinking of something similar; I have a homemade 3u 61hp, which I want to expand to 6u or 7u, plus 4u for a 14" screen that shows 2 rows of VCV rack. Originally I wanted to go for a touchscreen, but it seems that won’t really work with VCV. To keep it low-cost, I’ll probably use a simple monitor and keyboard with trackpad.
I have an Expert Sleepers ES-8, And I’d add expanders (on the back of the case, modded for 1/4" jacks to interface directly with my patchbay).USB slots in the case for Midi and a mini keyboard with trackpad and it should be good to go.
So similarly, I’m interested if anyone has experience with expert sleepers interfaces on Sonaremin.
I tried sonaremin on an rpi4 and it’s fantastic! I had one of these 3,5 inches TFT display and thought it would be fantastic to edit some parameter in a hybrid display/headless package, but could not make it work. the /boot folder structure seems different from vanilla ubuntu, do you think there is any chance to make GitHub - goodtft/LCD-show: 2.4" 2.8"3.2" 3.5" 5.0" 7.0" TFT LCD driver for the Raspberry PI 3B+/A/A+/B/B+/PI2/ PI3/ZERO/ZERO W driver works with sonaremin? Thanks for this amazing tool!
i’m happy to hear that you are enjoying the sonaremin … i think in theory it should be possible to get this display working … for the rpi4 image i’m using the rpi kernel sources which might result in a slightly different /boot structure - i’m actually currently waiting for the rpi4 being fully supported by the mainline linux kernel so that i can use that one which should result in a much more standard kernel setup - my last test was with 5.10, but there it looks like the v3d gpu acceleration was still not fully mainlined, so i’m still a bit in waiting mode regarding the rpi4
best wishes - hexdump
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