Roland TR-6 and JP-08 Not Recognized

Bome Products
1

My new Bomebox (fw. 1.4.2) does not recognize my Roland TR-6S or Roland JP-08 when plugged in direct to the USB host port or via a 3A hub. I’ve tried two cables from each.

Both devices are recognized by two other hosts devices/routers (Akai MPC Live, Akai Force) using the same cables.

Interestingly enough, the Roland MC-101 is detected as expected, as well as the Roland MC-707.

Since I’m only using the MPC Live for its MIDI routing capabilities, I was hoping to replace it with the Bomebox, since it’s purpose-built for such things (and then some!).

Searching this forum yielded nothing relevant or similar regarding Roland devices.

There is nothing relevant to these devices in the Bomebox logs in verbose mode when plugged in or unplugged.

However, there IS a log entry in the kernel log for each when I connect the TR-6S and JP-08, respectively (these are direct connections):

usb 1-1: new high-speed USB device number 11 using ehci-platform

usb 1-1: new high-speed USB device number 12 using ehci-platform

The system log mirrors these entries. And of course, the logs indicate when I disconnect said devices.

lsusb command from an SSH session indicates that it is indeed seen (again, only device connected to the host port):

With TR-6S:

root@BomeBox:~# lsusb
Bus 001 Device 003: ID 0582:024e Roland Corp.
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub

With JP-08:

root@BomeBox:~# lsusb
Bus 001 Device 015: ID 0582:01b5 Roland Corp.
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub

Let me know if there are further details I can provide.

1 Like
3

Hi,
Looking at both the JP-08 and TR-6 manuals, it says they need special drivers downloaded from Roland to use the USB port hence, they are not likely class compliant. BomeBox supports class compliant MIDI USB only.

Your only recourse would be to use the MIDI DIN Port, put them on different MIDI channels and daisy chain them.

Steve Caldwell
Bome Customer Care

Also available for paid consulting services: bome@sniz.biz
4

I agree that Roland does state that a driver is needed. But I’ve also used them on other devices via USB-MIDI without drivers, including Linux. Plug and play. The kernel enumerates the device and Alsa makes the midi port available.

The only conclusion I can draw based on my experience with myriad musical devices and Linux is that these two devices must be “class compliant enough for other embeddable Linux-based machines but not Bomebox”. Nothing wrong with that, of course. It certainly is what it is.

That said, I was hoping that there may be a kernel (read firmware) build available that might offer a more recent Alsa/Alsa-compatible kernel driver that recognized the nuances of these devices, or someone willing to work with me to determine if a simple switch in the kernel build would allow it to recognize devices that fall into this “gray area” or to determine if some regression was introduced in one of the builds (eg. CONFIG_SND_DYNAMIC_MINORS from last year), etc.

But, if my only recourse is to just use MIDI DIN then I guess I will need to rethink my solution.

Thanks for the response.

1 Like
5

Hi Zenkick,
this is a known issue with certain Roland devices. They are not class compliant, but recent Linux kernels include specific drivers for them.

We’re already working on a BomeBox firmware update with a newer kernel. It will allow these devices to work with the BomeBox. However, certifying a new kernel takes time, and we plan at least one intermediate firmware update with the current kernel in parallel. Would you like the opportunity to test pre-release firmware during development?

Sorry for these mixed news…

1 Like
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Thanks, @FlorianBome - I suspected this was the case.

I would certainly appreciate the opportunity to help you test in whatever capacity I can.

Please keep me posted!

9

Sorry to resurrect a zombie thread! I just go a BomeBox a few days ago and am in the process of getting everything in the studio laced up. I have a Roland TR-8S and JX-08 that refuse to show up.

My use case was kind of similar to @zenkick’s: I wanted to not use my MPC One for MIDI routing - I’d much prefer it to be my living room bang out ideas tool - so I started routing everything up. I went through the normal trouble shooting: changed USB hubs, cables, etc. and these two are the only two devices that don’t work. A forum search brought me here.

Was there ever a solution found for this, @SteveC or @zenkick?

Thanks!

10

Hi, I think the BomeBox still requires class compliant drivers which these devices do not have. I’ve not heard anything about the Linux Kernel being updated to support Roland non class compliant devices yet.

Steve Caldwell
Bome Customer Care

Also available for paid consulting services: bome@sniz.biz
1 Like
11

Thanks for the quick response. Old school cables it is.

12

Yes, sorry for that!

Steve Caldwell
Bome Customer Care

Also available for paid consulting services: bome@sniz.biz