Skiff

The sound banks, project slots and pool are separate. A user sound stores its sound controls and any FM6 companion patch, with no steps, samples or shared DRUM-X kit. A project stores six sounds, lists, scenes and its shared kit; its notes live in the common pattern pool, so editing a shared pattern changes it for every entry that uses it. Naming and erase writes have no flash undo.

In NAME’s 123 mode, G5 types +.

Confirmation

PRESETS

USER

PATTERNS

PROJECT

Name entry: ABC

Name entry: 123

Erase sound

Replace sound

Replace project

Load project

Clear pool

Clear entry

Initialize sound

Clear automation

Replace scene

NAME: sound save

NAME: sound rename

NAME: project save

NAME: project rename

Screen asleep

Update mode

Startup

Crash screen

MENU · DISPLAY

MENU · CONTROL

MENU · AUDIO

MENU · SYSTEM

ABOUT / CREDITS

HARDWARE CALIBRATION

Reset settings confirmation

ENV

ENV DEST

ENV 2

LFO

LFO DEST

MOD

SCL

CHORD

LANES

VOICE

VOICE 2

HOME ANALOG

ANALOG OSC

ANALOG FLT

HOME DRUM

DRUM KIT

DRUM HIT

HOME DRUM-X

DRUM-X KIT

DRUM-X HIT

HOME FM6

FM6 OPS

FM6 PATCH

HOME VOICE

VOICE VOWEL

VOICE TONE

HOME GRAIN

GRAIN GRAIN

GRAIN SPRAY

HOME LOFI

LOFI CHIP

LOFI MOTION

HOME NOISE

NOISE SOURCE

NOISE MOVE

HOME PHASE

PHASE PHASE

PHASE LINE

HOME PHYS

PHYS BODY

PHYS EXCITE

HOME SAMPLE

SAMPLE SET

SAMPLE TONE

HOME SLICE

SLICE SLICE

SLICE PLAYBACK

HOME TRIO

TRIO OSC

TRIO TONE

HOME WHEEL

WHEEL BARS

WHEEL TONE

SEL scale layer

EDIT sound layer

OPERATOR · TONE

OPERATOR · ENV 1

OPERATOR · ENV 2

OPERATOR · KEYS

OPERATOR · MORE

ALL OPS · ALGO

ALL OPS · PITCH 1

ALL OPS · PITCH 2

ALL OPS · LFO

ALL OPS · DEPTH

SOUND · pitch

SOUND · decay

SOUND · colour

SOUND · mode

SLICES

FX

DRIVE

SLICER

DUCK

MIXER

DELAY

REVERB

CHORUS

GLOBAL

FX held

FX locked

GLO quick mix

SONG

PERFORM with track entries

PERFORM with scenes

LEDS changes the background light scheme; key maps keep their own lit and dark states.

Added octave-light details

Sound knobs and sequencer edits change memory first; pattern edits save automatically normally after stop and ten idle seconds, with a one-minute gap between rounds that a full pending queue can bypass, even with RESTORE LAST off; stopped pattern operations can also flush immediately to free pending-queue space; enabled RESTORE LAST also keeps the live project, while named project and sound saves write on confirmation and power-off performs no final save; when all 64 patterns are occupied, new notes on a track with no assigned pattern can be missing after restart even though the session autosave completes, because that save contains no copy of those steps; make room and complete a project save that reports SAVED before powering off.

The browser archive reads the connected unit: live music, unit settings and calibration, favourites, four projects, both user-sound banks, companion FM6 patches, the shared pattern pool and all three user samples.

It does not hold the firmware, a separate raw flash autosave or the persistent hand-set slice-marker tables; record the slice positions separately.

Capturing stops playback and flushes pending patterns to flash without a question before making the file; the code does not stop export when that flush fails, so resolve PATTERNS FULL or storage errors before relying on it.

The editor asks once before restore, then writes each included object separately without firmware questions or whole-restore undo; absent categories in an older archive remain, while included empty objects clear those objects, and live music returns to memory last.

The archive is a downloaded file from the unit, not a separate browser bank; importing a sound into the editor library is a different operation.

The web editor’s SAVE AS stops playback, saves pending patterns and writes the project immediately; it asks about replacing a slot only when Skiff reports it as used. RENAME stops playback and writes the stored project’s new name without a separate overwrite question. The older browser save command always asks, then stops playback and saves. POOL CLEAR and LIST CLEAR ask first and require playback already stopped: pool clearing refuses referenced patterns, while list clearing keeps a pattern used elsewhere and otherwise removes it immediately; the changed list saves later with the project or enabled session autosave. Sound STORE requests a name and asks about overwrite only for a used slot; ERASE asks and is offered only for a used slot. Both stop playback and rewrite the whole sound bank immediately; FM6 store then writes its patch collection too, and erase removes the sound’s star when present. Unreadable foreign project or sound data can look empty, allowing SAVE AS or STORE without an overwrite question. These firmware commands add no questions of their own, and Undo cannot recover overwritten or cleared flash.

The installer’s return-to-official-V15 action is another backup route: it reads the same archive from the running unit and downloads it before asking whether to continue to V15; cancel there to retain the file without starting that installation. Its interrupted-update resume option cannot read a backup and relies on a file already saved.

• Back up first.
  Show the detail

  Stop playback and export a full backup from the web editor before switching. It reads the unit and downloads a file containing the current music, settings and calibration, stars, four projects, both user-sound banks, their own FM6 patches, the shared pattern pool, and the three sample sets. It omits saved MAN slice markers, so separately record those positions. It captures the current music instead of a separate copy of the last quiet save. Export can write pending patterns first; if that flush runs out of room or hits a write error, file creation alone does not prove all current edits were captured. Restore asks once in the editor, then replaces each included object as it goes, settings near the end and current music last. Included empty slots are emptied; categories absent from an accepted older backup stay as they are, though restoring old projects can create patterns. Sample restore brings back audio and its sample settings, not missing MAN markers. A surviving matching set of markers can reappear because an upload keeps unused sample space. Interrupted restore can leave only part of the backup restored, and Undo cannot roll the whole restore back. Keep the backup file. The installer’s return-to-official-V15 action is another backup route: it reads the same archive from the running unit and downloads it before asking whether to continue to V15; cancel there to retain the file without starting that installation. Its interrupted-update resume option cannot read a backup and relies on a file already saved.

Skiff does not preserve every Felucca or JIANT setting. On a clean start, unless Skiff’s scene migration marker is already present, it clears Felucca’s learned MIDI assignments, custom colours and their flags, ANIM IDLE and PRESETS LIST category, and part of its FX key assignments, then saves without asking. If Skiff sees its first settings migration as unfinished, it turns BPM LOCK on in Felucca’s settings; its later migration replaces more FX key bytes with its clock, MIDI input and tuning choices and revision marker. Even without that migration, out-of-range values in those shared FX bytes can be adjusted and saved after a second, once stopped. Returning to Felucca reads those changed assignments; SCOPE MIX, CHORD ENTRY ADD, SCREEN WAKE PANEL and 2ND CORE are on, STEP PREVIEW and HELP are off, and SELECT uses BPM. Returning to JIANT reads MIDI OUT as KEYS. For either Felucca or JIANT, a saved SCREEN OFF choice of 30 MIN becomes NEVER on return after Skiff saves the imported settings. These changes need no music save and Undo cannot recover them; take a backup in the previous firmware before installing Skiff.

Skiff’s first start replaces FoMni’s entire saved setup, including every page’s values, its eleven chord-button assignments, CHORD HOLD, SYNC START and lights. It also overwrites SLOOP’s four user drum kits SYN1–SYN4, song order, learned MIDI assignments, calibration and other preferences, plus the custom theme and favourites kept in the same sectors; Melodee’s saved template, including each track’s embedded sound and native voice, its effects setup, and saved device preferences and calibration; and X0X’s saved tempo, accent, clock and note output choices, per-part MIDI channels, key-sound behavior, lights and audio preferences. These startup writes need no clean start, save action or confirmation, and Undo cannot bring the old records back. Back up in the previous firmware before switching. See the switching advice in this section for the other overlaps.

Back up in the firmware you are leaving first; see the switching advice in this section for installation, startup and ordinary-use risks.

• Back up in the firmware you are leaving first, with its own tool (above). Anything below marked at risk can be written over; whether an older saved copy survives depends on how often you saved, so do not count on it.
• What installing Skiff does to the firmware you had before.
  Show the detail

  install (Skiff update loader): Compares the program area at 0x4000–0x92FFF and rewrites differing sectors, checking each write. This area includes M-VAVE Open’s sixteen saved projects, preferences and sample header, so installing Skiff over Open replaces them. The flash head below 0x4000 is left alone (after the installer validates a package for this device). install (update-record cleanup): After the computer finishes the update, scans the last 256 bytes of each sector at 0x93000–0xFBFFF, skipping 0x97000–0xDFFFF. It erases a sector only when its tail matches a valid update record. This can remove an old stock update record at 0xE8000. The scan also reaches Skiff’s pattern pool; music whose bytes happen to match a valid update record has no extra protection (a valid update record found in the scanned sector tail). leaving through a firmware update: Erases the five staging sectors at 0xE0000–0xE4FFF, writes the incoming package’s loader there and checks it. After the computer reports success, writes the update record at 0xE4F00. A failed attempt clears the staging sectors again. These are temporary update files (when a computer starts a firmware update). normal startup with leftover update data: Erases all five staging sectors if any of the first four bytes at 0xE0000 or first eight bytes at 0xE4F00 is not blank (0xFF). It does not check whose data this is. Other occupied bytes alone do not trigger this cleanup (the flash chip is recognized and either startup probe is not blank). first or legacy startup settings writes: Skiff checks the settings pair after every previous firmware. Missing or rejected settings start from defaults: on a clean start it saves BPM LOCK and the first revision, clears the old scene area and saves its marker, then adopts clock, MIDI-input and tuning choices and saves the second revision. These three writes replace both 0xFC000 and 0xFD000 without asking or a save command, assuming working flash and stopped transport. The two revision saves also run after an unclean first start and alone replace both sectors when settings start from defaults; only scene clearing requires a clean start. The overwritten work includes FoMni’s whole saved setup, including page values, eleven chord-button assignments, CHORD HOLD, SYNC START and lights; SLOOP’s four user drum kits SYN1–SYN4, song order, learned MIDI assignments and device preferences, calibration, theme and favourites; Melodee’s saved template with each track’s embedded sound and native voice, its effects setup, device preferences and calibration; X0X’s tempo, accent, clock and note-output choices, per-part MIDI channels, key sounds, lights and audio preferences. Accepted settings instead follow their stored revision and marker: they can skip those writes, but scene clearing can still remove Felucca learned controls and colours or GHOULBOX stars and preferences, and reset JIANT MIDI OUT. Out-of-range clock, MIDI-input or tuning values can cause a further save after one second even without revision migration. Import normalization, including SCREEN OFF changes, persists with the next actual save. One changed newest copy is enough for the previous firmware to load altered settings; additional writes can replace both copies (settings revisions or scene marker require changes, including defaults after missing/rejected records; only scene clearing requires a clean start; actual flash writes wait for stop). clean startup old-project migration: On a clean start, converts readable older projects and the music in progress to its current format. It keeps nonempty track patterns in the shared pool before rewriting each project, without asking and even with RESTORE LAST off. Current or unsupported records are skipped; a full pool leaves the project unconverted. Projects from the mapped Felucca, SLOOP and JIANT releases do not qualify (clean start, a supported older project and room in the pattern pool). startup retired FM6-bank migration: If no usable collection of user sounds’ own FM6 patches is found but an older FM6 voice bank is valid, copies matching bank patches into the user sounds’ own patch collection and saves without asking. Its first write preserves the newest valid older-bank copy unless a current patch-storage copy already exists; otherwise it alternates copies normally. Without a valid older bank there is no write (no usable current user-patch collection and a valid older FM6 voice bank).

  • Stock V15: Possibly at risk (layout reported or inferred): stock settings (and possibly patterns); stock voices (128 user patches, banks A-D).
  • Baud Girl FM-1+VA: Possibly at risk (layout reported or inferred): Baud Girl presets (128); Baud Girl patterns (16, with locks).
  • Felucca: At risk by itself: the autosave (the music as you left it); FM6 voice bank B1-B32; settings, button calibration, favourites, MIDI LEARN map (changed by itself: On a clean start without its scene-freed marker, Skiff clears learned MIDI, custom colours, ANIM IDLE, the preset category and part of the FX key map, then saves without asking. It also replaces MENU choices; revision migration can replace more FX assignments. One new settings copy is enough for Felucca to load the changes; additional revision writes can replace both copies. A saved SCREEN OFF choice of 30 MIN becomes NEVER on return after Skiff next saves settings. Out-of-range clock, MIDI-input or tuning bytes can also be adjusted and saved after one second, once stopped, even when revision migration is skipped. The first revision migration also turns Felucca BPM LOCK on; also, Skiff retains calibration but can replace preferences without a save command or question; a partial import does not preserve the whole settings record). At risk by itself, under a condition: project slot A; project slot B; project slot C; project slot D. At risk when you act: user presets 1-16 (converted when read, written back at your next save in that bank); user presets 17-32 (converted when read, written back at your next save in that bank). Carried over: FM6 patches of the FM6 user presets; user sample slot USR1; user sample slot USR2; user sample slot USR3. Imports Felucca’s saved RESTORE LAST state (ON by default).
  • SLOOP: At risk by itself: FM6 patch bank B1-B27; user sample slot USR4 (header at 0xE7000); settings, calibration, song order, SYN1-4 kits, MIDI LEARN, theme and favourites. At risk by itself, under a condition: song section A (a whole project); song section B (a whole project); song section C (a whole project); song section D (a whole project); the music in progress (autosave). At risk when you act: user sounds U01-U16 (converted when read, written back at your next save in that bank); user sounds U17-U32 (converted when read, written back at your next save in that bank). Carried over: user sample slot USR1 (header at 0xA0000); user sample slot USR2 (header at 0xB4000); user sample slot USR3 (header at 0xC8000).
  • X0X: At risk by itself: the whole X0X project (settings, sound, all 32 patterns, song, knob motion). At risk when you act: X0X button calibration. Carried over: break loops slot 1; break loops slot 2; break loops slot 3.
  • JIANT: At risk by itself: the music in progress (RESTORE LAST); FM6 voice bank B1-B32; settings, calibration, favourites, MENU options (changed by itself: On its first clean start Skiff clears the old scene area and replaces JIANT MIDI OUT with its migration marker, then saves without asking. Returning to JIANT reads MIDI OUT as KEYS. JIANT’s palette marker normally skips the other revision writes, so only one settings copy may be replaced; it becomes the newest copy JIANT reads. A saved SCREEN OFF choice of 30 MIN becomes NEVER on return after Skiff next saves settings. Out-of-range clock, MIDI-input or tuning bytes can also be adjusted and saved after one second, once stopped, even when revision migration is skipped; also, Skiff retains calibration but can replace preferences without a save command or question; a partial import does not preserve the whole settings record). At risk by itself, under a condition: song 1 section A (a whole project); song 1 section B (a whole project); song 1 section C (a whole project); song 1 section D (a whole project). At risk when you act: song 2: four sections (whole projects); song 3: four sections (whole projects); song 4: four sections (whole projects) (some of it lost); song 5: four sections (whole projects); song 6: four sections (whole projects); song 7: four sections (whole projects); song 8: four sections (whole projects); which song is current, every song's rows and scenes; user sounds U01-U16 (converted when read, written back at your next save in that bank); user sounds U17-U32 (converted when read, written back at your next save in that bank). Carried over: FM6 patches of the FM6 user sounds. JIANT’s default RESTORE LAST OFF imports as Skiff RESTORE LAST ON; enabling it in JIANT instead disables Skiff autosave.
  • Melodee: At risk by itself: project A: patterns, song, sounds, motion, recordings; project B: patterns, song, sounds, motion, recordings; project C: patterns, song, sounds, motion, recordings; project D: patterns, song, sounds, motion, recordings; shared user presets U037-U054; shared user presets U055-U072; shared user presets U127-U144; settings, factory favourites, calibration, saved template. At risk by itself, under a condition: shared user presets U289-U378 (some of it lost); shared user presets U379-U384; shared user presets U109-U126. At risk when you act: shared user presets U145-U288; shared user presets U073-U090; shared user presets U091-U108; shared user presets U001-U018; shared user presets U019-U036.
  • FoMni: At risk by itself: FoMni setup (pages, chord buttons, lights). At risk when you act: FoMni button calibration.
  • AMB-1: At risk by itself: AMB-1 pieces and setup. At risk when you act: AMB-1 panel calibration.
  • ChoralRoot: At risk by itself: options, playing setup and panel calibration. At risk by itself, under a condition: 32 imported DX7 voices. At risk when you act: CZ-1 bank A (16 tones); CZ-1 bank B (16 tones); CZ-1 bank C (16 tones); CZ-1 bank D (16 tones); CZ-1 bank E (16 tones); CZ-1 bank F (16 tones); CZ-1 bank G (16 tones); CZ-1 bank H (16 tones); last global-save session; favourite marks, chord/bass type and filter; 128 saved sounds with their complete engine patches; recorded loop 1; recorded loop 2; recorded loop 3; recorded loop 4; recorded loop 5; recorded loop 6; recorded loop 7; recorded loop 8; recorded loop 9; recorded loop 10.
  • GHOULBOX: At risk by itself: music in progress (RESTORE LAST); FM6 voice bank B1–B32; settings and panel calibration (changed by itself: On a clean start without its scene-freed marker, Skiff clears GURDY stars, click preferences, the preset category and part of the FX key map, changes secondary MENU choices, then saves without asking. A prior Skiff marker and revision can survive a GHOULBOX round trip, so this write remains conditional. One newest modified copy is enough to change settings on return; revision writes can replace both copies. BLANK becomes DUNGEON on return after Skiff next saves settings. Out-of-range clock, MIDI-input or tuning bytes can also be adjusted and saved after one second, once stopped, changing more FX assignments even when revision migration is skipped; also, Skiff retains calibration but can replace preferences without a save command or question; a partial import does not preserve the whole settings record). At risk by itself, under a condition: project A; project B; project C; project D. Carried over: FM6 patches for user sounds (an FM6 patch must still match its user record); user sample slot USR1 (sample playback and loop behaviour follow the reader’s engines); user sample slot USR2 (sample playback and loop behaviour follow the reader’s engines); user sample slot USR3 (sample playback and loop behaviour follow the reader’s engines); user sounds 1–16 (GURDY records become DRUM-X; a matching name does not prove the same sound); user sounds 17–32 (GURDY records become DRUM-X; a matching name does not prove the same sound). Imports GHOULBOX’s saved RESTORE LAST state (ON by default).
  • M-VAVE FM-1 Open: At risk by itself: Open shared sample audio. At risk when you act: Open USER project 1; Open USER project 2; Open USER project 3; Open USER project 4; Open USER project 5; Open USER project 6; Open USER project 7; Open USER project 8; Open USER project 9; Open USER project 10; Open USER project 11; Open USER project 12; Open USER project 13; Open USER project 14; Open USER project 15; Open USER project 16; Open device preferences.
  • FM-106: At risk by itself: octave, last selected preset and MIDI preferences. At risk by itself, under a condition: older stored user bank, if present (Beta4 does not store new edits). A valid user bank stored by an earlier FM-106 build can still be present and readable in Beta4; the bank risks listed here, if any, apply if it exists. FM-106 Beta4’s new user-sound edits are only in memory: panel save, delete and librarian bank commit do not store them, even when they report success. Read the unit into the librarian and export both user banks before switching or powering off; those exports omit sequence notes, locks and extended controls.
  • Hortator: At risk by itself: settings and panel calibration (converted: Skiff imports the old preferences, then writes its newer settings format by itself at first start. Returning to Hortator cannot read that newest record: settings, panel calibration and the remembered Bluetooth device start from defaults; it does not retry the older copy). At risk by itself, under a condition: project A; project B; project C; project D. Carried over: user samples USR1 (sample loop and slice behaviour follow this reader’s engines); user samples USR2 (sample loop and slice behaviour follow this reader’s engines); user samples USR3 (sample loop and slice behaviour follow this reader’s engines).
  • OberVave: At risk by itself: pattern 1 (its B-track sound can change if it uses a saved program; its pattern notes remain; other writes can also erase it); pattern 2 (its B-track sound can change if it uses a saved program; its pattern notes remain; other writes can also erase it); pattern 3 (its B-track sound can change if it uses a saved program; its pattern notes remain; other writes can also erase it); pattern 4 (its B-track sound can change if it uses a saved program; its pattern notes remain; other writes can also erase it); pattern 5 (its B-track sound can change if it uses a saved program; its pattern notes remain; other writes can also erase it); pattern 6 (its B-track sound can change if it uses a saved program; its pattern notes remain; other writes can also erase it); pattern 7 (its B-track sound can change if it uses a saved program; its pattern notes remain; other writes can also erase it); pattern 8 (its B-track sound can change if it uses a saved program; its pattern notes remain; other writes can also erase it); saved programs and global settings.
  • Polly: At risk by itself: Optional QY70 style bank; Polly setup and channel sounds. At risk by itself, under a condition: All four Polly songs; Polly shared memory 1; Polly shared memory 2; Polly shared memory 3; Polly shared memory 4. At risk when you act: Polly shared memory 5; Polly shared memory 6; Polly shared memory 7; Polly shared memory 8; Polly shared memory 9; Polly shared memory 10; Polly shared memory 11; Polly shared memory 12; Polly shared memory 13; Polly shared memory 14; Polly shared memory 15; Polly shared memory 16; Polly button and encoder calibration.
• What the next firmware does to Skiff's data.
  • Stock V15: Possibly at risk (layout reported or inferred): project A; project B; project C; project D; user sounds’ own FM6 patches; user sample USR1; user sample USR2; user sample USR3; user sound bank 1; user sound bank 2; last session; shared 64-pattern pool.
  • Baud Girl FM-1+VA: Possibly at risk (layout reported or inferred): project A; project B; project C; project D; user sounds’ own FM6 patches; user sample USR1; user sample USR2; user sample USR3; user sound bank 1; user sound bank 2; last session; shared 64-pattern pool.
  • Felucca: At risk by itself: last session; settings, calibration and favourites (changed by itself: Imports the shared 572-byte PER4 settings and panel calibration. Skiff stores CLOCK, MIDI IN and TUNE in preference bytes 18–20, PRESETS LIST in 21, HINTS OFF in 22, settings revision in 23, its scene-freed marker in 24, PERFORM KEYS in 25, LAUNCH in 26, SCREEN OFF in 27 and CLICK/FEEL in 28. Felucca reads bytes 18–23 as FX key assignments. The scene-freed marker turns SCOPE MIX, CHORD ENTRY ADD, SCREEN WAKE PANEL and beta 2ND CORE on, turns STEP PREVIEW and HELP off, and makes SELECT use BPM. Felucca starts its second core at the next power-on unless a prior failed boot blocks it; this was enabled by Skiff’s marker, not a new MENU choice. A failed render job or timeout later disables the core and queues a settings save; a failed initial handshake does not clear the saved choice. PERFORM KEYS becomes the LEDs-invert level, and LAUNCH becomes HOME. Import normalization can change preferences, and later settings saves persist the resulting interpretation; also, Skiff’s migration marker enables Felucca’s beta second core at startup; some other shared preference bytes also have different meanings). At risk by itself, under a condition: project A; project B; project C; project D; shared 64-pattern pool (some or all of it lost). Carried over: user sounds’ own FM6 patches (each patch must still match its FM6 user record); user sample USR1 (sample loop and slice behaviour follow this reader’s engines); user sample USR2 (sample loop and slice behaviour follow this reader’s engines); user sample USR3 (sample loop and slice behaviour follow this reader’s engines); user sound bank 1 (DRUM-X sounds are empty or a different engine; shared names do not guarantee shared sound); user sound bank 2 (DRUM-X sounds are empty or a different engine; shared names do not guarantee shared sound). Skiff’s default RESTORE LAST ON leaves Felucca’s autosave ON; a saved Skiff OFF choice leaves it OFF. Skiff’s scene-freed marker enables Felucca’s beta 2ND CORE at startup unless boot-failure protection blocks the core; a later bad render or timeout can write these settings automatically. The owner need not turn it on.
  • SLOOP: At risk by itself: user sounds’ own FM6 patches; user sound bank 1 (only FM6 sounds can lose their own patches and fall back to a factory patch or the initial voice; other sounds remain; other writes can also erase it); user sound bank 2 (only FM6 sounds can lose their own patches and fall back to a factory patch or the initial voice; other sounds remain; other writes can also erase it); settings, calibration and favourites. At risk when you act: project A; project B; project C; project D; last session; shared 64-pattern pool. Carried over: user sample USR1 (sample loop and slice behaviour follow this reader’s engines); user sample USR2 (sample loop and slice behaviour follow this reader’s engines); user sample USR3 (sample loop and slice behaviour follow this reader’s engines).
  • X0X: At risk by itself: project A; project B; project C; project D; user sound bank 2; settings, calibration and favourites. At risk when you act: user sound bank 1. Carried over: user sample USR1 (Sample bytes carry over; X0X uses its own zone and break-loop playback rather than Skiff’s sound and hand-set slice behaviour); user sample USR2 (Sample bytes carry over; X0X uses its own zone and break-loop playback rather than Skiff’s sound and hand-set slice behaviour); user sample USR3 (Sample bytes carry over; X0X uses its own zone and break-loop playback rather than Skiff’s sound and hand-set slice behaviour).
  • JIANT: At risk by itself: user sample USR3; settings, calibration and favourites (changed by itself: Imports the shared 572-byte PER4 settings and panel calibration. Skiff stores CLOCK, MIDI IN and TUNE in preference bytes 18–20, PRESETS LIST in 21, HINTS OFF in 22, settings revision in 23, its scene-freed marker in 24, PERFORM KEYS in 25, LAUNCH in 26, SCREEN OFF in 27 and CLICK/FEEL in 28. JIANT interprets KNOB ACCEL and RESTORE LAST with the opposite meaning: Skiff’s default RESTORE LAST ON becomes OFF. Bytes 21 and 22 become USB STEMS and USB LEVEL; unsupported values reset to stereo and FULL. JIANT resets the scene-freed marker in byte 24 to MIDI OUT KEYS, replaces byte 23 with its palette marker, uses byte 25 as its settings revision and byte 26 as LOAD. Its first-start FX LATCH update can set the revision to 2. These shared preference meanings differ even when the record imports successfully; also, shared settings bytes select different preferences). At risk by itself, under a condition: project A; project B; project C; project D; last session; shared 64-pattern pool (some or all of it lost). At risk when you act: user sounds’ own FM6 patches (converted when read, written back at your next save in that bank; The own-patch link is lost when JIANT converts an unmarked Skiff sound; writing that bank makes the broken link persist back in Skiff); user sample USR1; user sample USR2; user sound bank 1 (converted when read, written back at your next save in that bank; Conversion changes sound records and can detach their own FM6 patches; saving anywhere in the bank makes the converted records persist on return to Skiff); user sound bank 2 (converted when read, written back at your next save in that bank; Conversion changes sound records and can detach their own FM6 patches; saving anywhere in the bank makes the converted records persist on return to Skiff). Skiff’s default RESTORE LAST ON leaves JIANT’s autosave OFF; a saved Skiff RESTORE LAST OFF choice turns JIANT’s autosave ON.
  • Melodee: At risk by itself: user sound bank 1; user sound bank 2; settings, calibration and favourites. At risk by itself, under a condition: project A; project B; project C; project D; user sounds’ own FM6 patches; user sample USR3; last session; shared 64-pattern pool (some or all of it lost). At risk when you act: user sample USR1; user sample USR2.
  • FoMni: At risk by itself: settings, calibration and favourites. At risk when you act: user sound bank 1.
  • AMB-1: At risk by itself: settings, calibration and favourites. At risk when you act: user sound bank 1.
  • ChoralRoot: At risk by itself: user sample USR2; user sample USR3; settings, calibration and favourites (converted: After ChoralRoot saves these settings, Skiff cannot read back the newer record. Returning to Skiff starts its preferences and calibration from defaults; the older copy is not retried just because the newest record has a different format). At risk when you act: project A; project B; project C; project D; user sounds’ own FM6 patches; user sample USR1; user sound bank 1; user sound bank 2.
  • GHOULBOX: At risk by itself: last session; settings, calibration and favourites (changed by itself: Imports the shared 572-byte PER4 settings and panel calibration. Skiff stores CLOCK, MIDI IN and TUNE in preference bytes 18–20, PRESETS LIST in 21, HINTS OFF in 22, settings revision in 23, its scene-freed marker in 24, PERFORM KEYS in 25, LAUNCH in 26, SCREEN OFF in 27 and CLICK/FEEL in 28. GHOULBOX reads bytes 18–23 as FX key assignments and byte 24 as SCOPE MIX, STEP PREVIEW, CHORD ENTRY and NOTE NAMES choices. PERFORM KEYS becomes SCREEN OFF: Skiff’s SCENE choice gives a 15-minute idle timeout. LAUNCH becomes HOME: Skiff’s BAR choice gives TRACKS. SCREEN OFF becomes SCENE, while byte 12 supplies CLICK preferences. Byte 28 holds GHOULBOX import marks; with Skiff’s default CLICK LEVEL, its one-time migration turns RESTORE LAST ON. The shared record does not give matching preference meanings; also, shared settings bytes select different preferences). At risk by itself, under a condition: project A; project B; project C; project D; shared 64-pattern pool (some or all of it lost). Carried over: user sounds’ own FM6 patches (each patch must still match its FM6 user record); user sample USR1 (sample loop and slice behaviour follow this reader’s engines); user sample USR2 (sample loop and slice behaviour follow this reader’s engines); user sample USR3 (sample loop and slice behaviour follow this reader’s engines); user sound bank 1 (DRUM-X sounds are empty or a different engine; shared names do not guarantee shared sound); user sound bank 2 (DRUM-X sounds are empty or a different engine; shared names do not guarantee shared sound). With Skiff’s default CLICK LEVEL, GHOULBOX’s import migrations force RESTORE LAST ON and autosave writes by itself after edits and quiet. A saved LOW click level can suppress that migration and leave autosave OFF; check RESTORE LAST after import.
  • M-VAVE FM-1 Open: At risk by itself: project A; project B; project C; project D; user sounds’ own FM6 patches; user sound bank 1 (only FM6 sounds can lose their own patches and fall back to a factory patch or the initial voice; other sounds remain; other writes can also erase it); user sound bank 2 (only FM6 sounds can lose their own patches and fall back to a factory patch or the initial voice; other sounds remain; other writes can also erase it). At risk when you act: user sample USR1; user sample USR2; user sample USR3; last session; shared 64-pattern pool; settings, calibration and favourites.
  • FM-106: At risk by itself: settings, calibration and favourites.
  • Hortator: At risk by itself: settings, calibration and favourites. At risk when you act: project A; project B; project C; project D. Carried over: user sample USR1 (Sample bytes remain on the unit; playback follows Hortator’s one-shot engines, so loop and slice behaviour can differ. Valid header and zone bounds are required; no unit switch was tested); user sample USR2 (Sample bytes remain on the unit; playback follows Hortator’s one-shot engines, so loop and slice behaviour can differ. Valid header and zone bounds are required; no unit switch was tested); user sample USR3 (Sample bytes remain on the unit; playback follows Hortator’s one-shot engines, so loop and slice behaviour can differ. Valid header and zone bounds are required; no unit switch was tested).
  • OberVave: At risk by itself: shared 64-pattern pool (some or all of it lost); settings, calibration and favourites.
  • Polly: At risk by itself: project A; project B; project C; project D; user sounds’ own FM6 patches; user sample USR1; user sample USR2; user sound bank 1 (only FM6 sounds can lose their own patches and fall back to a factory patch or the initial voice; other sounds remain; other writes can also erase it); user sound bank 2 (only FM6 sounds can lose their own patches and fall back to a factory patch or the initial voice; other sounds remain; other writes can also erase it); settings, calibration and favourites. At risk by itself, under a condition: last session; shared 64-pattern pool. At risk when you act: user sample USR3.
• Who reads whose data.
  Show the detail

  Other firmwares reading Skiff's data: Felucca reads and uses Skiff's settings, calibration and favourites; user sounds’ own FM6 patches; user sample USR1; user sample USR2; user sample USR3 (Skiff’s migration marker enables Felucca’s beta second core at startup; some other shared preference bytes also have different meanings; each patch must still match its FM6 user record; sample loop and slice behaviour follow this reader’s engines); JIANT reads and uses Skiff's settings, calibration and favourites (shared settings bytes select different preferences); ChoralRoot takes over Skiff's settings, calibration and favourites, converting them (After ChoralRoot saves these settings, Skiff cannot read back the newer record. Returning to Skiff starts its preferences and calibration from defaults; the older copy is not retried just because the newest record has a different format); GHOULBOX reads and uses Skiff's settings, calibration and favourites; user sounds’ own FM6 patches; user sample USR1; user sample USR2; user sample USR3 (shared settings bytes select different preferences; each patch must still match its FM6 user record; sample loop and slice behaviour follow this reader’s engines); Felucca lists Skiff's user sound bank 1; user sound bank 2, but plays them differently (DRUM-X sounds are empty or a different engine; shared names do not guarantee shared sound); JIANT takes over Skiff's user sound bank 1; user sound bank 2, converting them (Conversion changes sound records and can detach their own FM6 patches; saving anywhere in the bank makes the converted records persist on return to Skiff); ChoralRoot lists Skiff's user sound bank 1; user sound bank 2, but plays them differently (renumbered and disabled engines change sound; deep FM6 patches are not imported); GHOULBOX lists Skiff's user sound bank 1; user sound bank 2, but plays them differently (DRUM-X sounds are empty or a different engine; shared names do not guarantee shared sound); JIANT lists Skiff's user sounds’ own FM6 patches, but plays them differently (The own-patch link is lost when JIANT converts an unmarked Skiff sound; writing that bank makes the broken link persist back in Skiff); SLOOP reads and uses Skiff's user sample USR1; user sample USR2; user sample USR3 (sample loop and slice behaviour follow this reader’s engines); X0X reads and uses Skiff's user sample USR1; user sample USR2; user sample USR3 (Sample bytes carry over; X0X uses its own zone and break-loop playback rather than Skiff’s sound and hand-set slice behaviour); Hortator reads and uses Skiff's user sample USR1; user sample USR2; user sample USR3 (Sample bytes remain on the unit; playback follows Hortator’s one-shot engines, so loop and slice behaviour can differ. Valid header and zone bounds are required; no unit switch was tested). What Skiff reads of other firmwares' data: Skiff takes over Hortator's settings and panel calibration, converting them (Skiff imports the old preferences, then writes its newer settings format by itself at first start. Returning to Hortator cannot read that newest record: settings, panel calibration and the remembered Bluetooth device start from defaults; it does not retry the older copy); Skiff reads and uses Hortator's user samples USR1; user samples USR2; user samples USR3 (sample loop and slice behaviour follow this reader’s engines); Skiff reads and uses Felucca's user presets 1-16; user presets 17-32; FM6 patches of the FM6 user presets; user sample slot USR1; user sample slot USR2; user sample slot USR3; Skiff reads and uses SLOOP's user sounds U01-U16; user sounds U17-U32; user sample slot USR1 (header at 0xA0000); user sample slot USR2 (header at 0xB4000); user sample slot USR3 (header at 0xC8000); Skiff reads and uses X0X's break loops slot 1; break loops slot 2; break loops slot 3; Skiff reads and uses JIANT's user sounds U01-U16; user sounds U17-U32; FM6 patches of the FM6 user sounds; Skiff lists GHOULBOX's user sounds 1–16; user sounds 17–32, but plays them differently (GURDY records become DRUM-X; a matching name does not prove the same sound); Skiff reads and uses GHOULBOX's FM6 patches for user sounds; user sample slot USR1; user sample slot USR2; user sample slot USR3 (an FM6 patch must still match its user record; sample playback and loop behaviour follow the reader’s engines); Skiff imports part of Felucca’s settings and calibration, but can clear learned MIDI, custom colours and other preferences and save the changes without asking; Skiff imports part of JIANT’s settings and calibration, but replaces MIDI OUT and can change other preferences without asking; Skiff imports part of GHOULBOX’s settings and calibration, but can clear GURDY stars, click preferences and other settings and save without asking. Everything else of another firmware's looks empty or foreign to the reader.

• Every way each write can happen, for all mapped firmwares: the flash atlas's table. Read in each firmware's source (closed ones: their docs or third-party reports); nothing was tested on a unit.

Skiff keeps four projects, 64 shared patterns, 32 user sounds with their own FM6 patches, three user sample sets, saved MAN slice markers, and settings including panel calibration and stars. A project names patterns in one shared pool; changing a shared pattern changes every entry that uses it. Changed patterns save themselves after a quiet stopped pause, even with RESTORE LAST off. With RESTORE LAST on, the last session also saves after ten quiet seconds, normally with a minute between save rounds, though a full pending queue bypasses that gap and a stopped pattern operation can flush immediately to make room. Save a project or take a full backup to flush patterns while stopped. Powering off does not start a save. First start can also change and save settings, and convert accepted older projects, without asking. When all 64 patterns are occupied, new notes on a track with no assigned pattern can be missing after restart even though the session autosave completes, because that save contains no copy of those steps; make room and complete a project save that reports SAVED before powering off.

Switching to Skiff 1.1 leaves out the newer effects, second envelope and drum controls. An ENV2 modulation source becomes EXPR there; turn that slot off if needed. Saving in 1.1 permanently drops the newer settings, and some sound names or built-in SLICE samples differ. Back up before switching; see the switching advice in this section for startup and ordinary-use risks.

• Which Felucca projects load: The README names Felucca 1.1.5 as Skiff’s ancestor and says its sounds and projects load. Skiff reads the older formats it inherited, but later Felucca project formats are not all readable and can appear as empty slots.
• Full backup omits MAN slice markers: The guide describes the installer backup as complete. The backup includes each sample’s audio and sample settings but omits its saved MAN slice markers. Keep a separate record of those positions.
• Backup after a failed pattern flush: The guide describes a complete music backup. Backup capture continues after a pattern flush reports a full pool or write failure. A resulting file can therefore miss pending pattern edits; file creation alone does not verify that all current music was captured. This follows from reading the source and was not tested on a unit.

• 123 naming and G5: In 123 name entry, G5 types + and advances the cursor.
• Comment drift: Comments describing a fixed 0.7-second hold, four FX cuts, inactive PRESETS on SLICES or stopped-only sequencer tools describe older behavior; executable handlers define this map.
• Undo limits: Undo has eight supported edits, disappears across project load or power loss, and pattern or motion undo needs the track back on the same pattern; it is not an erase or file-restore safety net.

Mapped from illuminus5/skiff at v1.2 (5bbd35da7ad4b92e5f9d90204cbf28ff9f6fc6a7), 2026-10-16. Each entry’s evidence and pinned source lines are in [skiff.json](skiff.json). Source reading only, with no unit testing; an independent checker found zero errors in round 3 (2026-10-16).

Skiff is GPL-3.0-only, by illuminus5, based on Felucca by Leo Kuroshita / Hügelton Instruments; bundled components retain their own licences. This independent guide uses original wording and is not affiliated with Skiff, Hügelton Instruments or M-VAVE. Firmware downloads remain with their authors.