Custom Firmware on the OP-1

[TabascoEye]

Dear people of the OP lands,

it only took 10 years and AI to derail this thread
So let’s quickly summarise what is happening right now and where to go from here:

In 2016, I took apart the update file from TE and found we can manipulate small parts of the firmware by editing the files which are easily readable (the SVG files for changing graphics, and the SQLite database files for parameters and “unlocking” some stuff which was hidden in the firmware).

I then explained that to truly modify the firmware, there would be several steps involved:

@TabascoEye

So essentially, to really run your own code on the OP-1 you would have to:

1. write a decoder software to turn the LDR file back into DXE
2. find out the format of DXE
3. write a disassembler for blackfin (or hope that e.g. radare works with it)
4. analyze the codeflow and delete/insert parts where needed
5. turn the DXE file into LDR again
6. re-package the whole OP-1 firmware update package
7. upload! \o/

and yes. That is about as much pain as it sounds.

That process never really happened because it is a stupid amount of work (for humans…). Some of us had the firmware disassembled in IDA pro but only partly and the Indiana Jones part of finding all the relevant entrypoints and workings of that disassembly was never really taken on because it’s tedious and “ain’t nobody got time for that”.

This is where the AI came crashing in. Basically it did all those steps mentioned back then, probably using a popular SKILL which explains to the AI how to use those reverse engineering tools (Ghidra, Hopper, IDA pro, …) check it out here: https://rea.tools/

So in essence, the AI mapped out how the binary works and where in memory all the functions are and what they do. Then you can do step 4 from above, insert/edit/delete parts and correctly inject them and use the existing functions as entry points.

@TabascoEye

the cown jewels: creating all the tools necessary to crack the actual firmware open, figure out how it works and mess with it until something new comes out (usually the “hello world” of custom firmware on devices is getting “DOOM” to run… … …)

basically that.

That is what all the firmwares out there are now doing, but each of them is using different approaches because AI is not deterministic and everyones prompts also differ.
Of course humans always want EVERYTHING, so the desire for a combined firmware including all the mods is understandable.

The caveats to this are:

1. The “entrypoints” are basically hardcoded addresses in the memory layout of the OP-1 original firmware. That is why all the mods rely on #246 and exactly that version. If TE was to ever release a #247 (which I doubt at this point), the mods might fail to work on that because a new version might have different addresses for the functions and then you get random behavior and crashes.
2. To make the firmware “easily extendable” you need a flexible “plugin system”, so that new fx and synths can be developed, fit in with the rest of the system, not interfere with each other and so on. The new custom firmwares all seem to try to solve this, but not the exact same way. That is why you have these discussions on here now.

Now in the age of AI, development happened pretty friggin fast and so there is not one but LOTS of custom firmwares, which also take parts from each other in order to get to the EVERYTHING part (or at least personal preference of it).

My best try at an overview:

• https://pcppcp.github.io/op1r/web/ “op1r” which includes works by others and has a plugin system
• https://maikopruett.com/op-1 counts the firmware numbers up from original te #246 which is pretty confusing , contains stuff from op1r
• https://hundekraft.github.io/op1-workshop/index.html another one with own mods and lots of includes from the others
• https://opus-op1.pages.dev/ also has it’s own plugin concept, more mods and inclusions by others
• Maybe more which I don’t know about or are kept private

As for the ongoing discussions, updates, development and future of all these, there are a multitude of places as well. Some in this forum:

• OPUS: a Mod Suite for the original OP-1 (246)
• SafeSpace for custom firmwares / help&guidance / new things
• OP-1 Origin Emulator

and some outside of this forum:

• /r/OP1users on Reddit
• Discord: Custom Operator

If you want to get active yourself, I would recommend using a combination of

• your favourite AI
• maybe the op1 emulator GitHub - op1emu/op1emu: OP-1 emulator · GitHub
• include the design kit if you want to stay true to the heart of the device:
  OP-1 Design Kit · SquareWave Studio
• and decide on which Plugin-system (and/or philosophy) you like best, and point your AI at that

Now to close this: A lot has happened in the past few weeks, so it’s wild, exciting, annoying, exhausting and overwhelming to watch and try to keep up.
So chill, enjoy the new life for the OG-1 and be kind to each other along the way!

Just for story time: The original “Disclaimer” I put into the very first post in this thread has made quite the difference to how things turned out in those 2 first years…
Be respectful to each other as well as to TE and let’s have more fun and get all the new stuff more stable instead of competing.

kind regards,
TabascoEye