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DOWNLOAD NODE / RELEASE 0.2.37

BKLVA
POCKET DAW

Firmware and field manual for a standalone music workstation living inside an M5Stack Cardputer ADV.

LATEST BUILD
0.2.37
FIRMWARE
DIRECT .BIN / 5.1 MB
MANUAL
0.2.37 / 19 PAGES

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Sixteen screens from BKLVA Pocket DAW 0.2.37, including four-lane and lane-focus sequencing, sampler, instruments, synth, mixer, Wi-Fi, USB phone sampling, and boot
RELEASE 0.2.37 / SYSTEM SCREENS

THE CARDPUTER MUSIC WORKSTATION

FOUR TRACKS.
ONE POCKET.

BKLVA Pocket DAW turns the M5Stack Cardputer ADV into a complete, playable music workstation. Record long audio to microSD, slice samples, turn a slice into a saved chromatic instrument, layer drums, sequence patterns, mix the result, and keep complete songs.

Tracks can use Loop, Slice, Synth, Drum, or Instrument sound sources. Version 0.2.37 lets the sequencer switch between the complete four-lane arrangement and a roomy single-lane focus editor. USB MIDI, digital phone sampling, and Wi-Fi management widen the machine without making a laptop part of writing.

TRACKS
4
MAX PATTERN
8 BARS
AUDIO
44.1 KHZ
SONG SLOTS
8

DISPLAY ARCHIVE / 0.2.37

LOOK INSIDE.

Sixteen views from the working instrument: two sequencer modes, recording, mixing, system health, Wi-Fi management, direct phone-audio capture, and boot. Select any screen for a closer look.

BKLVA Pocket DAW 0.2.37 four-lane sequencer showing all tracks and the selected step detail 01 / 4 LANE SEQUENCER BKLVA Pocket DAW 0.2.37 lane-focus sequencer with one roomy sixteen-step editor and three compact lane overviews 02 / LANE FOCUS BKLVA Pocket DAW 0.2.37 song settings with tempo, length, swing, and recording quantize 03 / SONG BKLVA Pocket DAW 0.2.37 sampler waveform with editable cue points and fades 04 / SAMPLER BKLVA Pocket DAW 0.2.37 saved chromatic sample instrument controls 05 / INSTRUMENT BKLVA Pocket DAW 0.2.37 six-voice synthesizer controls 06 / SYNTH BKLVA Pocket DAW 0.2.37 four-track mixer 07 / MIXER BKLVA Pocket DAW 0.2.37 master compression, delay, and reverb controls 08 / MASTER FX BKLVA Pocket DAW 0.2.37 audio, USB MIDI, CPU, SD, and battery status 09 / STATUS BKLVA Pocket DAW 0.2.37 music page menu 10 / MUSIC MENU BKLVA Pocket DAW 0.2.37 system menu 11 / SYSTEM MENU BKLVA Pocket DAW 0.2.37 remembered Home Wi-Fi settings and management controls 12 / WI-FI SETTINGS BKLVA Pocket DAW 0.2.37 Wi-Fi network scan screen 13 / WI-FI SCAN BKLVA Pocket DAW 0.2.37 browser manage mode with local web address and credentials 14 / MANAGE MODE BKLVA Pocket DAW 0.2.37 digital phone-audio capture screen 15 / USB SAMPLE BKLVA Pocket DAW 0.2.37 boot screen 16 / BOOT

THE COMPLETE 0.2.37 FEATURE LIST

A POCKET WORKSTATION, NOT A TOY.

01

FOUR LANES + LANE FOCUS

Press V to move between the complete four-track arrangement and a roomy sixteen-step editor for the selected lane. Both views edit the same pattern, follow the active bar, and clearly show mute, solo, note, gate, and timing state.

02

LONG SD-BACKED RECORDING

Hold to capture 44.1 kHz mono PCM16 from the microphone directly to microSD. Long takes, loops, and instrument tails are no longer squeezed into the small internal RAM window.

03

EDITABLE CUE SAMPLER

Shape up to 16 cues with selection, movement, deletion, zoom, and per-slice fades. Resample the master or convert long PCM16 WAV files from 8 to 96 kHz.

04

SAVED SAMPLE INSTRUMENTS

Turn any selected slice into a four-voice chromatic instrument with root, tune, ADSR, filter, loop, and gate controls. Save it in one of 16 global slots for use across songs.

05

SIX-VOICE SYNTH

Editable oscillator color, detune, ADSR, resonant filter, envelope, and LFO controls with eight presets. Play it from the Cardputer keyboard or class-compliant USB MIDI.

06

EIGHT-PART DRUM MACHINE

Synthesized kick, snare, closed and open hats, percussion, clap, tom, and cymbal. Layer parts on a step or perform them directly into the pattern.

07

DELIBERATE FOUR-TRACK SEQUENCER

Build one-, two-, four-, or eight-bar songs from 40 to 240 BPM. True count-in, recording-only metronome, quantize down to 1/64, deliberate arming, and automatic disarm keep recording sane.

08

MIX + MASTER FINISH

Each track gets volume, centered filtering, drive, delay send, mute, and solo. Finish with compression, delay, damped reverb, and transparent output limiting.

09

DUAL USB WORKFLOW

Normal mode hosts class-compliant USB MIDI. A separate USB Sample mode records compatible phone audio digitally with input monitoring, then returns the take to the sampler.

10

WI-FI FILE MANAGEMENT

Remember a Home Wi-Fi network or create a Direct AP. The browser manager can upload, download, preview, rename, delete, and organize SD files without removing the card.

BUILD HISTORY / PUBLIC CHANGELOG

THE MACHINE REMEMBERS.

A public record of what changed, what became sturdier, and what new musical machinery appeared.

0.2.37 01 AUG 2026 CURRENT FIRMWARE

SEQUENCER

  • Added switchable 4 Lane and Lane Focus layouts, toggled directly with V.
  • Lane Focus enlarges the selected 16-step lane while keeping three compact track overviews visible.
  • Added playing-bar follow and a low-bandwidth realtime playhead to both views.
  • Recorded Synth notes now preserve performed hold length and release behavior.

MUTE AND SOLO

  • Muting dims the complete lane and adds a small M marker without changing its name.
  • Solo keeps the selected lane clear while dimming the other tracks.
  • Persistent header indicators show when mute or solo affects playback on another page.

LOOP RECORDING

  • Loop recording now starts and closes on exact musical sample positions.
  • Pressing R while recording schedules a clean stop at the next bar boundary.
  • Early stops fill only the unfinished part of the bar with silence.
  • Recorded loops return to the same position without hidden padding or gradual drift.

INTERFACE

  • Changed the display background to true black and increased text contrast.
  • Corrected the indexed palette so grey, cyan, orange, and magenta stay clean.
  • Improved the compact interface font and maintenance headings.
  • Added a deliberate 2.5-second BKLVA splash on normal cold boot.

WI-FI AND MANAGE MODE

  • Moved Home Wi-Fi discovery into a dedicated boot-time scan before the realtime audio engine, USB host, and full interface load.
  • Added automatic scan retry and a hard timeout instead of leaving the device stuck on a failed scan.
  • Home Wi-Fi selection and password remain saved for the next connection.
  • Leaving Home Wi-Fi or Direct AP Manage Mode now performs a clean return to the music system.
  • The active song, SD streams, audio engine, and USB MIDI host restore automatically after Manage Mode.
  • Wi-Fi mode changes skip the decorative cold-boot splash for a faster, clearer return to music.

DOCUMENTATION

  • Added a new 19-page public user manual covering the complete 0.2.37 build.
  • Added an updated overview of both sequencer views, Wi-Fi tools, Manage Mode, and USB Sample.
0.2.20 30 JUL 2026 INSTRUMENTS + USB

SAMPLE INSTRUMENTS

  • Added a four-voice chromatic Instrument made from any selected sampler slice with Fn+I.
  • Added 16 global Instrument slots stored on microSD.
  • Added root note, tune, ADSR, filter, resonance, loop, gate, and mono/poly controls.
  • Added Cardputer keyboard, sequencer, and USB MIDI performance for Instrument tracks.

USB

  • Added separate modes for normal DAW USB MIDI and USB phone-audio sampling.
  • Added phone status, input metering, recording time, and optional input monitoring.
  • Returning from USB Sample imports the capture into the sampler and restores the DAW.

RECORDING AND TIMING

  • Added true count-in pre-roll while the song and playhead remain parked.
  • Improved live-record timing around step one and pattern wraparound.
  • Added adaptive human timing compensation while preserving unquantized recording.
  • Stopping transport now disarms Step Record and Live Record automatically.

REALTIME STABILITY

  • Reduced display-transfer bandwidth to protect audio and SD streaming.
  • Stabilized live Synth playing while Instrument tracks stream from microSD.
  • Improved protection against stuck notes, clicks, and invalid filter feedback.
0.1.32 27 JUL 2026 PUBLIC BASELINE

FIRST DOCUMENTED PUBLIC BUILD

  • Four-track sequencer with 16 steps per bar and song lengths up to eight bars.
  • 44.1 kHz signed 16-bit mono recording and playback.
  • Loop, Slice, Synth, and Drum track types with step and live recording.
  • Microphone sampler with waveform editing and up to 16 cue-defined slices.
  • Six-voice synth, eight-part drums, eight song slots, USB MIDI, mixing, effects, and system monitoring.

BEFORE UPDATING: Back up songs, samples, and Instrument files that cannot be replaced. Pocket-sized does not mean emotionally replaceable.

BKLVA POCKET DAW // COMMUNITY ONLINE

BKLVA // BENCH

BENCH // OPEN

BUG REPORTS • FEATURE IDEAS • PUBLIC PROGRESS

STATUS THE BOARD IS LISTENING. Bugs, ideas, replies, and progress.

Found something broken or thought of something better? Put it on the public bench. Your email stays private; the useful part becomes visible so everyone can follow what happens next.

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Bug report or feature request

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A SMALL MACHINE WITH A COMPLETE LOOP

FROM NOISE TO SONG.

  1. CAPTURE Record a long microphone take, capture phone audio through USB, import a WAV, or resample the master.
  2. SHAPE Edit cues, save a chromatic sample instrument, design a synth patch, or choose a drum.
  3. SEQUENCE Read the whole arrangement in 4 Lane, focus one track for detail, step-record, or perform live into REC.
  4. MIX Balance tracks, filter, drive, add delay, and shape the master.
  5. SAVE Store the song in one of eight slots and keep reusable instruments in 16 global slots.

VERSION 0.2.37

TECHNICAL SIGNAL.

DEVICE M5Stack Cardputer ADV
AUDIO ENGINE 44,100 Hz / signed 16-bit PCM
SEQUENCER 4 Lane + Lane Focus / 16 steps per bar / 1, 2, 4, or 8 bars
SAMPLER Long SD-streamed mono PCM16 / up to 16 editable cues
VOICES 6 synth voices / 4 instrument voices / 8 drum parts
STORAGE 8 complete song slots on FAT32 microSD
MIDI Class-compliant USB MIDI host input + output
USB AUDIO Separate compatible phone-audio capture mode
WI-FI Remembered Home Wi-Fi / Direct AP / browser manager
FIRMWARE 0.2.37 BIN / 8 MB flash / address 0x0000

USEFUL ANSWERS

BEFORE YOU FLASH.

What exactly is BKLVA Pocket DAW?

It is standalone music workstation firmware for the M5Stack Cardputer ADV, combining four-track sequencing, long recording, sampling, saved instruments, synthesis, drums, mixing, effects, song storage, USB audio, USB MIDI, and Wi-Fi management.

What hardware do I need?

Version 0.2.37 is made for the M5Stack Cardputer ADV. A reliable FAT32 microSD card is recommended for projects, long samples, loop recordings, and saved instruments.

Can it record and import samples?

Yes. Record long 44.1 kHz microphone audio directly to microSD, capture compatible phone audio through USB Sample mode, resample the master, or convert PCM16 WAV files from 8 to 96 kHz. A sample can hold up to 16 editable cues.

Does it support USB MIDI?

Yes. Normal DAW mode hosts class-compliant USB MIDI input and output for the selected track. USB Sample mode is a separate role for compatible phone-audio capture, so the two modes are used one at a time.

Can I manage files without removing the microSD card?

Yes. Connect through remembered Home Wi-Fi or the device's Direct AP, then use the browser manager to upload, download, preview, rename, delete, and organize files. Audio pauses while management owns the SD card so simultaneous writes cannot occur.

How do I install version 0.2.37?

Download the 0.2.37 BIN and flash it at address 0x0000. The 19-page manual explains G0 download mode, the online ESP tool, flash settings, and first boot.

Will updating erase my saved songs?

The microSD card does not need to be erased. Compatible song slots, patterns, patches, samples, and 44.1 kHz loop WAV files can remain while the firmware is updated.

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