So I was thinking... We have an expansion pack already for the 11R. Could someone with MUCH greater programming skills than I perhaps get the window into using the DSP on the device by tracking what the expansion pack installer actually sends to the 11R?

What I mean is, track all the data packets being sent over USB to and from the 11R AS the firmware updater for the expansion pack is installing? Would that provide anything useful?

Or perhaps do some reverse engineering on the Expansion Pack installer to reveal the new 11R firmware itself.... and see how the 11R could be firmware updated with some other modified firmware, etc.etc.

Just throwing out some ideas here... my programming skill level is fairly terrible (I deal in mostly electrical engineering and not any coding; analog here instead of digital work haha ).

I may buy a 2nd 11R if I can find one super super dirt cheap and mod the analog side of it... put in a much better Mic preamp (API, Neve, or Millenia style anyone?!), upgrade some components in the power supply, upgrade some of the input circuitry (if applicable), etc., but I'd REALLY like someone to crack this thing so people can load their own IR's and eventually write their own amp models -- or at least tweak the existing ones.

Heck, I think it would even be cool if Fractal decided to offer a paid 11R upgrade where they wrote new amp models which you could install over the Avid 11R firmware... like say, you'd get maybe a handful of the AxeFX models running on the 11R.... I know it's got the hardware to run something like that with the DSP onboard... just would take them writing it....

If you think about it, it's a good business proposition as well for Fractal... they would sell a TON of copies, which would be just a digital download and require no actual hardware manufacturing (no production or materials cost either for distribution -- only the cost of initial development and maintenance). And factor in the big "F-YOU" factor towards their "competition" Avid who refuses to continue the 11R as a product or support it much at all.... It would serve as a gateway into people buying the next AxeFx whenever that comes out... [anyone over at fractal listening to me here?! ]


Anyone working towards this, or have any other ideas? I'd like to see this happen and would be willing to help in non-programming ways.

As I see that, those DSP are programmed using some kind of language that compiles to binary.
It is the same for a lot of softwares on your computer.
It means that inspecting the data sent to the DSP is just like looking at an ".exe" file on windows, just a blob of binary data.
It would probably not help much as it would not reveal the source code for the DPS program.
Reverse engineering this kind of stuff is almost impossible, it would require skills even more rare than programming the DSP. If it is possible at all...
It may also require some soldering to plug specific probes for debugging... this is the kind of things firmware and electronic programmers do.

This is my guess on the subject, I a in no way a firmware programmer, but some frinds are (but not working on DSPs).

I think that there are more chances to convince AVID to either release all sources of their firmware or allow some 3rd party to work on that (crowdfunding contract or something like that ?). Well, I don't believe in that for a second, sadly...

I agree Bzer.

Some of the routines written in the 11R are written using assembly code, for quickness, and the rest in C or C++. The assembly code would take weeks, perhaps months to redo and that is doing it as a full time job. The C/C++ code is a whole lot faster but still would take one programmer a minimum of a year to get to where the 11R is today. I could do it but I have a lot more fun things to do with my time... Like play guitar? That all sounds like work.

Dare I say: Worse case, buy an Axe FX II and have both modelers? Seeing as I don't have either modeler what do I know? YMMV. But, I will own both. I am sure of it.

well hwy,we could pay you a loto if u could do that

There is a guy here in Houston that was the first person I saw back in 2011 that advertised doing mods on the 11R... This thread here. I always wanted to call him up and get more detail about his mod, but I have never gotten around to it...I'm sure most of it is simple installing higher grade audiophile components and such...

The Tone Doctor: mods page

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Ahh, gotcha. I wasn't sure of the specifics of how it transfers data over the USB, from the installer, etc. etc.

Anyway, it sounds like the only hope of this might be a company like Fractal deciding to give Avid a major black eye in the guitar gear department....