On a hunch I ordered another 2880 to compare the two. The new 2880 reads both of my CF cards and the original 2880 CF card just fine. The old 2880 does not read any CF cards. I am returning the old 2880 today.

I am super puzzled how the CF card reader could go bad from just sitting on the table, especially after reading so many posts about CF card problems.

Is there a design flaw in the 2880’s card reader?

Also, I noticed that it is possible to insert a CF card upside down into the 2880. A computer CF card slot uses the groves built on the side of the CF card to make it impossible to insert upside down, the 2880 doesn’t seem to do this, or not well enough anyway.

I have this bad feeling my new 2880 will not last. I do love the machine though!!

Update:

I got a new flash card, formated it to 2880 spec. The 2880 does not read the card. After trying the new flash card, the original card that shipped with the 2880 will no longer read in the 2880 or in a PC CF card reader. So the unit is officially a paper weight.

I have found in another buried thread, a random post saying that EHX recommends “The San Disk Ultra II series” CF card. So I have ordered one of these, and will update this thread with my results.

It’s a serious downer that a great machine like the 2880 is laden with memory card issues. I am very disappointed, but will continue to try and solve this.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

-poly

I see, so there is definitely something going wrong for me. Hmmmmm… Its brand new so I hope the problem is just the CF card. I will post back when I have had a chance to test this out.

Thanks a lot for your help,
-poly

Thanks for the response, just to clarify:
Were you responding to Cryabetes issue or the one that I was describing?

In my case, when powering on the 2880, _with_ the CF card inserted, data loads from the CF card as expected. However, from this point on in order to record/playback I must send a midi start signal to the 2880 (while 2880 is in EXT clock with quantize on).

Where as, powering on the 2880 _without_ the CF card inserted, and then inserting the CF card after the 2880 is fully on, will let me start/stop record like normal with the buttons on the 2880, without me having to send the midi start signal (while 2880 is in EXT clock and quantize on).

I don’t yet understand how loading loop data from the CF card will change the start/stop/record behavior when in EXT clock mode with quantize on. Is this considered normal for the 2880?

Insight on this matter would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
-poly

I had the same problem, it seemed to work for a little bit then it would not record, blinking lights while in ext clock and quant mode just like you said.

I ended up fixing it but haven’t tracked down exactly what fix it was that did the trick on it:

Fix 1) First off the manual says in ext clock mode the 2880 needs a midi start signal to start recording. So I hooked that together and it start recording as expected. Not the greatest workflow for my personal setup, but it does work.

Fix 2) However, by following the steps below, I was then able to record in ext clock mode, with quantize on, without sending the midi start signal. The exact way I hoped the 2880 would behave.

1) unplugging the 2880
2) removing the memory card
3) booting the 2880
4) re-inserting the memory card

So…. I hope through a little more experimentation I will realize exactly what I need to do to get the behavior I like from the 2880. I don’t know if that will work for you, but its worth a try .

On a side note, whats the best way to clear the loops out, if you want to start fresh?

-poly