We've become aware of some critical issues when using the MiniNova software (Editor, Librarian and firmware updater) on both Mac and Windows, therefore we have removed the MiniNova installer from the downloads page in order to ensure you have the best experience with your MiniNova we can currently provide.
We're investigating how to resolve these issues as early as we can, but in the mean time, this article describes some alternatives to allow you to continue using your MiniNova.
Firmware
Most units have the latest firmware version, 1274. This can be checked by going to Menu > Global > Page right until you see OS Ver. If you need to update the firmware please contact us directly.
Patches
Patches can still be retrieved and loaded with SysEx software such as SysEx Librarian on macOS, or MIDI OX on Windows.
Below you'll find full instructions for this process on Mac and Windows.
Mac
You can use SysEx Librarian as an alternative to the Librarian software to retrieve patches from or send patches to your MiniNova.
To start, you will need the Novation USB MIDI driver installed. This is found on the downloads page for the MiniNova here: https://fael-downloads-prod.focusrite.com/customer/prod/downloads/NovationUsbMidi_2.20.0.28.dmg
You’ll also need SysEx Librarian, which is found here: https://www.snoize.com/SysExLibrarian/
With SysEx Librarian open and MiniNova connected and powered, you should now be able to select MiniNova as the MIDI device.
Dump a patch
Let’s start by retrieving a single patch. To do this, first click Record One in SysEx Librarian. Then, press Menu on the MiniNova, use the Page Right button to access the Dump menu, and press OK.
You can dump the currently selected patch with DumpCrPch (Dump Current Patch) by pressing OK again.
To select a different patch, Page Right to Set Bank and select the bank the patch is in using the Data dial. Then, Page Right to SetPatch and select the patch. Finally, Page Right once more to DumpPtch (Dump Selected Patch) and press OK.
The resulting message will be captured as “Untitled”. Using the file menu, you can save the output of this message and save it for loading/sending in future.
Dump a bank
You can use a similar process to capture an entire bank from your MiniNova. To do this, click Record Many in SysEx Librarian. Then, press Menu on the MiniNova, use the Page Right button to access the Dump menu, and press OK.
Next, Page Right to Set Bank and select the bank with the Data dial. Finally, Page Right to DumpBank (Dump Selected Bank) and press OK.
The files saved here can be sent using SysEx Librarian, load the file in SysEx Librarian and press Play to send them across. If you use the DumpCrPch (Dump Current Patch) option, single patches are sent back to the unit but are not saved in any location – this needs to be done on the MiniNova itself. This means sending a single patch does not overwrite data.
Specific single patches and banks will overwrite the location in memory it was originally saved at as soon as they are sent.
Windows
You can use MIDI OX as an alternative to the Librarian software to retrieve patches from or send patches to your MiniNova.
To start, you will need the Novation USB MIDI driver installed. This is found on the downloads page for the MiniNova here: https://fael-downloads-prod.focusrite.com/customer/prod/downloads/novationusbmidi_2.30.0_75_3.exe
You’ll then need to install MIDI OX from the MIDI OX website (http://www.midiox.com/moxdown.htm).
Once installed, with MiniNova connected and powered, open MIDI OX and navigate to Options → MIDI Devices. Then, elect the MiniNova under MIDI Inputs and MIDI Outputs, and press OK.
Once done, press View → SysEx. You can use this window to capture and send patch data.
Dump a patch
Let’s start by retrieving a single patch. To do this, go to SysEx → Receive Manual Dump in MIDI OX. Then, press Menu on the MiniNova, use the Page Right button to access the Dump menu, and press OK.
You can dump the currently selected patch with DumpCrPch (Dump Current Patch) by pressing OK again.
To select a different patch, Page Right to Set Bank and select the bank the patch is in using the Data dial. Then, Page Right to SetPatch and select the patch with the Data dial. Finally, Page Right once more to DumpPtch (Dump Selected Patch) and press OK.
A single patch will be 526 bytes. The resulting message will be captured in the bottom of the window. You can use Display → Save As to save the file.
Dump a bank
You can use a similar process to capture an entire bank from your MiniNova. To do this, go to SysEx → Receive Manual Dump in MIDI OX. Then, press Menu on the MiniNova, use the Page Right button to access the Dump menu, and press OK.
Next, Page Right to Set Bank and select the bank with the Data dial. Finally, Page Right to DumpBank (Dump Selected Bank) and press OK.
The files saved here can be sent using MIDI OX, Load the file and use File → Send SysEx file to send them across. When using the Dump Current Patch option, single patches are sent to the unit but are not saved in any location – this needs to be done on the MiniNova itself. This means sending a single patch does not overwrite data.
Specific single patches and banks will overwrite the location in memory it was originally saved at as soon as they are sent.