Same, I think. With this firmware, the ways in which Zadar or Batumi or Quadrax are better are always countered with a number of other ways Stages beats them.
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Thanks for the headās up!
I am literally eating pad Thai right now before going to pick up the wood that will be my custom cases for my first euro rack system of which Stages (clone Oscillausarus plate) will be sitting in. 5 months Iāve had all of my modules. This is a nice firmware surprise to see!
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Hi guys. I realise itās been a while since anyone posted on this thread. Stages is by far my favourite module and Iām gutted I didnāt buy more before Mutable called it a day. Does anyone know of a reason why there are no clones of Stages? Seems strange as the other Mutable modules are so readily available from 3rd party builders.
Probably because it is incredibly hard to calibrate.
You can buy the PCB, there are 3rd party front panels and the BOMs exist for easy ordering.
Iāve seen a few made up and they are a similar price to original units
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"Stages is an advanced level build. It uses a lot of 0402 passives, 0603 will fit on some pads, but youāll need to test the fit before you start placing or soldering them. some of the 0402 passives are very tightly spaced, Iād say someone whoās managed a Warps and Veils could do this with no problems.
My suspicion is that Stages is best tackled by using a stencil and solder paste, together with strong magnification. Care will need to be taken soldering the SMD power connector.
Depending on your choice of sliders, you might need to consider an SMD SWD header instead of a through hole one (the Mutable version of Stages doesnāt include this header as modules are now programmed at the factory using a custom rig with pogo pins instead. There are programming cables available now with pogo pins at one end instead of an IDC connector, one of these would be a good investment for anyone who wants to build these newer modules (any digital module from Plaits onwards).
This is a fiendishly challenging DIY synth project, many here are much easier.
The easiest way to flash Stages is to use a discovery board, Mutable Instruments use ST part Number: STM32F0DISCOVERY in the flashing and testing jigs they supply to their manufacturer, some people have had problems using a genuine STLINKV2 for this, but the disco boards work fine and are very inexpensive."
Soooooooo I need to shell out the cash for a second hand one on Reverb?
Well, thatās your call. Depends what you consider to be the value and how long youāre happy to wait.
I have one and itās great, but Iād not pay over Ā£220 for one myself.
My Stages is sat unused but I havenāt been able to bring myself to sell it as it is potentially a very useful module - it can be used in so many different ways. I know if I let it go I wonāt be getting another one so I wouldnāt want to let it go too easy. The truth is that I donāt tend to enjoy multifunction modules that much as I always feel like theyāre a bit ājack of all trades master of noneā. I got rid of my Maths for the same reason, so I might be a bit weird lol
So I wouldnāt be surprised if it pops up for sale here soon so keep an eye out 
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I have a Stages clone. Oscillosaurus panel built by Momo Modular. Itās worked perfectly since I bought it nearly two years ago. Unsure if they still do this build though.
Edit: Looks like they have a handful in stock.
For context, the Mouser BOM is Ā£80, the PCB is Ā£9 and panels cost around Ā£15. Ā£105 all in.
So the rest is paying for it to be built.
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The chips used in it were in very short supply until recently, from what I understand. As mentioned above, Momo has recently had clones in stock; After Later Audio has a prototype, I have heard, but is waiting for a reliable supply of chips before introducing it.
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Yeah, the Mutable Clones will get cheaper as the fever drops and the chips become more plentiful.
any video demos based on this firmware?
The only ones I know of are these two:
But a bit has changed since then. In addition, qiemem is planning to integrate the most recent Mutable firmware at some point.
Qiemem firmware 1.1 - the official one on github - is available here: Release Stages bipolar multi-mode firmware v1.1.0 Ā· qiemem/eurorack Ā· GitHub
See firmware 1.2 below (DOWNLOAD ONLYā¦DO NOT PLAY IT)
For which this cheatseat corresponds
Stages Cheatsheet.pdf (1.9 MB)
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thanks