When you update plug-ins from the store - does it update those plug-ins for your existing pedalboards?
I assume I would always want that, but possibly there could be unexpected results.
Just wondering how this works?
Yes, there is only ever 1 version of the plugin installed in the system.
We take great care to ensure updates do not break existing sessions, or even sound different.
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This doesnât clarify what updates do.
If there is only one version of the plug-in in the Duo, then that means an update must update existing pedalboards. If it does not update existing pedalboards, then there are two versions in the Duo, the older one in old pedal boards, and newer one when you make a new pedal board.
My experience is that, when you update plug-in, it does not matter if used in a pedalboard or not, it is the plug-in base code that is updated.
So, after a plug-in update, any pedalboard you load that has that plug-in in it will have the new version.
A plug-in will not update if it is currently in use (in the current loaded pedalboard). In this case, load a blank pedalboard and perform the plug-in update again.
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I would say that all plugins will be updated. Currently loaded plugins run in RAM and are started in the new version after reloading. IMHO
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@Simon Thanks for the clarification.
Updates can break saved pedalboards, when you re-load them.
I have updated a whole bunch of plug-ins, and did see that they would not update if used in the currently loaded pedalboard. So I did load a blank one, and did a full update.
I donât think this is a terrible way for this to work, but it does mean you have to test your pedalboards before using them live.
It might be good to have the option to âlockâ a pedal board, so that itâs plug-ins are not updated, first to be able to keep your best stuff from breaking, but also to be able to do a comparison to see what the results of an update were.
The current system sort of assumes you prize your currently loaded pedalboard, but donât care as much about saved ones 
The plugins on your pedalboard are also updated, indeed. Thereâs only one instance of each plugin in your system. As @falkTX said, thereâs a lot of care putted every-time that an update is pushedâŚto the point that it must not change your sound.
Anyway, as a rule of thumb, I would say to avoid updates of plugins in your main pedalboards if you have a gig coming soon and have no time to test all of your pedalboards. This is a safety procedure not even related with MOD. It may be tricky if you buy a new piece of gear (even if itâs a cable) and the first time that you use it is in front of an audience.
I totally understand.
But the assumption is that a performer would only use one pedalboard live, and not switch pedalboards between songs.
If you are a user who would switch pedalboards live, the current system does not protect you from updates changing your sound. Only the loaded preset is protected.
err, it is a general good idea to not connect to online services while playing a performance. I hope the idea is not to update the plugins while a gig is going onâŚ
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I think you are mis-understanding.
In the Mod Duo X, you can save banks of pedalboards and select any of them from the device. You donât need to go online. Almost all effects boxes work this way, and many players select the patch they need for a particular song.
If you ever do an update to your plug-ins, the saved ones will be updated, only the loaded one will not. The loaded one is no more important than the saved ones which are unprotected.
To me, it seems like the people replying to you do understand that youâre talking about versioning the plugins associated with the pedalboards and have offered advice accordingly. Youâre technically correct that without versioning, a plugin update could change the sound or behavior of pedalboards using it. However, the MOD team has responded that they take great care to prevent this from happening. If updates were messing up everyoneâs pedalboards it would be a terrible experience and youâd see users complaining.
Something about trying to parse this sentence caused me to check my beliefs - is it common for people to perform on (effects) equipment or patches theyâve never used before? Again, youâre technically correct that if you change your system and then go perform on it without any testing, you might find differences from the last time you used it.
To echo others, hereâs my best advice as a long-time user:
- Always test every pedalboard and patch (snapshot) you intend to use in your performance with plenty of time beforehand to identify problems and make adjustments.
- If things are working well for you, avoid doing system updates unless an update contains fixes or features youâd depend on. Donât update on the day of a performance and avoid weekends - support and community members are more likely available on weekdays if a problem occurs.
- Before doing updates, use the backup feature to backup your pedalboards, plugins, and system settings. Make note of the current version youâre on in case you need to rollback or reset.
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I still feel the point is being missed. Which is fine.
The Mod team takes great care to ensure the âloadedâ pedalboard is not updated.
The opposite behaviour makes more sense.
If the loaded pedal board was updated and sounds wrong - I can reload it.
If all my saved pedalboards get updated, I have to make backups of every single one, (separate from saving them, and not a complete backup) and then one by one re-do updates to determine if there are any issues while constantly keeping track of every other saved pedalboard.
Iâll leave this topic for now - eventually someone will do the backup and reload process and chime in.
No, I think you are still the one missing the point. The Mod Team surely does not take âgreat careâ to ensure the loaded pedalboard is not updated. The RAM does that. The part of @falkTXâs reply that youâre latching onto (âexisting sessionsâ not breaking), actually meant âexisting pedalboards.â The reason the loaded pedalboard is not updated is because itâs already been loaded into temporary storage (RAM), not because the Mod Team has made a design choice to not update the loaded pedalboard. This is the same reason why apps on your phone or computer need to either close or be restarted when an update is installed.
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I clearly am missing something ! 
Bleo - I did think âexisting sessionsâ meant only the loaded pedalboard. Thatâs the crux of it right there.
Just to confirm, so I know Iâm backing things up correctly.
A system back up will backup your entire system to a USB key - all pedalboards. You canât just back up individual ones. You canât restore individual pedalboards.
You canât save pedalboards to your computer.
Updates to plug-ins donât update the loaded pedalboard - this is not by design or related to being able to A/B the update. There is no way to A/B a pedalboard pre-update vs post-update.
The Mod team works hard to ensure updates wonât give unexpected results.
Is all this correct?
Kinda correctâŚ
There are system updates, which update the operating system (OS). And since every plugin can be seen as a program of its own, they can get updates on their own, when some development is done. There are a lot of developers involved, aside from the MOD Team, but the MOD team takes care to ensure that there arenât any unwanted results when a developer of a plugin makes an update and do a lot if testing before pushing the new update to the official store (or even the beta store)
When one plugin gets updated, every pedalboard containing this plugin, will have the new version of the plugin.
Recently i tried updating a plugin which was currently loaded in the active pedalboard. I got the message that the plugin couldnât update, because the plugin was currently loaded and active.
I have never had the problem that an update of a plugin resulted in having a different sound. But maybe someone more audiophile would say something elseâŚ
You can backup user data to a stick, which will contain all pedalboards and also some user settings of the device. Iâm not sure if you can backup a single pedalboard thoughâŚ
Maybe this helps and I hope all of it is correct 
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One should also not forget that updates, no matter if OS or plugins, are very good and desirable as both are in constant development flow.
In addition to bug fixes, stability/sound/⌠improvements and resource-saving programming, new/additional functions are also added.
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Thanks to all who have chimed in on this thread, it has been very helpful for me to understand how this works. I have had gear/software over the years, where my backup strategy turned out to be based on bad info, and of course that eventually caught up with me!
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Correct, this is how the backup feature works. However, it is possible to access the pedalboard files individually but you need to use command line tools (a terminal app). More of a power-user option, but I can provide more info if youâd like.
Not directly from the device at this time, but one can still transfer the contents of the backup to a computer - I keep mine in a Dropbox folder. Pedalboards are just text files making them very portable.
Not in the way that youâre thinking. As others have pointed out, it is a standard update procedure where new code is copied to disk. If a software component was already loaded in RAM when the update is applied, the old code will continue running until something causes the new code to load - generally a restart of the application containing the component. Youâve correctly identified that the MOD team has not built any special functionality to workaround this. Out of curiosity, do you have examples of consumer-grade software that functions in this way? Meaning one can easily flip between the current version and the next update trivially for A/B testing?
what if there is a breaking update which severely improves the sound or features in the plugin? are you not going to update plugin store with it?
also when updating is frustrating not knowing what is new⌠sometimes feels like there is no need to update as seems nothing really changes. can you add for a wish feature to include a change log in plugin updates?
We discussed this in the team several times before, it is something we want for sure.
Our current infrastructure was not made with this in mind, so we have to change a few things behind the scenes.
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