UNOFFICIAL FIRMWARENOT FROM ELEKTRON · COMMUNITY BUILDS
Community developers are writing their own custom firmware, also called alternative firmware, for the Model:Samples. This is a selection, not every fork or experiment: we list the projects with a working build and a real following, and check them every day. FW Radar doesn’t host these files and doesn’t send alerts for their versions: each link opens the developer’s page.
Elektron doesn’t support these modifications.
4 PROJECTS · LAST CHECKED 25 OCT 2026
Get an email when new custom firmware for the Model:Samples is found
01BETA
Modded Cycles
by 18nelli
A community OS for the Model:Cycles that also installs on a Model:Samples, where its Sampler machine plays your samples next to the extra machines, four LFOs per track and an arpeggiator. Built in the browser from your own official files; a tab puts the Model:Samples OS back.
Not supported by Elektron, may void the warranty. Back up first. A unit that won't start is recovered over MIDI IN from the startup menu (needs a USB-MIDI interface).
Small patches picked in a web flasher: latching mutes, trig preview, 16-channel USB audio, and Model:Samples additions such as a sidechain duck between tracks and a sample-edit lock.
Modifying the firmware voids the warranty and could brick the device. Not supported by Elektron. Make sure you can reach the startup menu (the way back) and back up your projects first.
Sends each of the six tracks on its own USB audio channel (48 kHz) instead of the stereo mix, so you can record stems straight into a DAW. A small Python script builds the file from your own OS.
Not supported by Elektron. Tested on one Model:Samples. Recovery needs a 5-pin MIDI DIN interface, and OS upgrades over USB stop working while it is installed.
A mod loader: you tick .elemod mods and supply the OS file Elektron publishes, and it builds a custom OS on your own computer (in the browser, or as a Windows or macOS app). On the Model:Samples (OS 1.13) its builds have run on a unit; Model Tweaks uses its linker.
Not supported by Elektron. A custom OS can crash or lose data and may affect the warranty. The bootloader is untouched: FUNC at power-on restores the stock OS. Back up first.
READ THIS FIRSTAt your own risk, and it may void your warranty. Read the developer’s install notes, back up your presets, and make sure you know how to go back: official 1.13 and how to install it →
Running one of these?Mark it in your rig: the Model:Samples won’t show as out of date, and you still hear about official updates.
What you get with a free account
An alert the day a new Model:Samples firmware ships, by email, Telegram or push
Your whole rig in one place, with the version each device is on
Used and new Reverb prices for your gear
A public rig page to share, if you want one
We check Elektron's official download page for the Elektron Model:Samples every day. One message per release. No spam, no newsletter.
It’s written by independent developers, not by Elektron. Some projects are stable, others are early betas: read each developer’s notes before you flash.
Can I go back to the official firmware?
Yes: load the official 1.13 with Elektron Transfer, as described in the official update guide.
Why isn’t every Model:Samples project listed?
We pick the ones worth trying: a build you can install and a real following, from GitHub stars and downloads or from the community. Forks that only rename a project or add a few presets stay out, and brand-new projects get a second look after their first week.
Does FW Radar track custom firmware versions?
We note the latest version each developer has published when we check the list, every day, but we don’t send alerts for it: alerts are only for official Elektron firmware.
