The M-Vave FM-1 is exactly the kind of device I have a soft spot for. I may not have an intended use for the frequency modulated synthesizer, but when a low price meets a high cool factor, I’m powerless to keep it out of my cart.
Originally introduced as a pocket-sized cousin of the popular Yamaha DX7 synthesizer, the FM-1 is a bargain at just $59.72 after fees. When it came out, it was a nice device that did what it said on the tin, but not much else.
But in July, some intrepid tinkerers over at Reddit’s r/synthdiy began reverse engineering the FM-1’s stock firmware to expand the device’s capabilities. In September, custom firmwares began to appear. We’re not even at the end of October, and there are already more community firmware projects available to install on the FM-1 than I could ever hope to cover.
I decided to check a few out. And just in case you were wondering: Yes, it plays Loss.
Original firmware and open FM1
On October 17, M-Vave announced FM1 Open, a software package that encourages FM-1 owners to develop custom firmware for the synthesizer that has become anything you can imagine. Alongside the FM1 Open package was an SDK, a browser-based workbench, and version 15 of the stock firmware, now an open platform you can flash and build on. The piano’s 27 physical keys and modest 1.54-inch TFT screen lend themselves well to a multitude of projects, musical or otherwise.
Normally, when a passionate community reverse engineers a closed device, an official patch quickly follows. M-Vave, however, took the opposite approach. The application source is released under GPLv3 and the company even includes an in-browser emulator for testing custom firmware before flashing the actual hardware. There is one caveat, though: the underlying synthesis engine that powers the original FM-1 package is still distributed as a closed binary, so it’s the application layer of the stack that’s actually open. I don’t think this diminishes M-Vave’s gesture to the community, but it’s worth noting.
Gn tech
