The world of alternate firmware for synths is moving incredibly fast, and the M-Vave FM-1 is ground zero.
There are already dozens of alternate firmware options available for the FM-1, and new ones being introduced almost daily.
Now developer Joakim Eriksson has created a site that lets you test drive these firmware options, directly in your web browser.
The web application emulates its chip, a JieLi AC791N with two cores of JieLi’s own 32-bit pi32v2 CPU, together with the screen, keys, knobs and audio, and runs the FM-1’s firmwares on it unchanged, in WebAssembly in your browser. Because it emulates the hardware, it runs the same packages you would install on a real FM-1.
An interesting new ecosystem of open solutions is emerging around the FM-1 – where you will soon be able to preview synths online, download them to cheap hardware or run them as plugins in your DAW.
Will this lead to a ‘free synth nirvana’ – or an endless stream of low-quality synths? Share your thoughts in the comments!
Here is an extended preview of the upcoming Alesis Andromeda A6 plugin Asyx, from Isla Electronics.
Synthesist and sound designer Dirk Rohde shared this extended preview of the upcoming Alesis Andromeda A6 plugin Asyx, from Isla Electronics.
Rohde plays a wide range of examples, using his soundpack Moviescore, which was originally designed for the hardware Andromeda.
Asyx is currently in beta. Details on pricing and availability are still to be announced.
Watch the audio demos, and let us know what you think of Asyx in the comments!
In the video, Anthony Marinelli and Rob Rosen take a deep dive into the ARP 2500 Electronic Music Synthesizer, one of the seminal modular synthesizers of the 1970s.
Video Summary:
“We go module by module through the instrument, exploring what makes the 2500 so unique, from its architecture and standout modules to the unmistakable character of its sound.
We also look at how the ARP 2500 was configured and priced when it was introduced in 1970, how those systems compare to what they’re worth today, and why these instruments have become so desirable to collectors, studios and musicians.
And we don’t just talk about it. Throughout the video, I perform three solo pieces on the ARP 2500 to show the raw sound power that lives in this instrument.
If you’ve ever wondered what makes the ARP 2500 so special, and why it remains one of the most sought-after synthesizers more than 50 years later, this is a close-up look at the instrument from the inside out.”
