FMS Cartridge Edition is a high-quality GBA cart, produced with 1M flash memory, that comes programmed with the latest version of FMS.
FMS is a groovebox for the Nintendo Game Boy Advance handheld video game console. Its focus lies on quick and intuitive programming of sounds and music, for live performance, studio recording and just having fun.
At its core is four tracks of 2-OP FM synthesis running in realtime – a world first for the GBA. Paired with the Noise channel from the original integrated Game Boy hardware, it’s a unique blend of high and low resolution.
No boot-time, no menus, no extra battery drain – just boots straight into FMS like any commercial cartridge.
Compatible Nintendo hardware:
Nintendo Game Boy Advance
Nintendo Game Boy Advance SP
Nintendo Game Boy Player
Nintendo Game Boy Micro
Nintendo DS
Nintendo DS Lite
Compatible 3rd party handhelds:
Analogue Pocket link
Game Bub link
FMS Cartridge Edition is priced at $59 USD. A signup list is available via the site.
AudioKit Pro’s Super 606 is an iOS drum machine built around synthesized drum sounds, 606-style sequencing, MIDI pattern import, per-track polyrhythmic controls, effects, and AUv3 multi-output support.
Super 606 is a drum machine for iPhone and iPad that uses a new drum synthesis engine, rather than sampled drum sounds.
Its workflow is inspired by classic 606-style drum programming and includes pattern recording from drum pads, accents and dull/ghost notes, ratchets, flams, variable gates, per-track last-step settings, and multiple rhythmic grid modes.
The app can import user-created MIDI patterns from Roland Cloud TR-606 workflows, including flams and substeps, and also provides MIDI controller support, AUv3 operation, Ableton Link, MIDI Clock synchronization, and internal clocking.
Features:
Synth-generated drum sounds using a dedicated drum synthesis engine
Open-source synthesis code for the XL kick, snare, analog toms, clap, and metallic hi-hats
Drum-pad pattern recording
Per-step normal, ghost/dull, and accent levels
Dedicated accent controls
Ratchets with 2x, 3x, and 4x substeps
Nine 606-style flam types plus an ahead-of-the-beat flam mode
MIDI import for user-created Roland Cloud TR-606 patterns, including flams and substeps
Analog control for variations including start position and pitch drift
Magic Pattern Generator for creating drum patterns
Magic Preset Maker for generating combined sound, effects, groove, and tempo settings
Smart Fills function based on the current pattern
Per-track Last Step control for creating evolving patterns and polyrhythms
Per-channel swing
Linn-style swing control
Four rhythmic grid modes including 16th notes, 32nd notes, 8th-note triplets, and 16th-note triplets
Mixed 16th- and 32nd-note programming within the same pattern view
Eight chainable A–H patterns per sequence
XL Kick mode
MIDI controller support
MIDI Learn
Bundled MIDI map using the same default CC assignments as Roland Cloud TR-606
MIDI Clock synchronization
Ableton Link synchronization
AUv3 host synchronization
Filter effect
Crusher effect with low-end bypass
Standalone WAV recording
MIDI import from a DAW
AUv3 plugin operation with host transport synchronization and state recall
Stereo main output
Eight individual drum outputs in AUv3 mode
MIDI export for the current pattern or complete A–H sequence
Stem export
Universal purchase covering iPhone, iPad, and iOS AUv3 versions
No ads, subscriptions, or in-app purchases
Super 606 is available now for $4.99 (normally $19.99).
Groove Synthesis 3rd Wave OS Version 2.0a is now available as a free update, adding new synthesis and effects options.
Key features of the update include a new way to make waves and a flexible Shimmer reverb.
“The 3rd Wave has come a long way since it first came out, capable of things we never dreamed of at launch,” said Andrew Silverman, co-founder of Groove Synthesis.
A Brand New Shimmer Reverb
The first highlight of this release is a new effect: Shimmer Verb, living in effect slot 2 right after Super Plate. The Shimmer will give you the ability to shift the pitch in fractions of a semitone across a full two-octave range, from one octave down to one octave up, which means you’re not limited to complete octave or semitone shifts.
“I was surprised by how it makes even the most simple patch sound immense,” said Bob Coover, co-founder and DSP engineer at Groove Synthesis. “The effect is really wide. Route a single sustained note through it and just let it spread the sound out and up at the same time.”
The Filter Cutoff parameter lets you shape the reverb’s tone from dark and filtered to bright and open. There are also several other useful controls in the “Extra” section.
What makes the effect especially cool is that Rev Time, Pitch Amount, and LP/HP Cutoff are all available as destinations in the mod matrix.
A Smarter, More Capable Way to Make Waves
OS 2.0a also brings real improvements to Make Waves, the 3rd Wave’s built-in wavetable creation tool. If you’ve tried turning your own audio into wavetables, you’ll notice the results are more consistent right away with the existing modes.
The big addition is a third mode: Spectral. Make Waves has always given you two ways to turn audio into a wavetable. Pitch On is built for sources with a clear, stable pitch, and does its best to detect that pitch and lock the resulting waveforms to it. Pitch Off skips pitch detection entirely and instead finds the best splice points to carve unpitched material, like drums or found sounds, into a clean set of waveforms.
Spectral mode takes a different approach from both. Instead of tracking pitch or hunting for splice points in the waveform itself, it analyzes the audio in the frequency domain to find the best slices across the entire file. That makes it the mode to reach for on sources that might not have worked for the other two. Chorused sounds, ambient recordings, anything with a pitch that wanders or never quite settles should do well with the Spectral mode. Where Pitch On would fight to lock onto a moving target, and Pitch Off would just slice without regards to pitch, Spectral mode is built to make sense of exactly that kind of material. Feed it something strange and Make Waves will find the wavetable hiding inside it.
Here’s an in-depth look at the Shimmer reverb and the new Wave Maker algorithm by The Midlife Synthesist:
Everything Else in 2.0a
Beyond the two headline features, this update carries a few other noteworthy improvements: expanded MIDI CC mappings for the 24M and 8M desktop modules, new MIDI SysEx features including wavetable and sample import/export, a new envelope retrigger option with a quick reset, and various bug fixes worth checking out in the release notes on the support page.
OS 2.0a is available now as a free download for all 3rd Wave 24K, 24M, and 8M owners.
