For context, this is a $65-$80 synthesizer that's been pretty popular for its cheap price tag, and there have been a bunch of third party firmwares being released to make it even more friendly and feature-packed than it already is out of the box. There's quite a bit of discussion in the subreddit:
Disclaimer: I have worked in the music technology business for decades, building toys like this - my opinion is formulated in the fire pits of NAMM and Frankfurt Musik Messe and Superbooth.
The M-VAVE is the hottest music technology device on the market today, with few exceptions.
It is CHEAP! $60!
It is VERSATILE: new firmwares are released almost every week now.
It is HACKABLE: yes kids, music technology should always be hackable. Custom firmwares are one thing: a device which allows musicians to extend their horizons is another thing, entirely. Big Music Tech: PAY ATTENTION.
(Korg: you get a pass. Eurorack hackers: you get passes. Everyone else: FAIL!)
I am sitting in a room full of synths right now, and the only thing I really want to jam with is the N-VAVE FM1, which is now not just an FM synth but a jack of all trades.
But, did you know that this is just the tip of the iceberg for hacking music toys? Almost everything, from the Yamaha DX7 to the Synthstrom Deluge is getting hacked - in great, positive, delightful ways!
There is no better time to get into music technology if you're looking to find something fun and intriguing to hack on. It is so rewarding to crack open the box on a (formerly) locked down DSP cash-cow from some German entity or two, and find out ways to do even more, crazier things with it.
Your cocktail noise/bloop machine has a Motorola 56K DSP in it? There's an emulator for that: https://theusualsuspects.io
It is so, so fun to watch the M-VAVE revolution kicking off. The music technology business has had this level of whimsy in its sights for decades, a few have crashed and burned along the way but now its really happening: the kids are bending things in truly great ways.
Whats next, hackers? Teenage Engineering's OP1 gets a badly needed retrofit, perhaps .. Access Virus C synths get a new SYSEX update with badass features .. Yamaha's A-samplers get faster disk I/O, somehow .. Korgs machines get JUCE'd??!?!!?
And, it just has to be said .. For everything else, there's monome. And Zynthian. Leading the pack for innovative music technology that has some serious weight in the future-proofing department.
Music Tech Doesn't Want Your Locked-In Firmware, Manufacturers! Give us the SDK's already, why don't, ya .. standardly!!!
I bought one a few months ago as a cheap DX7 clone. It's great just as that. So then all these new firmwares coming out have just been incredible. It's like a poor man's OP1 now.
Myself and a couple friends bought this device a few weeks ago and with the firmware being released, its an amazing device.
I love the idea of cheaper Chinese music hardware with the ability for open source firmware and apps to be loaded into them. I hope the success of this sees a sampler from M-Wave - I'd love a Chinese 404 or MPC...
M-VAVE should pay attention and make an updated FM1-style machine that allows firmware switching from USB storage - the current method is via MIDI Sysex only (USB MIDI class device) - but if they do an upgrade to this hardware, it could be quite possible to just switch firmwares dynamically this way.
And, in so doing, this little Chinese company will snatch the revolutionary glory from a lot of incumbents who have very specifically attempted to not do this kind of music technology instrument for decades. (I'm looking at you, Yamaha, who have had prototypes of this sort of things on the bench for decades but always decided 'not to destroy the existing player keyboard market', instead!)
I am so ready for the world where a $60 device not only provides amazing real-instrumentation haptic experience, but also competes solidly with the iOS-music-making app+controller segment, the laptop-on-stage-plugin-host thing, and all the other rigid directions the music tech world has been enforcing on us ..
I just got one of these, the ecosystem is so exciting right now. I just loaded the sloop firmware on it (super painless webusb) and it's crazy. From another DX7 machine to a simple little groove box with samples and sequences and a really quite lovely UX. So fun
BaudGirl's VA is probably the biggest right now: https://baudgirl.com/work/FM-1+VA
But there's also https://github.com/hugelton/Felucca, https://github.com/charlesvestal/fm1-x0x, https://www.groove-os.com, https://isod89.github.io/sloop-fm1/webapp/installer/, and https://github.com/charlesvestal/fm1-fomni
AFAIK, all of them are vibecoded, but that doesn't mean they're not super fun.
Edit: Someone made a good firmware list: https://fm1-editor.com/firmware/
But, it also has to be pointed out to the HN hoipolloi: these firmwares run in web-based emulators too!!!!
So you don't have to blow $60 to join this music tech revolution ..
https://www.reddit.com/r/MVaveFM1/
The M-VAVE is the hottest music technology device on the market today, with few exceptions.
It is CHEAP! $60!
It is VERSATILE: new firmwares are released almost every week now.
It is HACKABLE: yes kids, music technology should always be hackable. Custom firmwares are one thing: a device which allows musicians to extend their horizons is another thing, entirely. Big Music Tech: PAY ATTENTION.
(Korg: you get a pass. Eurorack hackers: you get passes. Everyone else: FAIL!)
I am sitting in a room full of synths right now, and the only thing I really want to jam with is the N-VAVE FM1, which is now not just an FM synth but a jack of all trades.
But, did you know that this is just the tip of the iceberg for hacking music toys? Almost everything, from the Yamaha DX7 to the Synthstrom Deluge is getting hacked - in great, positive, delightful ways!
There is no better time to get into music technology if you're looking to find something fun and intriguing to hack on. It is so rewarding to crack open the box on a (formerly) locked down DSP cash-cow from some German entity or two, and find out ways to do even more, crazier things with it.
Your cocktail noise/bloop machine has a Motorola 56K DSP in it? There's an emulator for that: https://theusualsuspects.io
It is so, so fun to watch the M-VAVE revolution kicking off. The music technology business has had this level of whimsy in its sights for decades, a few have crashed and burned along the way but now its really happening: the kids are bending things in truly great ways.
Whats next, hackers? Teenage Engineering's OP1 gets a badly needed retrofit, perhaps .. Access Virus C synths get a new SYSEX update with badass features .. Yamaha's A-samplers get faster disk I/O, somehow .. Korgs machines get JUCE'd??!?!!?
And, it just has to be said .. For everything else, there's monome. And Zynthian. Leading the pack for innovative music technology that has some serious weight in the future-proofing department.
Music Tech Doesn't Want Your Locked-In Firmware, Manufacturers! Give us the SDK's already, why don't, ya .. standardly!!!
:)
I love the idea of cheaper Chinese music hardware with the ability for open source firmware and apps to be loaded into them. I hope the success of this sees a sampler from M-Wave - I'd love a Chinese 404 or MPC...
And, in so doing, this little Chinese company will snatch the revolutionary glory from a lot of incumbents who have very specifically attempted to not do this kind of music technology instrument for decades. (I'm looking at you, Yamaha, who have had prototypes of this sort of things on the bench for decades but always decided 'not to destroy the existing player keyboard market', instead!)
I am so ready for the world where a $60 device not only provides amazing real-instrumentation haptic experience, but also competes solidly with the iOS-music-making app+controller segment, the laptop-on-stage-plugin-host thing, and all the other rigid directions the music tech world has been enforcing on us ..