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Practical, tested guides for the M-VAVE FM-1 pocket synth. They cover the free Felucca firmware, the stock firmware, and updating it all from Linux. Every step was tried on a real FM-1 or in an emulator running the real firmware, and the screenshots are real screens.
The FM-1 Story, a 3D timeline: 46 milestones from June to October 2026, with an FM soundtrack made live in your browser. Click it to play it full screen, or open it on its own page →
<script> (function(){ var f = document.getElementById("tlframe"); if (!f || !("IntersectionObserver" in window)) return; new IntersectionObserver(function(es){ es.forEach(function(e){ try { f.contentWindow.postMessage({ fm1tl: "vis", v: e.isIntersecting }, "*"); } catch (x) {} }); }, { threshold: 0.05 }).observe(f); })(); </script>
Joakim Eriksson's emulator of the FM-1's chip runs the real firmware files unchanged: Felucca, SLOOP, X0X and more, or M-VAVE's own V15 if you open its FM-1.fwsc. Keys, knobs, sound and MIDI in. The link starts Felucca at 100 MHz; raise the clock if your computer keeps up.
Felucca's own browser version: the same firmware compiled for the web, with the panel on screen. The screenshots in the Felucca tutorials come from it.
Felucca by Hügelton Instruments turns the FM-1 into a 4-track synth and sequencer with 13 sound engines, songs, effects and MIDI. These guides are written for 1.6.1. Felucca's author stepped back from active development on 16 October 2026, so 1.6.1 may stay the current version for a while.
The four rules behind the buttons, then a first sound, beat and melody, mixing, saving projects, and building a song with a lane per track. 24 screenshots.
Ten recipes: chance and conditions, ratchets, parameter locks, recorded knob moves, EUCLID, synced LFOs, the MOD matrix, chords and arps, INSERT effects, live play, MIDI LEARN and DAW use.
Install: use the web installer in Chrome or Edge over USB, or from Linux. You can also try it in your browser without an FM-1.
SLOOP by isod89 is a live groovebox built on Felucca, with three synths and a drum track. You play it the way you'd play a sampler: hold a button, touch a key.
The layer idea, your first beat (by steps or live at your own tempo), a bassline, one-finger chords, punch-in effects, mute and solo, undo, and a song in four sections. Plus Felucca or SLOOP: which to pick.
Record patterns, long notes, pattern length, Chain and voice binding, plus a 3-pattern song to build.
Why the reverb tail seems to vanish after V15, and the measurements that show it (decay 100 ≈ the old fade).
V14 → V15 with no Windows or macOS app: verify the file, send it over USB-MIDI, and check the result.
What V15 changed (2026-07-30)
From M-VAVE's own release note, linked from m-vave.com/download:
| Area | Change |
|---|---|
| Display | Brighter base LED backlight |
| Global | Voice reset per bank (A–D); Glide 0–1 s (mono voices only, GLOB page 2) |
| Sequencer | Long notes, Step count, Chain 1–16 (SEQ page 1); voice binding per pattern (SEQ page 2) |
| Edit | Init voice, rename, copy & replace (EDIT → GLOBE sub-page, page 2: K1 / K2 / K3); long-press an OP button to mute it |
| FX & ENV | Ranges went from 0–10 to 0–100. Old values are not converted, see the reverb page |
| MIDI | Note-on with velocity 0 now counts as note-off. Effect CCs use the 0–100 scale |
Earlier versions:
- V13 (2026-07-03):
- ARP and the sequencer sync to the BPM.
- The sequencer can transpose.
- Global velocity setting.
- The MIDI channel defaults to ALL.
- Program Change selects voices.
- ARP rates 1/1 and 1/2 added.
- V09 (2026-06-24):
- ENV on/off switch.
- Rests and note replacement in the sequencer.
The FM-1's update path is open, and since 14 October 2026 M-VAVE itself publishes an official open firmware and a browser workbench. Forty-plus community firmwares and ports exist. The best known, as of 18 October 2026:
| Firmware | Latest | What it is | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| SLOOP | 2.7.1 | live 4-track groovebox (3 synths + drums), built on Felucca. Our tutorial | open, GPL-3.0 |
| Felucca | 1.6.1 | multi-engine 4-track synth and sequencer, the base of most others. Its author stepped back on 16 Oct: occasional maintenance only | open, GPL-3.0 |
| FM1 Open (M-VAVE) | V13 | M-VAVE's official open firmware: 8 tracks, 8 sample slots, an SDK | GPL app + binary engine SDK |
| X0X | 1.1.0 | 909, 808 and two 303s, ReBirth-style | open, GPL-3.0 |
| Melodee | 1.4.3 | Felucca-family synth, now with chord strums | open, GPL-3.0 |
| OberVave | 1.3 | an Oberheim-style 8-voice polysynth (FM-1 and SMK-37) | open |
| FoMni | 0.4 | Omnichord-style: strum the white keys, chords on the black | open, GPL-3.0 |
| Jangada | 1.0.1 | virtual-analog synth with a mod matrix and drones | open, GPL-3.0 |
| zp12 | 2.4 | SP-12-style sampling drum machine | open, GPL-3.0 |
| Baud Girl FM-1+VA | 101 | the stock FM sound plus a virtual-analog engine and a 64-step sequencer | closed (free) |
| Groove OS | – | 8-track groovebox | closed (paid) |
All of them install over USB with no tools to open the case. To go back, use M-VAVE's updater or the installer's "Return to official V15". The same chip is in the SMK-37 Pro keyboard, which now has its own ports (Snoop37, X0X37, FoMni37, OberVave, Speak37, Baud Girl SMK-37+VA). See them all in the timeline.
Not affiliated with M-VAVE, Baud Girl or Hügelton Instruments. M-VAVE and FM-1 are trademarks of their owners. Felucca screenshots come from its official GPL-3.0 browser version. Corrections welcome via issues.