Carnac OS
A polyphonic synthesizer firmware for the M-VAVE FM-1, by OrbVorgis.
- Custom firmware
- Beta
- Medium brick risk
- Reversible
This project hasn't been claimed by its maintainer yet, so its details come from the community. Is it yours? Claim it
Carnac OS 0.9.6
- Wave check at power-on: if the PCM waves or the FOUNDATIONS bank are missing (for example after installing the .fwsc alone with another tool), the start-up screen shows the field with no standing stones and WAVES MISSING; if they come from another version, WAVES OUT OF DATE. The web installer, or
pcm_store_upload.py sync, fixes it. - Everything else is as in 0.9.5: patches, performances and settings carry over unchanged.
Install with the web installer: it writes the firmware and then the waves.
The .fwsc holds the firmware only. The PCM waves and the FOUNDATIONS bank live in their own flash areas, so if you install the .fwsc with fm1_install.py or any other tool, also run the web installer once, or python src/hardware/pcm_store_upload.py sync from a checkout of this tag.
Before you start
- How hard is it?
- EasyCopy a file or use a web page. No extra software.
- What you need
- A USB or MIDI cable
- Comfort with the command line
- A computer
- Can it break my device?
- Small chance of trouble, with a way to recover.
- Can I undo it?
- Yes. You can go back to the official software.
Did it work for you?
Did Carnac OS v0.9.6 work on your M-VAVE FM-1?
No reports yet for v0.9.6.
One-tap reports from owners. Bricked reports are checked before they count.
Compatibility
Devices: M-VAVE FM-1.
No compatibility information yet.
Getting started
From the project's README ("Install"):
The easy way: open the web installer in Chrome or Edge, with the FM-1 connected by USB.
Carnac OS is free. If you enjoy it, you can tip me on Ko-fi.
From the command line: download the .fwsc package from Releases, plug in the FM-1 over USB, then:
python x0x-firmware/tools/fm1install.py carnac-0.9.0.fwsc python src/hardware/pcmstoreupload.py sync
The .fwsc holds the firmware only. The PCM waves (CHOIR, MOONSONG, PAN FLUTE...) and the Foundations wavetable bank live in their own flash areas and are uploaded by the second command, from a checkout of this repo at the same release tag (git checkout v0.9.0; it needs pip install mido python-rtmidi). The web installer does both steps for you. If you install the .fwsc with any other tool, the FM-1 starts with an empty field and no standing stones on its start-up screen, and the words WAVES MISSING (or WAVES OUT OF DATE): run the web installer or the sync command once to fix it. Until then Foundations plays a sine and the PCM waves are silent.
Saved presets live in their own flash area, so they survive firmware updates.
Risk and recovery
- Brick risk
- Medium
- Reversible
- Yes
- Requires opening the device
- No
From the project's README ("Recovery"):
- A build that crashes twice in a row at start-up boots into safe mode, with USB up, so you can install again.
- To put M-VAVE's stock firmware back on a unit that doesn't answer USB, see docs/fm1-recovery.md (hold OCT- and OCT+ together for 5 s to enter the chip's update mode).
Releases
| Version | Name | Released |
|---|---|---|
| v0.9.6 | Carnac OS v0.9.6Latest | 29 October 2026 |
| v0.9.5 | Carnac OS v0.9.5 | 27 October 2026 |
| v0.9.4 | Carnac OS v0.9.4Pre-release | 25 October 2026 |
| v0.9.3 | Carnac OS v.0.9.3 | 25 October 2026 |
Credits, license and support
- License
- GPL-3.0