Golana
Golana turns the M-VAVE FM-1 into a single, deep analog-style synthesizer with its own interface: two oscillators, five filters, two envelopes, two LFOs, a patch bay, an arpeggiator and a step sequencer.
- Custom firmware
- Stable
- 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
- OSC 1's CTRL 1 and CTRL 2 say what they do: their names change with the WAVE (SAW: OCTAVE, OCT LFO; PULSE: WIDTH, PWM; TRI: FOLD, FOLD LFO; SINE: X-MOD, XMOD LFO), PULSE's WIDTH shows its duty in %, the drawing shows faintly how far CTRL 2 (LFO 1) moves the wave, and the page's fourth card is LFO 1's rate.
- HOME's scope, quicker and with a trail: redrawn every frame with lines only, as Felucca's. A new view, TRAIL (the default): the wave now, the last ones behind it in the palette's second colour (NIGHT: orange and green), about 30 ms of sound (two or three cycles of a bass). ORBIT and RIDGE leave a trail too; TRAIL takes RING's place.
- New waves: OSC 1's MORPH (CTRL 1 from the saw to the square), OSC 2's MIX (a saw and a square at once), and four new SUB types: -1 SAW, -2 SAW, -1 MIX, -2 MIX.
- Cleaner oscillators: the wavefolders (FOLD, TRI's fold) without most of their aliasing (ADAA), SINE's cross modulation a little shallower high up (in tune, no whistling), and every note starts its oscillators from its own point of the wave, as an analog synth's (the attacks a little alive, no longer all alike).
- Mod wheel (MIDI CC1): a vibrato on its own, or, routed in the PATCH, the sources MODW, MW*LFO1, MW*LFO2 (an LFO as deep as the wheel) and AFTER (aftertouch).
- SCALE LOCK (SCL › SCALE): every key and MIDI note in the scale you choose (16 scales, any key).
- CHORD (SCL › CHORD): a key or a MIDI note plays a chord: the scale's own triad or seventh, or a fixed shape (MAJ, MIN, DOM7, MAJ7, MIN7, SUS4, POW), in five voicings.
- SUPERSAW, a new factory sound in program 25 (a program you wrote there stays).
Install it from the browser: https://gadlele.github.io/Golana/install/
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 Golana golana-v1.3 work on your M-VAVE FM-1?
No reports yet for golana-v1.3.
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"):
- Open the web installer in Chrome or Edge on a computer.
- Connect the FM-1 with a USB data cable, straight into the computer.
- Follow the five steps: the checklist, a backup, the build, connect, install. About two minutes.
From a terminal instead: python3 tools/fm1install.py Golana-1.1.fwsc (needs pip install mido python-rtmidi).
If something goes wrong: switch the FM-1 on while holding OCT−. It starts GOLANA USB RESCUE, with only USB, ready for a new install (it also starts by itself after two failed starts). The firmware never writes the FM-1's boot code, and the installer can put the official M-VAVE firmware back at any time.
Risk and recovery
- Brick risk
- Medium
- Reversible
- Yes
- Requires opening the device
- No
From the project's README ("Install"):
- Open the web installer in Chrome or Edge on a computer.
- Connect the FM-1 with a USB data cable, straight into the computer.
- Follow the five steps: the checklist, a backup, the build, connect, install. About two minutes.
From a terminal instead: python3 tools/fm1install.py Golana-1.1.fwsc (needs pip install mido python-rtmidi).
If something goes wrong: switch the FM-1 on while holding OCT−. It starts GOLANA USB RESCUE, with only USB, ready for a new install (it also starts by itself after two failed starts). The firmware never writes the FM-1's boot code, and the installer can put the official M-VAVE firmware back at any time.
Releases
| Version | Name | Released |
|---|---|---|
| golana-v1.3 | Golana 1.3Latest | 26 October 2026 |
| golana-v1.2 | Golana 1.2 | 20 October 2026 |
| golana-v1.1 | Golana 1.1 | 19 October 2026 |
| golana-v1.0 | Golana 1.0 | 16 October 2026 |
Credits, license and support
- License
- GPL-3.0