Synthesthetic

Synthesthetic turns the M-VAVE FM-1 into an audio/video synth. It sends 30 visualizers to your computer over USB, on the same cable as USB-MIDI and USB audio, and the FM-1 is still the same four-track groovebox underneath. This release is about recording that video and sound cleanly. It's still a beta, tested on one FM-1 and with macOS only.

What's new

• SCREEN mode sends the FM-1's display pixel for pixel. The video used to shrink the display to three quarters of its size, which merged thin strokes, so an M could read as an N. To fit the whole display, the USB video is now 320 × 240 instead of 320 × 180. The visualizers keep their exact pixels, with a black band above and below.
• USB audio no longer has little blips while an app records the video at the same time. The FM-1 now answers the computer's requests for audio on time even while video goes out on the same cable.
• Changing a setting during a USB recording no longer repeats a moment of sound in the recording. The change shows at once, and the FM-1 saves it to memory after a second of silence.
• The USB rescue screen says SYNTHESTHETIC USB RESCUE.

Updating from 0.1

• Install it the same way you installed 0.1. Your projects, presets, kits and samples are kept.
• Your computer picks up the new picture size by itself. If an app still shows the old one, choose the FM-1 again in its camera list or restart the app.
• Some apps crop a camera's picture to fill a wide window, which cuts off the top and bottom of SCREEN mode. Look for a setting that keeps the camera's original shape, such as Original ratio in Zoom's video settings.

Installing

• The easiest way is the web installer in Chrome or Edge: https://michaeljsmalley.github.io/synthesthetic/webapp/installer/
• From a terminal, with this repository: python3 tools/fm1_install.py synthesthetic-0.2.fwsc
• You can install directly over official V15, Dinghy, SLOOP or Synthesthetic 0.1. If your FM-1 runs any other custom firmware, go back to official V15 with M-UPGRADE first.
• Back up your flash before you install a custom firmware for the first time. The handbook explains how: https://michaeljsmalley.github.io/synthesthetic/handbook/#back-up-first

The firmware file

synthesthetic-0.2.fwsc, package identity FM-1_952, version SYNTHESTHETIC 0.2 BETA.

SHA-256: 5563ab139360ae58b26152cf453c04f6b19d1070bad6d87393f8d19d34826928

Known limitations

• It has only been tested on macOS. Windows and Linux use the same standard USB video driver, so they should work, but nobody has tried them yet.
• To make room for the video code in the flash, SLOOP's PIANO and FLUTE sample sets were left out, and the sampled drum kits use Felucca's Hügelton Sample Pack instead of SLOOP's CC0 kit.

If something goes wrong

Hold OCT− while switching on to open the USB rescue, then install again. The handbook's recovery section covers the other options: https://michaeljsmalley.github.io/synthesthetic/handbook/#recovery-and-safety

Thanks to isod89 for SLOOP, Leo Kuroshita and Hügelton Instruments for Felucca, zvenson for Dinghy, and everyone in the FM-1 community who shared their research and tools.