TONIC

A Digitone-style FM groovebox firmware for the M-VAVE FM-1
Four-operator FM, virtual analog and a synthesized drum kit, with a 64-step sequencer, parameter locks and twelve voices, on the FM-1's own keys, knobs and screen.

▶ Try it in your browser · Install · Manual · Releases

[!NOTE] TONIC runs on the M-VAVE FM-1. Each release is also tested in software: engine tests, a host simulator, the browser emulator and an instruction-level FM-1 emulator that executes the real device binary. It is a custom firmware, so install it at your own risk; the installer can put M-VAVE's own firmware back, and docs/INSTALL.md describes the recovery routes.

What it is

TONIC replaces the FM-1's firmware with a four-track groovebox modelled on the original Elektron Digitone (2018). Its parameters, curves and sequencer follow the Digitone closely, and it adds a good deal of its own. It runs entirely on the FM-1: the 16 white keys are the trig keys, and the 240 × 240 screen shows every page. Projects are saved to the FM-1's flash.

Sound

• Three engines, chosen per sound:
  • FM: four operators, the Digitone's eight algorithms, HARM, operator envelopes, feedback.
  • Virtual analog: two oscillators with sync, cross-modulation, sub, noise, drift, a wavefolder and ring modulation.
  • DRUM: a kit of eight synthesized drums on one track, from 31 models (808/909 kicks, snares, hats, claps, toms, cymbals, FM hats …). Each pad has its own tune, decay, tone, level and pan, plus two controls named by its model (BEND / TICK, SNAP / BODY, NOIS / RESO …).
• Twelve voices, shared by the four tracks, with unison, reserved voices and four voice-stealing modes.
• Per voice:
  • overdrive, LO-FI (sample-rate and bit reduction), base-width and multimode filters (LP2, HP2, LP4);
  • an insert effect after the filter: overdrive, hard clip, fuzz, rectifier, wavefolder or bitcrusher;
  • two LFOs and a modulation envelope, each routable to 80+ destinations;
  • velocity, mod wheel, aftertouch, breath and pitch bend routings.
• Effects: chorus, delay (ping-pong) and reverb sends, a master compressor, a DJ filter, and sidechain ducking from a track, a single drum pad or the tempo itself (4/4 volume shaping).

Sequencing

• 4 tracks × 64 steps, each with its own length and speed (polymeters, 3/4×, 2×).
• Parameter locks and sound locks on every step, trig conditions (1:2, FILL, PRE, NEI …), micro timing, retrig and ratchets.
• Live recording, step recording and grid recording, a piano roll, undo, copy and paste.
• Chords on every note, with or without the arpeggiator: 22 named chords, inversions, voicings, bass and strum. Or give a sound a scale: every note snaps to it, and chords follow the scale's degrees (TRIAD, 7TH+, SUS4 …).
• An arpeggiator with six modes (TRUE, UP, DOWN, CYCLE, RANDOM, CHORD), 16 steps and their offsets.
• A euclidean generator: hits, rotation, accents, ghost notes, named rhythms (tresillo, son clave, bossa …), melodies, and every kit pad on one page.
• Chains, song mode (32 rows) and a performance layer: mutes, fills, tap tempo, loop rolls, tape stop, filter sweeps, freeze.
• MIDI: USB in and out, TRS in, MIDI clock, and MIDI tracks for external instruments.

Try it without an FM-1

The browser emulator runs the same code the FM-1 runs, with sound, the whole panel on screen and Web MIDI. It is the quickest way to see whether TONIC is for you.

Install

You need an M-VAVE FM-1, a USB data cable, and Chrome or Edge (or Python 3 for the command line).

1. Back up first (recommended). A full flash dump keeps your stock patches; see docs/INSTALL.md.
2. Install. Use the web installer (connect the FM-1, press Install), or the command line:

   git clone --recursive https://github.com/RahelPuest/tonic-fm1.git && cd tonic-fm1
   pip3 install mido python-rtmidi
   python3 base/tools/fm1_install.py release/tonic-0.12.1.fwsc
   

3. Going back to the stock firmware: the web installer's back to stock button, or python3 base/tools/fm1_install.py FM-1_015.fwsc with M-VAVE's V15 package.

TONIC comes with 76 factory sounds; on its first start it writes a demo project (four patterns and a sound pool).

[!NOTE] 0.12 saves in a new format. It reads every older project, but older versions cannot read what 0.12 has saved. If you may want to go back, take a USB backup first: python3 base/tools/fm1_backup.py backup FILE.

Every release since 0.1 stays in release/, with checksums in release/SHA256SUMS.

Documentation

Building

git clone --recursive https://github.com/RahelPuest/tonic-fm1.git
cd tonic-fm1/tonic
python3 ../base/tools/build.py . --host     # the host simulator (no toolchain needed)
python3 ../base/tools/build.py . --web      # the browser emulator (Emscripten)
python3 ../base/tools/build.py .            # the firmware (JieLi toolchain: base/tools/get_toolchain.sh)

The details, the toolchain, the AC79 SDK files the package needs and the tests are in docs/BUILDING.md.

Repository layout

Credits and licence

TONIC is MPL-2.0 (LICENSE, details in LICENSING.md). It is built on fm1-base by Charles Vestal and felucca-bsp by Leo Kuroshita (Hügelton Instruments), and was tested with fm1-emu by Joakim Eriksson.

TONIC is an independent work inspired by the Elektron Digitone. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by Elektron or M-VAVE, and it contains no Elektron code or data. Digitone is a trademark of Elektron Music Machines; M-VAVE and FM-1 are trademarks of their owners.