M-VAVE FM-1 Synthesizer Firmware Cracked Open: JieLi AC791N Inside, But No Safe Recovery
Reverse Engineering of the M-VAVE FM-1 Pocket Synthesizer Firmware
Reverse engineering of the M-VAVE FM-1 pocket synthesizer reveals a JieLi AC791N/WL82 SoC with a pi32v2 CPU and a Dexed-derived six-operator FM engine. The update protocol is not a demonstrated recovery mechanism; no ROM recovery, rollback, or safe interrupted-write behavior has been established for the single-bank layout. The repository provides detailed analysis, tools, and a Linux OTA client, but warns against using any update utility without reading the safety notes.
The update protocol is not a demonstrated recovery mechanism. Current work has not established ROM recovery, rollback, or safe interrupted-write behavior for the single-bank layout.
- vegadw
For those that haven't been following along, a TON of custom firmwares have shown up for the M-VAVE FM-1, a roughly ~$70 synth.
BaudGirl's VA is probably the biggest right now: https://baudgirl.com/work/FM-1+VA
But there's also https://github.com/hugelton/Felucca, https://github.com/charlesvestal/fm1-x0x, https://www.groove-os.com, https://isod89.github.io/sloop-fm1/webapp/installer/, and https://github.com/charlesvestal/fm1-fomni
AFAIK, all of them are vibecoded, but that doesn't mean they're not super fun.
Edit: Someone made a good firmware list: https://fm1-editor.com/firmware/
- raphlinus
This really feels like full circle for me. Back around 2012, I started "music synthesizer for Android" and put an app on the Play Store. This was a 20% project for me – I was on Google Fonts at the time, but I really wanted to play with Android. I decided to emulate DX7 because I had really wanted one as a teen (I did have a CX5M, so I was familiar with FM synthesis).
I set myself the goal of putting a DX7 in the hands of a million people. My little app only got a fraction of that, but now that the engine is in Dexed and now the M-VAVE, it seems like that might well happen.
I wonder if they'd send me one. But for $60 I can just get one :)
- MomsAVoxell
Disclaimer: I have worked in the music technology business for decades, building toys like this - my opinion is formulated in the fire pits of NAMM and Frankfurt Musik Messe and Superbooth.
The M-VAVE is the hottest music technology device on the market today, with few exceptions.
It is CHEAP! $60!
It is VERSATILE: new firmwares are released almost every week now.
It is HACKABLE: yes kids, music technology should always be hackable. Custom firmwares are one thing: a device which allows musicians to extend their horizons is another thing, entirely. Big Music Tech: PAY ATTENTION.
(Korg: you get a pass. Eurorack hackers: you get passes. Everyone else: FAIL!)
I am sitting in a room full of synths right now, and the only thing I really want to jam with is the N-VAVE FM1, which is now not just an FM synth but a jack of all trades.
But, did you know that this is just the tip of the iceberg for hacking music toys? Almost everything, from the Yamaha DX7 to the Synthstrom Deluge is getting hacked - in great, positive, delightful ways!
There is no better time to get into music technology if you're looking to find something fun and intriguing to hack on. It is so rewarding to crack open the box on a (formerly) locked down DSP cash-cow from some German entity or two, and find out ways to do even more, crazier things with it.
Your cocktail noise/bloop machine has a Motorola 56K DSP in it? There's an emulator for that: https://theusualsuspects.io
It is so, so fun to watch the M-VAVE […]
- cicloid
I started collecting all the links on an “awesome list” since this exploded https://github.com/cicloid/awesome-fm-1
The interesting question is how much of the fizz from these efforts will disappear if SOTA models start moving away from moral gray areas or because of security concerns the guardrails disable this type of work.
- chrisshroba
For context, this is a $65-$80 synthesizer that's been pretty popular for its cheap price tag, and there have been a bunch of third party firmwares being released to make it even more friendly and feature-packed than it already is out of the box. There's quite a bit of discussion in the subreddit: