Golana
The FM-1 as a single, deep analog-style synthesizer: two oscillators, five filters, two envelopes, two LFOs, a patch bay, an arpeggiator and a step sequencer. Every page draws what it does.
2026-10-20
Twelve buttons open the sections, as on the classic microKORG: EDIT the oscillators, SCL the filter, ENV the envelopes, LFO the LFOs and the patch bay, FX the effects. KNOB 1–4 always set the four cards on the screen, ALGORITHM is always the cutoff.
A single voice architecture, explored in depth, with 32 programs.
OSC 1: SAW with an octave-up blend, PULSE with width, TRI with a wavefolder, SINE with cross modulation. OSC 2: SAW, SQR or TRI with RING, SYNC or both, semitone and tune. New in 1.2: a SUB oscillator, square or sine, one or two octaves down.
New in 1.2: analog age. Every note's oscillators a little out of tune, each its own way, slowly wandering, its filter a little off. From a touch of life to a worn-out tape.
LPF24, LPF12, BPF, HPF and MS20, a driven 12 dB low-pass whose resonance screams. A FOLD stage before it, key tracking and its own envelope.
FILTER EG and AMP EG; two LFOs (SAW, SQR, TRI, SIN, S&H) with key sync and tempo sync. Four patch cords route any of them to pitch, cutoff, amp and more.
POLY, MONO, LEGATO and UNISON: four voices, or eight detuned oscillators in unison. DETUNE, PORTA, EG RESET and SPREAD across the stereo field.
Ten arp types (ORDER, CONVERGE, PEDAL and DOUBLE new in 1.1) over 1–4 octaves with latch, swing and steps on/off; a 16-step sequencer with notes, ties, accents and slides, saved with the program.
MOD FX (chorus, flanger, ensemble, phaser, or METAL distortion), a stereo delay in time with the tempo and a reverb, in three orders.
Each page draws its shape from the values: the waves, the filter's curve, the envelopes, the LFOs running. HOME draws the sound playing: RIDGE, RING or ORBIT.
24 factory sounds (FAT BASS, ACID LINE, SYNC PAD, 80S BRASS, SOFT BELLS; new in 1.2: SUB BASS, REESE, WORN TAPE, AGED PAD…) and eight free slots. MIDI Program Change picks them.
NIGHT, CRT, PAPER and NEON. And a three-second power-on with the eighties' stripes.
Eight short pieces, each one factory program played as the FM-1 plays it: one synth, its four voices, its arpeggiator, delay and reverb. No effects added afterwards.
A saw over the new SUB oscillator, a square an octave down: a line in E minor.
DRIFT high: soft keys off a warped tape, every note its own way out of tune. Dm9, Bbmaj7, F/A, Gm9.
Oscillator sync swept by an envelope, four voices wide: Dmaj7, Bm9, Gmaj7, Aadd9.
A pulse with PWM on a sub square, a lush chorus, a little DRIFT: Fmaj7, G6, Em7, Am9.
The arpeggiator on held chords (Cm, Ab, Eb, Bb), in time with the tempo, the delay in time too.
DRIFT all the way, a breath of noise, a sine two octaves down: Ebmaj9, Cm9, Abmaj7, Bb6.
Stabs of the brass patch on Eb, Bb, Cm, Ab: filter envelope on every hit.
The squelchy line, with the cutoff opening and closing as the ALGORITHM knob does.
Real screens of Golana 1.0, taken from the emulator.
Custom firmware should never be a one-way door.
Chrome or Edge, a USB data cable, two minutes. The installer checks the package before writing and asks the FM-1 what it runs afterwards. An interrupted install resumes.
Hold OCT− while switching on (or let two starts fail) and the FM-1 starts a small rescue mode with only USB, ready for a new install. The boot code itself is never written.
The installer can put M-VAVE's official V15 firmware back at any time, after saving your music to a file.
Try it first in the browser, no FM-1 needed, or install it now.