ReplicantFM1

ReplicantFM1 turns the M-VAVE FM-1 into an acid, techno, and big-beat groovebox: an authentic TR-909 drum machine, a modelled Roland SH-101 monophonic synthesizer, dual TB-303 acid basslines (303A & 303B) powered by the TB-3PO generative algorithm, and a real-time sliced breakbeat player, all performing simultaneously in stereo.

Each part can run its own independent step length (up to 64 steps), clock rate, and polymetric drift. You can arrange patterns into full songs, automate and record knob motions live or step-by-step (parameter locking), and give every single step probability and condition cycles. The mix runs through a shared stereo reverb, tape ping-pong delay, and a master bus featuring tube drive, resonant filter, and a sidechain Master Pump compressor driven by the 909 kick.

The interface features the signature VIRUS toxic green aesthetic: a near-black green ground, glowing toxic phosphor green tracks and labels, and acid lime accents, paired with the iconic virus particle boot splash screen on startup.

Over USB, the FM-1 acts as a class-compliant MIDI controller/interface and a 24-bit stereo audio interface with no drivers required.

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Video Demo

🎬 Watch the Blade Acid Techno Demo Video (MP4) (148 BPM, 52s): showcasing the iconic Pump Panel Blade Acid 303 theme with Devilfish RAT distortion, screaming dual TB-303s, hard TR-909 kick punch, Roland SH-101 sub-bass, real-time breakbeat slicer, tape delay, and Master Pump sidechain compressor in the signature VIRUS toxic green interface.

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Screen Gallery

Boot Splash Screen	Home Overview
Roland SH-101 VCO	Roland SH-101 VCF
Roland SH-101 Sequencer	TR-909 Drum Grid
TB-303 Acid Bassline	TB-3PO Algorithmic Generator
Breakbeat Slicer	Master Bus & Compressor Pump
Stereo Reverb & Tape Delay	Full Parameter List

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What's Inside

Part	Description	Engine Details
TR-909	11 drum voices: modelled analog kick, snare, toms (low/mid/high), rimshot, and clap, with 6-bit sampled hats, crash, and ride.	Based on 9W9 (samples from ER-99).
Roland SH-101	Full analog monophonic synthesizer: CEM3340 VCO (Saw, Pulse/PWM, Sub-osc, Noise), IR3109 4-pole ZDF low-pass resonant filter, snappy ADSR envelope, multi-waveform LFO, VCA ENV/GATE switch, portamento glide, accent, overdrive, and stereo pan.	Custom DSP implementation for ReplicantFM1.
TB-303 A & B	Two independent Open303 engines with Devilfish extensions, each with its own sound and pattern, supported by the TB-3PO generative line algorithm.	Based on schwung-303 & schwung-tb3po.
Breakbeat Player	Real-time 8-slice loop slicer and rearranger with pitch shifting, resonant multimode filtering, retriggers, fills, and reverse playback.	Based on BB Gen.
Master FX & Bus	Stereo algorithmic reverb, tempo-synced ping-pong tape delay with saturation, master overdrive, resonant filter, and Master Pump sidechain compressor.	luchak reverb, 12-bit/tape delay, and custom pump compressor.

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Roland SH-101 Synthesizer Engine

The Roland SH-101 implementation in ReplicantFM1 recreates the architecture and sound of the classic 1982 analog monosynth:

• CEM3340 Voltage Controlled Oscillator (VCO):
  • Selectable Octave range: 16', 8', 4', 2'.
  • Simultaneous mixing of Sawtooth, Pulse / PWM, Sub-oscillator, and Noise.
  • Sub-Oscillator types: -1 Octave Square, -2 Octaves Square, -2 Octaves Narrow Pulse.
  • Pulse Width (PW) adjustable manually (50% square down to narrow pulse) or modulated via PWM.
  • PWM Modulation sources: Manual (MAN), LFO (LFO), or Envelope (ENV), with variable PWM Amount.
  • White / pink analog noise generator.
• IR3109 4-Pole (24 dB/oct) Low-Pass Resonant Filter (VCF):
  • Zero-Delay Feedback (ZDF) ladder topology with non-linear saturation.
  • Full self-oscillation into a pure sine wave at high resonance settings.
  • Envelope Modulation (ENVMOD) with fast bipolar impact on cutoff.
  • Keyboard Pitch Tracking (KYBD) adjustable from 0% to 100%.
  • Dedicated LFO filter modulation depth (VCF MOD).
• Snappy Roland ADSR Envelope:
  • Analog-modeled exponential Attack, Decay, Sustain, and Release curves.
• Low Frequency Oscillator (LFO):
  • Continuous rate control from sub-audio clicks to rapid modulation.
  • 4 selectable waveforms: Triangle (TRI), Square (SQR), Random Sample & Hold (RND), and Noise (NOI).
• Amplifier (VCA) & Performance:
  • VCA Mode switch: ENV (shaped by the ADSR envelope) or GATE (instant organ gate on key presses).
  • Portamento Glide: Adjustable glide rate, with Glide Mode set to AUTO (legato slide on overlapping notes), ON (glide every note), or OFF.
  • Accent: High-velocity or sequenced accents boost filter cutoff and amplifier punch.
  • Overdrive: Dedicated analog tube-style drive on the synth voice output.
  • Fine tuning (±100 cents) and stereo pan position.
• Sequencer Integration:
  • 64-step piano roll with note pitch, gate, slide, and accent locks.
  • Real-time keyboard recording across all 27 keys (REC).
  • Algorithmic generation via TB-3PO (ARP).

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Hardware Dual-Core Distribution

ReplicantFM1 utilizes both processor cores of the JieLi AC79 series chip to achieve dropout-free audio at 44.1 kHz:

graph TD
    subgraph Core 1 - Primary Engine & Master
        TR909["TR-909 Drum Engine (11 voices)"]
        TB303A["TB-303 Synthesizer A"]
        TB303B["TB-303 Synthesizer B"]
        FX["Stereo Delay & Reverb"]
        MASTER["Master Bus, Pump Compressor & Filter"]
        MIX["Main Mixer & DAC Output"]
    end

    subgraph Core 2 - Secondary Engine
        SH101["Roland SH-101 Synthesizer"]
        BREAKS["Breakbeat Player (8 Slices)"]
    end

    SH101 -->|Inter-Core Audio Buffer| MIX
    BREAKS -->|Inter-Core Audio Buffer| MIX
    TR909 --> MIX
    TB303A --> MIX
    TB303B --> MIX
    MIX --> FX --> MASTER

This load balancing maintains CPU consumption under 70% per core even during heavy 64-step polymetric patterns with full effects and compressor pump active.

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MIDI Implementation

ReplicantFM1 responds to external MIDI over USB and TRS MIDI IN:

MIDI Channel	Instrument / Destination	Behavior
Channel 1	Roland SH-101	Melodic notes. Velocity ≥ 100 triggers accent. Overlapping notes trigger legato slide.
Channel 2	TB-303 A	Melodic notes. Velocity ≥ 100 triggers accent. Overlapping notes trigger legato slide.
Channel 3	TB-303 B	Melodic notes. Velocity ≥ 100 triggers accent. Overlapping notes trigger legato slide.
Channel 4	Breakbeat Player	Notes 36–43 fire slices 1–8.
Channel 10	TR-909 Drums	General MIDI drum notes: 36 BD, 38 SD, 41 LT, 45 MT, 50 HT, 37 RS, 39 CP, 42 CH, 46 OH, 49 CR, 51 RD.

Roland SH-101 MIDI CC Map (Channel 1)

CC	Parameter	CC	Parameter
74	VCF Cutoff	85	VCO Octave
71	VCF Resonance	86	PWM Source (MAN / LFO / ENV)
77	VCF Env Mod	87	Pulse Width (PW)
90	Keyboard Tracking (KYBD)	88	PWM Amount
14	VCF LFO Mod	15	VCA Mode (ENV / GATE)
81	Saw Level	76	LFO Rate
80	Pulse Level	28	LFO Wave (TRI / SQR / RND / NOI)
82	Sub-Osc Level	5	Glide / Portamento Time
84	Sub-Osc Type	65	Glide Mode (AUTO / ON / OFF)
83	Noise Level	29	Accent Depth
73	Envelope Attack	78	Overdrive
75	Envelope Decay	31	Voice Volume
79	Envelope Sustain	30	Master Tune
72	Envelope Release	10	Stereo Pan
7	Channel Level	91 / 93	Reverb Send / Delay Send

Master Bus & FX MIDI CC Map (Mix Channel)

CC	Destination
16	Master Drive
17	Master Compressor (Threshold / Ratio)
18	Master Sidechain Pump Depth
19	Master Filter Cutoff (Low-pass ← Center Off → High-pass)
71	Master Filter Resonance
20 / 21	Reverb Decay / Tone
22–25	Delay Time / Feedback / Tone / Tape Saturation
102–106	Part Volumes: 909, 101, 303A, 303B, Break

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Front Panel Keymap

• White Keys (1–16): Sequencer step triggers (1–16, 17–32, 33–48, 49–64 via OCT-/OCT+). On HOME, selects Patterns 1–16. On synths (REC active), functions as keyboard piano keys.
• Black Keys (1–11): TR-909 voice selection (BD to RD). On BREAK, triggers slices 1–8. On HOME, toggles Part Mutes. On synths (REC active), functions as sharp/flat piano keys.

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Building and Verification

ReplicantFM1 includes a comprehensive offline test harness and simulator (host/x0x_host) verifying DSP math, sequencer logic, MIDI parsing, and flash persistence:

# Run the complete test suite and scenario regressions
tests/run_tests.sh

# Build the device firmware package (requires JieLi toolchain and AC79 SDK)
./build.sh

Build Artifacts

• build/x0x.bin: Binary application image for the FM-1.
• build/x0x.fwsc: Encrypted update package compatible with the web installer and bootloader.

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Installing Firmware

1. Browser Installer (Easiest — No Setup Needed)

1. Open danimanx.github.io/ReplicantFM1 in Chrome or Edge on desktop.
2. Connect the M-VAVE FM-1 to your computer using a USB data cable.
3. Click Install. The page transmits the package directly over USB-MIDI and flashes the device.

Web companion tools are also available:

• Backup & Restore Tool: Save and restore full device projects.
• Break Loop Uploader: Upload custom breakbeat WAV loops.
• Online Manual: Complete user manual and reference guide.

2. Command Line Installer (Python)

If you prefer flashing locally:

python3 tools/fm1_install.py ReplicantFM1-2.0.0.fwsc

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Credits & Licensing

• ReplicantFM1: GPL-3.0-only.
• Roland SH-101 Engine: Custom physical-modelling DSP engine (CEM3340 VCO + IR3109 4-pole ZDF VCF).
• TR-909 Drum Engine: Ported from 9W9 by athousanddetails (ER-99 samples by Matthew Cieplak, GPL-3.0).
• Open303: Robin Schmidt (MIT licence) with devilfish extensions from schwung-303.
• TB-3PO: Generative line generator from schwung-tb3po.
• Breakbeat Engine: Ported from BB Gen by mestela.
• Platform & Hardware Abstraction: Derived from Felucca by Leo Kuroshita (Hügelton Instruments).
• Dual-Core Boot Architecture: Based on research by Melodee (keremimo) and Jangada (zednaked).
• Fonts: Barlow Semi Condensed and Terminus (SIL Open Font License 1.1).

TR-909, SH-101, and TB-303 are trademarks of Roland Corporation. M-VAVE and FM-1 are trademarks of their respective owners. ReplicantFM1 is an independent open-source project and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Roland or M-VAVE.