001 / Hardware
FM-1 Companion Pocket
A pocket-sized sidekick for the M-VAVE FM-1. Bluetooth audio and MIDI, a recorder, a sample editor, eleven meters. No computer needed once it's set up.
Open source
- Computer
- Raspberry Pi Zero W
- Screen
- 1.3" OLED, 128×64 (Waveshare HAT)
- Controls
- Joystick and three keys
- Power
- PiSugar 3 battery, USB-C charging
- To the FM-1
- USB (audio, MIDI, backups, samples, firmware)
- Wireless
- Bluetooth audio out, Bluetooth MIDI, Wi-Fi web app
- Expands with
- USB hub for up to 4 MIDI keyboards and a second FM-1
- FM-1 firmware
- SLOOP 2.3 or later
- Software
- v2.12, GPL-3.0
The FM-1 Companion started as a way to give the M-VAVE FM-1 pocket synth the Bluetooth that custom firmwares like SLOOP leave switched off. It turned into a small studio sidekick. Plug it into the FM-1 by USB and run it from its own screen or from your phone.
What it does
- Wireless audio and MIDI. The FM-1 plays through Bluetooth headphones or a speaker. The box also shows up as a Bluetooth MIDI device, so a keyboard, iPad, phone or computer can play the FM-1.
- Bluetooth MIDI keyboards (new in v2.9). Settings › MIDI › BT keys scans for keyboards that wait to be connected to, like a microKEY Air or a WIDI, and connects to the one you pick. It also takes several Bluetooth MIDI devices at once. Built with automated tests, but not tried with a real keyboard yet.
- More keyboards, a second FM-1. Add a USB hub and plug in up to four USB MIDI keyboards and a second FM-1. They’re found automatically, and a mixer sets each one’s level.
- Recorder and sample editor. Record the FM-1 to WAV, play takes back, then trim, fade, normalize, reverse and tune a take into a sample ready to load back into the FM-1. Record parts keeps each source as its own file next to the mix.
- Playing tools. MIDI clock (follow or lead, with tap tempo), metronome, arpeggiator and chord memory.
- MIDI matrix. Route Bluetooth, USB keyboards, the FM-1s and the box to each other. Transpose, re-channel, reshape velocity and filter, with four presets.
- Eleven meters. LED bars, VU needles, spectrum, scope, a reel-to-reel tape deck, tuner, keyboard view, waterfall, goniometer, level history and a beat counter.
- Looks after the FM-1. Back up and restore everything on it, load projects and samples, and install SLOOP firmware updates.
- A web app on your phone at
fm1bridge.localwith live status, the mixer, the MIDI matrix, a sample editor with a draggable waveform, and your recordings. Open it from here on the box’s Wi-Fi.
Build one
The Companion is open source (GPL-3.0). The GitHub repo has the parts list, SD card setup, a one-line installer, the controls and troubleshooting. It’s ready about a minute after power-on.
Coming in v3: 5-pin DIN MIDI in, out and thru.
