CURRENT FM-1 FIRMWARE RESEARCH — 24 October 2026
Primary sources inspected today:
https://github.com/isod89/clipper-fm1
https://github.com/isod89/clipper-fm1/releases
https://www.m-vave.com/download
https://forum.m-vave.com/topic/23
https://www.m-vave.com/product?id=fm-1

Clipper describes 1.1 as experimental, with 23 engines / 407 sounds, one instrument
or two MULTI parts rather than our six-track groove structure. Interesting ideas:
string-machine ensemble, gentle analog drift, wavetable/vector morphing, sound
comparison, preset filtering, editor-based sequence manipulation and user files.
Its own documentation reports limited physical FM-1 testing and recent reverb/
storage fixes. Feature count alone is not a validated CPU or reliability budget.
No Clipper code was copied into this candidate. A future port needs source/license
review, minimal adapters, worst-case profiling and sound-quality comparison.

M-VAVE's download page lists V16 dated 21 October; the product page still lists
V15. Official release notes describe eight timbral parts sharing 20 total FM
voices, per-part MIDI/pan/level/bend/glide and fine tune. This shows useful control
and voice-allocation concepts, not that 20 full Mutable-style DSP chains fit.
The manufacturer implementation and our granular/modal engines have different
costs. Do not advertise 20 voices in Mutable Dreams based on that announcement.

Our next candidates, after hardware stabilization (inference, not implemented):
1. Efficient string/ensemble engine and a shared chorus; small fixed delay budget.
2. Band-limited flash-resident wavetable morphing: broader warmth/evolution with
   modest RAM. User-table import later, with explicit flash ownership and checks.
3. Optional sparse modulation matrix / morph between two timbres; bound work per
   block and smooth transitions. Keep intuitive live macros as the main surface.
4. Preset tags, favourites, searchable warm banks, compare and easy user exports.
5. Second-core work only after a separate hardware study; it changes scheduling,
   memory ownership and recovery and is not a free performance switch.

Release website / installation gates (owner request)
Update the public website only after qualification, with all changes, accurate
counts, tutorial/video, MIDI chart, bank/sequence instructions and known limits.
Provide and TEST installation from official stock firmware, plus a documented
return to an original firmware. Cover V15 and current V16 separately; retain the
previously verified V15 recovery artifact until a V16 route is verified.
For other custom firmware, inspect updater compatibility and back up its own data.
Some official-open branches require a return via stock rather than a direct jump.
Publish a tested starting-firmware matrix; never promise "from any firmware"
without evidence. Preserve 1.0 as an available stable release and rollback choice.

Owner clarification: V15 is the primary required installation starting point.
V16 and other firmware are optional additional routes only after separate tests.
