The FM-1 has 16 patterns of 16 steps. V15 added long notes, a step count per pattern, Chain and voice binding. This page covers the basics, then builds a short 3-part song.

How sure is this? M-VAVE has published no V15 manual. Where each V15 feature lives, and how it works, comes from M-VAVE’s own release note. The basic buttons (SEQ, PLAY, REC, SELECT) come from the original manual and from owners. If your unit behaves differently, please open an issue.

1. The basics

Do this Result
Press SEQ Opens the sequencer screen
Press PLAY Starts and stops the pattern
Press REC, then play keys Step recording: each key fills the current step, then moves to the next
Leave a step empty A rest
Hold REC + turn SELECT Moves through the steps without playing, so you can replace a step’s note carefully

The sequencer and the arpeggiator share one BPM, and you can transpose a pattern while it plays.

2. Long notes (V15)

A note can last for several steps:

  1. Go to the step where the note should start.
  2. Hold the key.
  3. Turn SELECT to the step where it should end.
  4. Release the key.

Notes already on those steps are kept, not overwritten.

3. Pattern length: Step (V15)

SEQ page 1 → Step sets how many steps the pattern plays before it loops.

  • 16 is a normal 4/4 bar.
  • 12 is a bar of 3/4 (waltz).
  • 7 or 5 gives odd loops that drift against a steady beat.

4. Chain: play patterns in a row (V15)

Normally the sequencer repeats the one pattern you are on. Chain (SEQ page 1, 1–16) plays N patterns in a row, starting from the current one, then loops back to the start.

Start on Chain Plays
1 1 1 → 1 → 1 … (normal)
1 3 1 → 2 → 3 → 1 → 2 → 3 …
1 4 1 → 2 → 3 → 4 → 1 …
5 3 5 → 6 → 7 → 5 …

Why it matters: a single pattern is only one bar, which gets repetitive. Chaining builds longer music:

  • 4-bar phrase: write one melody across patterns 1–4 and set Chain = 4. That gives one 64-step loop.
  • Song shape: for verse, verse, chorus, verse, use patterns 1–4 with Chain = 4. Patterns 1, 2 and 4 are copies of the verse; pattern 3 is the chorus.

Limits:

  • The patterns must be next to each other: no 1 → 5 → 2.
  • It only runs forward, and at most 16 patterns.
  • Each pattern plays once per pass, so to repeat a part, copy it into the next slot.

5. Voice binding: a sound per pattern (V15)

SEQ page 2 → Voice binds a voice (preset) to the current pattern. Each pattern then plays with its own sound, and inside a chain the sound changes automatically as the patterns change.

While the sequencer screen is open, the preset knob does nothing: the pattern chooses the sound.

One sound at a time, not layers. Voice binding changes the sound between patterns: pattern 1 can be a piano and pattern 2 a bass, and a chain switches between them as it plays. But only one pattern plays at a time, and the FM-1 plays one voice at a time. So it cannot play a piano part and a bass part together like tracks in a DAW. It’s more like a playlist of one-bar clips, each with its own instrument.

To get layers:

  • Play chords or a melody by hand over a running pattern. Your hands and the sequencer share the same sound.
  • Record each pattern into a DAW and layer the parts there.
  • Use Felucca. It has three synth parts plus a drum track playing at the same time, each with its own sound, though it’s still in beta.

6. Build a 3-part loop

Pattern Voice (SEQ page 2) What to record
1 a bass A simple bass line. Use long notes for the held ones
2 a pad or bell Chord roots or a slow melody over the same bass idea
3 the same bass A variation of pattern 1, e.g. a few notes higher in the last 4 steps

Then:

  1. Go back to pattern 1.
  2. SEQ page 1: check Step = 16, and set Chain = 3.
  3. Press PLAY. You hear bass → pad → bass variation, then it loops, and the sound switches by itself each bar.
  4. Make it longer: copy patterns into 4–6, set Chain = 6, and tweak each copy.

Tips:

  • Turn the reverb Decay up for pads, as described on the reverb page. V15’s scale is 0–100, so low numbers are very short.
  • Transposing while the chain plays shifts the whole song, which is handy for key changes.

What stock V15 can’t do yet

None of these are in stock V15:

  • more than 16 steps per pattern
  • per-step ratchet, chance or gate
  • several notes on one step
  • recording live over a playing loop
  • receiving MIDI Clock

Baud Girl’s FM-1+VA adds 64-step patterns with per-step ratchet, chance, gate and up to 9 notes per step.