How to hook up your M-Vave FM-1 to Circuit Tracks.

I bought an M-VAVE FM-1 to add to my Circuit Tracks. I love Yamaha DX sounds (checkout my previous MiniDEXED build and songs to see how much) and I think they work well with the Circuit Tracks. Building an equivalent MiniDEXED (like this one) now has ballooned to over $100USD* so at around $60 or so this is a much cheaper and interesting option. Better screen Bluetooth MIDI Rubber keyboard Easier interface NO DIY The numerous daily new firmwares adding new features and the very tempting price on the FM-1 was too much to resist so - here we are. So, box open – plugged in, updated to a Baudgirl v27 firmware to start off and I’m going to hook it up to my Tracks. Great as the sequencer might be, editing on a tiny screen is not my idea of fun. What we need are two things, 1) A cable to connect the audio from the FM-1 to the Tracks INPUTS (I used a 3.5mm stereo to 2 x 6.3mm jacks) 2) A MIDI cable – I’d recommend a 5-pin DIN to 3.5mm MIDI. Even though the FM1 does have MIDI via the USB-C, connecting a USB-C cable between this and the tracks directly because both are USB MIDI SLAVE rather than MASTER devices. They are expecting to link to a computer or USB HOST. It’ll work if you have the MIDI interface (or even connecting to an IPad) but not directly. The safer way therefore is to use a direct MIDI connection from the MIDI out of the tracks to the 3.5mm MIDI in of the FM1. The other GOTCHA here is getting the RIGHT type of MIDI 5-pin to 3.5mm, In their infinite wisdom different manufacturers used different polarities for the 3.5mm connector. This is the Roland or TYPE-A type and you need to make sure you buy the right cable. I’ll put some non-affiliate links below to the USA Amazon as an example. Having connected both you need to make sure your Tracks is sending MIDI (Shift and Setup) The 2nd green light should be lit. Your MIDI 1 & 2 are setup to send on channel 3 and 4 respectively. Press the Global button on your FM1 (it will look different depending on the firmware you have installed). But on Baudgirl you can see that I have set it up to receive on MIDI channel 3. If I now go to MIDI 1 I can play the FM1 directly and sequence from there. How about I play you some music so you can hear how it sits with the Tracks. Don’t forget that with the external inputs you can use the MIXER, adjust volume and panning and even add effects just like you would with internal synths. I'll be testing out ALL of the firmwares for myself over the coming days and will let you know which I think make good partners for the Circuit Tracks. There is also the tiny matter of the modified firmware for the Tracks ( https://github.com/tracelistener/trac... ) and I'll be giving that a whirl soon. Part 2 is here, testing firmwares and choosing the best to partner with the Tracks,    • Pt: 2: Circuit Tracks & FM-1 - Perfect par...   Stay tuned! *MiniDEXED synth price (USD) Pi Zero 2 W $15 Micro SD 8Gb $15 MiniDEXED case/PCB $75 TOTAL $105 Type A 3.5mm to 5-pin DIN MIDI cable (I prefer the CME ones if you can get them) https://www.amazon.com/BTFO-0-14in-Ad... 3.5mm stereo to 6.3mm mono jacks x 2 (Amazon) https://www.amazon.com/Cable-Matters-...