Chapter 6
Voices & layers
Firmware V16’s eight parts: layer sounds, split them across MIDI channels, share 20 notes.
Eight Voices, 20 notes
Up to V15 the FM-1 played one sound at a time. V16 makes it multitimbral: there are eight parts, which the screen calls Voices, and each can hold a different preset. Play them together from one keyboard as a layer, or give each its own MIDI channel and drive them from a sequencer.
- Voice
- One of the eight timbral parts, Voice1–Voice8. Each has its own preset, on/off switch, MIDI channel, level, pan, pitch-bend range, glide and fine tune.
- Polyphony
- The total number of notes the FM-1 can sound at once: 20, shared between all eight Voices as needed. It is not 20 per Voice — two four-note chords on two layered Voices use eight.
Where the Voices show up
- The PRESETS pop-up chooses which Voice you are loading a preset into, with quick controls for it — see Choosing a Voice and its quick controls.
- The first two GLO pages hold each Voice’s full setup — see Voice setup in GLO.
- Each row of the sequencer’s arrangement grid belongs to one Voice — see The arrangement grid (V16).
- All Voices share one effects chain — see FX groups (V16).
From the community
M-VAVE FM-1 | Official V16 Firmware: A Multitimbral Beast! (Stereo FX & New Presets)
NatLife Sounds
Best overview of official V16: 8-part multitimbrality, 20-voice polyphony, 64-step arranger and stereo shared FX.
Choosing a Voice and its quick controls
On V16 the preset pop-up does more than list sounds. Its top row chooses the target: one of Voice1–Voice8, or FX. With a Voice chosen, turning PRESETS loads sounds into that Voice, and the four knobs become quick controls for it.
| Knob | Quick control |
|---|---|
| KNOB 1 | MIDI Ch — the channel this Voice listens on |
| KNOB 2 | Level |
| KNOB 3 | Pan |
| KNOB 4 | On/Off |
- With FX chosen, the list picks an FX group instead of a preset.
- The pop-up closes after about three seconds without a change; any selection or quick-control change restarts the timer.
- In the sequencer, the same top row chooses FX or one of the 16 patterns, the preset list belongs to that pattern, and the Voice quick controls are hidden.
Voice setup in GLO
V16 reorganises GLO into five main pages, the first two of which are for the Voices: page 1 for Voices 1–4 and page 2 for Voices 5–8. Each Voice’s Voice Set has three pages of its own.
What each Voice has
- A preset, an on/off switch and a MIDI receive channel.
- Level and pan.
- Its own pitch-bend up and down ranges, and
Fine Tunefrom −100 to +100 cents. - Its own Glide settings.
These are spread over the Voice Set’s three pages, named Basic, Pitch and Glide.
V16 GLO main pages
| Page | Contents |
|---|---|
| 1 | Voices 1–4 |
| 2 | Voices 5–8 |
| 3 | Performance and connectivity |
| 4 | Display settings — see Screen colours and backlights (V16) |
| 5 | Data management, and the firmware version |
Layering, and playing Voices from MIDI
A Voice plays whatever arrives on its MIDI channel. That one rule covers both ways of using the eight Voices.
- Layer
- Give two or more Voices the same MIDI channel. Every note plays all of them: an electric piano with a pad under it, or a bass doubled an octave down.
- Separate parts
- Give each Voice its own channel. A DAW or hardware sequencer can then play bass, chords and lead on channels 1, 2 and 3 at once.
Make a two-sound layer
- Open the PRESETS pop-up and choose Voice1 in its top row. Pick a preset.
- Choose Voice2 and pick a second preset.
- Set both Voices to the same
MIDI Chwith KNOB 1, and make sure both are on. - Balance them with
Level, spread them withPan, and save withGlobe.