Free Online Patch Editor For Volca FM, Yamaha DX7, Synthmata

Developer Alex Caithness let us know about his free online patch editor for the Volca FM and Yamaha DX7, Synthmata.

Synthmata is a patch editor that runs entirely within your Web browser (Chrome or Opera currently supported). It gives you full control over all of the parameters and makes it easy to share and save patches.

Here’s a video demo:

Caithness is also interested in collaborating with web developers and synth makers to extend the editor to support other synthesizers. He can be reached via oscillatorsink(at symbol)gmail.com

If you try Synthmata, share your thoughts on it in the comments!

13 thoughts on “Free Online Patch Editor For Volca FM, Yamaha DX7, Synthmata

  1. When I got the volca FM I was struggling to stop me from building this kind of control, I thought about a JS plguin for Reaper but this is way better ! Never saw a web midi app !
    Hurray !

  2. I can imagine you’ve put a ton of work into this, and it certainly will help many folks program their machines, and I sincerely applaud that. However from a real-world programming perspective, the fact that we can’t hear the result of a value change IN PROGRESS is a deal breaker, I think; it becomes very tedious to move and release, move and release a parameter’s slider and not hear the sound changing in real time; imagine a mixer that did not update the level of a channel until you released the fader!

    I understand the need to keep a barrage of MIDI data under control, but could you devise any other way to have the actual realtime feedback of hearing the sound change as you make the adjustments?

    Again, deep respect for your work, just wanted to voice a perspective about how this workflow is currently a bit restricted.

    1. Hi Roman,

      The main reason for this implementation is that every time you send patch information to the Volca it cuts the currently playing sound – to reiterate: all currently sounding voices glitch and stop. I actually had the Midi streaming closer to real-time in development, but this behaviour on the Volca made it super annoying to work with – that’s why I made this switch. I am still improving the system and it’s responsiveness so check back in a few weeks and it might be work closer to how you want it though.

      1. Understood. I was imagining using it with my DX7, and I don’t actually know if the MIDI messages would stop the current sounds playing on the DX7 – I program that synth one parameter at a time from the front panel!!
        Thanks for your reply – best of luck and thanks for making this for folks.

    1. Sadly not – it’s a different synth architecture. However I do also own a TX81Z, which I want to build a surface for and the dx11 is just a TX81Z with a keyboard – so keep your eyes on the channel for updates!

  3. It is great, thank you.
    I can imagine better design, less space needed, maybe some grouping of values (macros) that would elevate this synth.
    Is it open source?

  4. How do I load the patch currently selected in the Volca FM? For example, I want to edit the factory settings for Glasspad and create a new patch out of that.

Leave a Reply to OscillatorSink Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *