README from GitHub, MIT
Forge
8-voice FM / subtractive hybrid drum synthesiser for Ableton Move, built on the Schwung framework.
A supercharged LXR-02 — specialised voice algorithms, a self-oscillating analog ladder filter, AD envelopes with curve + repeat, cross-voice LFO routing, and enveloped FM. Adds a Razzmatazz-style per-voice resonator, a dedicated multi-colour noise oscillator, a Digitone-II dual-filter chain with Base-Width pre-stage, Machinedrum-style Ctrl-All performance macros + gated reverb, three concurrent FX buses, and the Forge signature: Kit A↔B morph across Move's 16-pad Drum Kit template.
What's new in v0.2.5 — Schwung v1.3 UI redesign
A full pass over the interface for the Schwung v1.3 Knob Grid.
- Per-voice pages that follow your pads — press a pad and the Voice,
Osc, Filter, Env, Mod and Setup pages instantly re-title to
"Voice N" and edit that voice. A new Selected Voice picker (1–16) jumps
to any voice without a pad. Both Kit A (pads 1–8) and Kit B (pads 9–16) are
addressable. Built on the host's
child_index_paramfollow — the module owns the focus and moves it on every pad note-on. - Momentary trigger buttons — Rnd Kit, Rnd Kit Params, Rnd Voice, Save Kit,
Copy A→B / B→A, Swap A↔B, Rnd B from A and the init/randomize utilities now
fire on a single knob-click (
access:"write") instead of being enum knobs you had to scroll — no more accidental-value overlay. - Reorganised top level — Main → Perf → Patch → Morph & Copy → Voice → Mix → FX → General → EQ. The old catch-all Patch overflow is split into a focused Patch page (All Mono, Same Freq, Init Decay/Freq, Rnd Pitch) and a Morph & Copy page (Morph Src/Curve, Copy/Swap A↔B, Rnd B from A).
- Dedicated EQ page — the 3-band EQ (gain / freq / Q per band) is grouped on its own page instead of scattered through General; General is now clean dynamics + output (Comp, Drive, Crush, Limiter, Master).
- Requires Schwung host v1.3.0+ (pad-press UI following / child pages).
What's new in v0.2.1
- Per-voice CC control & automation (
pv<N>_keys) — external MIDI CC / automation and the Movy knob tool can now address individual voices deterministically and simultaneously (pv1_*…pv8_*= Kit A,pv9_*…pv16_*= Kit B), instead of only the ambiguous last-played voice (cv_*).set_paramalso now accepts enum values by option name or index. Ships amovy_config.jsonlayout. (Thanks to @DimaDake.)
What's new in v0.2.0 — big update
Everything below has landed since the v0.1 series:
Synthesis
- Dedicated Noise layer — a true second oscillator per voice: 5 noise colours (White / Pink / Brown / Gaussian / Blue) → a Base + Width band-pass (narrow tuned ↔ broadband, Digitone-style) → its own AD envelope. The real noise source for snares, claps and hat sizzle.
- ZDF transistor ladder filter (Moog 4-pole
Ladder+Ladder HP) — a self-oscillating analog filter whose resonant "ping" becomes the body/pitch of a tom or kick. The best filter for percussion, now baked in. - LP2 acid filter — a self-oscillating 2-pole LP (LXR-style) for 303/acid perc.
- Enveloped FM indices — two dedicated FM-index envelopes per voice so the FM amount blooms and collapses per hit (Digitone's soul).
- LFO dual-shape morph — blend two LFO waveforms with a morph knob.
Performance
- Ctrl-All macros (new Perf page) — 8 global "nudge every voice at once" knobs: Punch / Bright / Decay / Drive / Snap / Bend / Tune / FX. One encoder morphs the whole kit live. Each one works on every kit — even a bone-dry, clickless, or maxed-filter voice (Punch/Bright are a per-voice spectral tilt, Snap injects a universal attack tick, FX adds send + wet floor). Tuned for fast, snappy sweeps (~1 turn end-to-end).
- 20 ms parameter smoothing — the Ctrl-All macros, master volume/drive, FX wet mix and voice levels ramp instead of jumping, so turning a knob live never zippers or clicks.
- Aftertouch (poly + channel) as a mod source, plus a Roll polyphony mode — hold a pad and press harder to speed up a pressure-controlled buzz.
- Gated reverb (Machinedrum GATE BOX) — the iconic cut-tail snare verb.
- 50 Voice presets (10 per algorithm) selectable from the top of the Voice menu — swap a voice's whole instrument in one move.
- Rnd Kit Params — reroll the current kit's 8 voices and its FX buses.
Kits & content
- 137 factory kits (was 64): 64 Razzmatazz ports (0–63), 64 Forge
originals (64–127), 9 LXR TR-808/909/707 ports (128–136) decoded
clean-room from the GPL Sonic Potions
.SNDformat. - Kit A↔B morph is now audible on all 137 kits (auto-synthesised B variation where none was authored).
- All Decay range extended to 1 %–400 % (was 100 %–400 %).
- Normalised exponential cutoff knob — musical sweep across the whole range.
Fixes — fatter snares (body routed post-filter), reverb dialled to a
sensible level, audible attack click (post-filter), every silent/weak voice
eliminated (1096/1096 audible), a proper loudness-boosting drive, a
correctly-clamped fast_tanh saturator, a now-functional E1 Rep Rate knob,
and denormal guards throughout.
Table of contents
- Features
- Pad layout & Kit A↔B morph
- Voice algorithms
- Per-voice signal flow
- Page hierarchy
- Knob assignments per page
- Voice presets
- The 137 factory kits
- Aftertouch & performance
- Save Kit
- Installation
- Building from source
- Inspirations & credits
- Roadmap
- License
Features
- 8 voices, 5 algorithms — Drum / Snare / Cymbal / Hat / Wild
- Drum: 2-op FM (carrier + sine modulator with feedback) + body wavefolder + parallel body-sine (kick punch) + click + resonator + dual filter
- Snare: tonal osc + tunable noise mix + 2-op FM body (body summed post-filter for weight)
- Cymbal: 3-op serial FM cascade (A → B → C, feedback at A), enharmonic ratios
- Hat: same 3-op cascade with paired open/closed decays and mutual choke
- Wild: free-form 2-op FM with cross-FM option, wavefolder, broadest mod range
- Dedicated Noise layer per voice — 5 colours (White/Pink/Brown/Gaussian/Blue) → Base+Width band-pass → own AD envelope, summed post-filter so it always survives.
- Enveloped FM — two dedicated FM-index AD envelopes per voice for per-hit FM bloom.
- Kit A ↔ Kit B morph — every parameter of every voice interpolated by one knob (linear / exp / log / S-curve). Both kits playable simultaneously across 16 pads. Audible on all 137 kits.
- 137 factory kits — 64 Razzmatazz ports, 64 Forge originals, 9 LXR TR-808/909/707 ports.
- Per-voice resonator — feedback-comb + tanh saturation (Razzmatazz metallic ring on any voice without burning FM index).
- Dual filter chain with Base-Width pre-stage and four routings (Single / Per-Osc / Serial / Parallel); 11 filter types per slot — LP / HP / BP / BPu / Notch / Peak / Comb+ / Comb− / LP2 (acid) / Ladder / Ladder HP (self-oscillating Moog 4-pole).
- Curved AD envelopes with repeat (LXR signature) — exp/lin/log shape + a repeat that retriggers the attack for synthesised claps and buzz rolls, with a live Rep Rate control.
- Cross-voice LFO routing (LXR signature) + dual-shape morph — any voice's LFO can drive any voice's parameter; any pad-hit can phase-reset any LFO.
- Ctrl-All performance macros (Machinedrum) — 8 global nudge knobs on the Perf page, each effective on every kit, with 20 ms smoothing for click-free live sweeps.
- Aftertouch + Roll polyphony — pressure as a mod source and a pressure-controlled retrigger buzz.
- 3 concurrent FX buses — Delay (BPF feedback, ping-pong, tanh-saturated), Reverb (Dattorro plate + gated mode), Chorus (panoramic multi-engine).
- Bus compressor (EMT-156 style) + 3-band EQ + master saturation (tube/fold/clip) + bit/rate reduction + soft-clip limiter.
- Click sample bank — six synthesised transients, no asset loading.
- 50 Voice presets — 10 named instruments per algorithm.
- Save Kit — binary persistence with magic + version check.
Pad layout & Kit A↔B morph
Forge displays across Move's 16-pad Drum Kit template as two interlocked rows:
┌────┬────┬────┬────┐
│ 13 │ 14 │ 15 │ 16 │ ← Kit B reference (Voices 5-8, untouched)
├────┼────┼────┼────┤
│ 9 │ 10 │ 11 │ 12 │ ← Kit B reference (Voices 1-4, untouched)
├────┼────┼────┼────┤
│ 5 │ 6 │ 7 │ 8 │ ← Morphed Kit A↔B (Voices 5-8, live)
│ 1 │ 2 │ 3 │ 4 │ ← Morphed Kit A↔B (Voices 1-4, live)
└────┴────┴────┴────┘
- At Morph = 0 the lower row plays Kit A and the upper row plays Kit B — both kits simultaneously available as a 16-pad performance kit.
- As Morph rises, the lower row gradually transforms into Kit B; the upper row stays put.
- At Morph = 1, both rows play Kit B identically (cue to load a new variation or reset Morph).
- Tap any pad to select that voice for editing. The dynamic Voice menu shows a
V<N>prefix so you always know which voice you're sculpting. - Choke groups span both rows — a pad-1 hit and a pad-9 hit will choke each other if their voices share a group.
Voice algorithms
Forge's five algorithms are structurally different DSP topologies, not preset variations. Each voice can run any algorithm; the default assignment is V1-V4 = Drum, V5 = Snare, V6 = Cymbal, V7-V8 = Hat (mutually choked). Every voice — whatever its algorithm — also carries the dedicated Noise layer and two FM-index envelopes.
| # | Algorithm | Topology |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | Drum | 2-op FM (carrier with sine/tri/saw/sqr+PWM/noise pick; sine modulator + feedback) → body wavefolder → click → resonator → dual filter, with a parallel body-sine summed post-filter for kick weight |
| 1 | Snare | Tonal osc + tunable noise mix + 2-op FM body; body summed post-filter for weight |
| 2 | Cymbal | 3-op serial FM: op A → op B → op C, self-feedback at A. Enharmonic ratios first-class. |
| 3 | Hat | Same 3-op cascade with paired voices (V7 default closed, V8 default open) + mutual choke |
| 4 | Wild | Free-form 2-op FM + optional cross-FM, broadest macro routing |
Per-voice signal flow
Note-on ─► [Pitch env] ──┐
─► [FM idx env ×2]├─► FM index / pitch bloom
┘
[Osc / FM (algo-dependent)] ─► [Body wavefolder] ─► [Resonator (FB-comb + tanh)]
─► [Filter routing: Single | Per-Osc | Serial | Parallel]
├─ [Base-Width pre-filter] (optional)
├─ [Filt1: SVF (LP/HP/BP/BPu/Notch/Peak/LP2) · Comb± · Ladder]
└─ [Filt2: same options]
─► + [Body sine] ← POST-filter (low fundamental always survives)
─► + [Click] ← POST-filter, boosted (attack snap punches through)
─► + [Noise layer] ← POST-filter (colour → Base/Width BP → own AD)
─► [Drive (Tube / Fold / Clip)]
─► [Bit crush] ─► [Rate crush]
─► [Amp (Env1)] ─► [Pan]
─► main bus + FX1 / FX2 sends
The body, click and noise are summed after the filter — so a heavy LP/BP can shape the FM colour without ever strangling the kick's fundamental, the attack transient, or the noise crack. This is what keeps every voice audible on every kit.
Modulation sources: Env1 (amp), Env2 (assignable: FM/Filter/Reso/Pan/Mod), Pitch Env, 2 × FM-index envelopes, LFO (cross-voice, dual-shape morph, audio-rate), Velocity, Aftertouch, Mod Wheel, and Trigger (any pad-hit can phase-reset any LFO).
Page hierarchy
root ── Main (8 patch knobs, always live: Kit / Rnd Kit / Rnd Kit Params /
│ Rnd Voice / Morph / All Decay / Rnd Pan / Save)
│
├── Perf (Ctrl-All performance macros)
├── Patch (All Mono, Same Freq, Init Decay/Freq, Rnd Pitch)
├── Morph & Copy (Morph Src/Curve, Copy A→B / B→A, Swap A↔B, Rnd B from A)
├── Voice ──┬── (8 macro knobs, algorithm-dependent labels) ← press a pad ⇒ "Voice N"
│ ├── Selected Voice (pick voice 1–16)
│ ├── (Preset selector — 50 instruments)
│ ├── Osc (oscillator + FM + Noise layer)
│ ├── Filter (dual filter + Base-Width + ladder)
│ ├── Env (Env1 / Env2 / Pitch Env / FM-idx envs)
│ ├── Mod (LFO + dual-shape morph + cross-voice)
│ └── Setup (algorithm, choke, polyphony, aftertouch)
│
├── Mix (8 voice volumes, pans & sends in menu)
├── FX (3 FX buses + gated reverb)
├── General (master comp / drive / crush / limiter / volume)
└── EQ (3-band EQ — gain / freq / Q per band)
The whole Voice family (Voice / Osc / Filter / Env / Mod / Setup) follows the pad you press — the page header re-titles to "Voice N" and every knob edits that voice.
Knob assignments per page
Main (root)
| K1 | K2 | K3 | K4 | K5 | K6 | K7 | K8 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kit | Rnd Kit | Rnd Kit Params | Rnd Voice | Morph | All Decay | Rnd Pan | Save |
- Rnd Kit rerolls the 8 voices (keeps FX); Rnd Kit Params rerolls the voices and the three FX buses.
- Rnd Kit / Rnd Kit Params / Rnd Voice / Rnd Pan / Save are momentary buttons — one knob-click fires them (no enum overlay).
- The former menu-only utilities now live on the dedicated Patch and Morph & Copy pages below.
Patch
| K1 | K2 | K3 | K4 | K5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All Mono | Same Freq | Init Decay | Init Freq | Rnd Pitch |
Voice-wide initialise / randomise utilities (momentary buttons).
Morph & Copy
| K1 | K2 | K3 | K4 | K5 | K6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Morph Src | Morph Curve | Copy A→B | Copy B→A | Swap A↔B | Rnd B from A |
Morph configuration (source + curve) and the Kit A↔B copy/swap tools. Copy / Swap / Rnd B from A are momentary buttons.
Perf — Ctrl-All performance macros
| K1 | K2 | K3 | K4 | K5 | K6 | K7 | K8 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Punch | Bright | Decay | Drive | Snap | Bend | Tune | FX |
Each knob nudges the corresponding parameter across all 8 voices at once (0.5 = neutral). One encoder sweeps the whole kit live — snappy (~1 turn end-to-end) and 20 ms-smoothed so it never zippers. Every macro is effective on any kit, including dry/clickless/maxed-filter voices: Punch (low band) + Bright (high band) are a per-voice spectral tilt, Snap injects a universal attack tick, and FX adds a send + reverb/delay/chorus wet floor.
Voice (drill-in) — algorithm-aware macro page
| Knob | Drum | Snare | Cymbal | Hat | Wild |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pitch | Tune | Tune | Tune | M1 |
| 2 | Decay | Snap | Decay | Cls Dec | M2 |
| 3 | Bend | Body | FMIdx | Opn Dec | M3 |
| 4 | FM | Noise | Color | FM | M4 |
| 5 | Body | Tone | Shape | Color | M5 |
| 6 | Click | Decay | Reso | Shape | M6 |
| 7 | Cutoff | Cutoff | Cutoff | Cutoff | M7 |
| 8 | Drive | Drive | Drive | Drive | M8 |
First menu item is the Preset selector (50 named instruments — see below).
Voice → Osc
| K1 | K2 | K3 | K4 | K5 | K6 | K7 | K8 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wave | Coarse Ratio | Fine Ratio | Detune | Level | Phase | PWM | Feedback |
Menu-only: Op A/B/C, Click Type (Sample/Impulse/Phase), Click Sample, Click Lvl, Click Decay, Cross-FM, Noise Lvl, Noise Dec, Noise Base, Noise Width, Noise Color (White/Pink/Brown/Gaussian/Blue).
Voice → Filter
| K1 | K2 | K3 | K4 | K5 | K6 | K7 | K8 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| F1 Cutoff | F1 Reso | F1 Type | BW Cutoff | BW Width | Routing | F1 Drive | F2 Cutoff |
F1 / F2 Type: LP / HP / BP / BPu / Notch / Peak / Comb+ / Comb− / LP2 / Ladder / Ladder HP. Routing: Single / Per-Osc / Serial / Parallel. Cutoff is a normalised exponential sweep (20 Hz–20 kHz). For a self-oscillating tom/kick ping, pick Ladder and turn up F1 Reso. Menu-only: F2 Reso, F2 Type, F2 Drive, BW On, Bit Crush, Rate Crush, KeyTrack F1/F2, Env1→F1, Env2→F2.
Voice → Env
| K1 | K2 | K3 | K4 | K5 | K6 | K7 | K8 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| E1 Atk | E1 Dec | E1 Curve | E1 Repeat | E2 Dec | E2 Curve | PE Amt | PE Dec |
Menu-only: E2 Dest, E1 Rep Rate (buzz speed), E2 Atk, PE Curve, PE Dest, Vel→E1 Lvl, Vel→E1 Time, Vel→E2 Amt, FM Env1 Amt/Dec, FM Env2 Amt/Dec (enveloped FM indices).
Voice → Mod
| K1 | K2 | K3 | K4 | K5 | K6 | K7 | K8 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LFO Wave | LFO Rate | LFO Sync | LFO Depth | XLFO Source | Trig Reset | Mod Dest | Mod Depth |
Menu-only: LFO Phase, Polarity, Restart, Mod Source (incl. AT / Mod-Wheel), Mod Curve, LFO Wave 2, LFO Morph (dual-shape blend).
Voice → Setup
| K1 | K2 | K3 | K4 | K5 | K6 | K7 | K8 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Algorithm | Choke | Output Bus | Voice Lvl | Voice Tune | Polyphony | Glide | Init Voice |
Polyphony: One-Shot / Legato / Retrig / Roll (Roll = aftertouch buzz). Menu-only: Voice Pan, Voice Mute, FX1 Send, FX2 Send, Velocity Sens, MIDI Note.
Mix
K1–K8 = V1–V8 Level. Menu: per-voice pan, FX1 sends, FX2 sends.
FX — 3 concurrent buses
| K1 | K2 | K3 | K4 | K5 | K6 | K7 | K8 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rev Mix | Rev Decay | Rev Size | Dly Mix | Dly Rate | Dly Fdbk | Dly Tone | Cho Mix |
Menu-only: Rev Type, Rev Gate (gated reverb), Rev Predelay, Rev Damping, Dly BPF Cutoff/Width, Ping-Pong, Sync, Cho Rate/Depth/Width/Voices/Tone/Feedback.
General
| K1 | K2 | K3 | K4 | K5 | K6 | K7 | K8 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Comp | Drive | Drive Type | Bit | Rate | Limiter | Master | Master Tune |
Master dynamics + output. Drive Type = Tube / Fold / Clip. Menu-only: MIDI Channel.
EQ
| K1 | K2 | K3 | K4 | K5 | K6 | K7 | K8 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EQ Lo | Lo Freq | Q Lo | EQ Mid | Mid Freq | Q Mid | EQ Hi | Hi Freq |
3-band parametric EQ, grouped by band (gain / freq / Q). Q Hi trails on EQ page 2.
Voice presets
Fifty full single-voice instruments, 10 per algorithm, selectable from the top of the Voice menu. Loading one swaps the current voice's whole character while preserving its mix/routing (pan, level, sends, choke, bus).
- Drum — 808 Kick · 909 Kick · Sub Boom · Click Kick · Punch Kick · Dist Kick · Deep Tom · Hi Tom · Zap · Rumble
- Snare — 909 Snare · Clap · Rimshot · Noise Snr · FM Snare · Fat Snare · Tight Snr · Brush · Sidestick · Crack
- Cymbal — Ride · Crash · Splash · Bell · China · Gong · Ping · Metal Hit · Cluster · Trash
- Hat — Closed Hat · Open Hat · Pedal Hat · Tight Hat · Sizzle · Long Hat · Metal Hat · Roll Hat · Shaker · Acid Hat
- Wild — Laser Zap · FM Bass · Noise Burst · Metallic · Glitch · Pluck · Drone · Bleep · Acid Blip · Chaos
The 137 factory kits
Three banks. Each kit defines all 8 voices, per-kit FX state (reverb / delay / chorus) and a Kit B variation, so the Morph knob always produces a gradient.
Slots 0–63 · Razzmatazz ports
Ported from 1010music Razzmatazz .nnr presets — the source of Forge's
per-voice resonator character. Punchy, resonant, electro/IDM-leaning kits:
AeroVan · BoomClap · Cannon · DatKick · DNB · ElectroBoom · ElectroPunk ·
HeavyIDM · Krafty · Smolder · SpeakerDama · Transformer · Velocity ·
SergeantKic · BassDrive · RoundHouse · BrokenBot · Thump · DeepTech · Tighty ·
SiM · NewBeat · BitSmash · Hacked · Drip · Flanged · DubTech · GlitchMetal ·
HeadHunter · AmbientPerc · Bounce · BinaryCrush · RadioBuzz · Distorted ·
BoombapSlap · Citadel · BassKick · Classic · TheHorror · EBM · Industry · Acid ·
Deutschland · Chippy · Pulsar · TwoFourTwo · Florida · CYBERDRUNK · Moombahton ·
DubBubbles · SynthWave · DDoS · TechnoPure · Pound · Ritual · BitMetal · Miami ·
Hardcore · Slammer · TheCave · SpaceKit · Marge · SawzAll · StunGun
Slots 64–127 · Forge originals
Original kits spanning the lineage and a spread of genres. (These are Forge's own interpretations named after the machines/genres — not sample replays.)
| # | Name | Character |
|---|---|---|
| 64–73 | Plastic · Anvil · Forge · Cinder · Spark · Dust · Phasma · Static · Glass · Marteau | Forge signatures — resonator, industrial, drone, bell, hammer |
| 74–83 | 808 · 909 · 707 · CR-78 · Linn · DMX · SP-12 · Simmons · Boom · Trap | Classic drum-machine homages |
| 84–93 | LXR · Riga · Schmidt · Indus · Lattice · Caustic · Steam · Iron · Burn · Cathedral | LXR-02 / Sonic Potions / Erica industrial |
| 94–103 | Razz · Bell · Chime · Pluck · Wire · Vinyl · Snap · Bounce · Toy · Crystal | Razzmatazz / per-voice-resonator showcase |
| 104–113 | Digi · Plaits · Cycles · Volca · Wavefold · BaseWidth · Comb · ThreeOp · Index · DX | Digitone II / Plaits / Volca FM |
| 114–123 | Techno · House · Detroit · Acid · Footwork · Jungle · Garage · Dubstep · Bossa · Glitch | Genre kits |
| 124–127 | Frost · Magma · Smoke · Chaos | Experimental |
Slots 128–136 · LXR TR-808/909/707 ports
Björn Fogelberg's freely-shareable 2017 TR patch set for the Sonic Potions LXR,
decoded clean-room from the GPL .SND binary format (see
dsp_refs/lxr_snd_format.md). The LXR patches lean on loaded WAV samples, and
Forge has no sampler — so these are a synthesised reinterpretation: each
patch's pitch, filter, envelope, FM and mix settings drive Forge's own engine.
808/909/707-flavoured Forge kits, not sample clones.
808_BF · 808_2_BF · 808_3_BF · 808_4_BF · 808_9_BF · 7_8_9_BF · 909_BF ·
707_BF · Tech_BF
Aftertouch & performance
Move's pads send channel + polyphonic aftertouch, which Forge turns into expression:
- As a mod source — set Mod Source = AT and route to any destination (pitch, FM index, filter cutoff, resonator, body, pan, level) via Mod Dest + Depth.
- Roll polyphony — set a voice to Poly = Roll. Holding a pad retriggers the voice at a rate that speeds up the harder you press (≈3 Hz → 30 Hz), turning any voice into a pressure-controlled buzz/roll. Great on hats, snares, and FX (see the Roll Hat / Shaker presets).
- Ctrl-All — the Perf page's 8 macros nudge the whole kit at once for live builds and drops. Each one bites on every kit (Punch/Bright = a per-voice spectral tilt, Snap = a universal attack tick, FX = an added send + wet floor), the encoders are fast (~1 turn), and all Ctrl-All/master/FX/level moves are 20 ms-smoothed so live sweeps never click.
Save Kit
Forge persists all kits to /data/UserData/schwung/forge_kits.dat (binary,
magic 'FRGE', save version 6). The Save Kit knob is a self-resetting enum:
turn it to Save and the full edit state (137 slots × Kit A + Kit B + macros +
per-kit FX) is written; the knob auto-reverts to Play.
User kits override the factory in-place. To reset to factory defaults, delete
forge_kits.dat and reload the module. A version + slot-count check rejects
stale saves automatically, so factory content loads cleanly after any update.
Installation
Via the Schwung Manager
- Open Schwung Manager → Modules.
- Find Forge under Sound Generators.
- Install. Power-cycle the Move.
Via the release tarball
- Download the latest
forge-module.tar.gzfrom Releases. - Extract on your Move:
scp forge-module.tar.gz ableton@move.local:/tmp/ ssh ableton@move.local cd /data/UserData/schwung/modules/sound_generators/ tar -xzf /tmp/forge-module.tar.gz chown -R ableton:users forge chmod +x forge/dsp.so - Power-cycle the Move. (Removing + re-adding the module from an FX slot
does not reload
module.json— only a full boot does; the chain host caches the manifest at startup.)
Building from source
Requirements: Docker (for the ARM64 cross-compile) + SSH access to a Move.
git clone https://github.com/filliformes/forge-move
cd forge-move
./scripts/build.sh # compile dsp.so via Docker
./scripts/install.sh # scp to ableton@move.local
# Then power-cycle the Move.
Set MOVE_HOST=user@host to install to a different Move:
MOVE_HOST=ableton@another-move.local ./scripts/install.sh
The build cross-compiles with -O2 -ffast-math for the Move's ARM Cortex-A53,
and is verified post-compile for the move_plugin_init_v2 symbol.
Inspirations & credits
Forge is an original design and DSP implementation by Vincent Fillion. Architectural and timbral ideas drawn from:
- Erica Synths LXR-02 — voice-algorithm philosophy, drivable filter, cross-voice LFO routing, kit morph
- Sonic Potions LXR (GPL-2.0, Julian Schmidt) — curved AD-with-repeat envelope concept; its
.SNDfile format was reverse-engineered clean-room to port Björn Fogelberg's freely-shareable TR-808/909/707 patch set (kits 128–136) - 1010music nanobox Razzmatazz — per-voice resonator; 64 factory kits ported from its
.nnrpresets (kits 0–63) - Elektron Digitone II — enveloped FM indices, body wavefolder, dual-filter chain, Base-Width pre-stage, comb modes
- Elektron Machinedrum — Ctrl-All performance macros, gated reverb, LFO dual-shape morph
- Mutable Instruments Plaits & Peaks (Émilie Gillet, MIT) — 2-op FM operator pattern
- DaisySP (Electrosmith, MIT) — wavefolder + chorus topologies
- KrautDrums (Vincent Fillion, MIT — same author) — Dattorro reverb, EMT-156 compressor, multi-mode delay
- VA filter math — A. Simper (Cytomic) trapezoidal SVF + V. Zavalishin ZDF transistor ladder (public math) for the analog ladder filter
No code is copied from any proprietary source. Open-source MIT code (Plaits,
Peaks, DaisySP, KrautDrums) is ported with attribution preserved in the source.
The LXR envelope concept and .SND file-format decode are clean-room; no LXR
firmware DSP is present.
Framework: Schwung by Charles Vestal.
Roadmap
Shipped in v0.2.0: enveloped FM indices, ladder filter, LP2 acid, dedicated noise layer, Ctrl-All macros, gated reverb, LFO dual-shape morph, aftertouch + Roll, 50 voice presets, 137 kits.
Still ahead:
- Two parallel FM stacks per voice (currently single stack on Drum/Snare/Wild)
- 3-slot modulation matrix per parameter (currently 1 slot + fixed routings)
- User-rebindable macro mappings per voice (currently fixed by algorithm)
- Per-osc filter routing properly split (currently falls back to Parallel)
- 4-op FM with selectable algorithms for Drum/Wild (engine 2.0)
- Wavetone machine — phase-distortion + sync + ring-mod (a new algorithm)
License
MIT — see LICENSE.