fm-1 running aisling

1. USB powera power bank or any usb charger
2. usb cablepower only
3. Korg nanoKEY Foldits 3.5 mm midi out
4. 3.5 mm stereo cable, trs to trsmidi: notes and clock
5. FM-1its 3.5 mm midi in

• Just the cable. Both jacks are wired Type A, so a plain stereo cable joins them: 3.5 mm TRS at both ends, wired straight through, like a headphone extension. No adapter, no MIDI interface, no iRig.
• The Fold needs USB power, even when only its MIDI jack is in use. Some power banks switch themselves off when so little is drawn; if the Fold goes dark, try a wall charger.
• The keys play the Lead, the flute, always in the piece's scale, one note at a time. Any channel will do; how hard you play doesn't matter.
• Its arpeggiator sends clock: the screen shows EXT and the harps follow it, and tapping the Fold's EDIT/TAP sets the tempo. Whether the Fold sends clock with the arpeggiator off hasn't been checked.

1. Computerchrome or edge for the web pages; any daw
2. usb-c data cablemidi both ways · sound in · power out
3. FM-1its usb-c socket

• One cable does it all. It powers and charges the FM-1, carries MIDI both ways, and brings the FM-1's sound into the computer as an audio input.
• What it's for: the visualiser paints from the MIDI out, the editor works every setting, the installer puts AISLING on, and a DAW records the sound and the four layers' notes.
• MIDI out (on by default; GLO's Setup page turns it off): the Drone on channel 1, the Sequence on 2, the Lead on 3, Sequence 2 on 4, and clock with start and stop. A muted layer sends nothing.
• MIDI in: notes play the Lead, clock drives the harps, and program changes 0 to 7 choose the eight pieces (1 to 8 in a DAW that counts from 1).
• The web pages need Chrome or Edge, on a computer, a Chromebook or an Android phone. Safari, iPhones and iPads can't reach MIDI from a web page.
• On macOS 13, MIDI works and the sound doesn't (tried on 13.7.8). Windows and Linux haven't been tried.
• It must be a data cable. A charge-only USB-C cable lights the FM-1, but the computer never sees it.
• Don't send its MIDI back. If a DAW's MIDI thru returns the FM-1's own notes, every layer plays the Lead. Turn thru off, or MIDI out off.

1. FM-1its 3.5 mm out
2. 3.5 mm cablesound, the same on both sides
3. headphones powered speaker mixer or sampler any one

• Start low. MASTER sets the level, and headphones go loud quickly.
• Mono, in stereo. AISLING's engine and effects are mono, so both sides of the jack carry the same sound. Into one input, a 3.5 mm to 6.35 mm (¼") jack lead; into a stereo pair, a 3.5 mm to two jacks.
• Into a sampler's line in, for its effects: an SP-404 is the obvious one. Untried, and the level that suits it isn't known yet.
• To record it, the USB cable in rig 2 is cleaner: its sound comes before MASTER, at a fixed level.

1. Keyboard or synthits midi out, 5-pin
2. 5-pin midi cablemidi
3. Adapter, Type A5-pin socket to 3.5 mm plug
4. plugs in
5. FM-1its 3.5 mm midi in

• Type A only. Type A is the MIDI Association's standard and the one tried with the Fold. A few makers wired their 3.5 mm jacks the other way, Type B, and whether the FM-1 takes Type B hasn't been tried.
• The adapter is passive, so nothing needs power except the keyboard.
• What gets through: the TRS jack and USB feed the same input, so notes, clock and program change all arrive as they do over USB. Only notes and clock have been tried on the jack.

with a computer · usb midi into the fm-1 is tried; passing it through isn't

1. USB keyboard
2. usb cablemidi
3. Computera daw, or any app that routes midi
4. usb-c data cablemidi to the fm-1
5. FM-1

without one

1. USB keyboard
2. usb cablemidi
3. USB MIDI host boxwith a 5-pin midi out
4. 5-pin midi cablemidi
5. Adapter, Type A
6. plugs in
7. FM-1

• Not straight into the FM-1. Its USB-C socket is a device, like the keyboard's, and two USB devices can't talk without a host between them: a computer, or a host box.
• A host box powers the keyboard and turns its USB MIDI into 5-pin MIDI. From there it is rig 4.

1. FM-1clock and notes, out over usb
2. usb-c data cablemidi out: clock, start, stop
3. Computer or host box
4. 5-pin or usbmidi
5. Drum machine or synthset to follow midi clock

• Clock goes out over USB only. The 3.5 mm MIDI jack is an input, so gear with 5-pin or 3.5 mm MIDI needs a computer or a host box in between.
• The other way round is tried: the FM-1 follows clock from the Fold over the jack (rig 1) and from a computer over USB (rig 2), and shows EXT while it does.
• Its notes go too, a layer to a channel, so another synth can double the harps or the drone.