Chip-level Monomachine emulation

Introducing Monomodule 1.0
for macOS · Windows · Linux

Poster: a Monomachine rises out of an open laptop, its lower half dissolving into glowing green keys. Monomodule. Your favorite synth. Now in your DAW.

Free · Open source · AU / VST3 / Standalone

Same code. Same sound. The Monomachine, now a plugin.

Monomodule runs the Elektron Monomachine's original DSP program inside an emulated Motorola DSP56300. Nothing is re-imagined with new DSP code, so all 22 machines match the hardware sample for sample.

  • No ROM dump needed All it takes is the Monomachine OS update, a free download from Elektron's own website.
  • Light on CPU Only the DSP is emulated, not the whole machine, and its code is translated to native code as it runs.
Download free Source on GitHub

Also for macOS, Windows and Linux. Needs the free Monomachine OS file from Elektron. The plugin shows you how to get it the first time you open it.

Featuring

  • Mac, Windows and Linux

    AU and VST3 on macOS 12+, for Apple Silicon and Intel. VST3 and standalone on Windows 10+ and Linux. Loads in Ableton Live, Logic Pro, Bitwig Studio, FL Studio, Reaper and any other AU or VST3 host.

  • Just the OS file. No ROM.

    Download the free Monomachine OS 1.32B update from Elektron's website and select it once. That's the whole setup: no ROM dump, no hardware, and no Monomachine know-how needed.

  • The whole Monomachine

    All seven synth families, GND, SID, SWAVE, DPRO, FM+, VO and FX, with every one of their 22 machines. Each track gets the full SYN, AMP, FILT and EFX pages and three LFOs, just like the hardware.

  • Monomodule One

    Instrument · AU · VST3 · Standalone (Windows, Linux)

    One channel of the Monomachine's audio engine: a single track that plays any of the 22 machines, with every page of the hardware on one screen. FX machines process its side-chain input.

  • Monomodule Six

    Multitimbral · AU · VST3 · Standalone (Windows, Linux)

    A whole Monomachine: all six tracks in one instance, on MIDI channels 1-6. Adds the hardware's routing between tracks, with out buses, FX inputs from neighbours and buses, six stereo outputs, whole-kit loading and track locks.

  • Monomodule FX

    Audio effect · AU · VST3

    The Monomachine's effects for any sound in your session. Put REVERB, CHORUS, DYNAMIX, RINGMOD, PHASER or FLANGER on any track, followed by the track's own filter, EQ and delay.

  • Monomodule Library

    Standalone app

    A home for your Monomachine sysex. Import dumps without losing a byte, keep a version history for each Monomachine you own, hear every preset, kit and pattern through the real engine, and drag them into the plugins or your DAW.

Introduction

The original engine. Monomodule doesn't approximate the Monomachine. It loads the synth's own DSP program from the OS file and runs it, instruction for instruction, in an emulated Motorola DSP56300. The JIT compiles that code to native code, so it runs lightly on Apple Silicon, Intel and AMD.

Made for the DAW. A fully custom UI restructures all of the Monomachine's different screens into a single, easy to use window, making channel adjustments easier than has ever been possible.

Your sysex, playable again. The Library app imports Monomachine dumps without losing a byte, previews every preset, kit and pattern through the real engine, and lets you drag them into your plugins or straight into your arrangement as MIDI.

Free. For good. Monomodule is free and open source, and that won't change. Every future update will be free too, with its full source code on GitHub.

22

Unique sound engines

Seven synths. One plugin.

Every synth and machine that the Monomachine has to offer, running on identical DSP code as the real hardware.

Machine picker The machine picker of Monomodule One, with columns for GND, SID, SuperWave, DigiPRO, FM+, VO and FX.

GND

Base-level sounds.

  • GNDEmpty channel
    Silence
  • SINSine wave
    8. TUNE
  • NOISWhite noise
    1. ST
    2. RED
    3. STON
    8. TUNE

SID

Commodore 64 sound emulation. Crisp, gritty sound.

  • 6581C64 sound chip
    1. PW
    2. PWAD
    3. PWRS
    4. WAVE
    5. MOD
    6. MSRC
    7. MFRQ
    8. TUNE

VO

Formant voice synthesis: vowels, consonants, whisper.

  • VO-6Formant voice
    1. VOC1
    2. VOC2
    3. V-SW
    4. VOIC
    5. CONS
    6. CLEN
    7. CVOL
    8. TUNE

SWAVE

SuperWave: stacked analog oscillators. Thick, warm sound.

  • SAWUnison sawtooth
    1. UNIL
    2. UNIW
    3. UNIX
    5. SUBX
    6. SUB1
    7. SUB2
    8. TUNE
  • PULSUnison pulse
    1. UNIL
    2. UNIW
    3. SUB1
    4. SUB2
    5. PW
    6. PWAD
    7. PWRS
    8. TUNE
  • ENSString ensemble
    1. PCH2
    2. PCH3
    3. PCH4
    4. WAVE
    5. PW
    6. CHRL
    7. CHRW
    8. TUNE

DPRO

DigiPRO: raw digital waveforms and a sampler. Harsh and sharp sound.

  • WAVE32 waveforms
    1. WAVE
    2. WP
    3. WPM
    4. WPRS
    5. SYNC
    6. SFRQ
    8. TUNE
  • BBOXDrum samples
    1. PTCH
    2. STRT
    5. RTRG
    6. RTIM
  • DDRWUser waves
    Stand-in bank*
    1. WAV1
    2. MIX
    3. WAV2
    4. TIME
    5. BR1
    6. WID
    7. BR2
    8. TUNE
  • DENSWave ensemble
    Stand-in bank*
    1. PCH2
    2. PCH3
    3. PCH4
    4. WAVE
    6. CHRL
    7. CHRW
    8. TUNE

FM+

Complex frequency modulation synthesis, made simple.

  • STATStatic ratios
    1. 1FRQ
    2. 1FIN
    3. 1ENV
    4. 1FB
    5. 2FRQ
    6. 2VOL
    7. TONE
    8. TUNE
  • PARParallel mods
    1. 1FRQ
    2. 1ENV
    3. 2FRQ
    4. 2ENV
    5. 3FRQ
    6. 3ENV
    7. TONE
    8. TUNE
  • DYNDynamic FM
    1. 1FRQ
    2. 1FEN
    3. 1VOL
    4. 1VEN
    5. 2FRQ
    6. 2ENV
    7. 2FB
    8. TUNE

FX

Audio effects. They process One's side-chain, any track in Monomodule FX, or Six's neighbour and bus signals.

  • THRUPass-through
    Audio in
    8. INP
  • REVERBGated reverb
    Audio in
    1. DEC
    2. DAMP
    3. GATE
    4. MIX
    5. HP
    6. LP
    8. INP
  • CHORUSStereo chorus
    Audio in
    1. DEL
    2. DEP
    3. SPD
    4. MIX
    5. FB
    6. WID
    7. LP
    8. INP
  • DYNAMIXCompressor
    Audio in
    1. ATK
    2. REL
    3. THRS
    4. MIX
    5. RAT
    6. GAIN
    7. RMS
    8. INP
  • RINGMODRing modulator
    Audio in
    1. WAVE
    2. EXT
    4. MIX
    8. INP
  • PHASERPhaser
    Audio in
    1. CNTR
    2. DEP
    3. SPD
    4. MIX
    5. FB
    6. WID
    8. INP
  • FLANGERFlanger
    Audio in
    1. DEL
    2. DEP
    3. SPD
    4. MIX
    5. FB
    6. WID
    8. INP

* DPRO-DDRW and DPRO-DENS read the Digibank waveforms, which live in the Monomachine's +Drive memory, not in the OS file. Monomodule builds a stand-in bank for them: the 32 DPRO-WAVE waveforms plus 32 classic single-cycle shapes.

Every page at once

SYN, AMP, FILT, EFX and three LFOs share one screen. No menu diving, values always visible, and a click on any value lets you type it.

Hardware parameters

Every knob is a raw 0-127 kit byte, as on the hardware. A track's settings are a kit track in a sysex dump, so nothing gets lost in translation.

The hardware's CC map

CC 48-55 for SYN, 56-63 AMP, 72-79 FILT, 80-87 EFX, 7 for LEVEL and the LFOs on 88-95, 104-111 and 112-119. One MIDI stream drives plugin and Monomachine alike.

Locked to your tempo

The three LFOs per track run at the hardware's rates and follow the host transport. Switch SYNC off to set your own tempo.

Six tracks, six outputs

Six routes MIDI channels 1-6 to its tracks, with an OUT BUS for each and FX inputs from the neighbour track, the side-chain or a mix bus. Output per track, or as the AB / CD / EF buses.

FX on any audio

Put REVERB, CHORUS, DYNAMIX, RINGMOD, PHASER or FLANGER on any channel with Monomodule FX, or feed One's side-chain the way the hardware takes its inputs.

Presets that never overwrite

A preset strip and a library panel in every plugin. Saving makes a new version, never a replacement. On Six, lock tracks to keep their sound when you load a kit.

Drag and drop

Drop tracks and kits from the Library onto One or Six. Drag a pattern into your DAW as MIDI, with notes, lengths, swing, slides and parameter locks as CCs.

Command-line tools

mnm-render plays a note on any machine to a WAV file. mnm-libtool imports, verifies, exports and previews dumps from the terminal.

In-plugin library The library panel inside Monomodule Six, listing kits in a four-column grid over the pages.
The library panel unrolls over the pages. Click to load, glyph to audition.
MONOMODULE

Decals: skins

Default, Inverted, Low Contrast, or any two colours you like. The skin follows you into every Monomodule window.

  • Default skin: black on whiteDefault
  • Inverted skin: white on blackInverted
  • Low contrast skinLow contrast
  • Custom skin: amber on brownCustom · amber
  • Custom skin: green phosphorCustom · phosphor
  • Custom skin: red on blackCustom · night

Monomodule Library

Your sysex. Playable again.

Sold the Monomachine but kept the backups? Import the dumps, hear every kit and pattern through the real engine, and drag them into your session.

The Library starts empty: version 1.0 has no factory sounds. It fills up with the sysex dumps you import and the sounds you save in the plugins.

Inside the Library Monomodule Library app, printed in blue: the Patterns browser with a pattern's six tracks drawn as note grids.

  1. Lossless import

    Each .syx file is decoded field by field and re-encoded byte for byte. mnm-libtool verify checks the round trip for you.

  2. Projects and versions

    One project for each Monomachine you own, with a history nothing overwrites. Every save is a new version; restore any of them.

  3. Presets, kits, patterns

    Every kit track becomes a preset. Identical items merge across dumps and link to every kit and pattern that uses them.

  4. Hear everything

    Click a preset, kit or pattern and the emulated DSP renders it in the background. Loop it seamlessly while you browse.

  5. Straight into the DAW

    Drag presets and kits onto One or Six. Drag patterns out as MIDI on channels 1-6, ready to play on Six.

  6. Edit and export

    Rearrange slots, pull in kits and patterns from other projects, and export a .syx for the hardware after a pre-flight check.

How it works

  1. 01

    OS file

    Monomodule unpacks your OS file: the sysex transport, the flash container and the compressed sections. From these it takes the DSP program and data. It never copies or redistributes the file.

  2. 02

    DSP56300

    That program runs in the dsp56300 emulator, whose JIT compiles the DSP code to native code for arm64 and x64.

  3. 03

    Host model

    The Monomachine's main processor built the DSP's instructions. Monomodule does the same job: notes and triggers, tempo, parameter smoothing and three LFOs per track.

  4. 04

    52 in, 16 out

    Every 16 samples, a 52-word parameter block goes into the DSP for each track and 16 stereo frames come back out.

  5. 05

    Your DAW

    As AU, VST3 or standalone, with the LCD drawn in the fonts and icons read from your OS file.

Get started in three steps

Your favorite sound. Now in your DAW.

  1. 01

    Download Monomodule

    Latest release on GitHub.

    macOS 12+ · Apple Silicon & Intel AU · VST3 Download Windows 10+ · x64 VST3 · Standalone Download Linux x64 VST3 · Standalone Download

    All four apps in one download. All releases · Build from source

  2. 02

    Install and open Monomodule

    Install Monomodule, then open it in your DAW to begin the setup process and import the system firmware.

    Not showing up in your DAW?

  3. 03

    Add the OS file

    The first time you open a plugin, it asks for the Monomachine OS file, a free download from Elektron, and walks you through getting it. You only do this once: all the plugins and the Library app share it.

    No factory presets in 1.0. Every plugin starts from an INIT sound. Save your own sounds as you go, or import sysex dumps saved from a Monomachine into the Library app.

PlatformPluginsLibrary app
macOS 12+Installer puts AU and VST3 in /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins//Applications/Monomodule Library.app
Windows 10+Installer puts VST3 in C:\Program Files\Common Files\VST3\ (keep Install for all users)C:\Program Files\Shnolk\Monomodule\
LinuxCopy the .vst3 folders to ~/.vst3/~/.local/bin/Monomodule Library

Shnolk HQ info
and open source

Monomodule is made by Shnolk and released as free software under the GNU Affero General Public License v3. Anyone may use, study, change and share it. Anyone who distributes it passes on the same rights, with the source.

Source on GitHub Report a bug

Inside Monomodule

Build it yourself

git clone https://github.com/shnolk/monomodule
cd monomodule
cmake -S . -B build -G Ninja -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release
cmake --build build

Needs CMake 3.22+, Git and a C++17 compiler. CMake fetches JUCE and dsp56300 on the first configure. Bug reports and pull requests are welcome.

Standing on the work of

  • dsp56300The DSP56300 emulator at the heart of the sound engine
  • JUCEThe plugin and UI framework
  • AsmJitThe JIT back end of dsp56300
  • MCLIts documentation of the Monomachine sysex formats guided the Library's codec
  • elektron-firmware-toolIts work on the Elektron OS file format

Questions & answers

Do I need to own a Monomachine?

No. You need the Monomachine OS 1.32B file, which Elektron offers as a free download from its website. The plugin shows you how to get it the first time you open it. Monomodule contains no Elektron software: it reads the OS file each time it starts and never copies it.

Monomodule doesn't show up in my DAW

Quit and reopen the DAW after installing, then search its browser for “Monomodule”. The plugins are listed under the maker Shnolk. Monomodule One and Six are instruments. Monomodule FX is an audio effect, so it isn't in the instrument lists. If they still don't appear:

  • Ableton Live: plugins are under Plug-Ins in the browser, not Instruments. In Settings › Plug-Ins, turn on Audio Units (macOS) or Use VST3 Plug-In System Folders, then click Rescan.
  • Logic Pro and GarageBand: look under AU Instruments › Shnolk. If Logic's Plug-in Manager lists Monomodule as failed or switched off, select it and click Reset & Rescan Selection.
  • FL Studio: open Options › Manage plugins and click Find installed plugins.
  • Reaper, Bitwig, Cubase and Studio One: rescan from the plugin settings. Cubase and Studio One keep a blocklist of plugins that failed before, so clear Monomodule from it too.
  • Windows: keep Install for all users in the installer. Install for me only puts the plugins in a folder that many DAWs don't scan unless you add it.
  • Pro Tools isn't supported: it only loads AAX plugins.

Still missing? Open an issue or email shnolk@halftone.world with your operating system, your DAW and its version, and what its plugin manager says about Monomodule.

Does it come with presets?

Not in this version. Monomodule 1.0 has no factory library, so every plugin starts from an INIT sound and the Library app starts empty. That's normal, not a sign that something went wrong during setup. Save the sounds and kits you make in the plugins, or import sysex dumps saved from a Monomachine into the Library app, and they show up in every plugin.

The Library says my file “does not look like a Monomachine sysex dump”

That's usually the OS file. It's a .syx file too, but it holds the Monomachine's operating system, not sounds, so there's nothing in it to import. Once you've selected it in a plugin, it's already doing its job. The Library imports sysex dumps of kits and patterns saved from a Monomachine with Elektron's C6 or Transfer tools.

Does it really sound like the hardware?

Monomodule runs the Monomachine's own DSP program, so the synthesis and effects are the hardware's code, not a re-creation of it. What the Monomachine's main processor did (note handling, parameter smoothing, the LFOs) is rebuilt to match. The known differences are listed below.

Which formats and systems does it support?

AU and VST3 on macOS 12 or newer, on Apple Silicon and Intel. VST3 and standalone on Windows 10 or newer (x64) and Linux (x64). Monomodule FX is an AU and VST3 effect, and the Library is a standalone app on every system. Pro Tools isn't supported, because it only loads AAX plugins.

Can I load my Monomachine sysex dumps?

Yes. The Library imports .syx dumps without losing any data and keeps a version history for each Monomachine you own. Presets, kits and patterns load straight into One and Six, and the plugins share them with the app.

Can it send sounds to my Monomachine?

Not over MIDI yet. Export a .syx from the Library and send it with Elektron's C6 or Transfer tools. Because every parameter is a raw kit byte, a sound comes back from the hardware exactly as it went out.

What doesn't match the hardware yet?
  • DPRO-DDRW and DPRO-DENS read the Digibank waveforms from the Monomachine's +Drive memory, which isn't part of the OS file. Monomodule uses a stand-in bank.
  • The delay time on the EFX page doesn't yet follow DTIM and the tempo the way the hardware does.
  • A machine change triggers the machine once, as on the hardware, so a new instance plays a short blip after the OS loads.
  • MIDI transfer to and from the hardware isn't implemented yet.
Is it really free?

Yes, free as in price and free as in freedom. Monomodule is licensed under the GNU AGPL v3, and the complete source is on GitHub. It's built on JUCE (AGPLv3) and dsp56300 (GPLv3).

Is Monomodule made by Elektron?

No. Monomodule is an independent project. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by Elektron Music Machines MAQ AB.

How do I report a bug or get in touch?

Open an issue on GitHub, send a DM to @shnolk on Instagram, or email shnolk@halftone.world.

Your download is starting

While it downloads, here's what comes next.

  1. Install Monomodule from the file you just downloaded.
  2. Quit and reopen your DAW, then search its browser for Monomodule. The plugins are listed under the maker Shnolk.
  3. Open a plugin. The first time, it asks for the Monomachine OS file, a free download from Elektron, and shows you how to get it.

Heads up: version 1.0 has no factory presets. Every plugin starts from an INIT sound, and the Library app stays empty until you save your own sounds or import sysex dumps from a Monomachine.

Stuck? Can't find it in your DAW or open an issue.