THE CHEAT
SHEET.

WAVE A + WAVE B create one carrier shape. MORPH moves between them. WAVE C modulates phase, morph or FX. WAVE AMP can turn a wave into audio-rate volume movement.

1. Wait for the VHS intro and the SIKKENWORKS title.
2. Choose SIMPLE or ADVANCED with K1, confirm with SEL.
3. Change later via GLO → WORKFLOW → K2.

SIMPLE has five core pages. ADVANCED gives access to all 64 screen IDs via the WORKFLOW catalog: K3 select, K4 open.

1. Lower MASTER, play a key and raise it gradually.
2. HOME → SOUND: turn K1 MORPH, K2 ETCH, K3 TONE and K4 SPACE.
3. MORPH → select Wave A/B and blend them.
4. FILTER → refine cutoff and resonance.
5. Save a named PRESET and wait for a success message.

A wave is a reusable drawn shape. A preset is a complete sound. A project includes working/performance/sequence data. A .etchpreset backs up the active sound, not a whole project.

Safe Mode and loader access do not guarantee independent firmware recovery.

This is the fastest way to sculpt a loaded preset.

Set two contrasting shapes, hold a note and sweep MORPH. The ALGORITHM encoder adjusts ETCH depth here.

Short attack/release: plucks. Longer attack/release: pads and strings.

SELECT switches KEYED / FREE / TEMPO. Start with low depth; high-rate modulation can become aggressive.

Your drawn waveform becomes a repeating volume curve at oscillator speed, not a one-shot ADSR envelope.

At full depth: high wave = full volume, low wave = silence. Use a rounded shape for softer results. Set SOURCE OFF or DEPTH 0 to disable.

ORGANIC introduces slow, smooth analogue-style drift. EVOLUTION animates the waveform (FOLD / SHARP / STAIR) without rewriting it.

Some advanced editors are MONO-only to protect FM1 performance.

Up to four real-time routes:

Set SOURCE OFF or AMOUNT 0 to disable. Aftertouch requires compatible MIDI input.

1. Switch to ADVANCED and hold FX about 700 ms.
2. K1 selects an effect.
3. K4 or SEL toggles ON / BYP.
4. K2 bypasses all; K3 restores all.

Heavy effect processing is skipped where supported. FX values remain unchanged. Bypass state is temporary in RAM.

EDIT enters DRAW. SELECT picks A/B/C. ALGORITHM chooses the brush. Undo = ENV; Redo = LFO. Piano keys audition the wave without editing it. DRAW filters unwanted encoder steps for 65 ms around key-on/off; normal drawing resumes while a note is held.

Rotate the ALGORITHM encoder in DRAW:

All 128 points are available. This controls the shape, not an extra synthesis effect.

1. Try EDGE for sharp corners and SOFT for rounded contours.
2. Use middle/lower notes and open FILTER cutoff.
3. Reduce wet FX and audition each wave alone in DRAW.

DRAW responds to encoder input every 20 ms; audible wave rebuild requests are load-adaptive (40 ms normal, 55 ms over USB, 90/140 ms when audio is stressed). Cursor/brush-only moves do not rebuild audio. Actual sound publication may take longer. High notes intentionally lose upper harmonics to limit aliasing.

1. Enter DRAW and select Wave A, B or C.
2. Hold EDIT for ~700 ms.
3. Choose YES with K1; confirm with SEL.
4. Draw from the flat zero line. ENV undoes the change.

NO is selected by default; only the chosen wave is cleared.

TOOLS offers LINE, SMOOTH, MIRROR, INVERT, NORMALIZE, FLATTEN, RANDOM, SINE, TRIANGLE, SAW, SQUARE, PHASE ROTATE, WAVE GENETICS, PHASE WARP and HALF SYMM.

From DRAW, use FX for WFX 1 → WFX 2 → SCULPT. A confirmed BAKE writes processing into editable wave points. Use Undo before saving if needed.

A wave stored in the library is not the same as saving the full preset.

EDIT → FX repeatedly to reach TOOLS. Choose 13 with K1. Turn K2 to stretch one part of the wave cycle and compress another. 127 is neutral. K3 selects Wave A/B/C.

CYAN is original, AMBER is preview. Press SAVE to apply. ENV in DRAW undoes.

In TOOLS choose 14 with K1. K2 sets signed intensity around neutral 127; K3 selects Wave A/B/C. Positive values invert the first half into the second, reducing even harmonics. Negative values repeat the first half, creating strong octave/even-harmonic content.

Compare raw/preview then press SAVE. All changes use the existing 128 points and Undo/Redo.

1. Choose your root and scale in HARM.
2. Open ARP and select mode 7 (RIFF) with K1.
3. Set rate on K2 and octave range on K3.
4. Hold a note and turn K4 to generate a 16-step riff.
5. Save the preset to retain it.

RIFF LAB: K1 Density · K2 Mutate · K3 Variant · K4 New Riff.

Up to 256 steps with eight triggers per step. Advanced editors: GRID, HOLD, LOCKS, BAKE, CLOCK. Destructive edits require confirmation.

GUIDE shows scale and chord information. Its NOTE control changes the displayed chord root; it does not automatically transpose the synth.

GROUPS share the total eight-voice budget. Save a PROJECT to retain group ranges and performance scene assignments.

On SYSTEM → MOTION, REC starts/stops recording movement of MORPH, ETCH, CUTOFF and SPACE. PLAY/STOP toggles motion playback.

Up to ~6.4 seconds. Starting a new motion clip replaces the previous working clip.

1. Outside DRAW, press SAVE.
2. Choose PRESET or PROJECT with SELECT.
3. K1 slot · K2 name position · K3 character · K4 backspace.
4. Press SAVE, confirm overwrite if requested.
5. Wait for the final success confirmation.

1. Connect FM1 with a USB data cable.
2. Open the V1.88 Project/Preset Manager in desktop Chrome or Edge.
3. Grant MIDI/SysEx, choose FM1 and check the protocol.
4. Read current sound → Save .etchpreset.

Requires V1.77+ firmware with live-snapshot support. The file includes sound/waves, not complete projects or samples.

1. Back up any currently active unsaved sound first.
2. Use Open .etchpreset in the Manager.
3. Stop the sequencer and release held notes.
4. Select Send to FM1 (RAM only).
5. Save the imported sound separately on the FM1 if you want it stored permanently.

Storage blocked? Keep your sound in RAM. Export it before rebooting or flashing.

At first boot, ETCH may offer to format its designated storage area. NO preserves foreign data; YES can erase previous samples in the affected sectors.

YES requires an additional confirmation and a deliberate SAVE hold for 3 seconds. Back up foreign data before taking ownership.

V1.88 uses project format PJT32 and fixed firmware identity FM-1_1500. It can read PJT31; older ETCH versions may not read newly saved PJT32 projects.

Flashing, full stock recovery and cross-firmware transitions are not physically qualified by software tests alone. Verify checksums, back up your data and use a proven independent recovery procedure.

Check MASTER, ENV sustain, FILTER cutoff, and FX BYPASS. For Wave C, verify SOURCE, DEPTH, RATE and PHASE/MORPH destination. If POLY hides advanced editors, switch to MONO.

Lower output volume, DRIVE and active FX. Test a clean patch with one note. V1.88 uses a smooth 256-sample note-on fade and rounded transitions for wavetable swaps and voice stealing. Analogue startup/output pops are not proven eliminated.

For AUDIO STOP, review SYSTEM diagnostics; HOME + PLAY/STOP for ~1 second may locally rearm audio if responsive.

If saving fails: check final SAVE status and storage ownership. Do not reboot an unsaved sound. If the Manager cannot connect: use Chrome/Edge, grant SysEx, verify the cable/port, and close DAWs using the same MIDI device.

ETCH V1.88 PHOSPHOR palette; status meaning also depends on the page and its labels.