Twisted Electrons vMEGAfm: The World’s Grittiest FM Synth Becomes a Plugin
Twisted Electrons vMEGAfm brings the raw and gritty FM tones of the MEGAfm to your DAW and iPad! The software synth emulates the discontinued first generation of the hardware.
Twisted Electrons vMEGAfm: The Most Fun FM Synth for your DAW?
Twisted Electrons is best known for characterful synths and groove boxes based on sound chips from vintage gaming consoles and computers. Now, the French manufacturer has released its first software synth. vMEGAfm emulates the now-discontinued 1st-generation MEGAfm, which was based on Yamaha FM sound chips such as the ones found in the SEGA Genesis / Mega Drive.
According to Twisted Electrons, vMEGAfm runs the same firmware as the original hardware unit. The software synth also features an emulation of the synth’s analog output stage, right down to the individual components. As a result, the software synth delivers a more or less exact reproduction of the famously gritty MEGAfm sound, including the characteristic compression and saturation, Twisted Electrons says.
Like the hardware, vMEGAfm is a 12-voice polyphonic FM synth with four operators and eight algorithms. All four operators are easily accessible via sliders, which makes for an intuitive sound design experience. The 12 voices can be used in three modes (12-voice polyphonic, 6-voice wide, unison). For modulation, there are three LFOs, which can be assigned using a matrix. Furthermore, the software synth features an arpeggiator and an SH-style sequencer.
vMEGAfm comes with 109 presets, including 10 expressive MPE sounds.
Price and Compatibility
The desktop version of Twisted Electrons vMEGAfm is now available for €39.99. This offer expires on 31 August 2026; the regular price will be €49.99. The iPad version is currently on sale for €9.99 (regular price: €14.99).
The software synth runs on macOS (VST3/AU), Windows (VST3), and iPadOS (AUv3). A standalone version is also available on all platforms.
Prefer hardware? The Twisted Electrons MEGAfm MKII is available from Thomann*.
More Information
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