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AdLibitum at FM3 — Armada 1750 ESS FM (the long way round)

2026-08-05

Flyer via Clan Analogue

**Names, quick:**

• **AdLibitum** = a rewrite and deconstruction to reimagine some registers — some software I forked and mutated on.
• **FM3** = the Clan Analogue gig. Live frequency modulation night. I'm on the bill as **Aday**.

FM3 — Clan Analogue

Clan Analogue presents **FM3** — featuring artists from *Sublime Wavelengths* ("the cosmic bliss of FM synthesis").

• **Where:** Brunswick Artists Bar, 316 Sydney Road
• **When:** Saturday 8th August, 8pm onwards
• **Entry:** Free (Moshtix is just the RSVP)
• **Lineup:** Acidalius · Sussiguala · Aday · Reductionist · DJ Koshowko
• **Also launching:** Reductionist — *Energy Field* (CAO63E)
• **Tickets:** free via Moshtix — Clan Analogue presents FM3
• **More:** clananalogue.org

Arriving to the room is my messy unchecked-code of the 'AdLibitum' stack into real ESS FM silicon — this isn't some softsynth nostalgia VST. Tagging along is the Game Boy (mGB) and a SammichSID.

How AdLibitum got to the Armada

I forked ijsf/at2 and wrote a VST to drive the only piece of FM hardware I actually have laying around: my **Compaq Armada 1750**, with an integrated **ESS AudioDrive ES1869** (or ES1869S).

Then I needed a way to drive it. So I wasted a few weeks on a serial cable implementation. It sucked. I gave up, rewrote a network receiver (**at2net** / FM31NET), installed Windows 98, and found an old network card. That turned out OK.

After that I spent ages figuring out AdLib Tracker files — `.a2m`, `.a2i`, and the instrument formats — and wrote a VST to handle the modulators so I could wire it up to more modern MIDI controllers. In this case a **Behringer X-Touch**. It sounds remarkably pleasant to listen to (and I hope the venue likes the sound of it too — it's such a classic chip!!). I've become a bit obsessed about it recently. So I've now got a powerful FM synth in the studio without hunting down a DX7 and learning how on earth you even work with that interface, or looking far and wide for a second-hand Sound Blaster… speaking of which, if anyone's got spare Sound Blasters kicking around and a motherboard with ISA ports and 8MB to 16MB of RAM on it, I'm interested ;)

I also really went back to roots on this. The instruments, patches, and sounds will be accompanied by other chiptune: my **Game Boy** running **mGB**, and a **SammichSID** (6581).

I was also listening to a lot of **Bobby Prince**, who passed away in June, and listening / reading about the musical limitations and software he would have worked with back in the early days around the Doom era. Huge respect. Amazing composer.

Shoutouts to internet stars: **OxygenStar** for igniting my todo list (I subscribed!) and planting a seed to get into AdLib Tracker II yonks ago. Also loved listening to some **Diode Milliampere** during some late nights of splicing serial cables. Go look those 2 up :)

**Licensing:** the AT2-derived fork path (at2net and related replay bits) will be released under **GPL v3**, same as AdLib Tracker II. AdLibitum's own upstream code stays under its existing licence (beerware / CC BY 4.0). Third-party pieces (Nuked-OPL3, mGB, etc.) keep their own. Repo: aday1/AdLibitum.

Chart below is how the AdLibitum desk talks to the Armada laptop.

.-.   .-.   .-.   .-.   .-.   .-.   .-.   .-.
|A|---|D|---|L|---|I|---|B|---|I|---|T|---|U|
'-'   '-'   '-'   '-'   '-'   '-'   '-'   '-'
        CHIPTUNE FM SYNTH  //  FM3

ADLIBITUM
chiptune FM  //  FM3

╔══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
║  ░▒▓█  ADLIBITUM VST  →  ARMADA / ESS   ·   GIG: CLAN ANALOGUE FM3  █▓▒░  ║
╚══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝

  ┌──────────────────────────┐         TCP :3819          ┌──────────────────────────┐
  │  ░ MODERN BOX ░          │      F0 ──▶ F1 ACK         │  ░ ARMADA 1750 ░         │
  │                          │    ┌───────────────┐       │                          │
  │  REAPER + X-TOUCH        │    │ [AA bk rg vl] │       │  Win98 · FM31LEAN        │
  │  FM Kit / FM Drivers     ├───▶│  FM31NET wire │──────▶│  parse · mute/solo desk  │
  │  at2net (.a2m path)      │    │  TCP_NODELAY  │       │  OUT 388h / 38Ah         │
  │  Studio / modulators     │    └───────────────┘       │  ESS AudioDrive sings    │
  └────────────┬─────────────┘                            └────────────┬─────────────┘
               │                                                       │
               ▼                                                       ▼
        ┌─────────────┐                                         ┌─────────────┐
        │ NUKE soft   │  A/B fan-out optional                   │ 18 VOICES   │
        │ Nuked-OPL3  │◀───────────────────────────────────────▶│ mod + car   │
        └─────────────┘                                         └─────────────┘

  ┌──── GB mGB ────┐   ┌── SammichSID 6581 ──┐   ┌── GPL v3 AT2 fork (soon) ──┐
  │ Teensy / cart  │   │ chiptune bed        │   │ at2net + ijsf/at2 lineage │
  └────────────────┘   └─────────────────────┘   └───────────────────────────┘

     serial weeks: suck  ················  ethernet: go
     PLAY DIODE fixes most sound issues (Armada wallpaper law)

ADLIBITUM VST
      |
      v
 FM31NET :3819
 [AA bk rg vl]
      |
      v
 ARMADA 1750
 Win98 FM31LEAN
 OUT 388h / 38Ah
      |
      v
 ES1869 · 18 voices
 (+ NUKE soft A/B)

 GB mGB · SID 6581
 serial sucked · ethernet go
 PLAY DIODE wallpaper law

What ended up on the desk

• **AdLibitum** in REAPER — FM Kit + Drivers, modulators on the X-Touch, `OUT = ARMADA` when the laptop is live.
• **at2net** — AT2's own replay, pointed at the network instead of DOS ports, so `.a2m` effects stay honest (GPL v3 when it ships).
• **Game Boy + mGB** and **SammichSID** — chiptune hardware to share the mixer.

See you at **FM3** — free tickets on Moshtix. Bring a Sound Blaster if you've got a spare.