SHRUB brings Serum 1 patches to the FM-1 – with limitations

Tom starts in the library of the SHRUB web editor. There, alongside the FM-1’s own patches, he finds the Serum 1 factory library. He drags several presets onto memory slots and transfers them with Send to FM-1. He then calls them up on the device as User 101, User 102, and User 103. This is the crucial practical moment: not just managing files, but actually playing the transferred patches.

Next, he takes external Serum 1 patches from a free synthwave pack: open files, put sounds in the bank, send again. These also end up on the FM-1. Importantly, he explicitly notes that you need the web editor for patch management, not the plugin. Tom’s comment about his less-than-lucky sound selection today should not be read as a diagnosis of an import error:

The more important sound question is found in Tom’s SHRUB overview, also published on November 14. There he describes the firmware as a lighter-weight Serum variant, not a full original version. According to Steve Duda, the filters have been modified for lower CPU usage; Tom also mentions lower quality or differences compared to the original. A successful import is therefore not proof of identical sound. The import tutorial does not provide a controlled A/B comparison.

Attention is also needed during transfer: Tom shows three banks for user wavetables, each with up to 16 tables, and points out that these must also be sent to the device. He describes retrieving patches from the FM-1 to the editor as occasionally tricky. His conclusion remains correspondingly sober:

SHRUB becomes musically interesting where the imported sound can be further edited. In his overview, Tom demonstrates the controls for cutoff, resonance, and the two wavetable positions; he also describes a 16-step sequencer with parameter recording. This opens up more than just preset tourism: a suitable sound can be set in motion, rather than just selecting the next memory slot.

How much such operational decisions matter is also explored by AudioPilz in his Bad Gear episode from October 9, 2026. There he installs another alternative firmware, which he calls Bored Girl, explores its virtual analog engine, and adds FM sounds. His praise is explicitly for the sequencer – not just the number of additional synthesis methods:

However, AudioPilz also keeps the way back in mind. His general warning about restoring the original firmware is explicitly limited for the specifically tested switch between Bored Girl and the original: That worked flawlessly. This is not a statement about SHRUB. Nor is Tom’s demonstration of restoring a preset factory library the same as a firmware rollback. AudioPilz puts the general caution this way: