This rarity and inability to source them from reliable resellers is the main reason the MegaFM stopped using them, as I recall. So you might just have to roll the dice with a few and see?
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That’s what I was afraid of.
The dice will thus be rolled.
Cheers
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I am not aware of any super reliable web stores offhand for these chips, probably more non-counterfeit available than say, SID chips.
I guess pay attention to eBay resellers and their attention to provenance, if they’re a nice mid-sized one that can respond to questions about sourcing it might help with the hope-n-pray approach 
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Has anyone tried the MKII version? I made the mistake of selling the original one and now they’re going for over a $1000 used. I emailed Alex and he said there is no difference in sound between the YM2612 and YM3438 chips to his hears, but the online comparisons I’ve looked at seem to show the YM3438 sounding a lot let less noisy. I just want to make sure that fuzzy hiss that’s in the background isn’t lost with the new one and that it’s retained the same magic as the first version. I also have no interest in swapping out chips because that sounds like a pain considering that MKI had it’s own issues to deal with.
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Did you buy it and have any thoughts about difference? Im thinking about buying the MK2 but a MK1 just popped up used and would like to know what to go for
I have been able to make a decent comparison recording of the Mk.I and Mk.II of the MEGAfm, AFAICT I’m the first to do this and share it.
Here is the .zip - MEGAfm_Mk1vsMk2.zip - Google Drive EDIT: please see two posts below for a redo of the Limbic presets, I made an error when recording them the first time around so it’s not a fair comparison.
Both units were recorded into a MixPre 6-II at the same gain level into Reaper, 48KHz 24bit. I did a common gain normalise so the level differences were maintained. The Mk.II is consistently a fair bit louder, a little under 4dB LUFS-I units more than the Mk.I.
To do the recording I initially played some notes in each preset, recording both audio and MIDI into Reaper and inserting a marker each time I switched presets. This was on the Mk.II initially, I decided to return it in favour of a Mk.I because I felt like I wanted the specific sound of the YM2612 chips, and I got a good deal on a B-stock model. When I got the Mk.I I set it up the same and used the recorded MIDI to play the same notes, and manually switched presets at each marker so it should be fairly like for like.
Both models used the latest firmware, I used the 50 factory presets as well as the 16 free presets available from the excellent Limbic Bits Magnitude pack.
I recommend taking the results with a pinch of salt however for a couple of reasons: Firstly both sets of presets were designed for the Mk.I of the synth, there are some differences in operator gain and general tone that means that in some cases it distorts a bit on the Mk.II or just doesn’t sound as the creator intended. That said I think both sound generally quite good and you can definitely hear the differences enough to make a fair comparison.
There was also an issue I had where when recording the Mk.I I noticed a couple of the sounds were completely different or barely there compared to my original Mk.II recording. After a bit of playing around I realised that those particular patches hadn’t quite loaded fully or something, maybe playing a MIDI note interrupts the loading process leading to an incomplete patch. I rerecorded the faulty bits and spliced in the audio where it should be. I’m not sure if there’s more of that throughout both recordings, it seems fine to me, but just keep that in mind. I could potentially have done the same for the original Mk.II recording, but I think it turned out fine.
In general the the Mk.I’s sounds are much more integrated into the fuzz and noise and it sounds quite a bit brighter, sometimes with a very different tone to the YM3438s in the Mk.II. You will probably want to boost the level of the Mk.I a bit, and I recommend trying some heavy compression and reverb for both to get a good idea of the practical differences.
While technically I think it would be fair to say that the Mk.II is ‘better’, there’s something I really like about the buzz and harmonics that come through louder on the Mk.I. I was thinking about why I like it so much and I think there’s a similarity with the buzzers you sometimes get on certain acoustic instruments. Take this wonderful Kalimba piece for example -
It has little rings around every other tine that buzz along with the notes. I’ve been looking at getting another kalimba and after hearing what the buzzers add to the sound I’m definitely going to be looking to get one with them now. The effect on the digital MEGAfm sounds quite different of course, but I feel like it has the same musical purpose, kind of adds a certain multilayered depth to what would otherwise be a fairly pure tone.
IMO it’s one of the most beautiful sounding synths out there, there’s a real ‘soul’ in the pads and growls it can create. I honestly really like both Mk.I and II, and I think there’s a strong likelyhood of me trying to own both at some point. There’s clear benefits for either, certainly if you want a clean and strong sound the Mk.II would be preferable, but if you really want that dirt and fuzz then the Mk.I is where it’s at. Also it’s easier to filter out harsh harmonics on the outgoing signal than try to add them in again, but similarly the Mk.II might have a little more dynamic range which might be hard to replicate on the Mk.I.
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This is quite interesting -
Mk.II (the upper track) -
Mk.I (the lower track) -
Just a section of the recordings where I’ve normalised both parts. You can see and hear the differences in how the harmonics ring out, I find it quite interesting how the Mk.II has some clear descending harmonic stuff going on whereas the Mk.I stays relatively steady. I really like both but I can definitely see me trying to pick up a Mk.2 again sometime just for that subtle effect on sustained notes like this. It’s quite clear on this long bit for factory patch 28 too -
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I realised that I didn’t have velocity and aftertouch enabled in my recordings of the Mk.I, the setup and enabling of those is seperate from a patch which I didn’t realise, so I’ve rerecorded the Limbic presets section. I don’t think it affected the factory presets as those don’t seem to have any external modulation stuff going on.
Here’s the .zip, I peak normalised both files this time, the Mk.II still has a higher average loudness though - MEGAfmLimbicRedo.zip - Google Drive
Previously there were some bits in the Mk.I recording that were way off what the Mk.II sounded like, such as that purple vs green bit up there in the first waveform screenshot. Now it’s a much better comparison with these excellent patches by Limbic Bits. Again keep in mind that the presets were gain staged for a Mk.I, so there’s some distortion in the loud parts on the Mk.II that aren’t necessarily representative of how it would sound if you tried to make the same patch for both machines.
I thought this bit was an interesting comparison, really highlights the difference in noise level and quality -
Mk.II (top) -
Mk.I (bottom) -
And this -
Mk.II -
Mk.I -
The blue bass note at the end there sounds utterly fantastic on the Mk.I, seriously check it out. I’m not quite sure why there’s such a difference there but at least for that specific sound I definitely prefer the character of the YM2612. Both versions of the synth are amazing though and I could prefer either depending on the particular sound and the context of how I’d want to use it.
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I received and mk2 a month or so ago and it is quite noisy in the most beautiful way.
It’s by far one of my favorite synths but I was raised on the Sega Genesis so it’s wonderfully nostalgic too.
I was looking to buy an mk1 just to have both too but yeah, prices have gone nutty.
I’d be quite interested if someone with a Mk.II could try to replicate the growly bass note of the Mk.I by loading the last patch in the free Limbic Bits pack, I think it’s number 15, and just lowering the operator’s total levels and maybe boost the main volume or gain in your interface. I’m wondering if it sounds like that partly because the overall output level is much lower on the Mk.I there’s some interaction in the waveform with the noise floor. In general I wonder if you just reduced the levels in the Mk.II and raised it after the output if that would reduce the signal to noise ratio and make it sound closer to the Mk.I. That way you might be able to have the best of both worlds in the Mk.II.
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I haven’t seen any evidence of higher prices for the Mk.I tbh, mostly they just aren’t available atm. Maybe they were going for high prices a while back before I started looking. I got mine b-stock for a fair bit less than a Mk.II from Bax.
Keep in mind you can put the YM2612 chips in the Mk.II, you’d just have to find a legit pair from somewhere or try and harvest them from an old Megadrive/Genesis.
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I’m only seeing them on Reverb these days and people are asking a lot for them.
Has anyone tried swapping out chips? I’m planning on order the new version with the intention of changing the chips but I want to make sure it’s easy and won’t have any negative effects on the sound
I was under the impression the chips click right in, but looks like they manual says soldering is involved. Can some confirm if this is correct?
Mk2 is socketed so you can swap without solder. I haven’t tried myself but if you have a line on a legit pair of ym2612s, please let me know
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The manual states-
In September 2022 MEGAfm becomes MEGAfm MKII.
This updated version is identical in appearance and functionality but it
will include a pair of YM3438 chips instead of the YM2612.
The YM3438 is a variant of the YM2612 that is identical in functionality
and was featured in the Sega Megadrive II.
The circuit layout has also been updated to grant access to the FM chips
with minimal disassembly.
Indeed the chips are now socketed (removable) and accessible by
removing the bottom panel.
Sheeyit, me too.
Yeah there’s a few jumper pads next to the sockets that you will need to apply a blob of solder to to bridge and change the circuit to support the YM2612 chips properly. Easy to do and reverse but it’s definitely not something you would want to do regularly.
Interesting, I did not know that.
Indeed. I wish they posted a tutorial video on this because i think a lot of ppl thought no soldering was involved.
