Twisted Electrons AY3: firmware 4.0 overhauls the 8-bit polysynth and goes open-source

Twisted Electrons AY3 (mk1/mk2) is an 8-bit polysynth, and with update 4.,0 it gets a major engine overhaul, and the firmware is open-source

Many hardware synthesizer developers follow more traditional paths, releasing analog or digital synths with classic concepts such as analog, FM, or wavetable. Alex from Twisted Electrons, however, has carved out a niche for himself in the more retro, Lo-Fi style.

The AY3, for example, is a digital 8-bit polysynth based on the AY3-8910 chip, which was available in home computers and slot machines of the early 1980s.

The synth has been on the market since 2016. Now, Twisted Electrons has made the AY3 firmware open source with the release of 4.0 Phoenix, which completely overhauls the engine.

Twisted Electrons AY3 Firmware 4.0

Firmware 4.0 is now available, and excellent news for all users: it is compatible with the Twisted Electrons AY3 MkI and MkII versions. For this, Alex from Twisted Electrons teamed up with the developer Rio Rattenrudel.

The update is mandatory for all users, as it completely overhauls the synth’s engine.

With the new Phoenix V4 firmware, AY3 takes a major leap forward, delivering a richer, wider, more expressive version of the classic AY sound—while keeping everything hands-on, musical, and fun.

As a reminder: AY3 is an 8-bit polysynth powered by two AY-3 chips, each delivering three fully independent voices for a total of six voice stereo polyphony. It also features a 16-step sequencer for sequencing gates, pitch, and noise.

The new firmware 4.0 introduces support for three clock modes: Atari ST, ZX Spectrum (for newer Revision B boards), and Legacy, making it more versatile.

Then, it features new sustain pedal support and an improved voice allocation algorithm for smooth synth performance. The same applies to the parameters that are now smoother and more responsive.

More Goodies

The new firmware 4.0 includes many more goodies for the AY3 Synthesizer. Thanks to two synchronized timers for precise chip updates, it’s now possible for a wider stereo spread.

AY3 firmware 4.0 also offers new real-time remixing functions/modifiers that transform incoming song data on the fly.

There are also new note-follow options for the noise and envelope generators, as well as logarithmic and linear envelope shaping available.

The new firmware also allows linked and independent editing of noise and envelope parameters across both chips.

Another highlight of the new Twisted Electrons AY3 firmware 4.0 is the support for the AYMID protocol for receiving and playing song data via the specialised Ay_Emul variant.

Lastly, it comes with 32 flashable creator sound presets plus a unique memory system for storing user-customised data.

First Impression

This is an excellent example of how to bring an almost-forgotten Synthesizer back into the community spotlight. Even though new synths are released every week, so many are overlooked or even forgotten. This is the way you can raise them again from oblivion. Great release!

Twisted Electrons AY3 is available now for $299 /255€ on the official website and at retailers. On the official website, it’s now on a Black Friday sale for 204€ for a limited time. Firmware 4.0 is out now on GitHub and compatible with the Mk1 and Mk2 versions.

More information here: Twisted Electrons / Github

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