I have an FM-1, and it's definitely a fun device for the price and worth having just to putz around while sitting on the couch. However, I don't think it's the easiest way to get started creating music. I personally have gotten much more value out of a DAW like FL Studio. I've tried to go DAWless (groove boxes, samplers, trackers, etc), but I always end up back in FL Studio.

Grooveboxes can't really do anything that you haven't been able to do for 15 years with internet resources and pirated FL Studio (other DAWs are available). The main value is having a break from the computer & physical knobs to twiddle. If you value time away from the computer, something like Korg M01[D] on the [3]DS might be worth trying since you can't spend hours tweaking synth parameters (and I imagine it's much easier to sequence on).

I'm not your demographic - committed amateur muso mostly acoustic (saxophone) with a side interest in electronic music. My seemingly sudden better understanding of the structure and uses of the diminished scale (have been looking into it on and off for a couple of years) may well coincide with the ease with which the Sloop firmware allows me to easily make interesting-to-me musical sequences. However most of my musical activities involves playing sax in medium sized or big bands. Mind you I can not understand song mode and how to save stuff yet, but that's a permanent problem I've had with every groovebox type thing I've tried.

It's all over YouTube for me too. The firmware hacking for this thing has got people hyped.

https://thefirmwarehub.com/

Just bought one last week of Aliexpress, totally worth the $70! Very hackable too!

I haven't used an FM-1, so I can't speak to the specifics of it, but you absolutely do not need to understand music theory and improvisation to make music on something like this.

Additionally, understanding theory and improvisation is certainly a great thing to know if you're trying to make music, but you can understand a ton of things in the abstract and also be pretty terrible at applying it in the moment.

So if you want to get a device you can throw some hacked firmware on and have some fun, I'd say don't let your lack of theory hold you back.

> Is this a useful device to get a feel for creating music, or is it only really useful if you already understand music theory or improvisation?

"Useful" is a really subjective word when it comes to making music in general. Some template groove on a shit keyboard could be the base for a hit song (like Gorillaz' Clint Eastwood) while others don't make stuff unless in front of a modular synth with 100% control of everything.

Any instrument can be fun without knowing music theory, as long as you're willing to trial and error for a bit, until you find what sounds good :)

hello fellow youtube addict.