The Sector101 Waveblade is a 8 MegaByte Programmable Waveform Card.

The Waveblade has been designed to allow custom samples to be used in Yamaha Synthesizers that use regular Yamaha Waveform Cards.

The Sector101 Waveblade Card is compatible with these Yamaha Products:

Yamaha synths such as the SY99, SY85, TG500, and RM50 have the facility to load custom samples into internal or expanded sample memory. Other synths such as the SY55, TG55, SY77, TG77, and RY30 do not have this option. The Waveblade will allow these machines access to custom samples through the Waveform Card Slot.

The Waveblade card can also be used as a sample storage device for loading samples into machines with internal sample memory. Copying sample data from the waveform card into internal sample memory is much faster than using floppy disk or Midi SDS.

There is no functionality impact when using this programmable waveform card with the SY99, SY85, TG500, and RM50. Samples stored in internal sample memory, SYEMB05 or SYEMB06 modules are still fully accessible. The Waveblade card offers extra sample storage on top of any sample storage installed in these machines.


Sample Memory Limitations:
Although the Waveblade has 8MB of sample memory there is a limitation to how much sample memory a Yamaha synth can access through the Waveform Card Slot.

Most of the Yamaha units in the compatible product list can access 2MB of sample memory through the Waveform Slot. The exception to this is the SY55 / TG55. With these units the limit is 1MB of sample memory.

To make the most efficient use of the Waveblade's 8MB Memory it can be divided into 4x 2MB pages, 8x 1MB pages, or a combination of both sizes.


Waveblade Card Details:

Waveblade Programmer Unit:
The Waveblade Card is programmed using the Waveblade Programmer Unit. This unit connects to your Windows PC through a USB connection.

A Software Pack is available that contains the USB Drivers and the Windows TeraTerm Application that communicates with the Programmer Unit. When the Waveblade is mounted on the Programmer Unit you can erase and re-program any 1MB or 2MB memory page.

It is strongly advised that you read the Waveblade and Programmer Unit User Guides.
To use the Waveblade you will need to install the USB Driver and TeraTerm Windows Application on your Windows PC. Communication with the Programmer Unit is through a Command Line Interface (CLI) so there are a few commands you need to type into the TeraTerm application to Erase, Program, or Verify the Waveblade Card Pages.


Waveblade & Programmer Unit - User Manual & Software Pack Downloads:
Sector101 Waveblade User Manual (PDF)
Sector101 Waveblade Programmer Unit User Manual (PDF)
Sector101 Waveblade Programmer Unit Software Pack for Windows (ZIP)


Waveblade Card mounted in Yamaha SY85:

Creating Samples & Waveforms using Derek Cook's sy.factory application:
To create new Waveform image files for the Waveblade Card you will need Derek Cook's sy.factory application. You can download this application from his sy.factory website page.

You can run this application in Demo Mode to try it out. If you wish to save your creations you will need to register it. At the time of writing the cost was around £27GBP

This application will allow the import of WAV files to create single-sample tones or multi-sample waveforms. You can configure the key-range, pitch, looping & original key settings of each sample to allow you to easily create a multi-sample waveform.

Once you have everything setup in the application this can be saved as one complete BIN image file for direct upload into the WaveBlade Card. The image file can be loaded back into sy.factory and tweaked if necessary.

Derek was primarly involved with reverse-engineering the Yamaha Waveform Card data format and was able to add Waveblade Waveform & Sample editing functions to his sy.factory application.

You can upload your waveforms directly to the Programmer Unit from the sy.factory application. There is no need to use the TeraTerm application when using sy.factory.



Waveform Card Library:
There is a library of Waveform Card images available for use with the WaveBlade.
The WaveBlade can contain 8x Waveform card images using the Waveblade's 8x 1MB Pages.
NOTE: I do not supply Waveblade Cards pre-programmed with Wavecard images.

You can access the Waveform Card Library using This Link
You can audition the Wavecards on SoundCloud

The Waveform Card Library contains the Waveform Cards shown below:



YouTube Waveblade Tutorials:
Benjamin Zeiss has created several video guides on setting up the WaveBlade and Programmer Unit.
These guides also include creating BIN Image Files in sy.factory and uploading the BIN files.