CPU Software

CPU Micron

Traced from the CEM3340,
filtered through an IR3109.

A monophonic synthesiser and step sequencer for macOS, Windows, Linux and iPad, modelled from a 1983 hardware original's own circuit rather than approximated by ear. The voice comes from the schematic and from measurements of a real unit; the sequencer is reconstructed from the original owner's manual rather than replaced with a modern step grid.

CPU Micron plugin running in the grey finish, showing the LFO, VCO, source mixer, VCF, VCA and ENV sections above the sequencer keyboard
Circuit accuracy
Modelled from the hardware's own circuit
The voice comes from the schematic and from measurements of a real unit.
Platform
macOS · Windows · Linux · iPad
macOS 10.13+, Intel/Apple Silicon. Windows 10/11, 64-bit. Linux tested on Mint 22. iPadOS 15+, app and AUv3 plug-in.
Randomiser
Easily randomise new sounds and sequences
Always in scale.
Availability
Desktop - £39.99 + VAT
iPad - £14.99 inc. VAT
Free demo - desktop
Desktop via Lemon Squeezy; iPad on the App Store, bought separately.

Hear it

Four short demos, about thirty seconds each.

Calling all MC-202 owners

CPU Micron talks to your hardware, both ways

A Roland MC-202 MicroComposer, the 1983 hardware sequencer and synthesiser
CPU Micron, the plugin, showing the same panel layout as the hardware

Talks to real hardware, both ways

A sequence written in CPU Micron can be exported as audio, played into a real machine's tape input, and loaded back - notes, accents, glides, ties and bar lines all intact. It reads them back too: a cassette recorded decades ago opens straight in the plugin. The tape format was reverse-engineered from real recordings and confirmed by round-tripping a plugin-written sequence through actual hardware.

Everything the original lacked

DAW sync, MIDI in and out, patch and sequence memory, MIDI file import and export, and a randomiser that stays inside the scale rather than generating uniform noise.

iPad. An app and an Audio Unit (AUv3) plug-in for iPad, iPadOS 15 or later, with the same voice, sequencer and panel. The plug-in runs inside GarageBand and other apps that host Audio Unit instruments, with its sequencer following the song's tempo and transport. It plays from USB MIDI controllers. It is bought on the App Store, separately from the desktop version, and needs no registration.
Free demo. The full instrument for macOS, Windows and Linux - the same sound, factory presets and sequences, MIDI control and randomiser - with saving, file import and export, user presets and LFO tempo sync taken out. It plays a short burst of noise every 45 seconds or so once it has made a minute of sound. Download it free - you give an email address and the files are sent to you, no payment details needed.
Registration. No copy protection, and nothing is gated behind it - the plugin is fully functional the moment you install it, offline included. A purchase includes a registration code: entering it needs an internet connection for that one moment, to check the key and show the plugin as registered to you - after that it never checks again, ever. Skip that step and nothing changes: every feature still works, with no trial period and nothing held back.
Not a Roland product. CPU Micron is an independent emulation and carries no Roland endorsement. The photograph on this page is of a privately owned unit; the Roland wordmark and the MC-202 name are trademarks of Roland Corporation, used here only to identify the hardware CPU Micron exchanges sequences with.

Support and enquiries: input (at) cpurecords.net