New version available as of May 7th, 2025!
Important: This is a Beta! It may not be completely stable and you’re bound to run into stuff. Please make backups of any older projects you plan to work on with this beta version of Genny!
After an exceedingly long delay (ah.. sorry…) and lots of rewriting the new version of Genny is finally ready for testing. I’ll be doing a full writeup and update to the documentation for release, but in the meantime the major changes include:
- Channel 3 Special mode, allowing you to set the frequency of each operator on channel 3 individually. You can assign a midi channel to send notes to the operator, adjust the octave/semitone offset, and set the fine pitch.
- Mono/Legato play modes allowing you to do note glides and arpeggios without re-triggering the attack envelope and fun stuff like that.
- A Ping-pong system that lets you set a custom panning pattern, allowing you to have notes automatically pan based on a sequence of letters. (fore example, Left Right Center Left Right Center to make a sort of stereo effect).
- Improvements to the drum sampling system, you can now set the sampling Hz, adjust pitch and volume and loop samples. You can also use a sample as an instrument by only loading a sound into the first slot.
- Significant improvements to accuracy and DAC performance for anyone using the MegaMIDI output setting.
- Improved automation support for all versions. Every control should be automatable now, and the VST responds to pitch bend messages properly now (you can set the bend range in the chip tab). Added support for note controls in FL, allowing you to bind Note Control 1 and Note Control 2 to various parameters in order to control them from the piano roll.
- Number of instruments has been increased from 16 to 32.
- Tons of bug and crash fixes of course. The UI has been rewritten to fix a number of memory issues and everything has had a going over.
Important Again: Please make backups of any older projects you plan to work on with this beta version of Genny! Due to major changes in the way the plugin’s data is stored, I had considered renaming the actual DLLs to GennyX and making this version of Genny is not compatible with projects built with the old version, but the backwards compatibility code works well enough that I wanted to try this beta as an upgrade to the original Genny instead of a replacement. I’ve tested saving and loading a lot of old projects and things seem alright but more testing is definitely needed. Please let me know if anything is amiss (controls coming undone, weird sound, crashes) and we can work to make sure the new version is completely compatible.
If you have any issues, suggestions, or problems with differences between this version and the last please let me know! Especially let me know if you’re using the MegaMIDI feature, as I don’t know anyone who uses it and would love feedback on the way it works.
Releases are now available through GitHub:
https://github.com/superjoebob/genny/releases
Or if you prefer (Remember, backup your projects before opening them!):
All Versions: https://www.wonthelp.info/genny_v151_all.zip
VST Plugin: https://www.wonthelp.info/genny_v151_vst.zip
FL Plugin: https://www.wonthelp.info/genny_v151_fl.zip
MegaMIDI firmware: https://www.wonthelp.info/genny_v15_megamidi_firmware.zip
Source Code
UPDATE! The source code is now available through GitHub: https://github.com/superjoebob/genny
For legacy purposes:
I’ve decided to release the source code for Genny! A few important things to note about it, though:
The code is TERRIBLE. It is so awful and so bad and it belongs in C++ jail. There are probably still memory errors in it, it’s build setup is a mess and there are inconsistencies everywhere. This has been hacked together over more than 10 years, it was started when I had no idea what I was doing and continued without the intention of ever having anyone else look at the code. It is not a happy codebase. For this reason, and because it’s just not something I want to deal with, I won’t be maintaining a Github or anything like that. I’m dropping a zip of this nasty source code like an animal drops a hot shit and then I’m hoofing it outta here:
https://www.wonthelp.info/genny_src.zip
It uses VS2019 to build, with the C++ Desktop Development and MFC components installed: 
You can probably build it in a different version of VS but that adventure is up to you. You could probably even get it working without MFC if you’re keen. Go ahead and do whatever you want with this source code. Modify it, take things from it, laugh at it. You can give it away or claim it as your own (why would anyone want to take responsibility for this?). Release your own version of Genny sans bugs and with more hardware accuracy. You can even go ahead and make a public GitHub for it if you’d like. Just be warned about the mess of a codebase you’ll be getting yourself into, and make sure you blame me for everything. I take full responsibility, but only god can help you now.
Deep down deep down,
Da di da da da do da da-
Deep down deep down,
Da di da da.
-Hyperlink (Deep Down), Eiffel 65
I’m looking through the source, and I’m quite curious about something; Nuked is in there, but commented out and unreferenced. Why’s that? And, wouldn’t it make more sense if the “accurate” option affected the YM2612 emulation rather than exclusively the SN76489?
Sorry for the extremely late response on this… I tried to implement Nuked at one point but realized it was going to be a bit of a job since it required emulating CPU timing (I think? It’s been a while…) so I gave up on it but sloppily left it in the project. As for the accurate option, it also affects the 2612 side of things. The sounds are very similar but accurate has some buzzy chip noise behind a lot of the sounds. You can really hear it as the note trails off if you hold down a note with Comix Guitar 01 and switch between accurate and clean.
If you are ashamed of the code, all the more reason to put it on GitHub. People can help out and then you will have a system to organize pull requests, automatically integrate them, and triage issues so you can potentially gain more time than you lose by opening this up to the community.
You’re right dude, it’s up on github now.
Ironically I would have suggested it for the the opposite reasons, github has a “public archive” feature that people use for exactly this, throwing up source code to old projects that are explicitly not being developed, or just for archival purposes. Some examples https://github.com/videogamepreservation
I’d still like to do more stuff with GENNY, I’m working on it less but don’t plan to stop completely! A Github repo seems like a good idea because though I don’t exactly want to get deep into collaborating on github some people might find it interesting to keep an eye the codebase or to fix issues they’ve been dealing with and potentially share their changes.
One issue I have with it is that sometimes the beginning note of the genny won’t play if its the direct first note in a pattern or song. Otherwise it’s fine.
i have like, only one request, and it’s that to ignore the “one channel” restriction to the drums, i get that it’s to stay consistent with the actual soundchip but come onnnn it’s not THAT harddddd
I found some VGMs usually play the C8 key such as Castlevania – Bloodlines, the ending theme. Sometimes, I also want to create a preset using such a high key. However, Genny uses this key as the vibrato trigger. Would it be possible to make this triggering function an option or use other keys?
For sure this should really be a setting, sorry for the trouble. You should be able to get around it a bit by transposing the octave I think?
can you download it on Mac?