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FM synthesis thread (pg. 5)
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evo8
quote:
Originally posted by MrJiveBoJingles
Thanks. Yeah, some of the preset patches in FM7 / FM8 are pretty nice. I think the real fun starts when you begin creating your own patches from scratch, though.

;)


oh yeah i agree, what i meant was that the presets really show off whats possible with it, probably take me a hell of a long time to get to grips with fm synthesis as compared to subtractive - id rather be making tunes instead :(

but i think the time invested could be worth it
MrJiveBoJingles
^ I've never tried any free ones myself.

Made another patch for people to steal. :p

[mp3] [patch]

This one plays a chord (root, fifth, minor seventh) by pressing just one note. It uses three operators that are tuned differently using the "Ratio" control in FM7. For twelve tone equal temperament (normal Western style tuning), you can use these numbers as reference points in tuning FM7:

1.0000 = Your root note
1.0595 = 1 semitone above root note
1.1224 = 2 semitones above root note (interval of a major second)
1.1892 = 3 semitones above root note (minor third)
1.2599 = 4 semitones above root note (major third)
1.3348 = 5 semitones above root note (perfect fourth)
1.4142 = 6 semitones above root note (tritone)
1.4983 = 7 semitones above root note (perfect fifth)
1.5874 = 8 semitones above root note (minor sixth)
1.6817 = 9 semitones above root note (major sixth)
1.7817 = 10 semitones above root note (minor seventh)
1.8877 = 11 semitones above root note (major seventh)
2.0000 = 12 semitones above root note (octave)

If you want to know how these numbers are derived, you can read my "introduction to tuning systems" post:

http://www.tranceaddict.com/forums/...threadid=361540

You'll notice that as you the velocity of the notes in the sound file increases, the non-root notes (fifth and minor seventh) get louder and brighter: this is because I have those operators (E and D) set to be velocity-sensitive. You can change that, of course, and experiment with different combinations of notes using the ratio list above.
MrJiveBoJingles
Made a nice mellow sound today, would probably work great in a chillout track:

[mp3] [patch]

Operators D, E, and F give the patch its main sound, with B and C providing additional texture. D and E are panned hard to opposite sides. If you mess around with Operator F a bit, you can give the patch more bite:

[mp3] [patch]

What I did there was just push F up an octave (changed the ratio to 3) and gave it some feedback in the Matrix.
MrJiveBoJingles
quote:
Originally posted by MrJiveBoJingles
1.0000 = Your root note
1.0595 = 1 semitone above root note
1.1224 = 2 semitones above root note (interval of a major second)
1.1892 = 3 semitones above root note (minor third)
1.2599 = 4 semitones above root note (major third)
1.3348 = 5 semitones above root note (perfect fourth)
1.4142 = 6 semitones above root note (tritone)
1.4983 = 7 semitones above root note (perfect fifth)
1.5874 = 8 semitones above root note (minor sixth)
1.6817 = 9 semitones above root note (major sixth)
1.7817 = 10 semitones above root note (minor seventh)
1.8877 = 11 semitones above root note (major seventh)
2.0000 = 12 semitones above root note (octave)

^ You can use this series to create bell-like tones by setting up different operators with different ratios and then putting them both in parallel and in sequence, i.e. sending the operators directly to the out and also using them to modulate each other a bit, like this for example:



[sound example]

I found this site which says that the tones of a bell are "a fundamental (prime), a minor third (tierce), a fifth (quint), an octave (nominal), and a hum tone an octave below the fundamental." Then I looked at the ratios above and tuned operators to 0.5000 (octave below), 1.0000 (fundamental), 1.1892 (minor third), 1.4983 (fifth), 2.0000 (octave above), and modulated them as you see above. Here's the resulting patch:

[patch]
MrJiveBoJingles
You guys still interested in this (posting patches with explanations)?

I notice the past few posts have gotten no response yet. :p
evo8
yeah keep them coming - a lot to take in tho :p
pwnage1
quote:
Originally posted by MrJiveBoJingles
I notice the past few posts have gotten no response yet. :p
We are all still on the first one. :p
Beatflux
quote:
Originally posted by Zombie0729
FM synthesis is basically the most powerful form of synthesis ever and FM8 is proof.


Don't you mean modular, or additive?
cryophonik
quote:
Originally posted by MrJiveBoJingles
You guys still interested in this (posting patches with explanations)?



Heck yeah - keep 'em coming! You obviously know your way around FM synthesis. As for me, I'm familiar with the concept of FM synthesis, but I can never seem to imagine a sound and create it using a pure FM synth the way I can with subtractive synths. I tend to start making a sound by trial-and-error, hear what happens, and either scrap it because it's terrible, or accidentally stumble onto something that sounds OK, but not even close to what I was striving for. Also, I find Rob Papen's Blue to be easier to work with than FM7/8, although it's probably not as deep.

Out of curiosity, have you ever worked with a Yamaha FS1R? If so, what are your thoughts on it? I've wanted one for a long time, but I've been hesitant to buy one because I'm just not sure that I'd get much programming use out of it. Also, it seems that it might be hard to program given the limited screen space.
MrJiveBoJingles
quote:
Originally posted by cryophonik
Heck yeah - keep 'em coming! You obviously know your way around FM synthesis. As for me, I'm familiar with the concept of FM synthesis, but I can never seem to imagine a sound and create it using a pure FM synth the way I can with subtractive synths. I tend to start making a sound by trial-and-error, hear what happens, and either scrap it because it's terrible, or accidentally stumble onto something that sounds OK, but not even close to what I was striving for.

That happens to me, too. I've got a good handle on how to get a lot of sounds with FM, but there are tasks where I'm still pretty weak, like synthesizing percussion and getting nice bass sounds.

quote:
Originally posted by cryophonik
Out of curiosity, have you ever worked with a Yamaha FS1R? If so, what are your thoughts on it? I've wanted one for a long time, but I've been hesitant to buy one because I'm just not sure that I'd get much programming use out of it. Also, it seems that it might be hard to program given the limited screen space.

FM7 is actually the only FM synth I've ever used. Before a few months ago, I used subtractive synthesis almost exclusively, but now that I've really been delving into FM and seeing what I can do, it's probably my favorite method.

Good to know people are enjoying this...

MrJiveBoJingles
Made this patch to showcase FM7's rhythmic capabilities -- one of the operators has a patterned envelope synced up to the tempo. This is the patch playing a couple of chords (dry followed by wet):

http://jbj.raceriv.com/sounds/patches/allthelights.mp3

The patterned part is in operator E's envelope. You can change its rhythm, or just make it a regular ADSR envelope and turn it into a pad noise:

http://jbj.raceriv.com/sounds/patches/allthelights-padwet.mp3

And here's the patch: [patch]
kitphillips
Thats awesome:crazy: Whats cool about FM is that you can quite easily combines all these sounds for even more complexity...
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