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FM synths

Very rudimentary, but capturing a cool and important piece of history in video games, Inphonik's Yamaha RYM2612 chip emulator can make some great sounds. The preset manager is abysmal, but the UI is decent. Plus those new to FM will find the simplicity allows to quickly wrap one's head around the concepts of FM while making some good sounds. I have to confess I never fully understood FM in terms of how a synth implements it, until I played with this (even though I did understand radio FM implementation). But now I get it and synths like Dexed and FM8 are no longer mysteries.
 
sekim said:
Very rudimentary, but capturing a cool and important piece of history in video games, Inphonik's Yamaha RYM2612 chip emulator can make some great sounds. The preset manager is abysmal, but the UI is decent. Plus those new to FM will find the simplicity allows to quickly wrap one's head around the concepts of FM while making some good sounds. I have to confess I never fully understood FM in terms of how a synth implements it, until I played with this (even though I did understand radio FM implementation). But now I get it and synths like Dexed and FM8 are no longer mysteries.
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It's quite fascinating to see that nowadays our machines are able to emulate old electronic chips like the YM2612.
I must have already mentioned it in these lines, but in the genre there is also FMDrive by Aly James, or perhaps the most advanced CHIPSYNTH MD by Plogue (they also have a DX7 simulator).

 
emptyvessel said:
I worked on a big bunch of presets for Arturia for the Pigments 3 update so I really dug in deep for a couple of months, it's an impressive, great-sounding workhorse that can cover a lot of ground timbrally. The FM/PM/RM that's offered is more a seasoning rather than the reason the synth exists although it certainly can cover some of the sounds we're familiar with from the common FM synths.
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Does Pigments have oversampling?

Didn't find the answer in the FAQ, website dessription, manual, or in a quick Google search... so I'm guessing no?
 
AnhrithmonGelasma said:
Does Pigments have oversampling?

Didn't find the answer in the FAQ, website dessription, manual, or in a quick Google search... so I'm guessing no?
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If there is - which I, too, doubt - it is hidden and not controllable by the end user.

Pigments can be hard on the CPU, so it would make a sense as a design choice not to make use of oversampling to address aliasing. They might have used other strategies, in terms of the algorithms they employed.

I just tried playing it at 192 kHz. It does sound lovely and smooth!
 
As a probably certifiable FM nut, I just snagged an old SY77. I always snoozed on that one because the factory presets didn't do it any favors back in the day, and the DX series always felt much more punchy and immediate. However, I've come to realize the SY77/99 are really the pinnacle of FM in many ways; they do things even the FS1R and Montage can't. And it doesn't hurt that you can find SY77s extremely cheap ...$350 - $500 in great shape. I'm guessing it's because most people don't really know what they are.

Anyway, pretty amazing how big and lush these can be for FM... sounds like Yamaha's take on a Matrix 12. Really fun addition to my FM stable. I'm actually considering grabbing a second one because you can stack them via an even/odd MIDI note scheme for doubling polyphony: using a 2-layer patch cuts you down to 8 notes (same as a DX7II).
 

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I have settled on the Op6 vst from Korg. There are a few QOL changes I'd make if Korg gave me the power, but that's true of all their vst's. It can do quite a lot. I do lik the Arturia DX7 as they always include strong mod options, however it has a very strong compressed presence to the sound. That isn't a criticism, it is something you may or may not like. No idea how that compares to the hardware, which I will never own
 
whinecellar said:
As a probably certifiable FM nut, I just snagged an old SY77. I always snoozed on that one because the factory presets didn't do it any favors back in the day, and the DX series always felt much more punchy and immediate. However, I've come to realize the SY77/99 are really the pinnacle of FM in many ways; they do things even the FS1R and Montage can't. And it doesn't hurt that you can find SY77s extremely cheap ...$350 - $500 in great shape. I'm guessing it's because most people don't really know what they are.

Anyway, pretty amazing how big and lush these can be for FM... sounds like Yamaha's take on a Matrix 12. Really fun addition to my FM stable. I'm actually considering grabbing a second one because you can stack them via an even/odd MIDI note scheme for doubling polyphony: using a 2-layer patch cuts you down to 8 notes (same as a DX7II).
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I bought a TG77 a couple of month ago following exactly the same reasoning.
I just don't have the space for multiple SY77 so I got me the rack version ;)
 
Bohrium said:
I bought a TG77 a couple of month ago following exactly the same reasoning.
I just don't have the space for multiple SY77 so I got me the rack version ;)
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Yeah, my space is limited too, and I'd much prefer a TG77 if I were going to add a second... but the TG is usually 2-3x the price. Keeping my eyes open!
 
whinecellar said:
However, I've come to realize the SY77/99 are really the pinnacle of FM in many ways; they do things even the FS1R and Montage can't
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This is true. For me the SY series are the very best FM synths ever. (The 19” rack has two TF1 modules, basically DX7s in rack format).

7f5f28a4-e99c-48fc-8f94-d8dc778e9416.jpeg

Of course, I also love the DX mk 1. Cool setup you got there!

1c15c7b3-e7ec-45bb-b910-842a31ede248.jpeg
 
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