KVR Audio

No name · Post by **No name** » Tue May 31, 2005 2:40 am

What exactly is FM heaven? Never heard of it, must have been extinct before my time here on KVR or something. I tried Oxe fm, but I had a few problems. Knobs were sticking and I tried to get some sound out of it but all I got was a faint pulse from the waveforms. Maybe I need to try harder, i'll re-download it tonight.

greendoor · Post by **greendoor** » Tue May 31, 2005 3:38 am

http://www.loftsoft.co.uk/ FMHeaven is superb, much under-rated FM synth. It plays all the Yamaha DX7 and TX81Z sounds, and also has an excellent filter that can take it much further. Cheap, no strings attached, good demo. The real thing comes with hundreds of sounds (including all the factory presets for the TX81Z - it was just like having my old one back again). I had a couple of TX7 modules - DX7's without the keyboard. FMHeaven convinced me to sell them, because it's just the same only better (no noise).

greendoor · Post by **greendoor** » Tue May 31, 2005 3:45 am

Actually - I consider FMHeaven to be more realistic than FM7. FM7 sounds a bit soft compared to a Yamaha DX7. FM7 has delays, which further soften the sound and frankly I find annoying. The real DX7 was a mono synth! There are thousands of DX7 banks on the internet. Bear in mind that the first DX7 keyboards only generated midi notes up to 100. So if you have an early DX7 patch, and hit it with 127 velocity, it gets really nasty. The key to evaluating the real FM sounds is to realise that they respond dramatically to velocity. Bass sound in particular (which FM is fantastic for) often need very low velocities to sound good. FM is very under-rated and mis-understood I feel, but it launched a thousand hits in the 1980's.

lawapa · Post by **lawapa** » Tue May 31, 2005 3:54 am

My first true digital synth was a DX7. I'm not including the mini moog and arp omni I had cause I just don't think of them as digital. But FM is for me a powerful tool. I still have my SY99 which I traded in my DX7 for. I did FM7 before I even knew of the FM heaven But I still have 2 tx81z's. And those are only 8 note poly but they do kick ass for what they are.

ouroboros · Post by **ouroboros** » Tue May 31, 2005 4:33 am

FM synthesis is crazy stuff, man. I would seriously use Uno for a couple of days/weeks to get your head around it, then try Vivaldi: ugly, but really demonstrates how to work FM. Unfortunately, I never really got OXE, nor did I get any good sounds out of it DX-10 sounds great and is a great choice, but of course, I

sytrus! With DX-10, you've only spent 19$, and can then justify both the price and the features of Sytrus or FM7 later. If I were to purchase a 50$+ synth, then I would have trouble justifying a further purchase of Sytrus or FM7. Of course, Toxic/FM Heaven are all great in their own rights, and probably sufficient for most tasks, certainly all the traditional FM hallmarks: basses, bells, keys.
In summary, for the cheapest upgrade path to maximum versatility, start w/ DX10 and then move on. anyways, it's late and I'm rambling.
Sometimes I forget KVR isn't my personal blog

aciddose · Post by **aciddose** » Tue May 31, 2005 5:05 am

you're kidding right? a real dx-7 only costs 150$ and has the best synth action keyboard ever made, period. you can even take the keys out individually and replace or invert the springs. inverted they have more pressure and its subjective but feels better to some people.

and the noise is the best part!

http://xhip.cjb.net/temp/dx7.mp3

TVD · Post by **TVD** » Tue May 31, 2005 5:21 am

JohnVulich wrote:FM7 and Sytrus. f**k the rest!

Yeah!!!

aciddose · Post by **aciddose** » Tue May 31, 2005 5:29 am

those are for trance kiddies. if it has onboard effects, its automatically for trance kiddies. lame :O

http://xhip.cjb.net/temp/dx-7-rhodes.mp3

i almost forgot the most famous sound of all.
most of the time if you say "electric piano" or "rhodes",
people think of the DX-7 E-Piano patch, :D

VitaminD · Post by **VitaminD** » Tue May 31, 2005 5:32 am

intelligent observation, aciddose.

aMUSEd · Post by **aMUSEd** » Tue May 31, 2005 6:10 am

TVD wrote:
JohnVulich wrote:FM7 and Sytrus. f**k the rest!
Yeah!!!

Exactly what I have too. FM7 is the most playable I've come across - in fact one of the most "instrument like" VSTi's I've got.

Though my Nord G2 modular also does great FM and possibly has the widest range of sounds and adaptability (plus no CPU hit) - something that took me by surprise when I got it.

No name · Post by **No name** » Tue May 31, 2005 7:01 am

Though my Nord G2 modular also does great FM and possibly has the widest range of sounds and adaptability (plus no CPU hit) - something that took me by surprise when I got it.

You have a G2? Then what are you doing here! You should be there with it, using it now!

That thing is just incredible.

C00kie · Post by **C00kie** » Tue May 31, 2005 7:04 am

J_Starner wrote:I tried to get some sound out of it but all I got was a faint pulse from the waveforms.

This happens very quickly with FM if you're tweaking the wrong knobs. Can't really get my head around it... See what I mean?

kodama · Post by **kodama** » Tue May 31, 2005 2:48 pm

If you Google around some, you can still find the old MDA DX-10 for free

Amberience · Post by **Amberience** » Tue May 31, 2005 2:53 pm

Anyone interested in checking out my FM synth made with Synth Maker? It's not finished, but its currently useable.

whyterabbyt · Post by **whyterabbyt** » Tue May 31, 2005 2:53 pm

greendoor quoth The real DX7 was a mono synth!

Ummm, no.

Your choice in FM synths?