For all you FM lovers out there...

How to make that sound...
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PRODUCTS VOPM

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I just converted pretty much every Sega Genesis (Mega Drive for those of you across the pond from me) game ever into .opm files which can be loaded with "Sam's" fantastic VOPM freeware FM synth. I basically d/l'd all the files from project2612.org and ran Shiru's vgm2opm tool on an entire huge folder of all the games. Only a few didn't make it, but for the most part, they're intact. There are literally thousands of useful FM sounds here from the glory days of 16-bit gaming.

Put some high-quality effects on these, and you'll be in 16-bit heaven!! :love:

Enjoy, and please share your results here!

http://www.mediafire.com/file/ynnygzowyzw/2612org OPMs.zip

SysEx files - can be imported directly into FM8:

http://www.mediafire.com/file/x5ww7d3wf ... -sysex.zip
Last edited by DrWashington on Sun Feb 25, 2018 9:53 am, edited 1 time in total.
:dog:
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sweet! thanks
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Sure thing! Pass it around! There are probably over a hundred thousand unique sounds all together in this...

I'm a big fan of FM, and would love to see it seriously leveraged more. It has so much character and bite when done right!
Last edited by DrWashington on Mon Jul 05, 2010 4:07 am, edited 1 time in total.
:dog:
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I'm hoping this could be possible with the song sets from NEC PC-98 games, there's some nice sounds in some of the ingame soundtracks, though I gather some of it would exist here anywho.

Awesome stuff, it's a keeper.
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Cheers for the link :)
Does anyone have an english manual for VOPM though? (I couldn't find 1)
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you are the man! im playing with the sonic 2 sounds right now!
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Here's the manual:

http://www.gorenfeld.net/lou/VOPM.pdf

If you get to know the NRPN list, you can do mono mode, add glide, etc.

This is a really, really cool lil' synth--I have some of the best, and it's still one of my go-to's. Try passing the output through high-quality effects. I like Sonnox Reverb and D16 plugins like Syntorus. Magical!! :D

Anyway, enjoy it guys, and please pass this around as much as you can... feel free to repost the link anywhere you like.

VOPM has been missing a good bank of presets for a while, and I figured what better way to get things moving than tap the plethora of great sounds made by mostly Japanese FM wizards in the early '90s? Well, here we are!

I really believe in this instrument, not just for chiptunes. Get to know it! It's free, it sounds amazing, and it has this authority and BITE that is second to none. It can sound really brash and cutting, very powerful!

I hope "Sam" decides to finally finish this, like add a portamento switch, mono mode, unison, etc... maybe update the GUI a bit or make it skinnable and compatible with automap. He's posted the source code on the site, so if anyone wants to pick it up for non-commercial purposes... DO IT!!
:dog:
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Oh, and just to demonstrate my claims above, here's a song I did a while back (and never quite finished, I think it's too 'busy' sounding) on which VOPM features very heavily. You'll be able to pick it out, I'm sure.

http://www.mediafire.com/?m4yznndumml

The sounds are my own. They weren't hard to make... of course, I've been using FM7 (and now FM8) ever since it came out, so it wasn't that hard to pick up VOPM.

Cheers everyone! No go modulate some frequencies!! :lol:
:dog:
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Thanks DrWashington for posting the manual :)

I tried to listen to your track, but the page wouldn't load, probably due to my shaky connection. I'll try & give it a listen later. Thanks again :)
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I loved my Sega console back then.
Thanks a million, DrWashington!

Cheers

(edit)P.S.: My God, this synth is QUIET. Can barely hear the sound.
Manual says the volume can be changed with NRPN #1. Can someone tell me how that works?
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yeah what the hell is this nrpn? how do i do this in ableton?
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Basically, you do this: open up a controller lane (a CC lane, like in the midi editor in cubase).

Then, do just what it says in the manual. If it says "send" it such and such NRPN, you take your pencil tool or whatever and draw that value (line can be any length as long is it ends on that value when the clip, which should be obviously kept short, is done playing back.

So, if it says send it NRPN 98 with a value of 1, say, simply create a midi part/clip/whatever with a controller (CC) lane open that has that controller (CC) number chosen (manually, in most cases--in Cubase, you have to open up the setup and add it to the list), and then draw in a value of "1"... in other words, a line that spans the clip horizontally and ends at the value "1". If it's "4", just do the same thing, just have the automation line end on "4", play the whole thing back, and VOPM will respond.

This is how you increase the volume, add portamento, engage mono mode, etc.

Pretty simple once you figure it out. You can actually make one midi clip that sends several NRPNs to VOPM, say to turn it up a bit, add glide, set the glide time, and engage mono mode. Then, you can save it as a midi clip and import it into any project to 'setup' VOPM the way you had it.

Slightly tedious, but really not that hard.

I wish someone would pick up the source code and add these as buttons, since "Sam" appears mostly MIA these days. Too bad, he's a brilliant guy!
:dog:
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That's really cool, thanks Dr W.
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Yes, thanks a lot, I'll try that.
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OMG OMG OMG OMG !!!!! :shock:

There's no way to write down how thankful I am for those sounds!
Shiiiiiiiiit ... this is better than christmas. :)

Instant retro-feeling! :love:



Edit:
Do you also have the FX of those games as presets?
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