Free FM Synthesizer Dexed (VST Windows and Mac)

[Ingonator]

You can't really compare FM8 and Dexed, Ingo. Dexed was meant to be 1:1 emulation of DX7 engine. FM8 is not quite there - there are things missing when you import DX7 sysex, and it's quite obvious. As a standalone FM synth with a host of new features, FM8 is great, of course. But for straight DX7 emulation, Dexed pretty much kills it.

As already mentioned Dexed seems to be graet as a DX7 emulation but like the real DX7 it seems to be horrible for programming your own sounds.
For programming "from scratch" the interface of FM8 or a different approach like in Nemesis is better, at least for myself.

I do not see myself as a "FM guru" yet. For those who are used to program a DX7 since ages the interface in Dexed is maybe very simple (and it should be indeed more simple than using a hardware DX7).

I had started learning FM with a SY77 back in 2004 (got it second hand for 200 €), before i really started using VST plugins. The interface with the big LCD dispaly was more simple, it had more features and also more waveforms (besides Sine) which i miss in the DX7 and some emulations like this.
The SY77 was the very first synth i purchased after using a quite simple Kawai K11 (which actually was a quite nice 2 oscillator subtractive synth + ROMpler) for around 10 years.
Acutually i found it in the second hand shop of the MusicStore in Cologne (lived in Cologne for around 18 months).

The first time i played with a SY77 was at my local shop around the time when it was originally released (played with it multiple times, each time for around 1 hour or more) but at that time it was MUCH too expensive for me. Same about the Korg Wavestation (which i own second hand since around 11 years now, and a Yamaha Motif ES 7 as my main masterkeyboard since almost exactly 10 years).

[EnGee]

Dexed seems to be the King of the metalic sounds! It is by far the best I have ever heard in this field. FM8 can't be in the same level here nor any other synth! But, for pads FM8 is much nicer. Dexed seems harsh for pads, but I'm not trying hard enough maybe.
Anyway, I'm still trying to find good pads in Dexed (I need one year to browse all those presets organised by BlackWinny ).

[Teksonik]

Here's the difference...I dare anyone to make a new sound with Dexed that hasn't already been done in the 30+ years and 20,000+ patches since the DX7 was released.

FM8 and others seek to move on and take FM (or PM if you will) to the next level while Dexed seeks to to pay homage to a legacy synth......a job it does quite well.

[Ingonator]

In some FM synths like FM8 (but also in the SY77 which had 16 waveforms for FM) it could make a big difference using a different waveform for e.g. the modulator.

For example if i do a very simple 2 OP Bell like sound in FM8 using Sines for both operators it sound worse than usig e.g. a square wave for the modulator. Another difference could be adding an unison and stereo spread to make the sound "fatter" or "bigger".
Same is also pssible in e.g. Nemesis while you have a much bigger choice of waveforms there.

When using different waveforms (and also Unison) it will be harder to directly compare the results with a DX7 (or emulations like Dexed) and what i mentioned above is just a simple example.

Of course te example with the Square mentioned above is also possible using 3 (or more) operators in the DX7 where you use 2 (or more) operators as a modulator for the carrier. Using a Square directly you could "save" at least one operator.
In that respect in FM8 it is quite haelpful taht you do not have to use a presets/fixed algorithm. In FM8 you could actually switch the carrier off and listen (and/or look with the waveform/spectrum display) to the modulator waveform until it seems to be crrect and the switch back turning off the otout from the modulator and switching on the carrier output.

If i did not miss something in Dexed or the DX7 the "Level" parameter of the modulators seems to be assigned to the Timbre ( FM amount) only but not the output volume which means you could not "preview" the output of the modulators the same way as in e.g. FM8. This also means you could not mix the output of the modulators to the mix like it is possible in e.g. FM8 or Nemesis.

The point why i post this is that many people still seem to see FM8 as a replacement for a DX7 while it could do a lot more. Those ony interested in a proper DX7 emulation should indeed have a look at Dexed while thiose interested in additional features and/or a more simple interface (at least IMO) could have a look at Dexed). As Dexed is free and there are certain differences it is worth installimg both IMO (and additionally also Nemesis if available...). With those 3 synths mentioned and also Ableton Operator (+ a few other FM capable "hybrid" synths) i am "spoiled" with FM synths at the moment. Time to learn programming all of those properly...

[Aloysius]

Here's the difference...I dare anyone to make a new sound with Dexed that hasn't already been done in the 30+ years and 20,000+ patches since the DX7 was released.

FM8 and others seek to move on and take FM (or PM if you will) to the next level while Dexed seeks to to pay homage to a legacy synth......a job it does quite well.

Yes but 90% of those presets sound exactly the same, they just use different names.

[Ingonator]

I just started doing a direct comparison of Dexed and FM8 using similar settings (FM8 offers tons of additional features that could not be directly compared but i tried toavoid those for then comparison).

Mostly it seems to be quite difficult to hear a bigger difference in the sound. Maybe this also depends on which sounds are used. So far i tested only with very simple examples.

One difference i found is that the scaling of the "Level" parameter for the modulators is different.
Where in a modulatorr in Dexed i use a Level of e.g. 75 this corresponds to around 38 in FM8 which is more or less the half. Turning up the level to 75 (or more) in FM8 leads to a quite different sound compared to Dexed.

So this means that at very high levels for the modulators (close to the maximum in Dexed) the difference seems to get bigger than in the example with smaller amounts mentioned above. The difference seems to be found especialy in lower and higher octaves while in a middle octave they could sound quite similar with very high modulator levels.

Also the envelopes have to be slightly adjusted to sound comparable in Dexed and FM8. while FM8 has an adjustable slope for each step (in the graphical editor) in Dexed the "Rate scaling" knob seems to be nice for adjusting the envelopes.

[bftucker]

I just started doing a direct comparison of Dexed and FM8 ...

I too did a direct comparison...and immediately found 199 minor differences which add up to one major difference...($ wise).



I like both however.

[BlackWinny]

In that respect in FM8 it is quite haelpful taht you do not have to use a presets/fixed algorithm.

Yes. And it is a thing that I like also in a third FM synth in my arsenal: Octopus. In Octopus everything is organized in the double-matrix (a sort of super-Rhino, a bit like FM8 but managed in a very different philosophy, less extended than FM8. It resembles in fact more to Rhino but goes further than it.

To learn how to use the matrix management of the FM synthesis without the "academic" algorithms there is also the old but still excellent little freeware Oxe. Nothing that can be compared to FM8, Octopus, Nemesis or Dexed, but nice to learn (and experiment) the basic principles of this synthesis.

It's very nice to have different (and complementary) ways to approach the FM synthesis, even when being experienced. It is a kind of synthesis which could be more investigated today by the musicians. The developers are aware of the potential of this synthesis and we now find a good variety of synths providing it on the market, but it is true that it is not so easy to grasp for the musicians themselves.

[Teksonik]

Here's the difference...I dare anyone to make a new sound with Dexed that hasn't already been done in the 30+ years and 20,000+ patches since the DX7 was released.

FM8 and others seek to move on and take FM (or PM if you will) to the next level while Dexed seeks to to pay homage to a legacy synth......a job it does quite well.

Yes but 90% of those presets sound exactly the same, they just use different names.

90 % is a bit high but yes there are a lot of duplicates or near duplicates in the collection. So I'll reissue my challenge....make a new sound with Dexed (or any synth that seeks to only emulate the DX7).

[Ingonator]

It's very nice to have different (and complementary) ways to approach the FM synthesis, even when being experienced. It is a kind of synthesis which could be more investigated today by the musicians. The developers are aware of the potential of this synthesis and we now find a good variety of synths providing it on the market, but it is true that it is not so easy to grasp for the musicians themselves.

I am currently deeply involved with wavetable synths (including the Nave PC/Mac Beta) but indeed will try to have another look back at FM ASAP (actually i already played a bit with it today).
It is a synthesis method that seems to be promising and that i would like to understand more than i alraedy do but at the moment am still struggling a bit with it.
While doing Fm it could be helpful to have a Signal Analyzer and osciloscope plugin, either the built in ones in FM8 or external ones like e.g. Voxengo SPAN and Smartelectronix s(M)exoscope

A problem with FM, at least with a DX7 and proper emulations like Dexed, seems to be not ending up with sounds that have not been alraedy done by many others (based on the countless patches available for the DX7). Newer FM synths like FM8, Nemesis, Octopus and others with additional features seem to offer the opportunity to get patches different to those typical DX7 patches. Yamaha alraedy had a few own hardware synths like e.g. SY77 and FS1R that offered a lot more than the original DX7.

[Ingonator]

One thing i noticed in Dexed is taht if you hold a note and turn the "Level" knob for one of the modulators the sound will not be updated in realtime but after releasing the key.

As this parameter is one of the major ones for FM synthesis it would be nice if this would actually change the sound in realtime while holding a note.

Other knobs seem to work in realtime without having to play a new note.

Another nice feature would be an option to reset parameters to default by e.g. double-clicking or a combination like e.g. SHIFT+Leftclick. So far i did not find such a feature.

[BlackWinny]

One thing i noticed in Dexed is taht if you hold a note and turn the "Level" knob for one of the modulators the sound will not be updated in realtime but after releasing the key.

As this parameter is one of the major ones for FM synthesis it would be nice if this would actually change the sound in realtime while holding a note.

Other knobs seem to work in realtime without having to play a new note.

Another nice feature would be an option to reset parameters to default by e.g. double-clicking or a combination like e.g. SHIFT+Leftclick. So far i did not find such a feature.

+1
and
+1

[pathworker]

One thing i noticed in Dexed is taht if you hold a note and turn the "Level" knob for one of the modulators the sound will not be updated in realtime but after releasing the key.

As this parameter is one of the major ones for FM synthesis it would be nice if this would actually change the sound in realtime while holding a note.

Other knobs seem to work in realtime without having to play a new note.

Another nice feature would be an option to reset parameters to default by e.g. double-clicking or a combination like e.g. SHIFT+Leftclick. So far i did not find such a feature.

Although not specifically mentioned in the github todo list I am sure asb2m10 will fix those issues during code cleanup ( yes i do check the site regularly. ) good points though.

[1wob2many]

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So I'll reissue my challenge....make a new sound with Dexed (or any synth that seeks to only emulate the DX7).

Which would involve have to check out all 20,000+ patches first. Ouch...I don't think I'll be taking up that challenge.

[wagtunes]

Here's the difference...I dare anyone to make a new sound with Dexed that hasn't already been done in the 30+ years and 20,000+ patches since the DX7 was released.

FM8 and others seek to move on and take FM (or PM if you will) to the next level while Dexed seeks to to pay homage to a legacy synth......a job it does quite well.

Yes but 90% of those presets sound exactly the same, they just use different names.

90 % is a bit high but yes there are a lot of duplicates or near duplicates in the collection. So I'll reissue my challenge....make a new sound with Dexed (or any synth that seeks to only emulate the DX7).

That's kind of like asking somebody using a Mini Moog simulation to make a sound that wasn't made with the Mini Moog.

Yeah, good luck with that. I too will also pass on this impossible challenge, one that I don't even see the point of.