IS FM synthesis your goto?

[Ah_Dziz]

No it's not.

[Jafo]

No. Got sick of it before the '80s were over; that f**king epiano preset nauseates me, and the bells smell. It's simply not possible to create anything which isn't atrociously mathematical and regulated with it.

[gentleclockdivider]

It's simply not possible to create anything which isn't atrociously mathematical and regulated with it.

Maybe for you it isn't .

[Examigan]

It’s not my go-to exactly, but I like it. I just got OPS7 and it sounds great.

[TheFrozenSea]

Not my go to, like ever. But I really should mess arund more with my Arturia DX7 V, I've heard some great sounds and know how to use the synth, just haven't put in the hours to get comfortable working with it in the context of a song.

I like using the Synclavier V, but I mostly just use the FM feature as a final sparkle, not as a fundamental sound building block.

[gentleclockdivider]

If I wan't some detroit like bass sounds I almost grab for fm , just a couple of operators , some mild feedback on the modulator and you're set!
I bet most people can't even distinguish FM from Analogue ( or VA ) when done right , ofcourse there are certain things that can't be done but that applies to every synthesis method
FM is ace !

[perpetual3]

FM is fantastic. And speaking of Detroit techno, didn’t Jeff Mills produce an album using FM synths?

[Dirtgrain]

AM radio > FM synthesis. That should give you some perspective.

[gentleclockdivider]

FM is fantastic. And speaking of Detroit techno, didn’t Jeff Mills produce an album using FM synths?

Fm have been used in everything becasuse it sounds so goddamn good , from techno to aphex , autechre , cylob etc..
Those that keep nagging about the horrendous 80 bells and timpani presets are the same kind of people that don't want to get their hands dirty and refuse to understand the basic principles .

[perpetual3]

FM is fantastic. And speaking of Detroit techno, didn’t Jeff Mills produce an album using FM synths?

Fm have been used in everything becasuse it sounds so goddamn good , from techno to aphex , autechre , cylob etc..
Those that keep nagging about the horrendous 80 bells and timpani presets are the same kind of people that don't want to get their hands dirty and refuse to understand the basic principles .

A friend told me that Mills made an album with FM synths in response to the “analog is better” dogma. I make mostly dub techno and FM is my preferred synthesis technique.

[cryophonik]

Honestly, as I stated early on in this thread (i.e., years ago), I like FM synthesis, but I've never taken the time to dive in deep. It's something I keep thinking I should do one of these days, but my experimentation gets me some of the most useless sounds ever, and the "tutorials" I've seen usually only cover how to make the most basic DX7 pianos and basses, while the more advanced ones generally just get into the mathematical concepts, rather than actual sound design. If anyone knows of some good practical hands-on resources for deep dives into FM sound design, lay it on me, bro-ski.

[Fraggle]

No - if something is my ‘go to’ I know I have lost genuine creativity

[cantaloupe]

Those that keep nagging about the horrendous 80 bells and timpani presets are the same kind of people that don't want to get their hands dirty and refuse to understand the basic principles .

Pretty much.

I sometimes use other synthesis, but i still prefer FM to any other method - it just sounds right, and it is the most intuitive synthesis method to me. It makes more sense to start from a sine and then build upwards from zero intensity, than the other way around.

People going staccato on C3 while preset-browsing DX7 cart #293520358 doesn't get it - but i can't fully explain why. FM makes sense in motion, in context.

Listen to Jeff Mills, John Chowning, old german techno. terminator shit, cold melancholic cyborg stuff, liquid metal, gnarly aliasing scissor funk. FM is proper machine music, but great at more ambient tones too.

This is pure FM (well, almost), made on a 30+ year old japanese computer:
https://hizmi.bandcamp.com/album/dendel-voile

Another classic:

It's simply not possible to create anything which isn't atrociously mathematical and regulated with it.

You say that like it's an insult

[Synthack]

.........

[yul]

It's something I keep thinking I should do one of these days, but my experimentation gets me some of the most useless sounds ever, and the "tutorials" I've seen usually only cover how to make the most basic DX7 pianos and basses, while the more advanced ones generally just get into the mathematical concepts, rather than actual sound design. If anyone knows of some good practical hands-on resources for deep dives into FM sound design, lay it on me, bro-ski.

You need to start slow. I started with FM8 and believe its the very best way. Why? It has a spectral diagram and waveform viewer. If you ever checked out additive (harmonic series) then you will understand immediately. Use a single carrier and modulator and play around with pitch, levels and ratios. You will immediately "see" what you are doing. Them build from that with enveloppes, another carrier in parallel etc.

I say FM8 because it is mostly a "clean" sound as opposed to DX emulations that have way more artefacts and aliasing. FM8 is going to force you to learn it (stick to sines only) and keep you within more conservative ranges. My two cents.

Quick tip : everytime you link 2 or more sines together using ratios like 0.25, 0.5, 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8 etc.. you result will always be a fixed single cycle waveform (i.e. like DW-8000, Prophet VS etc before the filter). You can pair a couple of these or play with levels or enveloppes to morph. Next step is detuning (I am sure everyone know how to do that )

Quick tip #2 : if you take a single sine wave (ex a single operator) and add about 50% feedback to it it will become a saw wave. FM saws are the best, really!