GForce Halogen FM - 2 Operator Pair FM Synth

[aMUSEd]

Didn't see this one coming....

Interesting

[WasteLand]

poly pitchbend? MPE?

One of the commenters on the Walktrough video said that there isnt MPE

a bit strange, because i would you do poly pitchbend? and exquis, Erae 2, Roli Rise show up in the vid....

well....

It has polyphonic pitchbend and poly aftertouch, but does not have MPE timbre and release velocity.

aha, so it works via MPE, that was my guess.

strange not to implement slide or indeed release velocity, the latter is 'normal' midi, my novation sl49 mkii transmits release velocity... but it is normally associated with MPE...

thanks!

[autodafe]

I had some time to fiddle around with Halogen FM today (kinda unexpected synth by GForce, TBH)

[Vortifex]

UI looks inspired by Dawesome. Performance wise it's light on CPU. Seems extremely reliant on its reverb; without it it's just typical thin/nasal/metallic FM noises with the occasional usable one. I think you either love FM or you don't.

Why does the reverb start wide and then narrow? Could do with a way to alter the amp/mod envelopes on both operators at once. Left click to move one, right click to move both? Would make it a bit more convenient, especially as there's no numerical indicator.

Randomly crashes FL Studio when browsing presets (Win 11, VST2).

I don't think this will convert anyone like me who previously wasn't really a fan of FM. It's fun to see what the randomizer comes up with, but for my purposes it's rarely anything usable. Good to see GForce doing something new though.

[liquidsound]

It reminds of Chiral by Fors.

[wintoid]

I think Tone 2 Nemesis is still the coolest and richest-sounding FM synth that is not a DX7 clone. I'll try Halogen later today

Interesting comment. There's not a huge amount of buzz around Nemesis compared with Icarus. I love FM and Nemesis has almost been purchased several times, but whenever I've checked the actual sounds, I've been a bit underwhelmed. I guess you've nudged it back into my "maybe one day" category

What I like about Halogen so far is it's just a couple of clicks and you can start making music with an inspiring sound. Perhaps I'd loop back and switch out for something a bit deeper, but perhaps not.

So far I'm enjoying automating those macros in Halogen to make big an interesting textures. Even just using the mix setting is giving a sort of vector synth vibe.

[wintoid]

It reminds of Chiral by Fors.

I can definitely see where you're coming from. I miss Chiral since ditching Live. I have to make do with Tela

[Korg Supporter]

I think Tone 2 Nemesis is still the coolest and richest-sounding FM synth that is not a DX7 clone. I'll try Halogen later today

Interesting comment. There's not a huge amount of buzz around Nemesis compared with Icarus. I love FM and Nemesis has almost been purchased several times, but whenever I've checked the actual sounds, I've been a bit underwhelmed. I guess you've nudged it back into my "maybe one day" category

What I like about Halogen so far is it's just a couple of clicks and you can start making music with an inspiring sound. Perhaps I'd loop back and switch out for something a bit deeper, but perhaps not.

So far I'm enjoying automating those macros in Halogen to make big an interesting textures. Even just using the mix setting is giving a sort of vector synth vibe.

I'm glad you're liking it. I wish Halogen had 4 operators, but the addition of xmod and ring modulation sound promising. Nemesis produces stronger modulation and adds more harmonics than an operator pair in Opsix. I also love how it works with trance. The $99 tag is a turnoff for me. But it can do cool stuff that Bazille can't

[liquidsound]

It reminds of Chiral by Fors.

I can definitely see where you're coming from. I miss Chiral since ditching Live. I have to make do with Tela

I still spend time with Fors's gems. It's a hidden place in the universe.
I'm going to try this GForce and see...

[zerocrossing]

Matrix 6 emulation next pls

Matrix 12 first!

[nanostream]

Fors will also be my benchmark, when I’ll eventually demo Halogen. I hope they get the crashes under control quickly.

But they’ll still have to beat Fors, who have really mastered the art of nice and simple 2OP FM synths with tons of sweet spots. (Not with Chiral though, it has a single „Phaseshaping Oscillator“, whatever that is, and is fully MPE compatible.)

[wintoid]

I'm not sure this is really 2op is it? As far as I can tell, if I turn the volume of OPR2 to zero, and ramp up the Timbre on OPR1, I hear an FM modulation. If I change the frequency of OPR2, it is not affecting the FM modulation happening to OPR1.

So is this actually 4 op FM arranged like algorithm 5 on a 4-op synth?

Edit: I think Timbre is FM amount and Bright is FM feedback

[nanostream]

I think Timbre is FM amount and Bright is FM feedback

Aww, I was hoping for some magic under the hood, but I’ll take it.

[wintoid]

And then there's cross mod on top of all that..... happy to be corrected by any FM gurus but I think this is more powerful than most 4op FM.

[Uncle E]

Halogen FM seems to emulate the analog circuitry and/or DAC's of vintage DX's. For example, if you compare the DX Timely Bass preset to Lately Bass samples, you'll hear that it sounds more similar than if you load the Solid Bass or Lately Bass sysex into Dexed or FM8.