The Fight for FM

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Just chiming in for Rpcx Blue : Great more than FM synth also. With powerfull features, and real FM abilities, though it lacks true strereo at the Osc level for some patches, but adds many exclusive features. A real unique synth.

Else : Best Dx7 import is FM7/8, Rhino will set a standard level for all oscillators (meaning that patches sound like erf ..... nothing after impor ) , and Sytrus is less accurate (but the import function still can be usefull). Didn't test the other import like FM heaven so can't speak for that.

Else : Powerful Fm : Sytrus, and it adds a lot to FM, though the gui makes it a bit hard to program. (Btw the creator of Sytrus expressed his Pov in this thread for those who have not recognised him ..... :wink: ) Sytrus is really a beast. I've yet to explore this synth to find all it can do.

Else : Toxic has some true FM abilities, but lacks some essential features, like individual envelopes, and KB scaling. Though it can make rock solid patches and simple FM, and adds an analog feel of its own.

Rhino is also powerfull (see Himalaya soundset for terrific ambient and cool patches)

Thus for me the FM king is still Fm7 (Maybe because it is very close of Yamaha hw synths, so its a kind of nostalgia ....) I was for sometimes very doubtful in the real opportunity to get FM8, but I wasn't disapointed. It adds even more features.

And afaik no Vsti can import TG77 (or SY77) patches, cos it would imply to have access to the Yamaha copyrighted samples libs of the TG ( The reason why I still have a TG in my rack :))

My 0.002 $

LtZ
http://www.lelotusbleu.fr Synth Presets

77 Exclusive Soundbanks for 23 synths, 8 Sound Designers, Hours of audio Demos. The Sound you miss might be there

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Well, I got the FM8... and I have a TX802 so the first thing I tried was to put the same syx preset on both and listen. i tried with several sounds and all i can say is that the FM8 is really close to the TX802.. but...
The lower octaves are clearly more punchy with the TX802. The TX802 keeps it's strenght on the whole keyboard while the same sound on the FM8 loose bite on the lower octaves. Now really I don't know what to do. The idea was to buy the FM8 and sell the TX802 but after comparison, I really don't know. The FM8 is really powerfull with a lot of extra features and easy to edit. The TX802 is a pain to manage, but it has this strong solid sound...

damn...

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honestly, although I don't own it ( I have my own crappy VSTi that I use for fm ) Sytrus needs to be in that list. For me the demo seemed a bit hard to use in some regards, but i don't put that down to any flaw in the synth but rather the style of envelopes, and lfo's that I am used to. But it's very powerful. I like the use of additive synthesis to generate the waveforms, and the two types of modulation. Quite good, what? :hihi:

on the subject of FM, PM: this might have been mentioned and I missed it, but the point of distinguishing between the two is that several VSTis offer both in one synth (like my aforementioned 'crappy VSTi', Phase7 for those unfortunate enough to have it - I use it as penance for having released such a crap synth into the wild). One matrix for PM, another for 'true' FM.
The way it was always differentiated in my circles was Yamaha style FM.

on the subject of hardware vs soft: this will sound daft, but I honestly prefer my old DX21 to any of the software when it comes to bass and lead sounds. I am not going to try to analyze, or quantify that, and I don't think it really means anything, what with sound being such a seemingly subjective thing. But, yeah; I can see why some really hear the difference between the DX and FM7/8.
If you can find a TX81z, jump on that mothafucka!
resistors are futile you will be simulated
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mao wrote:Well, I got the FM8... and I have a TX802 so the first thing I tried was to put the same syx preset on both and listen. i tried with several sounds and all i can say is that the FM8 is really close to the TX802.. but...
The lower octaves are clearly more punchy with the TX802. The TX802 keeps it's strenght on the whole keyboard while the same sound on the FM8 loose bite on the lower octaves. Now really I don't know what to do. The idea was to buy the FM8 and sell the TX802 but after comparison, I really don't know. The FM8 is really powerfull with a lot of extra features and easy to edit. The TX802 is a pain to manage, but it has this strong solid sound...

damn...
Zeus! :o
I would never advise a nice person like you to sell an 802 unless you had a starving pet or something. :hihi:
resistors are futile you will be simulated
Soundcloud
T4M

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mao wrote:Well, I got the FM8... and I have a TX802 so the first thing I tried was to put the same syx preset on both and listen. i tried with several sounds and all i can say is that the FM8 is really close to the TX802.. but...
The lower octaves are clearly more punchy with the TX802. The TX802 keeps it's strenght on the whole keyboard while the same sound on the FM8 loose bite on the lower octaves. Now really I don't know what to do. The idea was to buy the FM8 and sell the TX802 but after comparison, I really don't know. The FM8 is really powerfull with a lot of extra features and easy to edit. The TX802 is a pain to manage, but it has this strong solid sound...

damn...
Yeah + it has this round robin output feature wich makes it quite kewl for some chromatic or Fx Fm percs. (Use 8 audio inputs in the mixer though :? )

Still have a Tx802 with a 512 patches ram :-o in a rack too, but tbh I use it rather rarely :wink:

LtZ
http://www.lelotusbleu.fr Synth Presets

77 Exclusive Soundbanks for 23 synths, 8 Sound Designers, Hours of audio Demos. The Sound you miss might be there

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thenumber23 wrote:Does anyone know if there is some plugin that can import Yamaha TG-77 (SY-77) presets (basically, FM + samples). I wrote some songs with the TG that I really miss :-)
Nope. You'd need a ripped copy of the SY's sample ROM to make it happen, and I don't see Yamaha allowing that.

ew
A spectral heretic...

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i bet Yamaha could make some good money with a little USB2 box of DSP chips and stuff which could emulate all the old DX synths, and the SY / TG stuff. I would be in, no problem. A vsti front end, USB2 and MIDI ports, integrated power supply (no wall warts, dammit).

huh. dare to dream. I guess this probably isnt the best place for speculative dreams of hardware products. but what the hell.
resistors are futile you will be simulated
Soundcloud
T4M

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mungocherry33 wrote:Well I did the Blue/Albino sale deal for $170. Both DL-only . I though that was reasonable.
What deal is that? I can't see anything about it on the RP site (but then it's a terrible site to browse)

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Back when I had a TG-77, I never liked the PCM-samples. One of the reasons I sold it (a second time) was due to the fact that so many patches relied on those samples.

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MitchK1989 wrote:There's not JUST the FM knob between the oscs. There's also the ability for a single OSC to become a 3 or 4 operator FM synth in itself. So Surge gives you 3 mini FM synths that can then FM each other, plus the dual filter section, tons of LFOs and Envelopes, etc.

Surge is a VERY nice FM synth, but it is not laid out like a DX7.
Huh. Well, I was working from my memory of trying the demo a few weeks ago. To my mind, it wasn't an FM synth, so much as a very nice evolution of the z3ta+ concept, which happened to have FM as one of its tools. I'd call it a hybrid rather than an FM synth. Not that there's anything wrong with that. :)

mungocherry33 wrote:I'm not trying to be a smart-ass, as I have FM8 and Rhino 2, and like them both a lot, but why do you still have the others, foosnark? Meaning do you still utilize them in some way? I may be interested in FM Heaven if you ever want to get rid of it.
When I buy a synth I tend to use it in a track... and then I don't want to get rid of it if I find something I like better later, in case I revisit that track later on. :shrug:

I do still fire them up every once in a while, mostly for a different perspective.

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aMUSEd wrote:
mungocherry33 wrote:Well I did the Blue/Albino sale deal for $170. Both DL-only . I though that was reasonable.
What deal is that? I can't see anything about it on the RP site (but then it's a terrible site to browse)
The offer was both on Rob Papen and Linplug web site. Buy Blue get Albino/buy Albino get Blue. It has been talked alot here on kvr, strange you miss it. Unfortunately the offer ended yesterday.

edit: Sorry, just saw the $170. I don't know what offer is that. Pretty good deal!

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Hi all,

I'm surprised that no one's mentioned Odo's FM synths.

I've used Purple 2 (four operator) quite a lot - it appears in my latest song if anyone heard it - and I'm now evaluating Double Six. These are the only FM synths I have ever used apart from real hardware Yamahas - I own a DX21 and I played a DX7 rather a lot in the 80's - and they seem to do the job quite admirably.

Factor in the price - Purple is free and Double Six is donationware - and it's hard to see what more you could want.
Last edited by daniel_baum on Fri Jan 02, 2009 10:26 am, edited 1 time in total.

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xx JPRacer xx wrote:
aMUSEd wrote:
mungocherry33 wrote:Well I did the Blue/Albino sale deal for $170. Both DL-only . I though that was reasonable.
What deal is that? I can't see anything about it on the RP site (but then it's a terrible site to browse)
The offer was both on Rob Papen and Linplug web site. Buy Blue get Albino/buy Albino get Blue. It has been talked alot here on kvr, strange you miss it. Unfortunately the offer ended yesterday.

edit: Sorry, just saw the $170. I don't know what offer is that. Pretty good deal!
I got it from Audio-Midi. They did a price match of the price ScitScat had it for. I don't remember if A-M had it for $179 or $189 originally, but at most places it was $199. You always have to comparison shop. That way you buy Novation V-Station for $69.00 at NovaMusik instead of $250, at most online retailers. :wink:

MC33
Where have all the adverbs gone?

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daniel_baum wrote:Hi all,

I'm surprised that no one's mentioned Odo's FM synths.

I've used Purple 2 (four operator) quite a lot - it appears in my latest song if anyone heard it - and I'm now evaluating Double Six. These are the only FM synths I have ever used apart from real hardware Yamahas - I own a DX21 and I played a DX7 rather a lot in the 80's - and they seem to do the job quit equite admirably.

Factor in the price - Purple is free and Double Six is donationware - and it's hard to see what more you could want.
Just checked out Double Six. This one suffers from the same problems as FM7 and the other FM-VSTi. Here's a simple test: Do a simple chord sequence, quantize it and play it back with various of the bass programms in VOPM. Notice the crisp attack and clear texture. Now play back the sequence with any bass or key preset on any of the other synths. You might have to transpose an octave or even two. Notice how muddy the attack is, how weak the overall timbre is, the muddyness of the bass and the smear in the high end. And this is just entry-level 4-operator FM on part of VOPM.

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I just realized there's the source code of VOPM availible on the website. Maybe some designer here can take a look at it and find out what is different to the other software VSTi (and go on to make a 6-op version :-))?

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