NI FM9 ever?

[nominil]

NI FM8 Sounds like crap compared to the Yamaha Montage FM-X

programing the montage is so annoying though. my neck starts hurt about 5 minutes into to leaning over that stupid touch screen. it's a nightmare imo. i don't enjoy anything about that synth really.. even as powerful as it is. it might as well be covered in dirty kitty litter.

There’s apparently an unsupported way to connect a large display (even a touch display) to the Montage and the MODX. It’d probably still be annoying, but it’d be less of a pain in the neck.

I’m waiting on the opsix and hoping that the pandemic hasn’t pushed it back by a half a decade or something.

[dayjob]

NI FM8 Sounds like crap compared to the Yamaha Montage FM-X

programing the montage is so annoying though. my neck starts hurt about 5 minutes into to leaning over that stupid touch screen. it's a nightmare imo. i don't enjoy anything about that synth really.. even as powerful as it is. it might as well be covered in dirty kitty litter.

There’s apparently an unsupported way to connect a large display (even a touch display) to the Montage and the MODX. It’d probably still be annoying, but it’d be less of a pain in the neck.

I’m waiting on the opsix and hoping that the pandemic hasn’t pushed it back by a half a decade or something.

i spoke with the yamaha reps several times and got demos and walk throughs etc of the montage. it's very powerful. the interface imo is just dogsh1t though. that's the trappings of that type of synth though.. w/everything and the kitchen sink under the hood. having discussions w/them about it and especially FM i questioned the market for it and acknowledged there's a board of people (managers, marketing etc etc) who have their say in making something like that.. or anything at a big company like yamaha.

I pleaded with them to pass up the chain that they should make a modern FM synth that looks like a nord lead or something in that ball park. something with knobs and sliders and a smart UI. they said "yeah.. we know _everyone_ tells us that but all the ears above us are deaf when it comes to that"

and i understand.. i mean.. they're out there hustling trying to make a living. it's not like they're gonna go die on that hill even id it makes sense. I think they fundamentally don't understand what people in the electronic music world want. the only reason the reface stuff happened is because it was one engineer's pet project and he sold them on it. reface DX is fun btw.

anyway.. FM8.. yeah.. i'd love FM9 w/some upgraded features/UI/FX. not holding my breath.

[Muziksculp]

NI FM8 Sounds like crap compared to the Yamaha Montage FM-X

programing the montage is so annoying though. my neck starts hurt about 5 minutes into to leaning over that stupid touch screen. it's a nightmare imo. i don't enjoy anything about that synth really.. even as powerful as it is. it might as well be covered in dirty kitty litter.

Once you learn how to use the Montage efficiently, and get used to its stupid touch screen, you will not keep it covered in kitty litter.

had one at work for like 2 years. hated every minute of it. it's a really powerful synth but i'd' rather use almost anything else.

You can purchase the John Melas Complete Montage Editing Programs. There is a FM-X editor included so you don't have to use the Montage Touch Screen menus to edit it.

Check these editors here : http://www.jmelas.gr/montage/perf.php

Here is a pic of the FM-X editors showing one of the editing pages, each editing a Montage Part of a Performance. Also shown behind them is the Montage Performance Editor.

[dayjob]

You can purchase the John Melas Complete Montage Editing Programs. There is a FM-X editor included so you don't have to use the Montage Touch Screen menus to edit it.

Check these editors here : http://www.jmelas.gr/montage/perf.php

it's good that that exists. i've no use for them since i don't own a montage. though, it seems w/a better UI an editor wouldn't be needed. but it does kinda do everything. for $3k yamaha should make their own editor and provide it for free.

[leeleema]

I use FM8 more now than I did 10 years or so, when I first bought it. I think it has aged remarkably well. For me, FM8 and Ableton's Operator are the best FM vsts. I agree with earlier comments that the GUI could be improved but I do believe it was way ahead of its time with its ease of programming (operator matrix), stackable quality fx, versatile arp and morphing ability, amongst others. I think an FM9 is totally feasible and would be relatively easy to improve on FM8. I reckon it should have:

1) FS1R 16 operators and formant shaping. The FS1R was really hard to program because of the small window but an FM-8 style operator matrix would be perfect
2) multitimbral mode like D16 Lush-101 (e.g. be nice to have different arp settings on different voices)
3) a single main window/generally tightening up of the GUI/rethink - look at how much Operator crams into such a small space
4) improved filters/different approach to this (see Ableton Operator's hybrid use of analogue filters)
5) presets re-think e.g. why is FM8's third bank called 'transient attacks'?

I think these alone are more than enough for an update and programmers would presumably be using the same basic engine as FM8. £29 update for current users, same price as Massive X for new users. Loads of people have FM-8 so there's already a user base and would be an incentive for Komplete too (new stuff for that seems to be drying up).

Btw, did anyone use to have an FS1R? That was a very nice looking rackmount. I look back on mine with rose tinted glasses as I used to look at it more than actually use it.

[cryophonik]

Btw, did anyone use to have an FS1R? That was a very nice looking rackmount. I look back on mine with rose tinted glasses as I used to look at it more than actually use it.

Had one years ago and loved the sound, but couldn’t program anything usable with it to save my life, so it was basically a preset machine. I’ve always wished NI or Rob Papen would incorporate formant sequencing into FM8 or Blue.

[v1o]

The new leadership may bring about not just change but also new software updates. We needs updates not just to FM8 but also Pro52, B4, Battery and Kore. Basically all abandoned or discontinued software.

I just don't see all that happening. That sounds wildly expensive.

My guess is NI will focus on core products that allow them to sell/create other content. Example: let's do a big Kontakt overhaul, because there are a ton of Kontakt libraries produced by us and others that make us money beyond the initial sale. Let's do the same for Reaktor and Maschine. You get the initial sale + additional revenue from add-on content which can be produced quickly, cheaply, by lots of different people. I could be totally wrong, but it seems like if you were trying to cut costs and maximize revenue, that'd be the way to go compared to dedicating a bunch of developers to a single product for years and years where you sell a single license and not much else tied to it.

Yes I agree its expensive to keep maintaining these products. But NI's main schtick is flogging Komplete and the legacy stuff helps sell Komplete. The sheer quantity and variety of stuff you get with Komplete is a selling point IMO. My guess is that NI will at some point move to a subscription model for both Komplete and their add-on content selling business. That should solve some of the issues of how to finance continued development of legacy stuff. Kind of how Netflix works, the subscription model allows them to produce vast amounts of content (some of which is very niche) that would otherwise not be profitable to make under other business models.

[v1o]

You can forget about Pro-53, Kore and B4 returning. Battery is not abandoned nor discontinued.

They only do maintenance updates and there isn't any active development like with Maschine. So Battery 4 is on life support. There's newer more forward thinking stuff like XO and Algonaut Atlus that show how Battery is still stuck in 2013.

[v1o]

NI FM8 Sounds like crap compared to the Yamaha Montage FM-X

programing the montage is so annoying though. my neck starts hurt about 5 minutes into to leaning over that stupid touch screen. it's a nightmare imo. i don't enjoy anything about that synth really.. even as powerful as it is. it might as well be covered in dirty kitty litter.

You need to improve the ergonomics of your work space and maybe even your posture. Honestly I'd take that over hours of mousing about in FM8.

[leeleema]

The new leadership may bring about not just change but also new software updates. We needs updates not just to FM8 but also Pro52, B4, Battery and Kore. Basically all abandoned or discontinued software.

I just don't see all that happening. That sounds wildly expensive.

My guess is NI will focus on core products that allow them to sell/create other content. Example: let's do a big Kontakt overhaul, because there are a ton of Kontakt libraries produced by us and others that make us money beyond the initial sale. Let's do the same for Reaktor and Maschine. You get the initial sale + additional revenue from add-on content which can be produced quickly, cheaply, by lots of different people. I could be totally wrong, but it seems like if you were trying to cut costs and maximize revenue, that'd be the way to go compared to dedicating a bunch of developers to a single product for years and years where you sell a single license and not much else tied to it.

Yes I agree its expensive to keep maintaining these products. But NI's main schtick is flogging Komplete and the legacy stuff helps sell Komplete. The sheer quantity and variety of stuff you get with Komplete is a selling point IMO. My guess is that NI will at some point move to a subscription model for both Komplete and their add-on content selling business. That should solve some of the issues of how to finance continued development of legacy stuff. Kind of how Netflix works, the subscription model allows them to produce vast amounts of content (some of which is very niche) that would otherwise not be profitable to make under other business models.

I really hope not. I mean it wouldn't affect me, but it would set a bad precedent, I think. I wonder what the appetite is from a consumer point of view? I always think subscription based models suit studios etc more than individuals, but I could be wrong. PA would be a good a measure as they operate a dual system - individual purchases and a subscription based model, but I doubt they'd freely share their stats. Also, the Roland Cloud, which from hearsay on here, a lot of individuals won't even touch because it is a subscription based model. We could always do a straw poll on here. No doubt the larger companies like NI would have a good look at that!

[midi_transmission]

I stopped using fm8 because I fear it might be discontinued and I have alternatives. FM9 would be great.

I also prepare myself to leave NI complete in case they go full subscription only or with a model were buying individual plugins/bundles doesn't make sense from a price point, so you go sub or don't buy anything.

I'm fine with more frequent small and cheap upgrades per plugin. It's not that I don't want to give them some money.

Really love the Komplete scheme and hope that they stick to something similar. Rent to own is also great as an option for many.

[dayjob]

NI FM8 Sounds like crap compared to the Yamaha Montage FM-X

programing the montage is so annoying though. my neck starts hurt about 5 minutes into to leaning over that stupid touch screen. it's a nightmare imo. i don't enjoy anything about that synth really.. even as powerful as it is. it might as well be covered in dirty kitty litter.

You need to improve the ergonomics of your work space and maybe even your posture. Honestly I'd take that over hours of mousing about in FM8.

there's only so many ways to place a 50 pound synth that's the size of car dashboard. it really wouldn't have mattered much to me honestly. i hated every minute of using it. programming on any reasonably design soft synth UI is way faster for me.

you can make default patches in the Montage and have shortcuts to starting places but these were only incremental improvements for me. it's a wealth of parameters in the FM engine. really deep with lot's of possibilities. tons of envelopes and 88 algorithms i think.. also several ways to set up modulation controls on the front panel... still.. it wasn't for me. I had way more fun and was more satisfied making FM sounds on the super simple FM engine in the nordlead 3 or my DX-11. ymmv of course.

[Dirtgrain]

You need to improve the ergonomics of your work space and maybe even your posture.

[EvilDragon]

I also prepare myself to leave NI complete in case they go full subscription only

That won't happen. Subscription would be an option, but not THE ONLY option, to purchase NI products. However it's not gonna happen for quite some time yet.

[Timfonie]

For quite some time ... which doesn't sound reassuring. The appeal of continues revenue streams is favoring subscription models over one time purchases. Well, for the software provider that is. For the users it's mostly giving away control.