Are There Any Good Hardware FM Synthesizers?

[The Chase]

"Good" is subjective of course, but tunability is what I'm looking for. I'm looking for an FM synthesizer with as many parameters with exclusive corresponding knobs/sliders/buttons on the interface as possible (like vintage analogs did), as opposed to something like the DX7, the programming of which making me want to stab a baby in the face with a broken bottle. I'm looking for something with around the functionality of a DX7 except with a straight-up mod matrix...does anything close to this even exist?

[Shy]

Nope, no such thing. And the only way I'd program a DX7 or a TG77 (which is much more versatile/powerful but with even less "hands-on") is with a software editor, unless I want to become suicidal.

[himalaya]

There used to be a way to get analog style tweakbility:
http://www.synrise.de/guests/lorenz/col ... nghDX.html

Oh, I'd love one of those....mmm dream on...


Sy77/99 TG77 has made 'hardware' FM rather easy, I'd say. Time consuming due to all the pages, but not difficult. So, one of these would be my choice for a hardware FM synth.

[Shy]

Wow, that's a lotta knobs! Very cool, I wouldn't mind having one.
As for SY/TG77/99 pages, right, probably the "friendliest" of them all, but so slow and frustrating to tweak I'd tear my hair off if I had to do everything from the hardware itself nowadays. Sound Diver has opened up so much creative use of these synths it's amazing. I often tweak something just a bit, and then another kind of parameter a bit, and then back. If I had to do that with the hardware menus, oh god..

[fac]

Sure there are.

Cheap one:

Yamaha DX-200, which is a groovebox version of the DX7. You can do lots of crazy stuff with the front panel knobs, and there's a software editor for detailed tweaking.

Expensive one:

Nord Modular G2. It can emulate the DX7 architecture very easily, since the DX7 operator has been encapsulated into a single module, and there's also the DX Routing module which routes various operator modules according to the DX7 algorithms. But since it's modular, you can add as many operators as the CPU permits (and trust me, you can add a lot). Plus you can map any parameter to the front panel knobs - there are 8 knobs, but thanks to a clever switching system, you can access up to 120 parameters in realtime.

I replaced my DX-200, MicroModular, one MS2000R, and some other stuff with a G2, and I don't regret it a bit. The G2 can do that stuff and better. I'm thinking I could also get rid of my other MS2000R and my ER-1.

Check the latest SonicState video on synthesis techniques. It's about FM and all the examples are done with a G2.

[The Chase]

The G2 is an example of what I stay away from in hardware though.

To me, the entire advantage to hardware is having parameters right spit on the front panel. Not having direct access to parameters and having to map parameters to interface knobs/sliders completely diminishes the point of using digital hardware to me. Mapping G2's inner parameters to the few knobs on its interface isn't much more advantageous than mapping FM7/Dexter parameters to a midi controller, IMO.

Sorry, I should have made this part clear in the OP

[Shy]

DX200 has just a few knobs, hardly enough to get the full potential out of the synth. If he has another synth or controller he could assign its knobs for the same functionality. Nord Modular G2 isn't better in that regard either . As for features, I wouldn't get DX200, TG77 is much better, and G2 can't do what it can either (though of course it's a great synth for all kinds of stuff regardless).

[himalaya]

I thought that DX200 was a 4-op FM, I have just double checked it and it is the full monty with 6-op. Nice.

Clavia Nord Lead 3 can do 4 op FM, but obviously it's not as fully featured in the FM department as DX7.

I think there is room in the H/D synth market for an FM synth that looks like the above Jellinghouse controller. Clavia are in a good position to release someting like that, me thinks...having those instant visual feedback knobs would be divine.

[Compyfox]

Why not build one yourself, Chase?

www.ucapps.de

Still need to knock down that mbSID project I'm pushing in front of myself for years now.

[fac]

The G2 is an example of what I stay away from in hardware though.

To me, the entire advantage to hardware is having parameters right spit on the front panel. Not having direct access to parameters and having to map parameters to interface knobs/sliders completely diminishes the point of using digital hardware to me. Mapping G2's inner parameters to the few knobs on its interface isn't much more advantageous than mapping FM7/Dexter parameters to a midi controller, IMO.

Sorry, I should have made this part clear in the OP

Well, you asked for a hardware FM synth with AS MANY parameters mapped to front panel controls, not ALL of them. I still think the Nord Modulars are among the very few synths that fill those requisites, since you can select which knobs will control which parameter on a per-patch basis.

Consider any other FM synth whose interface is page-based. How many parameters can you fit in each page? 2? 4, maybe? How many parameters would you require per each operator? Say, 16? So you would need to go through 4 to 8 pages to tweak a single operator.

With the G2 you can map 8 parameters per page, that's two pages per operator (one page for the envelope parameters, and one page for the rest). If you have siz operators, you would need 12 pages. The G2 gives you 15, so you can use the other pages for algorithm selection, keyboard tuning, etc. And you can access any page with at most 2 button clicks, you don't have to navigate endlessly to find the parameter you need to tweak.

Trust me, as far as hardware goes, I think the G2 is the best option for FM synthesis right now, both soundwise and interface-wise. I don't know how it would measure up against a softsynth + knob controller combo, but I would say it would hold up pretty well. With a typical MIDI controller, you have to remember which knob is mapped to which parameter, whereas the G2 has LCD displays for that. The G2 knobs are high-resolution rotaries, not those common 7-bit value knobs, so all tweaks are very smooth. Plus it's 100% modular, so you can do things like inserting a vocoder in the algorithm's routing or filtering an operator. I don't think you could do that with FM8 or the TG77.

[m0j0byrd]

The Zeroscillator along with an analog VCF and VCA would probably be just the thing, unfortunately the price puts it within select reach.

On the other hand, as mentioned by Compyfox, ucapps.de is a wonderful resource for those interested in building their own gear. Besides the MIDIbox Sid variations, there is also the MIDIbox FM based on the Yamaha OPL3 chip. Some MIDIboxers feed the output of their MBFM into an analog VCF which can also be CV controlled from the MBFM interface. There are a couple samples on the site demonstrating its capabilities.

[fac]

TG77 is much better, and G2 can't do what it can either.

Like what? It's a serious question.

Except for sample-based stuff, I don't think there's much the G2 cannot do.

[Shy]

G2 can't use samples as carriers, not sure how two 6op sections would work on it (and definitely polyphony would be hurt, not so with TG77), and it sounds nothing like a TG77, especially with some "unconventional" (which is some of what FM is best for for my taste) routings and "gritty" settings.

[Cygnus X-1]

The Yamaha FS1R was the pinnacle of FM hardware synth IMO. It's a pain to program as it is a very deep synth with a minute interface. With an editor like this: http://www4.airnet.ne.jp/k_take/fs1r_ed ... glish.html



programming should not be too bad.

[Shy]

The FS1r is not an "FM synth", it's a "Formant Shaping / FM synth". As a pure FM synth, it's not really complex. Its unique architecture is what makes it such a unique, great sounding synth.