FM4

[MrFigg]

RYM is magic. For some reason i usually load that one up before FM4. Think it’s because it’s blue.

Yes, yes it is. Both magic and blue.

Just to add, the RYM2612 developer offers a free tool to extract synth patches from SEGA Genesis/Megadrive game soundtracks:
https://www.inphonik.com/products/rymca ... gm-player/
https://project2612.org/list.php

PX7 gets you access to every DX7 patch ever conceived, plus endlessly generated new ones:
https://koshdukaimusicreason.blogspot.c ... -v1b8.html
https://www.thisdx7cartdoesnotexist.com
https://www.reasonstudios.com/dx7-px7-converter/

Don’t buy PX7. Just get Dexed VST for free. Pretty much the same thing if not better.

[kinkujin]

I'm not interested in the DX7 emulation per se, just would like to know more about FM and be able to use it in Reason. Some of those DX sounds are so ubiquitous as to be cliche. Not that cliche ever stopped me. hehe

[Loque]

Is FM4 the best (or only) FM synth in RE form? Educate and enlighten me, if you please. Thank you!

Zero is very flexible with FM. eXpanse is one of the big workhorses. And there are a lot of others supprting FM, like Ammo and a big bunch of toys i forgot.

[kinkujin]

Wow - had not heard of Zero. I think I will put this on my list. Blamsoft made me sit up and take notice.

[MrFigg]

Wow - had not heard of Zero. I think I will put this on my list. Blamsoft made me sit up and take notice.

Blamsoft rock!!!

[colonel_mustard]

I'm not interested in the DX7 emulation per se, just would like to know more about FM and be able to use it in Reason.

FM isn't as difficult as its rep suggests. If you have the signal flow down and understand what's doing what to whom when you turn a knob, then it's mostly listening. Maybe a pure tone morphs into noisy static, or a raspy, metallic growl. Try out the different ratios. Try a lot, and try a little. You'll recognise some familiar sounds as you go. Then you can start shaping the sound deliberately, by making envelopes and lfos turn the knobs for you. A noisy burst, going into a throbbing, growly swell isn't too hard and if you can do that on purpose, you'll be able to do more nuanced things. If you can shape a subtractive sound with a filter envelope and contain that within an amp envelope, you're most of the way there already. It's just more layers.

For making concepts click when I didn't know how to approach FM, I thought the Phasemaker manual was a good read.
http://ruismaker.com/wp-content/uploads ... _guide.pdf

Hope you find one you like

[kinkujin]

Thanks colonel_mustard. Appreciated!

[TritoneAddiction]

Is FM4 the best (or only) FM synth in RE form? Educate and enlighten me, if you please. Thank you!

I think it depends on what "best" means to you. What are you looking for in a synth?

FM4 is my personal favorite FM synth by far. It's just really fun and easy to work with. Very inspiring. Looks good.

Blamsofts Zero sounds great, but I hate working with it. Too complicated for me personally. I use it strictly as a good sounding preset machine. But if you're a synth nerd and a tweaker you'll probably have fun making your own patches too.

Both are great synths in their own way.

[kinkujin]

Did some more research and listening and when I saw that Blamsoft Zero was Rent-to-Own I grabbed it. Lovely.

[kinkujin]

I’m loving Zero and I’ve only gotten through the Pluck presets. Great synth.

[Fraxis]

Has anyone ever recreated the original DX7 presets in Zero? I would love to have those as starting points - and then be able to really pull them apart with the extra parameters. But it looks fiddly to match the original settings.

[Boombastix]

Has anyone ever recreated the original DX7 presets in Zero? I would love to have those as starting points - and then be able to really pull them apart with the extra parameters. But it looks fiddly to match the original settings.

Since Dexed is free and reads original DX7 sysex, I think you will have a hard time to find anyone who would be motivated to spend the time turn each knob in Zero to recreate presets in Zero.

What you could do though is, take PX7 repatch files and write a script and batch convert them into Zero patches. The ".repatch" data file is easy to read, you can open them in a simple text editor to look, and figure out how you translate each parameter settings.

Use this first to get PX7 repatch files from the original Sysex. https://www.reasonstudios.com/dx7-px7-converter/
Then your script can batch convert to Zero patches.

[fieldframe]

I'm not interested in the DX7 emulation per se, just would like to know more about FM and be able to use it in Reason.

FM isn't as difficult as its rep suggests. If you have the signal flow down and understand what's doing what to whom when you turn a knob, then it's mostly listening. Maybe a pure tone morphs into noisy static, or a raspy, metallic growl. Try out the different ratios. Try a lot, and try a little. You'll recognise some familiar sounds as you go. Then you can start shaping the sound deliberately, by making envelopes and lfos turn the knobs for you. A noisy burst, going into a throbbing, growly swell isn't too hard and if you can do that on purpose, you'll be able to do more nuanced things. If you can shape a subtractive sound with a filter envelope and contain that within an amp envelope, you're most of the way there already. It's just more layers.

For making concepts click when I didn't know how to approach FM, I thought the Phasemaker manual was a good read.
http://ruismaker.com/wp-content/uploads ... _guide.pdf

Hope you find one you like

This is great advice. "Mostly listening" is spot-on.

I think the hardest thing about FM when you're familiar with subtractive synthesis is how just a tiny tweak of a modulator can completely change a sound versus the intuitive, gradual sweep of a filter. You can't always sweep through a modulator like you sweep through a lowpass, because you'll miss some of the sounds hidden in certain ratios. It is, as you say, about listening, picking out those few degrees where an operator hits a tone you like, and then playing with the envelopes and LFOs to sculpt your patch.

[EdGrip]

Thanks for the link to the Phasemaker manual! I keep meaning to learn more about FM.
I find FM4 is a particularly inviting interface to get stuck in and mess with FM synthesis.

[Fraxis]

Has anyone ever recreated the original DX7 presets in Zero? I would love to have those as starting points - and then be able to really pull them apart with the extra parameters. But it looks fiddly to match the original settings.

Since Dexed is free and reads original DX7 sysex, I think you will have a hard time to find anyone who would be motivated to spend the time turn each knob in Zero to recreate presets in Zero.

What you could do though is, take PX7 repatch files and write a script and batch convert them into Zero patches. The ".repatch" data file is easy to read, you can open them in a simple text editor to look, and figure out how you translate each parameter settings.

Use this first to get PX7 repatch files from the original Sysex. https://www.reasonstudios.com/dx7-px7-converter/
Then your script can batch convert to Zero patches.

Excellent idea. I shall give it a go! Thanks for the suggestion.