Favorite FM synth in Reason and why?

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TritoneAddiction
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22 Jan 2017

There are some similarities in all of them, but there's also a couple of things that make each of them unique.

PX7
Zero
FM4
RYM

I think that's all of them.

Which one(s) do you prefer to use and why?

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TritoneAddiction
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22 Jan 2017

First of all my knowledge and experience with FM synthesis is very minimal at this point. But I've tried all four of them very briefly.

FM4 was the last one I tried and it's my favorite for sure.
I'm personally not a fan of too many options and since I find FM synthesis in general still a bit confusing this one was the first I really clicked with.
It has made the whole FM thing so much easier for me and I find it's pretty easy to make my own patches with it.
I think I'll stick to this one for a while before getting into the other ones.

I only use Zero as a good sounding preset bank. The whole thing is just too overwhelming for me to work with. Of course Zero is so much more than just an FM synth.

I like the concept of RYM but for whatever reason I found FM4 much more intuitive.

PX7, I scrolled through some presets at my brothers place, tweaked a couple of knobs. Can't really say anything about with so little time spent with it.

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Loque
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22 Jan 2017

You forgot Thor... And a few other, that have FM.
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RequiemMachine
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22 Jan 2017

Zero for sure. The thing is a powerhouse for sound design. Its the closest thing FL Studio's Sytrus. It can be as simple or complex as you want it to be.
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Creativemind
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22 Jan 2017

FM4 certainly looks good but that's just from a visual perspective. You forgot Thor with an FM Pair oscillator off your list ;)

Sorry, already posted now but Thor was already mentioned above. I think the OP may have been speculating a specialised FM synth though.
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Creativemind
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22 Jan 2017

RequiemMachine wrote:Zero for sure. The thing is a powerhouse for sound design. Its the closest thing FL Studio's Sytrus. It can be as simple or complex as you want it to be.
Just checked out Sytrus on Fruity, amazing that is. It's got about 450 presets too, wow!

Zero does look similar and sounds good.
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scratchnsnifff
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22 Jan 2017

I love zero because I can watch fm8 and sytrus tutorials and follow along so that makes it very useful in my book. Px7 gets a lot of use because you can scroll through the algorithms and it's fun linking up a pulsar to the operators, which can yield awesome growl patches. Fm4 is also useful for quick growl patches, the detune/unison is also quite hefty and finally Thor's fm paid oscillators have been underused by myself but as of recent they are actually pretty easy to use idk I just use fm for heavy dubstep sounds but that's the order I'd place them for my favorites
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dvdrtldg
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22 Jan 2017

FM4 is a beast and I love it for thick nasty sounds, especially basses. Easy to program, you can get good results fast

Zero is one of those synths you can get lost in for an entire afternoon, I don't always have the time to get into it but it's a powerhouse. Great for pads and FX

PX7 I couldn't get to like at all. Spent a lot of time with it during the trial period, but it didn't really appeal. And the thought of 65 billion available presets (or whatever it is) is my idea of hell

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raymondh
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22 Jan 2017

PX7 for old-skool FM. (aka 80s DX7)

Zero for contemporary FM.

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TritoneAddiction
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23 Jan 2017

Loque wrote:You forgot Thor... And a few other, that have FM.
Which other synths have I forgot?
I'll add them to the list.

Thor
Expanse has some FM modulation.

Anything else?

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raymondh
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23 Jan 2017

TritoneAddiction wrote:
Loque wrote:You forgot Thor... And a few other, that have FM.
Which other synths have I forgot?
I'll add them to the list.

Thor
Expanse has some FM modulation.

Anything else?
Technically these synths qualify, but practically I think we're scraping the bottom of the barrel. I can't see anyone calling out that they're so pleased they have Thor or eXpanse for their FM capabilities.

Remember the whole premise of an FM synth is about taking one oscillator and using it to create rich harmonics in another oscillator (using Frequency Modulation).

We don't open Thor or eXpanse and start thinking "which oscillator will be the carrier and which will be the modulator".

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TritoneAddiction
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23 Jan 2017

raymondh wrote:
TritoneAddiction wrote:
Loque wrote:You forgot Thor... And a few other, that have FM.
Which other synths have I forgot?
I'll add them to the list.

Thor
Expanse has some FM modulation.

Anything else?
Technically these synths qualify, but practically I think we're scraping the bottom of the barrel. I can't see anyone calling out that they're so pleased they have Thor or eXpanse for their FM capabilities.

Remember the whole premise of an FM synth is about taking one oscillator and using it to create rich harmonics in another oscillator (using Frequency Modulation).

We don't open Thor or eXpanse and start thinking "which oscillator will be the carrier and which will be the modulator".
True. I'll leave it the way it is then.

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Marco Raaphorst
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23 Jan 2017

Thor is killer, not only because of the FM module but also because it can do FM modulation on it's own oscillators. You can route for example any synth into Thor and FM modulate its oscillators.

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O1B
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23 Jan 2017

Linear vs Exponential FM Synthesis... useful:


Moog The SOURCE
ARP Odessey
DX-11 Algorithm 1

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O1B
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23 Jan 2017

Not an RE, but for DSP purposes, Subtractor is Perfect:
Image

hope Hydlide doesn't mind me Posting but this is Awesome:
FM pair is "based on using sine waves" vs Thor

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Vince-Noir-99
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23 Jan 2017

O1B wrote:Not an RE, but for DSP purposes, Subtractor is Perfect:
Image

hope Hydlide doesn't mind me Posting but this is Awesome:
FM pair is "based on using sine waves" vs Thor

True. I love Subtractor so much. It's amazing how it stands the test of time (as well as Malstrom and Thor of course).

Speaking of FM synths in general, I've given a look at Zero and it seems quite deep. Probably the RE which could bring any Ableton Operator needs into Reason? Henke's Operator is so flexible, I think if I had to pick one best of the best synths it would be it.

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alex
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23 Jan 2017

Marco Raaphorst wrote:Thor is killer, not only because of the FM module but also because it can do FM modulation on it's own oscillators. You can route for example any synth into Thor and FM modulate its oscillators.
+1 to that and in Thor you can FM modulate the filters also!

Also Subtractor has quite nice FM capabilities imo.
The best things happen after reading the manual. ;)
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Karim
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23 Jan 2017

alex wrote:
Marco Raaphorst wrote:Thor is killer, not only because of the FM module but also because it can do FM modulation on it's own oscillators. You can route for example any synth into Thor and FM modulate its oscillators.
+1 to that and in Thor you can FM modulate the filters also!

Also Subtractor has quite nice FM capabilities imo.
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O1B
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23 Jan 2017

I never got Zero. Went with a Volca FM in the "real world"
Vince-Noir-99 wrote:Speaking of FM synths in general, I've given a look at Zero and it seems quite deep. Probably the RE which could bring any Ableton Operator needs into Reason? Henke's Operator is so flexible, I think if I had to pick one best of the best synths it would be it.
I just checking out: How to Create TR-808 Style Drums in Abletons Operator w Robert Henke (Monolake) Kadenze
(Vimeo) Very, very nice. That's a video to be studied.

Thanks.

Jiggery Pokery's Ammo 100LA Modular OSC is almost always loaded for something.
Sounds great, a Breeze to manipulate (don't mind mousing that one), and - with a Subtactor's MOD input (BACK),
you can go to town FMing, AMing, Ring Modding, TREEmellowing, VIBratoeing,...,
DUB Step Wabbliing, SHEARing, Streetching, STRAINing...

Add: One Cup Subtrator. Teaspoon AMMO 100LA. (RE for CV scaling from the "FRONT", if desired)

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alex
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23 Jan 2017

O1B wrote:
Jiggery Pokery's Ammo 100LA Modular OSC is almost always loaded for something.
Sounds great, a Breeze to manipulate (don't mind mousing that one), and - with a Subtactor's MOD input (BACK),
you can go to town FMing, AMing, Ring Modding, TREEmellowing, VIBratoeing,...,
DUB Step Wabbliing, SHEARing, Streetching, STRAINing...

Add: One Cup Subtrator. Teaspoon AMMO 100LA. (RE for CV scaling from the "FRONT", if desired)
Wait... Are you just saying that AMMO 100LA has audio-rate FM capabilities? Whoa... I've never realized that! This opens up a world of new sounds... Can't wait to get home to try that! Thanks for the heads up man! How could I have missed it!
The best things happen after reading the manual. ;)
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submonsterz
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23 Jan 2017

Are any of the "digital synths" doing fm or phase mod interpritation instead ???................

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modecca
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23 Jan 2017

TritoneAddiction wrote:There are some similarities in all of them, but there's also a couple of things that make each of them unique.

PX7
Zero
FM4
RYM

I think that's all of them.

Which one(s) do you prefer to use and why?
I dont know if any one mentioned quad.
It has 2 areas that can do fm and the wave shape fm is sick.
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O1B
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23 Jan 2017

AMMO can do FM in conjunction with a Subt/Synth is what I'm saying .

JP can better describe the full range of fxs (if they read this) but from my little knowledge,
it can do LOW .001 - 30 Hz,
HIGH 30 -8372HZ
-36 to +36 semitone range or -50 to +50 Cents
Audio and CV Out for the Waves is Killer.
Lectric Panda's Skope M4 is perfect for this. So is JanitorCV for tweaking.

AMMO 400R is a Good Next Step. 4 in 1, a MOD section, and a Ptich/MOD wheel, Performance Control options.
alex wrote:
O1B wrote:
Jiggery Pokery's Ammo 100LA Modular OSC is almost always loaded for something.
Sounds great, a Breeze to manipulate (don't mind mousing that one), and - with a Subtactor's MOD input (BACK),
you can go to town FMing, AMing, Ring Modding, TREEmellowing, VIBratoeing,...,
DUB Step Wabbliing, SHEARing, Streetching, STRAINing...

Add: One Cup Subtrator. Teaspoon AMMO 100LA. (RE for CV scaling from the "FRONT", if desired)
Wait... Are you just saying that AMMO 100LA has audio-rate FM capabilities? Whoa... I've never realized that! This opens up a world of new sounds... Can't wait to get home to try that! Thanks for the heads up man! How could I have missed it!

mojo
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23 Jan 2017

My fav is fm4 easy to use and a dirty sound. i don't really understand fm synthesis but with some random tweaks i often get some nice sound to sample.
I own zéro but it's too CPU hungry for my computer.
I also own px7 and I don't like it much, maybe I didn't spent enough time on it but i rarely got interesting sound with it.

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EnochLight
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23 Jan 2017

Blamsoft Zero is my favorite. It sounds freak'n fantastic and comes with a brilliant selection of patches. And the fact that it combines a rich FM synth with additive, subtractive, and RM synthesis just seals the deal IMHO.
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