FM synths

Hey there watmm..I know everybody wants an analogue subtractive synth around here,

but do any of you guys own a FM?

I've been browsing the internet lookin at prices and models...Mostly a bunch of Yamaha dx's.

Id like some input from any of you guys...I'm tired of my laptop going fritzy...IM GOIN HARDWARE!

Good question. I've been thinking of getting an FM or two myself.

I got a dirt cheap tx81z on the way in the mail.

i own a DX200 (the only groovebox fm synth yamaha made) a FS1R (the best & last beast fm synth yamaha made imo but with the crappiest interface imaginable) and a monomachine

i'm very happy with all 3.

Yamaha DX200 is a wicked, cheap FM groovebox.

  On 6/22/2010 at 10:41 PM, Retape said:

I got a dirt cheap tx81z on the way in the mail.

these are very nice and dirty, my friend owns one and it's fun to run our guitar synth through it

you can't edit a lot of the parameters just with the interface of the DX200. you have to use the software to be able to edit all the parameters, that's why I sold it tbf.

edit: you can edit loads of stuff though, you just have to use the software.

fm innit

the FS1R is something I've never tried but seems to be the daddy with 8 operators and formant sequencing

the Nord G2 also does FM very well

the FM7/8 is the most comprehensive in the classic FM sense and with it's grid matrix can go some places the others can't

the Monomachine has three excellent FM based machines which are easy to get to grips with although not as vast as a full blown 6 operator synth

a battered DX7 was my first ever synth

I got a slightly damaged dx27 off of craigslist.

I really like it. Seems like a dx7 would be nicer though.

  On 6/22/2010 at 11:09 PM, Awepittance said:

i own a DX200 (the only groovebox fm synth yamaha made) a FS1R (the best & last beast fm synth yamaha made imo but with the crappiest interface imaginable) and a monomachine

 

i'm very happy with all 3.

sorry to put you on the spot but do you have any all-in-the-box tracks from your DX200? hadn't really heard of it, but it looks fun. i've somehow avoided fm synthesis completely, except maybe in pspseq, getting more curious

I've got to use the Dx7. I had a room mate that "bought it cus it had midi"

and had no idea what fm synth event meant! He wont come off it...

The FS1R looks pretty tasty...havent found one for sale tho

The Dx200 could be a sound investment...

i have a yamaha DX200. it is the fucking bomb. something about cold, dead hands

  On 6/22/2010 at 11:43 PM, ieafs said:

is the dx200 hard to program or have limited capability? haven't looks into that much but it at least has a lot of tactile knobs there - but they might be more to do with sequencing or other things. i have hardly any experience with actually programming FM, but i obviously understand how it works so it seems like the interface is pretty key. otherwise you might have all this possibility but it if you've got to wade through menus all the time you might not really harness it. seems like a lot of people use(d) the dx7 in conjunction with a computer editing system or a programmer - is the dx200 kind of a cut rate version all-in-one version of that?

the FM programming interface is neutered for the sake of fitting it into a groovebox without making it annoying. BUT, it is 100% DX7 compatible, and you can get apps off the net to get access to the missing programming options. FM programming is easier to do on the computer anyways!

BONUS: it has a subtractive filter, cutoff and res, in addition to being DX7 compatible.

So, yeah: DX7+subtractive filter, 3x rhythm/bass sampler track with a good mixed bag of samples, decent multifx, and the groovebox/sequencing operations are tight as hell. free EG is neat, and the step sequencer is pretty much its own instrument... and the manual is fun to read.

edit:

wat

you will experience aliasing with an FM synth when the modulation produces sidebands that are higher than the Nyquist Frequency apparently. so now you know.

see above.

  On 6/23/2010 at 2:17 PM, BCM said:

see above.

the first gen DX's were 12bit, DXII/S/TX802 were 16bit,

FM8 goes upto 32bit i think but you can

reduce this

aliasing can be disirable in some cases but to avoid try rolling off the high end keytrack amplitude from the modulators to get a more natural sound

I had a DX7 for a while but got rid of it. It was too much of a pain to program with software editors, and also just too big and heavy.

I'm considering getting one of these and using its FM synth:

I also like using old Yamaha PSS and PSR keyboards and their cheap 2 op FM synthesis. The sliders make it really easy to dial in quick, cheap FM sounds, and some have midi too.

Or I might just break down and end up using the FM8.

rare as fuck in fact i only think I've seen one for sale tho a good substitute is this which comes a DX7 preset ready to go

picked up a tx7 in tokyo 2 years ago for 30 quid

mono module version of the dx7. no keyboard. no programmer.

program with an atari st

pain in the ass to use but when the programs are set it doesnt sound too bad

i dont mind the slightly noisy signal

guy from here called amen warrior also has one

try his tracks on myspace... he gets wicked guitar sounds out of it like from that old arcade skateboarding game 720 degrees

some ebay guy came to my house with his dx100 to test another synth... didnt realise how small it is... maybe half the size of the alpha juno1 and probably quite useful for doing gigs... but i saw the prices on ebay are like 300 quid... fuck that!!!!!

if i didnt have the tx7 id prolly go for a tx81z because they are small and have the programmer on the front of the machine

look up the history of the tx816... it's like 8 tx7s in one rack and in the 80s it cost thousands of pounds hehe

I got a TX81z for 50EUR last summer, I recommend looking for one of those cheap! Even has some stock sounds that DMX Krew uses, haha.

I have two DX11s, they're fun.