I would take out the "M" and go with FX as one of the main sculpting pieces. Maybe a dash of ring modulator or spiralizer.

"Ideas" like this can be found in Performance Search Main Categories - Syn Lead and Syn Comp, Musical FX and Sound FX. There are some FM examples.

Similarly, when doing a Waveform Search, use these same categories.

If you never tried them, do Manny's 2x FM Tutorial Series. While creating the "big and obvious" sounds he leaves mutliple nuggets of info along the path regards "incidental" or "sound effect" type carriers or stacks. One example I recall is re-creating the "keybed noise" for a Grand Piano (in his second tutorial series).

I would take out the "M" and go with FX as one of the main sculpting pieces. Maybe a dash of ring modulator or spiralizer.

These are two effects I'd consider least pertinent to this kind of sound. Opposed, even. How did you come to these?

Are you listening to the riser instead of the lead?

The lead is obviously massively saturated via Overdrive/Distortion - it is the distinctive quality of the sound, and this kind of effect is something that FM responds to wonderfully.

Subsequently, constraining this with the ability to chain in a Moog filter as an effect - I can imagine that combination coming close to this sound.

But any other ideas? Approaches?

There's a lot going on there "sound creation" wise. Likelihood... designer has a big "trick bag". So likely elements from most or all of the above mentioned... choice of Osc, EGs, Filters, Mods and FX.

Sometimes it helps if you "tune out" and try to listen to things from a distant perpective, remove the sharp focus.

I hear hints of "Comb Filtering" in there... that kind of hollowed out tone. So you might want to take a look at Flangers... Rate at Zero or Low, Resonance Moderate to high, and adjust resonant frequency with Manual control.

But there are other ways to get comb filter type effects... AM (RingMod) and FM for example.

Manny touches on "Over Modulation" in the second tutorial series (advanced).

Its hard to pinpoint.

A comb filter, depending on Positive or Negative feedback creates a series of Notches (+ve) or Spikes (-ve) in the harmonic spectrum... giving that "hollow-pipe", sometimes mettalic sound. The harmonic profile of Jamaican Steel Drums are pretty much tuned comb filters.

Another thought, even though there is a "pluck" type envelope, and its short, I sense there is a touch of oscillator sync happening (which might be what I was hearing as a combfilter).

No osc sync on the MODX... you'll just have to find an appropriate "sync" sample and give it a whirl. Hopefully there should be a few more sync samples in your Phat Analogue libraries.

Did you miss/forget the part about trying to do this with FM-X?

@ Andrew... you're a genuine charmer :p

Ditto.