Could you please send a link to this document?

So...this document was sent to me by a fellow guitarist. It was sent to me before I had bought a MODX, but was considering it, and I wanted to "understand" FM.

Well I still have that document, and checking it again for the first time in about 6 months, I now notice it was written by Dr John Chowning. That name will be immediately familiar to Yamaha Synth employees. He's the guy that "invented FM" and worked closely with Yamaha for decades developing Yamaha's "commercial FM Engines"... DX7... etc.

I was going to post it here.... but, probably best I don't.

It is available to buy as a Book. You can find it on Amazon.

It is called:-

FM Theory and Applications: By Musicians for Musicians, Hardcover
by John Chowning (Author), David Bristow (Author)

@Antony...

You are, with hindsight, one of the people I refer to that has "travelled the FM Globe".

I still suspect however, that a lot of wish list requests are driven more by "grass is greener" consumerism, than by "working musician hardship".

I sincerely hope that Yamaha do "upgrade" the FM-X Engine. How much benefit that will provide to the majority of users will no doubt continue to be debated.

No worries, I do like that expression though "travelled the FM Globe" 😉

I disagree to a certain extent about the wish list requests on IdeaScale, mainly because I've put quite a few of my own up there & follow all the new requested quite regularly, and there aren't very many for FM-X, compared to others that deal with AWM2, MIDI, sequencing, VA engines or just the synth functionality in general.
If someone specifically requests something for FM-X, they most likely know something about it from other products and would like to see it on their Montage or MODX, because I think for the most part, they likely do some FM-X programming. Otherwise, I would think most people would make requests for non-FM based enhancements/features.

Sure, there probably are a few requests from enthusiasts that haven't really done much FM-X programming and would like to see FM based features from other products added to their Montage. And I think that is generally more the exception, not the rule in this case...

I am not holding my breath on Yamaha upgrading and enhancing FM-X on the Montage, and I will be ok with "burning" extra PARTs here & there despite the inefficiency, because I can pretty much do anything I need to on the Montage, and the current FM-X engine as is can do almost everything that my DX7II can. But yes, I agree it would be a nice to see them upgrade the FM-X Engine, and if they did, I do think many people would see some benefit, because Yamaha would likely add several new Performances that show off the new capabilities and hopefully more people would see the value in FM-X programming more so than they did previously.

FM-X is not just Fulltines pianos, bells, tinks and strange sounds. It can be programmed to sound equally as analog as almost any anolog synth out there.
Check out this Master DX7 Programmer. Everything you hear is from an original DX7 (not a DX7II or an analog synth). He somehow mastered how to make a single Voice (PART) sound like multiple layered or possibly almost unison-like from a DX7...he came really close to The Final Countdown and many other 80's synth sounds that were analog Roland or Oberheim (or non-DX7) based sounds:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcXLVOq5oEo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WiYa4oUxKR8

@ Daryl...

you're FM Soundclouds are pretty neat.

My interest in FM thus far has been to (try to) use it for Analogue Synth style sounds. I'm sure a I started a thread on here somewhere. Anyways, its good to know someone else in here shares that interest, and I may well come looking for you for tips!

FWIW... I noticed quite an eclectic list of FM upgrade requests on ideascale, and I submitted my own request for a single "comprehensive" upgrade, including the general populous requests.... user algorithms and assignable feedback being two of them.

In your case, as a Yamaha Brand Loyalist, I think "seamless, backwards compatabilty" with previous Yamaha FM engines would a gracious recognition of customer loyalty.

FM is one of those things I have to learn in small chunks. I've never been a fan of the more "glassy" tones tbh, so I suppose my interest has been geared towards "warm" FM. This is where I picked up on Manny's discussion of phase relationships, and hence my ideascale.

If you have any general advice in creating "warm" synth sounds, please share them.

Cheers,

Tony

@Antony...

The best advice I can think of off hand is, in order to really enhance sounds, especially "warm" FM-X ones, use the 'Symphonic' insert effect to emulate Unison layering. (Thanks Bad Mister)

Also, try creating a new FM-X PART from other FM-X sounds/PARTs, by finding several that interest you or have a warmth to them. Then take the first one you found, and disable all the bottom Carrier operators except for one ... check out the sound, then disable that one, and re-enable the next carrier, etc. Make note of which carrier/stack you liked that really made that FM-X PART sound good. Do the same on other FM-X PARTs. If you find a couple of "stacks" you really like, try to find an algorithm that allows you to combine them into a new single PART. You could test before creating the new FM-X PART, by having the 2 or 3 PARTs added together to a Performance, and set the volumes to '0' on all the carrier operators/stacks that you didn't care for as much, then you'll get a feel for what the new FM-X PART will sound like with the ones you liked best...

My own FM-X ideascale items:

https://yamahasynth.ideascale.com/a/dtd/Add-glissando-feature-AWM2-and-FM-X/251299-45978
https://yamahasynth.ideascale.com/a/dtd/FM-X-Morph-Improvement-Enhanced-superknob-path/251255-45978
https://yamahasynth.ideascale.com/a/dtd/Add-FM-Drums-to-FM-X-or-Successor/217280-45978
https://yamahasynth.ideascale.com/a/dtd/Add-FM-X-User-Algorithms/265429-45978

Other ideas touch FM-X but are not necessarily focused on FM-X.

I think others have covered some of the ideas I've wished for here.

FM Theory and Applications: By Musicians for Musicians, Hardcover
by John Chowning (Author), David Bristow (Author)

Thank you, this I know, and own it. I thought it was something new.

Hello guys,

This is a very interesting thread, actually.

There is a french proverb wich states : "Comparaison n'est pas raison". I don't know if it exists in english but perhaps we could say "Nothing is reasonable in comparisons" (??)

Look, the FM Korg Konos engine, MOD 7 is probably the most powerful FM engine in terms of flexibility. I won't enumerate all the specs of this FM engine but they are litteraly huge.
The Mod7 is designed to be a real modular FM synth. Any waveform (from Rom, User, A/D input, etc....can be a modulator. You can draw your own algorythm with wires. Plus multimode filters, Rng Mod, 101 waveshapers table, Phase modulation, 78 preset algorythms, ability to load DX7 Sysex directly, without a converter etc.etc......

This MOD 7 FM engine i really a beast. But, 52 voices polyphony "only" ! (less than the ModX !), and 6 operators "only" (not 8 as Montage or ModX) !

All this to say that nothing is perfect and won't ever be. All synth get pros an cons, ups and downs. And perhaps, my pros wouldn't be yours, and vice versa, who knows !

But, on the other hand, by comparing the things; we can try to go beyond the limits and to invent creative solutions, as for example what you said above : how to create Ring Modulator with clasical FM parameter. That's what's exciting in this synthesis work. That's what I love in synthesizers : overtaking the limits.

@Jason

My own FM-X ideascale items:

Some good ideas! I upvoted them...

Here is the one FM-X idea I have on IdeaScale:

https://yamahasynth.ideascale.com/a/dtd/Add-new-FM-X-Algorithms-with-the-2-Additional-Operators-Stacked/233604-45978