This trick unlocks more LFOs on your FM synth (Reface DX)

[@GeorgeL909]

This is absolutely brilliant. I love the reface dx, but I'll be honest I never even thought to dive into the fixed frequencies settings. Awesome video, super useful. I feel like you unlocked cheat codes for the dx or something.

[@mr_floydst]

Thank you! I wanted to make this video for a while now. :)

[@richarddoherty5473]

Just thought I was looking for this is awesome thank you Floyd. Just got my new DX for half price from Sweetwater!

[@mr_floydst]

Congrats! :-)

[@MikroJam]

This actually helped me to understand the DX much better. Thanks!

[@mr_floydst]

Thanks for watching!

[@unclemick-synths]

Good video - it shows the capabilities of FM for non-geeks. FM is under-used and is capable of so much more interesting sounds than electric pianos, bells, and organs. With 6 operators and DX7-type envelopes it can almost get like modular using the techniques you show here.

[@mr_floydst]

Thank you! You're right, with some careful planning, a lot of super interesting stuff is possible.

[@darwinsaye]

This is brilliant information. I could never figure out what the fixed ratio setting could be useful for. Thank you.

[@mr_floydst]

Glad it was helpful!

[@richarddoherty5473]

You can also add some velocity to any of the operators for interesting effect

[@mr_floydst]

Yes, that's another strength of FM synthesis!

[@arcanics1971]

Nice work as always.

[@mr_floydst]

Thanks again! :)

[@seanbierman1212]

you can acheive a similar effect on the reface cs by setting the EG to the FEG setting and then setting the LFO to filter setting with a fast speed and heavy depth. Then, somehow, the decay control on the EG becomes a delay to trigger the onset of the filter LFO, its pretty sick. This here is really dope too, I want a DX so bad now haha

[@mr_floydst]

Thanks for your feedback!

[@moshearzt8389]

Cool sounds!!

[@mr_floydst]

Thank you!

[@valley_robot]

FM is way more powerful than subtractive synthesis, I prefer it to be honest , I find standard analogue synths with no semi modular patching to be very simple and child like, I do own two semi modular analogues and they are great , but they could never do what a 6 operator FM synth could do

[@mr_floydst]

I agree, they can't. But I also think that is like comparing a violin to a cello, they are kind of similar, but they have their own places in music production. Filter sweeps with resonance will always sound super cool and never go out of style. :-) Best regards!

[@Iwtbaf]

Can you do an entire video on the deep note sounds you can make with the Reface DX? I’m trying to hear what the low end can do before I buy one. Thank you for this video as well super helpful

[@mr_floydst]

You mean "sub bass" sounds? Yes I could do that.

[@zackhartmann]

more reface dx vids !

[@mr_floydst]

I'll do some more of these. :)

[@garyleaver7747]

@@mr_floydst Yes please do more.

[@deyoungstar]

❤

[@kinetic-cybernetic]

I like to add tweakability to my RDX with a knobs midi controller. I was sad that there's no CC for LFO speed. Now I realized I got 4 LFOs (op2, 3, 4, and the actual LFO). From the 4, the speed can be controlled through CC in 3 :)

[@mr_floydst]

True! :-) You can change the speed of the LFO using sysex data, though. There's this huge controller that makes this a one knob per function synth (DTronics or something). But it could be a nice DIY project as well, using an Arduino and a rotary encoder perhaps.

[@kinetic-cybernetic]

@@mr_floydst thanks, good to know! I think that's beyond the depth I can take right now but maybe some day, once my baby learns to sleep XD

[@mr_floydst]

@@kinetic-cybernetic Oh, you're at _that_ point in your life ;-)

[@richarddoherty5473]

The other thing fixed frequency is good for is the pluck or hit sounds of acoustic instruments, like the thunk sound when you pluck a guitar string, or the tack sound of a hard mallet hitting a wood block.

[@mr_floydst]

Thanks for pointing that out! You can also use them to create formant sounds ("a e i o u"). There are some patches on soundmondo that use this to great effect.

[@159awi]

So how does this work if Yamaha is using phase modulation instead of actual frequency modulation? I thought the whole point of pm was to avoid the wild frequency shifts that true fm was prone to. I guess they are using true fm in the fixed mode?

[@mr_floydst]

It's a trick, if you listen closely, you'll hear the frequency changing on the "LFO" as well. The "trick" here is choosing the correct algorithm. Both branches "pull" on the carrier, but one of them has the fixes frequency modulator at a very low frequency "in between". The second branch keeps its part of the sound stable, while the other one is "pulling" at its frequency multiplied with the frequency of the fixed operator. If you really want to know why this works, you'll have to set up the formula in a function graph plotter ;-) The thing is that phase modulation _causes_ frequency modulation (by shifting the phase, you kind of "squish" the sine waves over time). Here's a more indepth explanation: www.allaboutcircuits.com/textbook/radio-frequency-analysis-design/radio-frequency-modulation/phase-modulation-theory-time-domain-frequency-domain/ Hope that helps...

[@159awi]

@@mr_floydst thanks for taking the time to explain that. That's a cool website you linked to also.

[@valley_robot]

You should try some Brian eno patches , they are very clever , I had an FM synth for four years , I got very good at creating patches for it , I made some awesome evolving pads and lots of analogue cs80 style patches

[@mr_floydst]

Thanks for the suggestion! Eno is the FM god. ;-)

[@dekzan]

Please does it have one, or is it possible to add an acoustic piano sound ?

[@mr_floydst]

Hi, thanks for watching! This is an FM synthesizer, so loading sampled sounds is not possible. You can create sounds that somewhat remind of a piano (see kzbin.info/www/bejne/mZaulqF-ad5lmpY ) and that are expressive (react to your playing), if that's ok for you.

[@dickwang7429]

Been on the fence about one of these, I want something better than the Volca FM, but I have a small apartment and don’t really play keys.

[@mr_floydst]

If you find one of these cheap on ebay, reverb or craigslist (cheap meaning _well_ below $200) you can't go wrong. It's really a step up from the Volca, Yamaha just knows how to build FM synths.

[@thefumigator]

This is so great, could you recommend a software FM synthesizer? I played around with FM7 but I ended up using the patches instead of programming myself (it was frustrating)

[@mr_floydst]

Hi, thanks for watching! Please take a look at a VST plugin named "eFemme vst" (just google it). It's quite similar to the R-DX with a knob for every function.

[@Roomba69420]

I wish it had the six operators, it gives it a very limited feel. Although, I really like my reface DX7.

[@mr_floydst]

Hi, thanks for watching! Of course, more operators would be great. But for what it is, it's a nice little keyboard. :)

[@soerenraudonis]

I swear on my megaFM - all controls on hand

[@mr_floydst]

Thanks for watching! The MegaFM is a great synth, no doubt.