FM Synthesis Explained: A Musician's Guide To FM 🔥 | feat. Kilohearts Phase Plant

[@VenusTheory]

Want some big PP energy in your life? Use my affiliate link and support the channel in the process! 💙 Kilohearts ► bit.ly/2S7dZZP

[@jloiben12]

It would be great if you could do a more detailed, in depth video covering how to make different families of sound using fm (piano, brass, woodwinds, organs, etc)

[@dreamakah]

The origin of the Taco Bell bell is the best thing I have learned from a synth video in a long time.

[@Steeeeeeb]

One of the best FM explanations I've ever seen. Cheers.

[@VenusTheory]

Glad it was helpful!

[@russellcameronthomas2116]

1st generation DX7 was my first synth. Mono output only. Being an Electrical Engineer, I picked up the programming fairly quickly. I probably spent most of my time exploring naturalistic instrument sounds such as horns, sax, and piano, and produced some interesting results. I discovered one of the biggest limitations was lack of a noise operator. It took 3 out of the 6 operators to create something like brown noise, but is wasn’t always adequate. Now that FM is integrated into multi-synths like Falcon 2 and Vital, we can use it for what it is best at - complex dynamic harmonics + inharmonics.

[@davidpetersonharvey]

I just got a Behringer 2600 and it's interesting how the early modularity in subtractive synths allowed for FM synthesis, even patching noise in as an operator.

[@anantwashere]

Amazing. Phaseplant visually showed what could not be seen in Massive X, which I use regularly. And thank you so much, it is very informational.

[@akshaydabhadkarofficial5104]

Cameron, I wish you the best for growing your channel. Only if I could like multiple times in KZbin! Discovering your channel is one of the best achievements of my life. Also please add monetisation options on your channel. People would easily contribute for such quality content.

[@BrofUJu]

This is fantastic. I feel like a lot of us have a good handle on basic synth stuff, ADSR, filters, oscillators etc, but I'm still trying to figure out some of the more complex things like FM so this rules.

[@VenusTheory]

Glad to hear it was helpful! I've got another video in the works all about Physical Modeling synthesis next!

[@BrofUJu]

@@VenusTheory awesome

[@MikkelGrumBovin]

@@VenusTheory I really should´t - but DAMN , the prices on EBAY for a perfect kept Yamaha VL-1 - it will so DEFF. be my next purchase ... :-O - Do you have any hands-on-knowledge of those resonating fm Physical Modeling marvels ???

[@mwatkins0590]

i am not a fan of videos that start with intros, and overviews, and hey theres, and whatnots, but I am glad I stuck around for the sound design tips parts because they gave me a lot of ideas.

[@Hun_Uinaq]

I am completely lost, totally confused and absolutely fascinated. It was so very interesting!

[@adz951]

Thanks Cameron, this was great! I loved the focus on guidelines for getting useful, musical results rather than an extensive explanation of it all. 👍🏻

[@rabornjohnson]

This tutorial is simply stellar. I've been playing with synths for a long time without feeling like I get it. I have just about every major soft synth on the market, but something about Phase Plant just clicks with me. This video did for me what Phase Plant has been doing for me - it simplified synthesis. This is the single best video tutorial I've seen on synthesis period. Thank you!!

[@johnlawson3014]

I gave up on YT tutorials a while back, maybe I just stopped needing them as much for the most part. I bought Phase Plant recently and there were a few things I couldn't figure out how to do or was wondering if there was a better way of doing them. This was my third video and I really got a lot out of it, just a great job all around.

[@hapleymusic]

I got PhasePlant because of your videos. I love it so much and my production work has really stepped up since I got it.

[@comalrec3373]

First of all, I am sorry for my poor English skills. This is the best video out of the many FM synths tutorial videos I've ever seen. Phase Plant is the best instrument to visually understand the fundamentals of FM synthesizers. Honorable applause to Venus for choosing Phase Plant for the FM Synthesizer tutorial.

[@mikeexits]

At first I was skeptical to be honest, but it worked out quite well! I'd imagine Arturia Pigments would've been a good choice too.

[@lolilollolilol7773]

The problem with PhasePlant is its business practice of selling the synth in parts like a Lego. You can also learn FM synth with Surge XT or SonicBits EXAKTLite, which are free. EXAKTLite allows to follow this video quite easily.

[@SpeccyMan]

@@lolilollolilol7773 Problem? What problem?

[@lolilollolilol7773]

@@SpeccyMan Exaggerated price problem

[@mr_whyy]

This guy woke up and provided us with a so good explanation i'm in my third simple patch and feel like a modular synthesis god already, this stuff is so freaking complicated yet simple if you use it with some minimalism

[@kingdommindset1462]

Hi. I have been struggling to figure out which synth to buy and use. There are so many!!! This tutorial has shown me I am not so interested in sound design, as far as starting sounds from scratch. I think i am more of a rompler type of guy. I hope I don't catch a beating from the smart people who read this. Thank you for this video. It was eye opening for me! You really helped me move forward!

[@djkymaera]

liked the operator gag, perfect for a segment on fm too.

[@VenusTheory]

Spent way too much time trying to work that joke in somewhere. I'm glad my efforts were worth it haha.

[@Auditium]

Maaan - Cameron yuo're just like my math professor - explaining everything to it's roots so it becomes easey peasy :) Watched it, liked it added to my favs and now I know how FM synths works :D

[@thelanavishnuorchestra]

I had a Yamaha SY77 in the 80s, which had 6 operator FM and oh my it was about the same complex unintuitive UI with (at least) a bigger display than the DX7. The idea of FM synthesis, sends a shiver down my spine. I've spent way too of my life trying to get something that doesn't sound like banging pieces of metal together or crash test sound effects.

[@kimyonaproject]

That's what literally any DAW synth is for. It's much less complicated when you can see it

[@thelanavishnuorchestra]

@@kimyonaproject yes, true. My fm trauma was from the 80s

[@jtn191]

Just study patches that work!

[@Dave-on3mf]

[x] Video doesn't start with "SUP GUYS, IT'S [CHANNEL NAME] BACK WITH ANOTHER VIDEO" [x] Provides information beyond "how to make this exact sound from a song I heard once" [x] Presenter acts like a normal person and speaks with a normal voice [x] Subscribed

[@deanandthebeans857]

Thank you! I’d written off fm as metallic DX7 type sounds I would never use - but this opens up a whole new dimension.

[@tz4601]

Great video! I find FM synthesis to be one of the easiest types of synthesis to understand what it is and how it works (maybe only additive synthesis is simpler since it's literally just adding waves), but simultaneously one of the most difficult to dial in a specific tone. What I mean is, it's really easy to get wild, crazy, and inharmonic results, but if I'm looking to make something similar to some patch I heard on a song, it can be hair-pullingly frustrating. When you combine this with the horrible interface of the DX-7 as you mentioned, I think it's easy to see why so many stuck with the presets. Maybe an interesting aside is that the sound cards of the 90s (like SoundBlaster) were essentially FM synths on a card. FM was used specifically because it was so good at making inharmonic sounds, and if you were making a game, you weren't just making music, you also had to use the card to produce every sound effect in the game -- explosions, bullets, punches, etc. -- since playing back actual audio files was unheard of given how much space they took up on a disk. There were eventually cards that came with some simple wavetable-type synthesis and some rudimentary sampling support, but backwards compatibility concerns meant that devs mostly stuck with the FM stuff. Here's an interesting article/interview on the topic: custompc.raspberrypi.com/articles/the-sound-blaster-story

[@ashleycobbold7816]

Thanks mate, got myself a volca FM which is the baby dx7 apparently but couldn't get my head around the carrier/operator/algorithm situ, makes a lot of sense seeing its shape on your system ✌️

[@talksintheclouds]

I jumped on the sound design bandwagon and started using kilohearts phaseplant and ‘ecosystem’. thanks for your help buckaroo

[@aethrya]

i can't believe this content on this channel is all just here for free. thanks man.

[@XVIV1504]

the best FM synthesis video I've ever seen

[@if_dots]

this is great, thanks so much for this visual guide to fm! makes doing it in phase plant specifically so much more obvious too

[@sergiopausa7077]

Thank you for giving a little lesson on FM synths this was so neat to learn about

[@mattkomlofske8912]

Hi, I'm from the future. This really helped me wrap my head around FM synthesis. Thanks, Cameron!!

[@funkbungus137]

brian eno shoutout! wow, cooll man. yeah he said the dx7 was something he'd get lost in for hours at a time creating atmospheres and stuff.

[@johnmccartney3819]

This will also be helpful in my understanding of Sines, the new 4-sine-osc synth from cherry audio. I have Dexxed but haven't gotten into patch creation much yet.

[@PreshaOrion]

Good stuff. I'm just learning about different synthesis types, and have been playing with a free subtractive VST as I'm learning how to produce beats and music. This was very helpful with explanation and demonstration side by side.

[@floatinganarchychannel3204]

Whomp! Another great video, love the intro!

[@mattwoodman3017]

your best advice was at the end when you said DONT OVER COMPLICATE THINGS! I liked that! ALso, an idea for a future video?? how about Modular synth! Eurorack,Complex-1 type of stuff! Im glad i found you Cam !!

[@antoineguilbeault8025]

Just watched a documentary on the huge and rare DX1. The youtube algorithm wants me to do some FM patches I guess.I already know how FM works but can't stop myself from watching this. Very good video !

[@imagesofstyle]

Finally, I feel like I understand how to _use_ FM synthesis. I got the basic theory ages ago, but there's a big leap from there to here.

[@Alainyopla]

Once again, thanks for the great content! I would love to see you going through recreating a patch from ear of an old 80s song.

[@walkernotte3019]

22:25 *alt tabs>one track in ableton with phase plant in it>100% cpu usage when i hit the space bar* 👀

[@scizmeli]

Definitely learned a lot here. Thanks. It would be super useful to follow up with a use these techniques in a concrete musical project

[@mrz80]

That funky pad you developed at 18:00 sounded just like the keyboard intro to Kansas' "Magnum Opus" :D

[@rjy8960]

I grew up in the 80's and many bands I liked had a DX7 after Ultravox and their analogue synths, so it' always been a shiny thing that I've wanted. So a friend of mine is selling a DX7s so I've bought it and should have it in the next couple of weeks. I am absolutely NOT a musician but I am an electronics engineer and understand a bit about modulation so I'm really looking forward to having a play with it. This video has been really interesting - thank you :)

[@justinking5245]

Fantastic, Cameron, as usual. Thank you!

[@DaGabbaGangsta]

This is the best vid ive seen on fm, excellent stuff

[@johnnyvlee]

This went at a pretty fast pace. I feel like this would have been easier for a beginner to absorb if you started from a goal and worked backward. Some goal that a synth noob could relate to, such as "Let's figure out how to get some particular synth sound". Then start with basics.

[@StratsRUs]

I was looking for a great synth channel.Subscribed !

[@lordbachus]

If you want to learn how to be creative with FM, you need the Korg OPsix. The interface with 6 sliders and 6 knobs works miracles to get aa feel for what you are doing.

[@jefft4303]

Two foundations that can't be over emphasized. One... one operator is one organ pipe, or flute, or ... very simple tone. Ten, lone ranger, single operator tones, composing one patch is Ten Simple Tones. To get the full power, when simple isn't enough, you need groups of At Least two operators, modulator and carrier. More than two gets Extremely Complex, (and often ugly) quick, as you pointed out admirably. Therefore, one and two need to be what they need to be, and 3/4... 5/6...7 alone, 8 alone... probably need to be very short or very quiet, or both. When it gets weird, save it, then turn stuff off. Foundation part 2.... There are a few... super critical... building blocks, that you need to have memorized so solid they become perfectly broken in tools, in well worn holsters, 24/7/365/78.6. You covered the s8ne wave fine. Your other three Standard All Day Everyday Tools are the Square Wave, Sawtooth, and Triangle Wave. These are built using two operators, with standard frequency and volume ratios. Those ratios are readily available online. Bonus tip. Throw an instance of Voxengo SPAN on your master buss, last. Every project. FM or not. Put it in your standard template.

[@josephharris4437]

Easily the best FM tutorial I've seen. Thanks so much!

[@VenusTheory]

Glad it was helpful!

[@lessefrost]

Man this really helps me to start to make sense of Sytrus's modulation matrix. I'm excited to get home haha.

[@photicsonar]

Very very well explained, my favourite bucckaroonie-master❤🎉

[@bandaid007jl]

nice I just woke up and said I wonder if there are any new videos about production to watch while I drink my coffee, low and behold a topic I enjoy very much by one of my favorite youtubers. cheers ☕ Edit: great video I learned a bit about FM and you reminded me to update my phaseplant to 1.8.15 I've been mainly using Dexed for learning, not realizing the full capabilities phaseplant's framework has for working with fm. I still love Dexed and will always use it but after this video I'm going to have to put dexed down for a few months.

[@raysubject]

Great job, from now if somebody ask me to explain FM synthesis will save my time and just send him this video :) Excellent !

[@davidpetersonharvey]

I think one of the best tools you can have handy for taking an FM synth is a low pass filter.

[@Todesnuss]

On the point of phase plant being good way to learn fm synthesis. I think it's probably a great teaching tool for way more general mixing and ear training principles since it gives you such a clear picture of how you are manipulating the wave form. Even when mixing and mastering we are rarely doing more than making two wave forms sound a certain way. I think teaching audio starting with just a sine wave in phase plant has a lot of potential to get someone up to speed on a lot of basic audio terminology like phase, harmonic versus equal tuning and all kinds of other things that come to mind.

[@VenusTheory]

Totally agree - their UI/UX people did an absolutely incredible job with PhasePlant!

[@sphyrnidae6749]

If we route the modulator signal to the carrier: - Phase: its called phase modulation - Frequency or Semicent: its frequency modulation Then, if I set the frequency of the modulator to a fixed value and modulate the carriers frequency its linear fm. If the frequency not fixed its exponential, correct?

[@macronencer]

I've replied elsewhere about this - I believe this part of the video might be misleading. My understanding is that linear/exponential refer to the effect the changes in modulator amplitude have on the carrier: if the frequency is going up and down +/- 100Hz, that's linear FM. If it's going up and down +/- 2 semitones, that's exponential (because musical pitch is in an exponential relationship to actual frequency).

[@ecaudiolab]

Great tutorial. Just wanted to mention that the Korg Opsix is even easier to program than Phase Plant for FM synthesis IMO.

[@l.romain6447]

I have korg op six and it’s easy but work flow is a tad slower. 🤷🏿‍♀️

[@warlanefam]

I think I've said it before but you are an excellent teacher

[@culturedslob]

This is a great demonstration. Unfortunately i was hoping to find the same deep dive but limited to the sines featured in a DX or Volca FM.

[@gerasimos-dimitriostheotok7071]

Awesome tutorial. I have finally understood why the pitch is changing when i'm applying fm to an oscillator on my analog synth. -exponential. Love you man!

[@VenusTheory]

So glad to hear it was helpful! Cheers!

[@unclemick-synths]

Great video. 👍 I've only touched sine wave FM so interesting to see how much more power is available.

[@EvanDaniels-i9h]

I confess to you, I don't like you. I hate rabbit holes. Yes I want to make synth music but I hate the way things are going... things are too advanced when they are supposed to be simple. Endless rabbit holes and no results. An endless ocean of possibilities. I miss just using traditional synths and triangle waves. But the fact is, you are pro synth master. You have both the skill and the philosophy, a true understanding of this feild. I have watched many of your videos now as a nessesity for my own learning. So thanks. BTW I just got Dune 3. As you said, a beast of a synth. But I'm gonna have to demonstrate ALOT of self control with it. Don't need 10 different filters.

[@nctwister_km]

This video is incredibly helpful and informative. Now Surge XT is beginning to make sense. (I've owned Z3TA+2 by Cakewalk for years. Always seemed too hard to program - maybe now I can start using it.)

[@Zetamus]

I'd like all tutorials on KZbin would meet that level of quality. Great work, thank you. 👍🏻

[@abj358]

Bought a DX7 not long after introduction. My focus was more on it's MIDI function than sound design. At that time, pulling together a MIDI-based music production arsenal was, to me, an absolute genius idea and I fell in love. I'd had some grounding in analog synths with an old Korg monophonic and then a MicroMoog mono and kinda grasped what was going on. Upon hearing the DX7 I knew I have to have one. So I sold my soul and picked one up. The factory patches were cool, but I wanted more. So I started to tweak. It was THE most convolved and confusing process I'd ever tried. Totally lost. I read and tweaked, and read and tweaked, and, in the end, just ended making the most of the factory sound set. UNTIL, I heard the DX7 associated term "additive synthesis." FM meant nothing to me. But adding waveforms together to make something even better...I got it! Modulating frequencies with frequencies "added" up for me. And now I see it everywhere. In fact, and on what would definitely be a side note, this process is the basis for the entire universe. But I digress. Thanks for this vid and a nice intro to Phase Plant.

[@Coowallsky]

My story is very close to yours with the exception that I was very well acquainted with FM from my electronics hobby later college Electronics courses. I had a couple of early synths including the ARP 2600. When the DX7 came out I immediately knew that it was the opposite of a subtractive analog synth. When my brother in-law bought a first series DX7 and let me borrow it from time including a 3-week stint, I had it pretty well figured it out to the point that I bought one about a year later. The programming was tedious but there was no other way so I just ran with it.

[@yngvinyl]

thank you great info :)

[@davidpape1160]

This is awesome, but that's not my understanding of linear vs exponential FM... I thought exponential meant pitch modulation - so you modulate oyur carrier's pitch up one octave and down one octave (twice the freq vs half the freq)... whereas linear is modulating the carrier's frequency up and down by the same number of Hz (as in, up 500Hz and down 500Hz... maybe going into "negative frequency" territory)?

[@davidpape1160]

Maybe that's more the geek pedant dickhead's guide to FM anyway though

[@tingmo6669]

yep he explained it incorrectly

[@markusshoggu]

amazing video! at 7:45 when you show basic fm, you modulate the frequency/pitch. then for the rest of the video you switch to modulating the phase instead. and not the "semi" / "harmonic" / "shift" like before. is it easier to modulate the phase instead? i dont understand the difference

[@bartleblans6570]

Man, this is such a good channel. Top stuff Venus Theory!

[@jurgenschuler8389]

That you had to use that small tiny LCD is, if I remember correctly, not totally correct. I had a piece of software for my C64 over which I could program my Yamaha via MIDI. However, a fantastic video!

[@siphelele3549]

Great Video, would love to know if the example from phaseplant used in the beginning of the vieo 4:54 is available as a preset?

[@johnhawranick8097]

Awesome video! Thanks for sending the link. I don't have much access to FM synthesizers yet, so I'll apply what I've learned to my Reface CS and maybe download a soft synth to expand my field of vision. Maybe once I get my HS Deluxe, I won't look too foolish. It's true, I should have embraced FM sooner, but you pointed it out: my first experience was the Yamaha DX7, and that was going to be a hard sell to someone who was still playing with a synthesizer made by Radio Shack. Keep up the great work!

[@spenzakwsx4430]

thanks for the video. but i still would like to watch the "absolutely exhaustive presentation and lecture about all things fm synthesis". i would love that!!

[@leanderlumen1868]

Great tutorial. Quite practical and really helpful, too. I am getting into this topic within Eurorack realms so it's nice to get help with the first steps. I really can relate with keeping stuff simple an not overcomplicating things. But what I asked myself: Why are there so many options then? Man, even the DX7 had six operators. Who really makes a good use of all these choices (without ever killing cats with all the harsh noise)?

[@OdoSendaidokai]

Very nice overview and demonstration. Thank you !

[@VenusTheory]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@CatFish107]

Also, thanks very much for this tutorial. Lots of very insightful and useful info.

[@rays7805]

So I had Phase Plant up, and I was thinking, "I want to learn some FM synthesis. I better find some videos on it." And then you said, "I'm going to be using Phase Plant." Well isn't that convenient!

[@DaddaPsy]

That intro made we wanna have a coffee now. Superb video btw!

[@DavidSmith-ne1zp]

Man, I so need to learn this stuff, and thanks to Venus Theory for presenting it in a way I might actually retain it. That said, I need to come back first thing in the morning, freshly caffeinated, with pen and paper lol!

[@BramBramsBerg]

Nice tutorial for those interested in fm synthesis!

[@billfox3761]

Great video, Cam. Kudos. If you ever do an addendum to this video, please cover when the operators are non-integer relationships, provided that Phase Plant will allow it.

[@VenusTheory]

Glad you enjoyed it! Also covered that at 12:10 and 14:51 / 16:05​

[@billfox3761]

@@VenusTheory HA! That's what I get when watching at work and have divided attention...

[@pshenk]

Thanks for this! I keep referring back as I mess around with FM. Are there any new relevant features for FM in 2.0? It would be nice if Phaseplant let you view algorithms in a tree structure like how they are usually shown in dedicated FM synths :/

[@7Sharpened2]

Thx man!

[@wesrosner]

Amazing teacher, love your background history as well.

[@scottk3292]

I really appreciate the strategies you shared, but do you know of any good resources or cookbooks for going deeper into FM algorithms? thanks

[@Iain2000]

Nice video, very easy to understand. How about an advanced cinematic sound guide to Reason’s Algoritm? Something around deep cinematic effects and risers? Just a thought?

[@VenusTheory]

Noted!

[@ohmaramusic]

I like a synth with more knobs to twist and less buttons to press.

[@PaperClipFlip]

Omg you're like the Anthony Fantano of sound design!!!!

[@Flux_One]

Thanks for this. Very useful

[@chewlay111]

great work mate thanks!

[@jakehettinger1087]

why for the first example with the LFO you assigned it to the semitones but then assigned it to the phase for all of the audible ones? New to FM Synthesis

[@rpocc]

Linear vs exponential isn’t quite about what you’re saying in the 7th section. It’s about how exactly frequency is modulated vs incoming signal: linear Hz per unit, or pitch semitones per unit. Since audio FM generates harmonics above and below the carrier frequency, linear FM has the _average_ pitch always the same as carrier as long as the modulator signal is symmetric, but exponential fm has the center pitch shifted. Say, the carrier is 220 Hz, and you modulate it linearly, 110 hz per maximum amplitude of the modulator. The swing will be between 110 and 330 Hz, so you will hear the average pitch at the same 220 Hz. But with swing is +/- octave, it’s between 110 and 440 Hz, so the center frequency will be 275 Hz, so any deep modulation will take the carrier out of key. There is also through-zero and non-through-zero FM involving or not involving negative frequencies effectively acting as backwards time in the carrier and allowing keeping the same center frequency when you swing a 55 Hz wave to, say, +/- 70 Hz: the average between 125 and -15 is the same 55 Hz again, and with non-through-zero oscillator it won’t oscillate below 0 or few Hz, giving shift of the average frequency when too deep modulation is attempted.

[@streetsweeper7632]

Is there a way to modulate the output signal you're using for FM with say an envelope or lfo like you can with serum?

[@hrrrmit9187]

Beautiful video, definitely got some good frequencies modulating your voice too (Y)

[@Rubi8Hz]

wicked! great stuff. thank you sharing

[@davidvochocjr1005]

The visual explanation is awesome

[@witheredmedia]

you sir are a smooth operator

[@Taschenschieber]

One note on the "the DX7 is hard to program" thing... there have been editors that allow you to program the DX7 from the comfort of a computer since at least the mid-80es. They didn't have Dexed back then but for most of the DX7's lifespan, there were alternatives to its horrendous native user interface.

[@ShallRemainUnknown]

Exactly! DX7 editor/librarians allowed full-screen editing of patches in Apple II, Commodore 64, and eventually IBM PC, Mac, Atari ST, Amiga, way back in the mid '80s.

[@homayunelyasi5562]

Thanks For This Tutorial

[@Userminusone]

I happened to scroll down to read the comments and 4:53 legitimately gave me a fright 😂

[@whosFMatt]

So if I have produced an FM sound in Serum that sounds very good but has dissonant harmonics, what can I do to fix them? I tried lowering/raising the octaves, semitones of the oscillator but it distorts the sound. Cutting annoying frequencies using the equalizer doesn't solve much and still denaturalizes the sound...