FM Synthesis. Vintage Data

Digital data, including synthesiser data is gradually eroded as new incompatible technologies emerge.
This video tests how F.M. synthesis data from a 1985 machine is preserved, by step conversion, across 3 decades, from one machine to another as new technologies arrived. Did it work?
From 1985 till 2017, features the Yamaha CX5m, FB01, N.I. FM8, VOPM VST and the shiny new Preen FM2 hardware.
Goodies for FM8, DX7, VolcaFM, PreenFm2, VOPM etc below
GOODIES:
Presets for VOPM VST/AU, converted from my original CX5m 80s:
drive.google.com/open?id=1Xu0...
for DX7, Korg Volca FM, N.I. FM7/8 (LFOs are slower on DX compatible machines so they might need adjusting):
drive.google.com/open?id=1dx9...
E44 Music:
tinyurl.com/e433HyFlw
E433 Wordpress:
tinyurl.com/ctvzecks
Bandcamp:
tinyurl.com/e433bndcmp

[@TayWoode]

I love how this was presented, almost like an analogue horror or backrooms style lost VHS, gave me real nostalgia for a time I couldn’t afford the big synths, just a Yamaha PSS680 and DD10 drum machine 😂

[@battlemode]

Beautifully made video, really nice work and very informative too!

[@Digiphex]

Very good. Love the old grainy CRT screens look.

[@firstnamelastname8197]

Just found this.😂 What an amazing work! Now I can try those sounds on my yamaha modx and reface dx! Many thanks pal!

[@element433]

Excellent. Try the other videos, The Catalogue of Materials too!

[@brianobush]

I loved your effort in preserving your patches in the face of change. Now, I want to start digging up my old patches and bring them back to life on the preenfm2. Thank you.

[@iOnlyHereForTheBeer]

Absolutely amazing channel. So glad I found this. Thanks for your work!

[@cavewerk]

these videos are incredible, i am in awe

[@breebrreeable]

That was very cool, enjoyed every second. you really know your stuff.

[@OscarCherici]

Your videos are magical. Really useful for young musicians and composers. Thank you

[@element433]

Thank you Sir!

Dear Element433, thank you for this fascinating video which features an "obsolete" technology. I find the topic of time-related digital artifacts, and data transfer/translation flaws quite intriguing. After your video, I feel like digital data are alive at some point. Kudos to your curiosity, editing and directing craftsmanship. I'd like to see more of your videos.

[@element433]

Thank you very much. It is very rewarding to know it is enjoyed!

[@meilstone]

I love FM, it's so refreshingly different from standard subtractive synthesis. And more brain work! 😂 Using a TX802 to create textures for electronic tracks.

[@element433]

Thank you. Love the TX802. Had one for years, solid work horse

[@RedSpark_]

Winter is such a beautiful patch. I immediately paused the video and copied down the VOPM settings :D

[@element433]

Thank you. It’s probably my favourite approach to FM synthesis. Enjoy!

[@matthewingram1032]

Loved this. Thank you.

[@endrick3520]

Great Video. I really like this winter patch. Tried to transfer it to the DX7 with good results.

[@element433]

Great result!

[@domr4879]

Awesome video, thank you

[@pulsavi6446]

Love this video, waiting for a preenFM2 for my modular.. I also like the FB-01 over the others. Also, as offtopic, i totally recommend to try the digitone, love mine, different Fm architecture but great sound and easy to programm

[@element433]

Thank you. The Preen is amazing, I like that you can sequence operator frequencies.

[@avigyavegashunyata1108]

fantastic stuff. thanks

[@LlewynDaviesTheThird]

great video. thanks

[@bsmiff3150]

great video thanks!

[@kyleserafin9616]

One thing to note for viewers, the Preen FM2 might be a bit of an outlier here. I'm not terribly familiar with those earlier Yamaha chips, but the DX7 and FM8 are more accurately phase modulation synthesizers while the Preen uses true frequency modulation. In application the two approaches can create very similar results, each having their own strengths and weaknesses, but DX7 patches loaded directly into a Preen typically shouldn't be expected to sound identical (or sometimes even close, as evidenced in this video) due to this inherent difference in design.

[@element433]

Thank you for watching. Yes, that is correct. I commented on this somewhere earlier below, however, the Preen touts the feature of importing DX7 sysex indicating an intended potential compatibility and predictability. Otherwise importing to end up with a random outcome would make the feature redundant. Hence the comparison in the video

[@big_b_radical3985]

@@element433 Isn't the sample rate of the preen comparatively pretty low for fm synth? - contributing to unfilterable aliasing?

[@element433]

You could be right. I haven’t got the editor in front of me right now,, however the FB01 isn’t that high either. There are many factors that determine the idiosyncrasies of each machine. The analogue filters in the analogue part of the DAC, bit depth plays a major factor on the Yamaha 4 operator machines with an effective depth of 10 bits at the output. I think though that, as Kyle rightly pointed out, The major issue here is the FM and PM difference. I am slowly acquiring the different machines and hopefully will be able to documents the differences between them. Thanks for your input!

[@SKRDmusic]

Quality VID!

[@addpatternmusic1109]

Nice Video

[@element433]

Thank you!

[@ChrisLeeW00]

I will try these patches on the dexed vst as well, I'm interested to hear the comparison

[@FunkTree]

Beauty

[@DimitrisDermanisMusic]

Wonderfull!!! FB-01 works best for my taste.

[@element433]

Yes for me too, it seems more solid and perhaps its the age of the output analogue circuitry. It has more “ummfff”

[@wernervannuffel2608]

FM Synthesis is working with 'nice (frequency) numbers' and with this I mean the comprehensive use of consonant and dissonant frequency-numbers aka "tones/subtones/overtones" and blending them all together in a specific ordened or "configuration" (by a certain choosen "algorithm" : DX-9 and DX-7 have 32 algorithms and Yamaha MOD-series has 88) of the operators (DX 9 as 4 operators; DX 7 has 6 and Yamaha Mod--synthesizers works with 8 operators). And yes, it demands a totally other mindset than programming an Additive or Subtractive synthesis-based synthesizer. But once you get the point it's just unbelievable marvellous. Sorry, Jean-Michal Jarre : I don't agree with your very bad feelings about FM-synthesis. I do not hate the DX-7 and FM-synthesis. I just love it very much!!! But yes : this is also true : you cannot knobbing freely 'on the fly' a FM-synthesizer (except the Yamaha MOD-serie synthesizers and other FM-software-synthesizers can do). I understand the pleasure by using the oscillators and filter- and noise and ringmodulator and other shiftings-in-real-time modulations with potentiometers very well and the displeasure it implemented with the coming of the DX-7 that replaced overnight all this nice knobs by a menu with digital display and only one operative knob left. "What the hell is this?". Yes, it ask a totaly other approach and a quite other comprehension of a totally different order. In the 80-ies there was a certain 'purist-colorist' (an "organologist" - I don't remember his name - about classical music instrument sonic sounds) that only accept one synthesizer that (in his ears) sounds spectacular good and that was (in his opinion) the only synthesizer which could be used very easily used with other acoustic music-instruments and it was the... "DX-7" (and by extension : all FM-synthesizers) which used a totally different and completely new sound generation paradigm. It was and is still really revolutionary different. The Yamaha CS-80 (and in extention with this all CS-synthesizers) was (were) also builded around the core of orchestral sounds. And also again : 'yes' : the coming of the Yamaha DX-7 killed the 'analogue synthesizers' at that time. But they survived and they know now a Renaissance in our present days. So what? In the maintime I love the music of Jean-Michel Jarre very much :-))...

[@ish233]

Neat videos

[@element433]

Thank you very Much!

[@brianobush]

The Preen doesn't have operator feedback, but you can change the operator waveforms. A few edits and you can probably get closer.

[@okeribok]

What a wonderful piece of work! Like the Long Now for FM. However... I was planning to order a PreenFM2, but based on this video: it sounds terrible! I expected it to sound more or less the same as the source. Do the other synths have operator feedback? I though it was something new...

[@element433]

Thank you very much!. To be fair to the Preen, it is probably a reflection of the conversion software and my FM programming rather than the Preen's capability. It is an incredible machine. It WILL translate DX7 sounds very very well, but the sounds I was translating on the video come from the 4 operator Yamaha machines and required more tweaking. I didn't quite get them how I wanted except for the "Winter" sound which was actually dead on. I have since translated some other 4op sounds to the Preen and they are also dead on. Xavier, the designer of the Preen avoided using operator feedback because the Preen is true FM rather than the Yamaha versions, which are PM Phase Modulation. The self feedback on a true FM would, from what I understand, would also alter the fundamental frequency of the operator, so he avoid doing that. All the yamaha's have one operator with self feedback. many thanks!

[@kinderobi]

hi your videos are awesome, what reverb are you using on this case?

[@element433]

Thank you! I experimented layering with different stock Space Designer IR's and some automation for the width.

[@zorakreidebleich5661]

great video! these are beautiful patches as well. do you happen to have the originals around? i cheaply acquired an FB-01 on ebay recently and would love to feed it with these goodies. also yesterday i ported the FB01v2 editor to macOS in my own attempt of preservation. i haven't contacted the original author yet or prepared a deployable release but hopefully i'll get around doing that soon.

[@element433]

Thank you. The patches will be available for a variety of FM platforms in the new year. Ill keep you posted, many thanks

[@mmryspaces]

Would you be willing to share the port to macOS? I haven't tested extensively but I used Wine Bottler(winebottler.kronenberg.org/) to run the FB01v2 editor on (10.13.6)

[@kurisuchiinathecrocodile333]

Hi. I was recently thinking about getting MSX with SFG-05 module. My initial interest was more connected to retro games, but then I found out about CX5M (Benge did a very stylish showcase of it in his "20 systems" release) and later I rediscovered it through your videos, which are very inspirational (especially "fm catalogue" series, thank you much for those!). I accidentally found a mention that you were also using "CSM" function in your microsound experiments - that's also interesting. I wanted to ask though... were you only using "Composer" software, or also tried other tools on your device? I'm aware there are plenty of trackers (similar to Commodore 64 or Amiga) that, to my knowledge, never used Yamaha 4-OP fm chip and instead focused at using either PSG ("8 bit sound" for so called chiptune music) and OPL/OPLL chips (2-OP fm with some extra stuff). Which means that other than "Composer 1/2" cart, other option for CX5/SFG was code-based approach with Basic... I think. Would have been interesting if something closer to Csound or even TidalCycles could be used there. That beging said, I wanted to ask... is it possible to change FM module parameters per note basis? As you can guess I come from modular synth stuff so I'm interested in such weirdness :) That being said, I'm also slowly trying to study Composer Desktop Project (which is wonderful and still being updated), so I now think about possible workflow of first making sound source with CX5 (or other FM tools) and then transform those in CDP. Well, sorry for a bit random thought like of post, thanks again for your videos and stuff you share. Have a nice day!

[@element433]

For the Flight Sequence album I only used the Composer software. You can evoke CSM via the FM Music Macro cartridge too and use Basic to control it. With the FM Macro you could literally build macro and output directly MIDI data. or the internal generator. With regards operating on the FM synthesis parameters directly from the Composer software no, you can;t. All you can do is have the Composer II on the CX5MII and switch between the FM editor and the Composer whilst composing. The only way I have managed to do something like that is to Use automation in Logic to control the paramter of the VOPM plugin, which I did in the Materials AIR video and later in my Luminous Trilogy o3 film. I was one of the first people to use the CDP back in the late 80s whenI was studying at Sussex. I did two pieces using the system and it was slow., I mean reallllly sloow. The Csound system then would take 24 hours to render 2 seconds of FOF synthesis. How we did it back, then only goodness knows. All the best, P

[@kurisuchiinathecrocodile333]

@@element433 many thanks for reply! And wow, you've had quite a voyage with music and sound :)

[@element433]

I put it down to too many 1960s black and white scifi B movies. I think the Theremins went to my head when young lol.

[@avigyavegashunyata1108]

dx7 vst is sick. just a bit heavy on cpu

[@arsenegupengath3104]

Love your video , do you use The fs1r ?

[@element433]

I regret selling it many years ago. That was a bad mistake. But yes it is a great machine! Thanks for watching.

[@whatistau]

Hello! Love your videos. I gotta ask, how do you find YAMAHA DX200 sound? Is it just like DX7II?

[@element433]

Hi, thank you. The DX200 is the only one thar , unfortunately, I haven’t had any contact with. I would love to check one out. I expect it has something like PL board chipset in it so it should sound quite crisp. Ive just acquired an SY77 so will be releasing something on that soon.

[@whatistau]

@@element433 ive been in love with FM Synthesis since i first heard it. Its just was a perfect sound for my ears. Ive had both DX7, DX100 and now i made it to Dx200 to tweak those knobs. Ive also had Yamaha TG55 and TG33 witch is SY22 and last one was overwhealming !.For the same reason the bigger effect on me did the sound of the DX Mk1 one ( ive had TX).Im guessing its 12 bits like Mk1 as well. You should definately check it out. Glad to see people like yourself put effort to show other how to work this magical machine.

[@element433]

I think you are right. There is something magical about the early DACS

[@CT-ho6si]

@@element433 It does have an actual PLG150-DX inside, in fact one should check a DX-200 when purchasing to ensure the PLG was not removed.

[@Bigger-Circuitry-Bigger-SOUND]

nice video👍, fb-01 and dx7 mk1 are the best sounding FM. do you have those FB=01 patches available for download ?

[@jodyjohnson265]

I wondered if Sega experimented with the dx7 FM synth.

[@element433]

they used the Yamaha 2612 FM chip a similar sounding 4 op FM synth

[@kurisuchiinathecrocodile333]

I recently did a research (kind of... more like a desperate search) about FM used in arcade machines/game consoles/computers, and I found out that the most of them used 4-OP chips. However, to my surpriese, there was one thing where 6-OP could be achieved (from my understanding). It's.... Sega Saturn! The thing is, almost nobody used it for that, because it was equipped with CD Audio, which was much easier to use for obvious reasons (and many soundtracks there were pretty nice as result). On the other hand, it had very special Yamaha chip that was super powerful... it had 32 voices, each of those could be used either as PCM (sample) or FM, and you could combine those in groups (so 6-op could be achieved unless i misread), it also had a nice DSP for reberb and 16 channels mixer. But also it was seemingly super hard to use, perhaps you had to code via Assembly language... so yeah, in the end most developers used CD instead, and very few tried to do FM on it (and I think those who tried, unlikely were pushing more than 4-op they had experience with). I'd love to try stuff with it one day, though im sure it will be a painful experience... still... I feel like it's a capable sound unit that deserves more.

[@GABBAYASHI]

👀