Here's Why Bitwig's FM-4 and Phase-4 Are Actually HUGELY Underrated - And Some FM Basics

[@macronencer]

Me explaining FM to my friends: "Yes, you can modulate the modulator's modulation amount and achieve timbral dynamics. It's quite complicated." Me in my studio using FM: "LASER GO PEW! PEW!"

[@a_8764]

Bitwig + Phase Plant = 10,000 IQ galaxy brain setup. I've transcended this plane and am now an interdimensional being of pure cosmic energy, I look like an Alex Grey painting / Tool album cover.

[@DashGlitch]

LOOOOL!

[@OneTanMan]

Hahaha

[@joelkulesha8284]

Msoundfactory is a pretty hard hitter too ngl

[@KnzoVortex]

@@joelkulesha8284 Excuse the random rant, but imo, Msoundfactory is lowkey catastrophically underrated just cuz it’s not instantly intuitive and not trying to be the most quick synth ever; you gotta put in the time to learn and get accustomed to it and it’s kinda effortful to use, especially compared to the ridiculous speed of working with PP. PP kinda invites you to go nuts with sound design in seconds, whereas MSF requires some motivation initially to choose and some prescribe to work in efficiently, but most producers don’t really see the insane value of MSF so few people really utilize it despite how insanely cool it is, and fewer talk about it.

[@PspiralifeTutorials]

so happy to see a good psytrance tutorial using these bitwig instruments. Please keep them coming Dash! I love Bitwig!

[@vroteg]

It is absolutely correct. What we know as FM synthesis is actually phase modulation. The frequency modulation synthesis is only applied to analog domain. I had a discussion with Mr Frankish about it but he is still in denial… but yeah.

[@BappinProductions]

incorrect. There are vsts that do true "analog-style" FM such as Phase Plant

[@fernandomanqueo8683]

@@BappinProductions Also pigments

[@zookeeper2103]

I like how you're diving deep into Bitwig. There's so many possibilities with the built in tools even if the UI is not as shiny or playful as some VSTs. Thanks for showing us the way! 💪

[@TerenceKearns]

16:45 casual professorship... you a natural born hacker... So glad I'm reviewing this seminar...

[@GeorgeLocke]

To understand why phase modulation tends to be more harsh than "proper" FM, consider what happens when the modulator is a square wave wave the carrier is a sine wave. With "proper FM," when the square wave flips, the carrier suddenly changes frequency creating a *corner* in the output. With PM, when the square wave flips, the carrier suddenly moves to a different part of its phase, and that means there a *step* in the output. A step is going to sound much more harsh than a corner.

[@macronencer]

That's a great thought experiment. Thanks!

[@psybursonic]

This was awesome! Thanks Dash 🙏

[@paradoxic1888]

You don't need to modulate the audio rate from Polygrid into Phase4, you can simple add a wavetable LFO modulator and modulate the phase this way. Just ensure you set the wavetable LFO to pitch.

[@DashGlitch]

Yep, this video was before that update/feature :)

[@ancient_observer]

I'm mostly dubstep producer this days and it's interesting to watch what you make with this sounds. I would use such sound waves for growl basses but you create trancy stuff out of them 😀

[@marcloopin]

Very nice more videos like this please Dash.

[@dansynth8408]

some sounds remind me of Malstrom from Reason. I love the oscilloscope view on the operators.

[@kp8923]

Around 18:00 reminded me of Malstrom too

[@nuttob]

Without any reverb it sometimes sounds like you are at the dentist's office LOL! Great tutorial! Loved how you turned that one patch into an ambient drone!

[@robyuepsy]

many thanks for your time and explain all this things !! killa bro

[@briancase6180]

Super-good video. Thanks.

[@brownboy0004]

Dope video thanks for the tips

[@wrxnglove]

How did you manage to import your wavetables into Bitwig? Mine are not recognised (I tried .wav and .flac / wavetables I made in phaseplant)

[@DashGlitch]

I can just drag from my folder into the bitwig wavetables

[@paradoxic1888]

Honestly I haven't been using these native FM devices as much as I should have. I always thought of FM-4 as a very basic device, but given the almost infinite possibilities I may have been wrong about it. The audio rate into the phase from a WT is really cool and I've experimented with it myself. It unfortunately doesn't work with poly which is why I don't use it as much.

[@a_8764]

With modulators, note FX and voice stacking, I find that Bitwig synths that are simple on the surface are still amazingly powerful. I think it might even be a deliberate design choice. Especially with polymer, it's a simple synth that is meant to entice you with the "convert to polygrid" option lol, and then you've entered a real rabbit hole.

[@Artek604]

@@a_8764 of course it is by design. You were never meant to compare say Polysynth and Serum, because that's a lost battle. But once you start adding containers, layers, modulators, FX, etc. you can easily build something comparable. That is what Bigwig refers to as "modularity".

[@paradoxic1888]

@@a_8764 I agree with you. The devices are simple by design with the option to go crazy with modulations and FX to build your own complex presets. That's why Bitwig's not for everyone. If you don't like getting under the hood and building your own creations, you won't really get the best out of the DAW. Then Cubase or Studio One is more for you. Bitwig's like "Here's all the tools you need, now go build whatever your heart desires".

[@michalmacko8089]

The whole bitwig is Underrated imho.. xD

[@SR1Records]

To be honest i think all of Bitwig's VST instruments are underrated. They look basic. If Bitwig would have spent some time to create fancy GUIs like top end synths they would get a lot more credit! As a side note, the Grid is basically Native Instruments Reaktor on steroids! I don't even fully understand the Grid! It's insanely powerful! I think you could make something like Serum inside the Grid if you were clever enough!

[@sqwerty0829]

Fm4 is actually a phase modulation synth, same as phase4! Thanks for addressing the phase pm vs fm debate though... This is one of the biggest misnomers in synthesis. Most folks seem to think the two are interchangeable but they are two very different techniques which lead to very different results. You can actually hear and see the difference on a spectrum analyzer. Phase modulation will result in harmonic timbre changes while true frequency modulation will shift the harmonics around when modulated leading to an unpredictable, inharmonic and atonal sounding timbre.

[@DataBroth]

it's not actually a misnomer, while I agree they are not interchangeable, I disagree that it a different technique Phase modulation is used to produce frequency modulation, but not all frequency modulation is phase modulation when it comes to routing an oscillator to either the phase input or frequency input on a synthesizer, yes they sound different but mathematically speaking, the results you get from phase modulation can be exactly replicated via frequency modulation, phase modulation is just a more straightforward method of reaching that desired result, which is why it's called FM synthesis I see this topic of phase modulation vs FM quite often, and it is mildly upsetting, as many people form a new understanding about synthesis, which I think is cool but then also develop a new misunderstanding about synthesis, which is not cool again, I agree they are not interchangeable, the fact of the matter is phase modulation is used to produce frequency modulation my point is this, it's worth making the distinction, but saying "it's not actually FM" is also an incorrect statement

[@BappinProductions]

Exponential and when pushed to extremes, linear frequency modulation, will both produce unpredictable/inharmonic etc timbres however thru-zero linear frequency modulation is so-called true/analog FM but it is tonally stable, like digitally implemented phase modulation is. TZFM and TZPM are identical when carrier and modulator are both sine waves, but they begin to deviate with more complex waveform combinations, however both are tonally stable and more or less the same, to the untrained ear and or within the context of a full track. Thus, while your comment is not technically false, it doesn't describe the full picture either.

[@sqwerty0829]

@@BappinProductions thanks for your clarification! I know my comment doesn't tell the whole story but it's difficult to go into such detail in a youtube comment.

[@unkleskunky]

awesome, I was thinking from my very limited experiencial capacity, that, if it doesnt exist already, a vst or program that emulated what sand does on the plate in those cool videos I have seen. I imagined it would be a way of visualizing your modulations. Dialing it in so to speak.

[@DashGlitch]

Lisajous scope 😁

[@unkleskunky]

@@DashGlitch So is Lissajous pattern what is seen on those videos I mentioned? I'm assuming youv'e seen them as well. Or was lisajous scope an actual vst or software name?

[@macronencer]

6:50 There's something not quite right about that screen shot of OP1 and OP2. OP2 is modulating OP1, but in the middle OP1's waveform reverses direction, which would imply that the frequency has gone through zero. And yet OP2's wave, which is meant to be modulating it, has not gone *through zero* - rather, it has hit its minimum. The only way I can make the behaviour seem correct in my mind is if the modulation of OP1's frequency was being done not by OP2's value, but by the first differential of that value, i.e. the slope of the curve. Can someone tell me if I'm right here? What am I missing? Is the display wrong?

[@DashGlitch]

The operators are through zero

[@macronencer]

@@DashGlitch I know. I was just wondering why the reversal appears to happen when OP2 is at its minimum. It's not going through zero at that point, it's fully negative. I'm sure none of this matters, I just have a curious mind :)

[@crossan77]

That's correct. the first derivative of phase is frequency. it's phase modulating and here's your proof.

[@macronencer]

@@crossan77 I think I might have worked it out now actually. I looked further on in the video and the carrier frequency is definitely being modulated by the first derivative of the modulator - but I think they probably did this for some reason to do with code efficiency (I'm not sure what). The overall effect on the sound wouldn't be altered because the first derivative of an audio rate signal has the same harmonic content as the signal itself (differentiate sine, you get cosine...).

[@istvangabor3373]

Good thing to play in the built in synthesizers, but better using Arturia Vcollection X, and pigments , these are unbeatable

[@DashGlitch]

I put out a video on pigments literally today lol. They're nice, but having a DAW with the best native tools means I will definitely use them too ;)

[@frenchdonkey1491]

Jefferson Sales done a few but not there yet

[@Herbarino]

Is it just me or is it very steppy when you adjust the index on the wave table module on the grid? Is there a frame limitation on that module?

[@DashGlitch]

I think it’s just the wave table I used in the first example, it is a very glitchy table. The AM one is smooth to me.

[@wes_the_scifi_guy]

Does bitwig get more cpu intensive with its super matrix of modulation. I love ableton and I think I would love bitwig just need the time of day.

[@BappinProductions]

CPU overheads are about the same in my experience

[@renoiser_]

dopeeeeee 💥💥💥

[@viliusd631]

Ou yea, thanks, man!

[@lcold3885]

Can you use it to resetup s?

[@morin1997]

Her: let's do sth less crazy Also her: 17:15

[@partlysimpson5154]

where is cubase? left?

[@DashGlitch]

Yea I got fed up with the amount of crashes I was having, increasing levels of bloatware, lack of fundamental updates that aren't just poor analog emulation of compressors/EQs. It's being left in the dust by it's competitors at the moment, and still charging a pretty penny per each 0.5 update. It's just not for me anymore, I've switched to bitwig almost 2 years ago now and this has been the most creative and productive 2 years of my life, bar none.

[@Sciencemadness]

I have no problem using soft soft, I just dont understand the tools and such, ofc it takes a long "#"¤ ti to make sotNice tutorialng because of

[@TheQxY]

I wish FM-4 was more powerful, like Sytrus in FL Studio.

[@nobodyxxxxxxxx]

Less talky, more do-y

[@DashGlitch]

Said the commenter ;)

[@intevolver]

Your videos are always informative and and I enjoy your presentation, but these vid thumbnails are killing me. There has to be a better way to drive your channel than to sacrifice your dignity to these insipid expressions and red arrows.

[@DashGlitch]

I’ve been targeted by big labels taking all my work as copyright, and since then suffered with new views. I’m pretty sure I’ve been shadow banned, and I hardly see people sharing my content. Sadly it’s a business decision I’ve besides to make to sustain being able to put out free content in the face of adversity. Maybe if less corporations and shitty labels tried to piggy back off my hard work and people helped me out with spreading my content I wouldn’t have to do it. I hope you understand

[@intevolver]

@@DashGlitch I had no clue anything like that was happening, I do understand now. Thank you for explaining, and I hope youtube gets you out of that hole soon, that's screwed up.

[@andersistbesser]

I had high hopes with bitwig but when i saw that is less intuitive and less fun to use than bleton live i stopped using it

[@DashGlitch]

Strange you say that because it has all the features/ideology, and then a bunch extra :)

[@andersistbesser]

@@DashGlitch its about user experience not features. Cubase had all the features you could wish for but i never liked it as ableton was so much easier and more fun. Ableton to me has a much better workflow, nothing is hidden in menues and it has all the features i need as well. I tried logic, biteig reason, cubase , fl , nothing comes close to ableton and its most easy to learn also.

[@DashGlitch]

@@andersistbesser I guess that makes it almost impossible to quantify, as user experience is highly personal. I could just make videos saying "XYZ software is best because I like it" but those would be boring i'd assume ;)

[@andersistbesser]

@@DashGlitch well if i use ableton i feel at home and i learned it faster than any other software so its more easy to me, if you take 10 guys who never used a daw and let them use both softwares 10 out of ten will get some decent sounding results faster with ableton. Ableton is super simple to use even tough it has so many features. At least this is my experience. Of course there are people who prefer bitwig or some other daw because they are used to more clunky software but if you want it simple and fast nothing beats ableton life.