An intro to FM acid (like Daniel Avery & Kris Wadsworth)

Usually people use a 303 synth to make acid donk-sounds, but today I'll show you the power of hollow FM-style sounds for this.
The FM synthesis poster ► we.tl/t-WkVW1STW2y
My Foundations courses ► courses.underdog.brussels
Patreon ► / underdogmusicschool
Discord ► / discord
Contents:
0:00 it's time to have 'the talk'
1:00 subtractive donques theory
1:52 Daniel Avery and Kris Wadsworth
2:19 FM donques theory
3:58 subtractive donques using Operator
5:22 FM donques using Operator
6:59 Sound design using ratios
7:55 Gross disgusting dissonance
9:44 the 303 step sequencer of Phoscyon 2
11:16 take my foundations courses

[@OscarUnderdog]

The FM synthesis poster ► we.tl/t-WkVW1STW2y 🎼 My Foundations courses ► courses.underdog.brussels 🧑🏻‍🏫 Patreon ► www.patreon.com/underdogmusicschool 🌱 Discord ► discord.gg/trDbVcDHB3 🐒

[@Lion4de]

Thanks for giving us the donq talk our fathers never did.

[@ricardojmestre]

Best comment 😂

[@SlayerDarkRaver]

It's a talk I have to give my kids. Important stuff ❤

[@gx2music]

You sir will be a very responsible father. Our children will need to know the power of donq above all else. 😃👍🏻

[@JonMurray]

Hahaha!

[@superscatboy]

"Mummy, where do donqs come from?"

[@roaldraschner1627]

I am a pro producer and musician since 35 Years. Man, first time i got a useful FM lesson. Great!

[@OscarUnderdog]

😁🫶🏻

[@Ariakiri_]

DUDE As someone who considers themselves a student of FM synthesis, you did a phenomenal job explaining and showing FM synthesis in action, and you showed where one of its strengths truly lies.

[@Teflora]

One Thing to be aware of is that FM especially in those weird ratios can introduces low frequencies that muddy the sound. So don't forget to Highpass and put a clean bass underneath!

[@isabellapakulska]

I don't know what's better, the content of this video, your top, or your face expressions when you fully into it.. Class as per usual, thanks Oscar! ❤

[@PauloARod]

The vest top is quite a distraction... lol

[@DmitryPuffin]

My tip for FM sound design: Get midi controller with faders, map operator levels to faders, put some random coarse/fine settings and select random algorithm and play around. Having FM control on faders gave me so much control, because I can control relationship between all operators with just 4 fingers simultaneously (I was inspired to do it that way after playing with Korg OpSix). It also allows you to 'feel' what FM is capable of. Because for a long time I theoretically knew how FM works, but I couldn't understand how to get what I actually want. I made almost a full track just from playing Operator this way into some delay and reverb, recording the result as audio. FM is so much fun when you make it comfortable to operate!

[@prizenex]

currently having fun with ableton push knobs and operator

[@CatFish107]

Thanks for the tip/idea. I will be patching that up. This whole time, I've been using my faders to control a mixer!

[@krazoe6258]

I’m doing my PhD in neuroscience and I gotta say, this reminds me a lot of a pattern of brain activity called phase amplitude coupling, which occurs naturally. It basically that frequency of phase drives the frequency of amplitude of an electrical signal. Basically the same as what you shoes with these two sine waves working together. electronic music is so awesome

[@chocomalk]

It's like Bamm-Bamm is all grown up and is now a music producer.

[@overseastom]

I keep hearing "Captain Caaaavemaaan" too :D Love this fella.

[@chocomalk]

Haha I like that better lmao! @@overseastom

[@gx2music]

Aphex Twin dropped a huge hint by naming his Polygon Window album “Surfing on Sine Waves”. It’s a must-have if you’re into weird , donk sounds.

[@mundainmonstre2372]

yoooo have you heard the cheatah ep from Aphex Twin? It was made on the old Cheatah FM synths from back in the day!

[@aszent]

"you're old enough".. 😅 Brilliant

[@VoidvonStroke]

Hey man, just wanted to say THANKYOU and a HUGE SHOUT OUT for JUST explaining THE BASICS of ACID SOUNDS. youve no ideaa how long ive been waiting for someone like you to just explain it so effortlessly like you did HERE. massive massive love.

[@candyflip6345]

FM is the sound of this generation. Huge sound clean and crisp.

[@ASH-ou4cg]

And it's been around since the early 80's! Big ups to the Yamaha DX7!

[@FeralFluxMusic]

Thanks man, your tutorials never disappoint, but this one is a gem!

[@SlayerDarkRaver]

Ive put off the donq talk with my kids for so long... Now I am inspired to have it while exploring the timbres of FM ❤

[@tonescapes9673]

Cheers my man,experimenting is always good.just started to reuse the Fm synth sounds,and they're always a winner,even with classical background!

[@thorstenoerts]

Tip: Try using the bit crushed sine waveforms like "Sine 4 Bit" on one (or more) of the operators in Operator for some dirtier sounds.

[@lupo8282]

I like those waveforms too, but if you cant get FM dirty with just sines, you are doing something wrong :D

[@mathiasholzer7216]

Inspirational video as always. Love the way you arouse your curiosity by sowing seeds here and there. Thank you.

[@SimonAshby-pm6kv]

Love your excitement and your level of explanation. I don't necessarily want to make acid dance, but this has helped me understand FM synthesis much better. Thanks.

[@kumble2687]

Amazing stuff and well explained as always, god it feels good to be a part of this community, so many treasures form all of you, cheers for your hard work, it takes alot to put out these videos at this quality!

[@AllArtProd]

Thank u dad Underdog for telling me about the birds and the donk 303’s, i now understand. And i really love ur shirt man it’s amazing. Thank you for making these video’s

[@savagedregime8176]

There was an entire scene creating pure FM techno on the X68K computer in Japan (just like Amiga and C64 in Europe). Its FM chip also had a unique noise LFO making more abstract timbres particularly suited for that style of music. Generally hard to find online due to the language barrier, but some of hizmi's schranz stuff can be heard on KZbin.

[@maniutin]

i've lost count of the tracks i started from your tutorials🖤

[@DJVasC]

Great FM tutorial! The first time it feels understandable and a great point to start using it.

[@meis18mofo77]

The fun really starts when you get into the teritory of dubstep bass design and you make your acid by FMing two wave tables, putting them through a filter, distorting them to shit and then OTT the everliving fuck out of em. THAT is sounddesign. Use all of the stuff, paint on the whole canvas, reject minimalism, embrace chaos.

[@airfixx_8952]

Or don't....... You seem convinced that the only route to good music is the that which you like. Perhaps it hasn't occurred to you, but some people got bored with aggressively distorting and crushing everything a LONG time ago.

[@meis18mofo77]

@@airfixx_8952 yes, all music I personally don't like is bad and shouldn't be made, that is what I wanted to express with my comment and you should be ashamed of rejecting your lord and savour OTT

[@rhinoskin7550]

Dubstep is still a thing? Nice man.

[@thomassynths]

Very nice presentation. Also thanks fort that Lime and Pink clip, sounds awesome!

[@stuartleighton]

This is awesome Oscar. Gonna use this in my new track for sure. A nice bit of demystification. Gonna play about now. Thanks once again!

[@billaveda6408]

Excellent. Best explanation of FM synthesis for EDM that I've seen.

[@laranjadj8126]

Wooow!! Lessons&lessons!! Amazing video

[@projectnitefall8058]

Dude this is so creative and unique. I cant wait to start playing with this new technique

[@ju_asi_]

This was seriously some eye opening stuff for me. Thank You, o'wise synth cave man! 🙏

[@drop7vogue]

Thank you for your qualitative contents, always pertinent and always with a friendly and funny way to share your thoughts! Cheers from a French electronic music enthusiast / player!

[@mathewbinder]

Thank you for this video! You really have a great way of explaining concepts!

[@Honeysmack]

probably the most straight forward explanation of FM synthesis I've heard in a long time, thank you!

[@Hyper5nic]

Really enjoyed this video Oscar! With just 2 operators, I found that the sound's brightness can relate to materials such as stone, with short decay a very little to no resonance, wood, which sounds dull but has more resonance, and metal, which has a lot of resonance. Without specifically naming this, you also showed that it's quite easy to create waterdrums that can even sound differently depending on velocity, when linked to intensity. 🙂

[@craigsurette3438]

As someone who was broke AF , but loves Acid back in the 90s, and was attempting to break the laws of nature to try and make my DX100 and TX81z make Acid noises, this tutorial is awesome. Back in those days, I would make a tone, much like those you are making, and would leave the patch editing open, so i could crank the data slider set to modulator volume in real time, to create a real time control which would approximate the filter sweeping. I would also run my synths through a Boss Metalzone, keep the distortion settings lowish, and sweep the pedal's EQ in realtime as a DIY bandpass/notch filter. These techniques are crude , but 30 years later even when i now have synths with actual filters, i still use them, or virtual versions of them in nearly every track.

[@naed9music]

Awesome video. I love making acid songs and I didn't know about the donks.

[@zickvinogra9689]

The intro of this video should be nominated for something

[@OscarUnderdog]

An oscar maybe?

[@zickvinogra9689]

@@OscarUnderdog "And the Oscar for best Oscar goes to..."

[@ricardojmestre]

​@@OscarUnderdog🤣 man, you're on fire

[@flycrashrepairrepeat6225]

Wow! Those sounds are nearly as crazy as your vest! Thanks for lesson... will use very soon.

[@dontletmewatchthis]

Love the explanation! (and the shirt 😍) I want to try and make even squelchier, drippy sound and this might be the way to do it

[@hireality]

Brilliantly educational, thank you ✨

[@ricardojmestre]

Wow, gold again ❤. Thanks so much, Oscar!!

[@mazzky1093]

Most usable FM synthesis tutorial! Thanks!

[@medicamentosa3666]

Thank you man i was looking for the acid sound of Drone Logic for quite a while! Thats great!

[@misstrawilson]

Great video that explains a technique that will open up a whole genre of beat making

[@cassildaandcarcosa294]

Squarepusher - Nervelevers absolute master class in FM acid.

[@C1c4da]

loved this video man. great work. I love using operator to make drums, but i havent used it for acid like that.

[@cmdess]

Really excellent ideas and analysis.

[@JL_06]

Class video mate - thanks for sharing

[@Lance_G]

My musics about to get so much better 🙌 Thank you!

[@canterburyaudio5836]

Heck yeah,,, learned something new today! Hadn’t heard the term donk! Thank you!

[@xntricity6446]

Insane amount of information ❤ I have a a TD3-MO with "filter Fm' but doesn't do much. I'm gonna try this new donk sound thanks

[@barelomusic]

The best and most interesting introduction to Fm synthesis i could ever get. Thanks man🕺

[@gingerfreak01]

Love this mate.

[@jasonlogan5622]

Another great lesson, thank you!

[@zubileegluckgluck]

The shirt is hilarious

[@ouatedephoque]

Why ?

[@andrewscanlan4035]

@@ouatedephoque just look at it 😂

[@KHos73]

Purrrrrrrfect, lol

[@DeSoepkip]

I wonder about what bet he lost :)

[@cameronkemp9742]

​@@DeSoepkiphes a homosexual

[@OmarP8]

Impressive Oscar. I finally get the sense of the FM synthesis, because I've never seen it from that angle. P D: the t-shirt, also impressive🎉😂😂😂

[@sebotonin_official]

Very good explanation, well done! ✌🏼

[@andycordy5190]

Loving the Barney Rubble style top What the FM sounds like is a complete backing. Something that can support a solo or a vocal entirely on its own.

[@AcidCortex1]

Reminds me of the mid 90's Communique and Head in the Clouds recordings. Always wondered how to get that sound. Thanks Oscar!

[@itchardhen]

"really frickin' freaky." i concur. thanks for bringing a little fun to what is often waaay too serious of a crowd. :)

[@gutiguerra4042]

bro your videos are amazing

[@thecandidemrsinus8169]

Best explanation of FM synthesis ❤

[@assistantdjxx]

This video is amazing. Wow. Exceptional pedagogy ❤❤❤😊😊😊 thank you

[@ErinIsBlueBlue]

Very interisting concept !

[@HAZARDOUS88]

Such a cool technique. Thanks!

[@veelut]

incredibly spoken. cheers from michigan!

[@adrenomachine]

Thanks for the awesome lesson!

[@Hello9291]

Great video - more like this pls!

[@erlannderrantem6972]

Been doing this for a while now, just trying to get an acid sound out of every synth i have incl. FM, Phase distortion, Additive, Wavetable and so on. The challenge is always to not use a filter. Never heard about those artist before though (thx for the tip). It's just Fun to do, and thats the most important thing in Music!

[@kombosto88]

IMO Kris Wadsworth is one of the most underrated artists for sure! Bruno Pronsato Also…

[@magica2z]

Another wonderful tutoeial. Thank you Sir.

[@huguesandrepierrard4254]

very cool , as usual !

[@castielvargastv7931]

Well explained. Never understood what fm is all about before

[@thayanaclasso4387]

there's no waaay to not give you hundreds of thumbs up for thisss content!! Brazil loves you

[@OscarUnderdog]

Yeeeeee cheers!

[@schoenwettersl]

love that track at the end

[@ricardojmestre]

Now tell me, isn't this top notch pedagogical content? ❤

[@kalanicoria362]

I love this man, hanging out with him for a day would push my music production to the next level 👌🏽

[@OscarUnderdog]

Hahaha

[@TehDawg]

As a producer since 11 year old who suffers with an Array of mental derangements from PTSD, ADHD and Depersonalization. I find I am enjoying you're cougar based skin tight Gilet. Big fan btw

[@marcelonunez4902]

This is the first video that i found about the style of kris wadsworth! Mega producer!

[@EggZema_]

Very useful and interesting this, thank you Oscar

[@JH-lo9ut]

Thank you Tarzan. I've been curious about FM donqs for a time now, but I havent known whom to ask.

[@avtargill]

You're so good at teaching!

[@ricardojmestre]

Yes he is

[@ricardojmestre]

That's why I have bought 3 of Oscar's courses, and it's money very very well spent

[@deeeksidesound2368]

Wtf my world just collapsed, it may take some time to cope from this shock.

[@xerossorex]

I' a pure Acid fan and composer, and I go to try the FM Acid this evening ! it's very interesting, I like the sound that produce

[@DJ_Melech]

Reminds me of the sounds in those old (but banging) Boddika and Joy O tunes.

[@averageenthusiast7616]

I also recommend trying to design your own tr style drum sounds in more complex fm synthesizers to go along with your fm donqs

[@MrMallum]

“I think it’s time to discuss Acid Donks! You’re old enough now“😂😂😂 Legend!…. Put a donk on it mate

[@the_astro_garden]

Love the singlet!

[@pheymee88]

My dude has the perfect tank top to talk about filthy FM donks. Might add a personal tip: you can create huge FM donks like that in serum using FM synthesis there, which is in fact not actually FM, but PM (phase modulation). Sounds similar, but a little bit different. If you're a donk enthousiast you have to try!

[@liami-wangcai]

love the tank!

[@choonah]

even though FM is familiar to me but nicely explained, encouraging to explore, thanks! :)

[@jimmywheelo]

Thankyou Tarzan 👍

[@toxictower]

Nice, FM rules! Making a main operator lower than the carrier is good for growls 🔥

[@leonardomiranda3620]

somehow u managed to make FM synthesis not scary as fuck, thanks my man!

[@GARCIIIAmonster]

it took me a few seconds on the thumbnail to understand that it's about the music. nice shirt btw

[@JonoTheVoiceofAustralia]

I love a good Donk! Thank you for giving us kids the truth❤

[@rlyehlabs4677]

Once you love industrial, you love FM, i have practice some of this in vital plugin, fm to one of the three oscilators and add a lof of LFO automations for more chaos, but it really work, good tutorial!

[@LouisSerieusement]

Hey. I'm kind of a purist when it comes to acid. However this is very much acid (kudos for using the 303 sequencer !) cheers for opening my mind !

[@FearTheDeep]

The sound you showed gives me nostalgia for SEGA Genesis! I am now a fan of this style lol