RS036 Yamaha FB-01: Bigger on the inside

[@Markfromthe80s]

Props for the spot-on description about how much we all hated FM sounds in games back then :) Nice vid!

[@rejectedsynths]

Thx mate! 😁

[@_P_M_]

I remember wanting one of these just because it was a synth that looked like a car stereo. Plus, those Yamaha brochures had such sexy photos. Nice job on the video!

[@rachelar]

They had models wearing skimpy clothes draped spread eagled on the fb01?

[@_P_M_]

@@rachelar Not really, but it would've made for a compelling ad.

[@acidjack]

I have 3 FB01 at the moment. I used the FB01 since more than 30 Years. great machine i love it. I edit the units with my Yamaha CX5M Computer and Edisyn Plug in. i love the great FB01 Sound. I have a lot of FM Synths but this little box is a beast !!! Thanks for your Video. Great Work !!!!

[@rejectedsynths]

3 FB01s? That, sir, I call commitment! 😁

[@lundsweden]

3 FB-01s for under $100 USD?

[@acidjack]

@@lundsweden i have them a long time. got them cheap and free some day... the prices are rising now but there was a time where you got them for 10$

[@coolelectronics1759]

wow I wonder if you could double up on the polophony by linking them all up or combine them all together to make one big synth like a yahama dx5 that would be so dope. I would get them all modded with a pc bios batery holder and get the cap mod done as well. I had the batery mod done to mine but I think Ill stick with the lofi sound quality it gives it character.

[@acidjack]

i dont double them i use them each with diferent sounds.

[@stevenaustin4591]

bought it, love it! :)

[@MRSamSlick100]

I had some fun with one of these and using dx/tx convert. I made 2 banks from dx100 talkbox patches

[@johnnydekock]

Nice. Very well done.

[@rejectedsynths]

Glad you like it!

[@Shred_The_Weapon]

When I came to live in New York City at the end of 2010, there was an FB-01 module connected to an early Roland MIDI controller keyboard in the apartment where I came to live. I began playing it and trying to incorporate it with the synthesizers I came with, one of which was a Korg 05RW, the precursor to the X5DR your own FB-01 was sitting on top of. Somebody wound up coming to get the MIDI controller and took the FB-01 with them - although that person has since expressed an interest in letting me have the module back. That would be especially neat since I was not aware when I came here that this module was less adjacent to a forthcoming keyboard synthesizer from Yamaha, the DX11, than it was to the DX21. At different stages, I played or borrowed the 21 and tried to imagine what it would be like triggering it from a remote keyboard. Apparently, this was the answer and it was under my nose. One of the recordings I made during my first year living here included an FM bass sound from the FB-01. I ended up subsequently deciding to include that on one of my solo records. Here’s the track.. kzbin.info/www/bejne/f5qno2l3pMxof5o

[@rejectedsynths]

Thank you for sharing your story! Coincidentally I just returned from a short trip to NY :)

[@Shred_The_Weapon]

Far out, @@rejectedsynths!

[@sock_park]

Great video! Probably the most attention this synth has gotten in years. Love the Hollow and Solid Bass patches, as well as Harp and Celeste. For around the same price, one can get the Volca FM, a six-operator FM synth with similar architecture to the DX7. The user interface on the Volca isn't great for programming patches, you need software. But there are 1000's of free DX presets online.... However, the Volca FM doesn't fit into the "Rejected" category. Thanks for the video!

[@rejectedsynths]

Actually, for some reason it does, as you can get it dirt cheap, got mine for 60€ recently 😁 I've just started working on a video on the Volca FM, it's a ton of fun and the arp and real time controls more than make up for the 3 voice limit

[@sock_park]

@@rejectedsynths Oooh, I actually forgot about the 3 voice limit because I use it for bass, arps, and leads!!!

[@hicknopunk]

The Korg NTS-1 has FM oscillator software. It is just rad gear, not bad gear.

[@evilrainbow]

Multimode Demo song is fiiiiiire

[@chinossynthesizer705]

8:00 adamski actually used the sq-80

[@Dan-ms4oq]

Some great sound demos. Something I always wondered about the Volca FM is whether or not it could do those house organ bass sounds with the oscillator pitched a fifth away.

[@rejectedsynths]

As it mimics the DX7 it has 6 'oscillators' and should be able to do this just fine. I guess doing this will involve lots of menu diving though

[@DmitryGorbushin]

8:05 Actually on Killer Adamski used his Ensoniq SQ-80. It was his go-to synth at the time (probably his only synth at the time)! This is well know fact. So, unfortunately - Killer doesn't have SolidBass \ LatelyBass sound.

[@JanKowalski-vh1rg]

8:05 Adamski Killer moment :D

[@rejectedsynths]

Shht! Don't tell KZbin! 😉

[@JanKowalski-vh1rg]

@@rejectedsynths upsss....🤭 Anyway its sound too far from orginal and KZbin only looks for Killer from Seal disc not Adamski version

[@Pheonix0114]

Pretty cool little box. I like the sound of FM but I just wish there was a bit more character to the hardware units over VSTs. The MEGAfm will likely be my port of call if I ever decide a hardware FM synth is calling. Excellent and informative as ever :)

[@rejectedsynths]

Those real time controls really make a difference, turn slider and KRAAAAAAANK! :)

[@lundsweden]

The FB-01 sound has character, digital noise, lofi better and worse than a FM VST. Some really nice sounds in this little box, its a DX11/27/100 killer.

[@djangofett4879]

I bought a megaFM. it is a lot of fun to program even though I've barely wrapped my head around how the different operators are interacting. most middle to high range FM synths sound pretty much the same but the Yamaha chip in the mega FM has a really unique sound and makes some great bass sounds amd aggressive leads. of course with mega FM, most of what you are paying for is the interface and the housing and its a boutique product so its pretty overpriced for what it is.

[@lundsweden]

Its like a DX21/27/100 in a half rack space, with plenty of great sounds available online, free PC editors ect. Worth price of of admission for just for the Solid Bass (SolBas) and that Jorgan1 preset!

[@bontempo1271]

Absolutely super video, thank you ! One question, what is this FM demonstration software at 1:17 ?

[@rejectedsynths]

Here you go: rpubs.com/dinob/FMsynhthesis

[@bontempo1271]

@@rejectedsynths omg thank you lol. Was not expecting a swift reply. Many thanks ! Edit : oh i can't seem to find that same visual you had in the video. I've checked all the links on that page

[@rejectedsynths]

Oh my bad, wrong link actually. Had this one saved somewhere and thought is was the thing I used for the video. Will look it up for you later

[@bontempo1271]

@@rejectedsynths oh no worries, please do not go out of your way for me ! I will do some searching ! Maybe i will find something similar :)

[@rejectedsynths]

@@bontempo1271 No problemo: www.physicsclassroom.com/Physics-Interactives/Waves-and-Sound/Wave-Addition/Wave-Addition-Interactive

[@m.schmied1714]

Great Video! Thanks!! 👌

[@rejectedsynths]

Thank you for the praise 😋

[@GlenJDiamond]

During the 1st Covid lockdown I got a DX21 and a DX9. Even though the DX21 is dual engine (like 2 x DX100 in same synth), I ended up only keeping the DX9. Maybe the audio components of the original DX range were more superior?? to my ears the DX9 has a creamier and sometimes grittier sound (especially bass) compared with the next generation DX21. Recently I have got the VSTi synth called "Plogue ChipSynths OPS7" which accurately replicates the original sound character of the mk1 DX7 and DX9. OPS7 is dual engined so can nearly replicate the DX1. 4 x OPS7 can replicate the TX816 rack. Another VSTi that came out this year (2022) is Cherry Audio - Sines .. it has some presets that replicate 4-op FM algorithms so you can have a go at trying to recreate basic FM sounds (and more!). Both OPS7 and Sines come with built in effects. I've noticed that Cherry Audio "Sines" is missing some of the audio shaping capability of the Yamaha synths (Key Length Scaling and Modulation Amount Scaling across the low to high key range - maybe they will add that as an improvement upgrade????).

[@rejectedsynths]

I guess the sound of hardware is influenced by the digital to analog hardware a lot too, cheaper synths tend to have cheaper hardware and therefore less clear sound (lows and highs) but sometime those cheap components add to the sound too. I'm pretty certain those aspects of sound design are often overlooked when ot comes to plugins. The engines of digital synths are probalby super easy to replicate in software but that other bit makes the difference to some at least. If it hasn't been invented, someone should really built a plugin to emulate different D/A converterters

[@GlenJDiamond]

@@rejectedsynths I believe that's what Plogue have done with all of their software. They have emulations for game console audio as well as the Mk1 DX7.

[@johnpriceuk]

I currently have one for sale on eBay UK

[@sora8537]

Nice song :) Which Editor would you suggest for modulating parameters (not only programming)? I use Patchbay since a while but it is still not integrated on Daw. Tried the free M4L editor, it works, sometimes! Thanks for the tips. Yassine aus Berlin.

[@rejectedsynths]

Ctrlr has DAW integration, but I'm not sure fluid modulation is possible on a machine as old as the fb01 via sysex

[@kurisuchiinathecrocodile333]

That thing about Doom is a bit funny/sad... the POWER and LOVE of FM music was coming from Sega Genesis though :) Strees of Rage, Thunder Force, MUSHA, Shinobi 3, Contra HC, Batman & Robin, Vectorman etc. etc. As in, in those games music was created with FM in mind, and it shows. Meanwhile stuff like Doom and System Shock, yeah, they would be best on mt32 and other midi greatness

[@doordedeur]

Casio CZ synthezis is not FM, but more like analog with ring modulation.

[@rejectedsynths]

It sure can sound very analog, but PD or Phase Distortion Synthesis is just a label created to avoid FM patent infringement. Essentially it is nothing but FM with a new label.

[@doordedeur]

@@rejectedsynths PD has nothing to do with FM at all.

[@doordedeur]

@@rejectedsynths I owned a Casio CZ-3000. Programming sounds on it is completely different than programming sounds on a FM synth. On a CZ there are no operators. A CZ is programmed like an analog synth with 33 waveforms per oscillator and the possibility for ring modulation. Nothing like a DX at all. It more resembles a thin sounding Roland JX.

[@rejectedsynths]

I've personally never owned a CZ synth, so all the info I got is from wikipedia and some synth sites. They all claim, and I'm pretty sure it is in fact so, that PD is basically rebranded FM with a nicer user interface. There are carrier and modulator waveforms, so it probably is some form of frequency modulation going on 🤷

[@rachelar]

I read actually PD is more FM than Yamaha's

[@djangofett4879]

Damn, this FB-01 does sound pretty terrible.

[@superchroma]

AudioPilz has a good video on it where he squeezes out some good sounds, maybe check it out. kzbin.info/www/bejne/iamqeoSOabuHptE I think that as with most things it's about taking some time to understand what the tool can do and is actually good at.

[@rejectedsynths]

Well I think it sounds pretty neat for an eighties budget fm expander 😉