![fm synthesis fm8 fm synthesis fm8](https://d29rinwu2hi5i3.cloudfront.net/article_media/d8586db5-cd71-48c6-ada1-53178223f108/01_master_mono.jpg)
Set the modulation level to 30 and press Operator E again to display its parameters.
#Fm synthesis fm8 Patch
We could just choose a fixed modulation level and make every note that comes out of the synthesizer have exactly the same timbre, but we can make a more expressive patch by tying the modulation level to the velocity of each note. The best results are in the 20-50 range, but you can tweak this setting to your liking. Drag down the modulation value in the matrix and listen to how the sound changes. The impact on the prongs at the beginning of the sound is too harsh, so we might hear that we need to lower the modulation level of Operator E to Operator F. We haven’t modified Operator D in any way, so it’s only going to output a simple sine tone, but its gives our sound the smooth body it needs. Here we overlay two different carriers, creating a more complex sound than the single carrier that was fed out in our previous walkthrough. This sets its output to the same level as operator F. Right-click on operator D to activate it, then drag its output line at the bottom of the matrix to 80. To do this, we will use another operator. Now we need to simulate the sound of the tone bar, which creates the sustain of the electric piano. Not terribly impressive on its own, but it forms a fundamental part of our electric piano patch. If we play our patch now it sounds like something metallic being tapped lightly. Drag down the square in the upper right corner of the envelope to decrease the sustain level. Click Operator F in the modulation matrix to bring up its parameters. This means that we need to change the envelope of the carrier, Operator F. Here we want the timbre to remain unchanged and the volume to fall. When we created the bass sound, we used the operator's modulating envelope to change the timbre of the sound over time. Let's use an envelope to make this sound more punchy. We'll set the Ratio at 18:00, which will give us a sharp, steady tone. To create our digital piano, we want to use a fairly high ratio to simulate the harmonics produced by hitting the prongs of an electric piano. If you play a note and drag up on this parameter you’ll hear how the timbre becomes sharper and brighter, eventually beginning to alias and create all kinds of unusual tones.
![fm synthesis fm8 fm synthesis fm8](https://i.pinimg.com/736x/1a/40/7f/1a407f9b03a9a6f5dced7502d1a433a3.jpg)
We can change the timbre of this frequency modulation by adjusting Operator E’s Ratio setting.
![fm synthesis fm8 fm synthesis fm8](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/vMvGk_fcIo8/maxresdefault.jpg)
This adds harmonics and gives the sound a sawtooth tone. Drag the box in the matrix below the E operator and to the left of the F operator until the modulation value reaches 100. In the matrix, right-click Operator E to activate it, then left-click to bring up its parameters. Starting with the default patch in FM8, click the Expert tab on the left side of the screen to bring up the modulation matrix.
#Fm synthesis fm8 download
We'll be using the NI FM8 plugin for this walkthrough (you can download the demo from here), but the same principles apply to any good FM synthesizer plugin. This time we're going to use more sophisticated programming to create another classic FM sound, a DX7-like digital electric piano that's perfect for capturing that sleek 80s vibe, but can also be tweaked to create much more modern sounds.
#Fm synthesis fm8 how to
In our introduction to FM Synthesis, we looked at how to create a simple percussive bass synth sound using one operator to modulate another. It is the basis of countless classical sounds in almost every genre of dance music.
![fm synthesis fm8 fm synthesis fm8](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/59/87/f7/5987f75fd3e209f61f37a727e26d71f6.jpg)
Moving forward with our exploration of FM synthesis, we'll show you how to create a classic NI FM8 electric piano patch.