FM Synthesis: How does it work?

Музыка

Today is the first of hopefully many guides explaining, from the ground up, how a type of synthesis, technique, or effect works. Feel free to play along with me for free using Dexed!
Dexed (open source DX7 clone VST): asb2m10.github.io/dexed/

Пікірлер: 153

  • @TripleTSingt
    @TripleTSingt6 жыл бұрын

    "Lumberjacks are big fans of FM synthesis, because they're so tired of hearing saws" really great joke there, mate

  • @michaos1
    @michaos15 жыл бұрын

    I can't understand how both a tech guy and an amazing musician can live inside of a single body. Love your piano album BTW.

  • @2pandaemonium2

    @2pandaemonium2

    4 жыл бұрын

    there's actually a very thin line between those two

  • @laurenpinschannels

    @laurenpinschannels

    4 жыл бұрын

    it's hard to be good at the technical details of sound design without a deep understanding of the physics of sound, and that math connects right up with the software and hardware to simulate sound

  • @ChurroLightyear

    @ChurroLightyear

    3 жыл бұрын

    Look mum no computer also belongs in this boat

  • @michaos1

    @michaos1

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@ChurroLightyear he’s imo not a very good musician, more of a electronics geek and an experimentator, but anyway he’s super cool! What’s more, very inspiring.

  • @michaos1

    @michaos1

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@2pandaemonium2 yeah, i bet back in the day, all professors/scientists were clavichord/cello players:)

  • @dans.5099
    @dans.50996 жыл бұрын

    Jeesh, given the production quality of this channel, it doesn't have nearly the number of views it deserves. Are you going strictly off of organic search engine results? We need to form a marketing gang and get your stuff promoted dude.

  • @firehandszarb
    @firehandszarb2 жыл бұрын

    Very few can combine the two disciplines like that. I've known a lot of software developers who are good musicians but don't necessarily focus on sound design like that. I've also known others who are into csound etc but are not so good as writing the visceral music (stuff with groove and emotion) that people actually want to listen to. I am starting to focus on the border between being a technician and a musician myself, its a great place to be because not many people are doing this. Benn Jordan is both a great musician and sound designer. This video actually makes me want to explore FM synthesis.

  • @iwanttocomplain

    @iwanttocomplain

    Жыл бұрын

    Tim Follin and Matt Furniss are two musicians working on 16bit games in the 90’s. Follin only did a bit of FM but a custom driver was used which he assisted with, for the Mega Drive in which he composed the Time Trax soundtrack. Sadly, the game was not released but the compositions are interesting. For me, the Mega Drive library is where you start to learn FM. The games of Konami, Compile, Vic-Tokai and Technosoft are all worth investigating. Then you can go buy a MegaFM by Twisted Electrons.

  • @culhamusic
    @culhamusic4 жыл бұрын

    I am producing for 4 years, watching tutorials everywhere, this is the most useful channel i have ever seen. Thank you!

  • @harvestgoon5291
    @harvestgoon52913 жыл бұрын

    OK, so I've seen what FM synthesis *is* explained, but at 10:40+ I feel like I learned how to *use* FM synthesis. Thanks for this, Benn!

  • @Ajcrumbles
    @Ajcrumbles6 жыл бұрын

    Brilliant video and super helpful! Ordered my Digitone today and haven't found anyone who can explain FM synthesis in a way that really makes sense.

  • @dariosusu1529
    @dariosusu15293 жыл бұрын

    dude i am so happy that you are doing this. i love your music for like 10-12 years - so weird and awesome seeing you talk synthesis/music production/stuff :D i hope your channel blows up, you more than deserve it

  • @nodflenders3665
    @nodflenders36656 жыл бұрын

    Even your background music when he's talking is incredibly good! Keep up the good work Ben : )

  • @jezehelodie
    @jezehelodie3 жыл бұрын

    I am starting to think the synthesizer i bought in 8th grade in the 80s was an fm synth. My female brain actually understood what you were talking about. Now I am going to watch 3 years of your videos.

  • @midnightskate
    @midnightskate6 жыл бұрын

    This was perfect. I finally understand how everything combines to make fm synthesis

  • @denonblade
    @denonblade3 жыл бұрын

    Excellent video, just a small point though, Linear FM is more to do with the variation from the central frequency rather than the frequencies being harmonically locked, though harmonic locking is useful for more pleasant sounding Exp FM. For example in Exp FM if you have a central frequency of 440Hz, modulation depth of 2 will create side bands at 880Hz and 220Hz so the relative distance of each harmonic from the central frequency is not even in terms of a linear frequency, resulting in a perceived change of fundamental pitch. In Linear FM this is the case, if there was a central frequency of 440Hz, the modulation sidebands would be even on both sides i.e. 440Hz +/- 220Hz, this means the average frequency is still 440Hz so it sounds more musical. With Exp FM you can see that the average frequency of harmonic content starts to increase. Of course, with Linear FM you might see a problem of increasing modulation depth. This is why through zero linear FM was developed.

  • @macronencer

    @macronencer

    2 жыл бұрын

    I was hoping someone would have pointed this out! Also, I believe the equation listed at the start of the video describes *phase* modulation. I think most FM synths are really using phase modulation in any case, though. It's not surprising there's a lot of confusion around this topic! :)

  • @matthiasklein9608

    @matthiasklein9608

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@macronencer Yep, it’s the equation for phase modulation. And indeed, all Yamaha FM synths employed phase modulation, because it was cheaper to implement and equivalent to FM as long as you only use sine and cosine waves.

  • @greggregory2554
    @greggregory25546 жыл бұрын

    Awesome. This is the first video to make sense to me. Thanks.

  • @Coowallsky
    @Coowallsky Жыл бұрын

    Best FM explanations I’ve seen are done with actual FM synths.

  • @audioartisan
    @audioartisan3 жыл бұрын

    Clicked to hear Benn's explanation of FM synthesis ...ended up getting a Reaktor lesson ...Thank's Benn!

  • @PHIplaytesting
    @PHIplaytesting6 жыл бұрын

    Cool video. I'm still confused about some things, but it gave me a good idea of where to look next. Sick jam at the end!

  • @lateralshiftmusic
    @lateralshiftmusic3 жыл бұрын

    This is awesome and I thought that EP sounded really good, loved the tremolo effect! Thanks for the tutorial :)

  • @lundsweden
    @lundsweden11 ай бұрын

    40 years later and we're still figuring out how the DX7 works! 😅

  • @stephenward2743
    @stephenward27436 жыл бұрын

    Dude you crushed that patch in the outro, pretty impressed with dexed

  • @playtf2
    @playtf26 жыл бұрын

    Benn, you are the messiah of contemporary classic-que music production. Your design and sense of music are a huge source of inspiration. And you move industry forward with your opensource initiatives like sharing your knowledge on KZread or Showseed. You showed me the world of contemporary experimental music and I hope you are going to achieve much more. Can you please make some videos about writing interesting complicated rhythms, i.e. for percussion like in Winter Map or for drum solos like in Kirlian Selections? I am also very interested in technique you used to create such wonderful samples for percussion like crackling and clicking in Winter Map, or in Earthtone Morphine Battery. I can't wrap my head around design of such crisp and clean clicks. Thank you very much!

  • @BrookmanGuitar
    @BrookmanGuitar4 жыл бұрын

    Cheers, and thanks for the demonstration. Very nice playing at the end too!

  • @noel101082
    @noel1010826 жыл бұрын

    Great Job Ben I saw a previous video.. just one... months ago.. soon as i saw your intro... i remembered i loved the last video i watched. to a bright future sir.

  • @nichttuntun3364
    @nichttuntun33646 жыл бұрын

    Great video. DEXED indeed is great. FM is a fantastic synthesis method. And you are completely right about the ridiculously high amount of subtractive synth out there today. When things like additive and FM would have gotten more attention... Man how far could be synthesis today? Have joy.

  • @krystianseibert6610
    @krystianseibert66103 жыл бұрын

    This is a great explanation of FM synthesis.

  • @brandonhabera
    @brandonhabera Жыл бұрын

    I appreciate confident and verbose Ben of 2023, but can relate humble and up-and-coming-KZreadr Ben of 2018 much more personally.

  • @SgtZaqq
    @SgtZaqq6 жыл бұрын

    Wait what, you are THE Flashbulb? I like you music and have found your channel completely accidentally xD Helpful video, by the way, I have Dexed, but never really used it.

  • @fiix7026
    @fiix70263 жыл бұрын

    Looking at the quality of your content, I just had to subscribe and comment to push your algorithm rating. Great job!

  • @sucim
    @sucim5 жыл бұрын

    I did not really understand what you are doing, but its impressive! I will be watching more theoretical videos about this and then return and see if I am able to understand this dark magic :D

  • @omnivorace
    @omnivorace6 жыл бұрын

    Nice place here to seat, listen and learn. You are very good, Sir.

  • @bchspace
    @bchspace3 ай бұрын

    You modulate my heart every time I see your dashing eyebrow.

  • @keres993
    @keres9936 жыл бұрын

    I had that "aha" moment recreating the bell you made where I figured out how FM "works". Very cool tool to have in your arsenal of instruments - the sound is indeed iconic and extremely rich. These videos are unbelievably informative and have been influencing my songwriting and gear purchases with pleasing results. Benn's sense of texture is second to none.

  • @PeterJnicol

    @PeterJnicol

    4 жыл бұрын

    Same here...

  • @unfa00
    @unfa006 жыл бұрын

    12:46 - "It's very easy to get the Sonic The Hedgehog sound"

  • @sammadden5540

    @sammadden5540

    3 жыл бұрын

    Isn't that why we all buy FM synths?

  • @WinfriedSitte
    @WinfriedSitte6 жыл бұрын

    Thanks that was a really helpful vid.

  • @DavidGossettMusic
    @DavidGossettMusic3 жыл бұрын

    8:02 stopped to download the plugin and spent the next 15 minutes making some sweet lofi jams. Thanks for introducing me to Dexed.

  • @Nachtdwaler
    @Nachtdwaler3 жыл бұрын

    Great playing at the end!

  • @DerekRobertsteig
    @DerekRobertsteig6 жыл бұрын

    So glad you covered FM. I'm a huge sucker for EPs as well. Have you played with Keyscape? Is it worth the buy?

  • @CharlesFerraro
    @CharlesFerraro5 жыл бұрын

    The more fm synths I see the more I appreciate the one I use. That synth being MOD-7 which is an engine in the Kronos.

  • @Gusrikh1
    @Gusrikh16 жыл бұрын

    Very well presented

  • @MrLucasErler
    @MrLucasErler6 жыл бұрын

    this video is helpful. thanks man

  • @mattlagan8662
    @mattlagan86623 жыл бұрын

    Thanks for the tips!

  • @MattDiamondMDE
    @MattDiamondMDE3 жыл бұрын

    Great video, thanks!

  • @YomYestreen
    @YomYestreen6 жыл бұрын

    You are an excellent piano player.

  • @djd829
    @djd8296 ай бұрын

    Nice little joke in the beginning. However, that actually was all I really needed to understand, thanks! 😂 I’ll still watch and like

  • @SamsTheBams
    @SamsTheBams3 жыл бұрын

    I think Akemie's Castle is my most used module, I'm so happy i bought it.

  • @Loscha
    @Loscha6 жыл бұрын

    Superb video. I've been a serious lover of FM since the 90s. I bought a Dx7IIFD after reading about synthesizers. The Volca FM is Dx7 patch compatible (6 operator), but only 3 voices. Fruit had a Dx10 basic FM Synth which does a lot. Many Virtual Analogue synths support at least basic FM, Korg MS2000 does 2 operator FM, sorta poorly. The Blofeld has comprehensive FM . Yamaha wrote a book about FM Synthesis Theory (and applications) I have a scan of it here - paper copies are pure unobtanium. loscha.com/scans/FM_Synthesis-Theory_Applications.pdf Please keep up the great synthesizer videos, Benn. I really enjoyed the last album (and all of em). The wooden case is just beautiful. Cheers from Australia.

  • @prtysh

    @prtysh

    4 жыл бұрын

    that site is down. Any other link?

  • @Conforce
    @Conforce3 жыл бұрын

    awesome tutorial

  • @dvamateur
    @dvamateur6 жыл бұрын

    This is good. I believe harmonic series and musical harmony should be inseparable. Hammond organ players seem to understand that.

  • @MaghoxFr

    @MaghoxFr

    6 жыл бұрын

    Andrew Piatek Because of the drawbar?

  • @stevieraypage
    @stevieraypage6 жыл бұрын

    super helpful!

  • @beat2009
    @beat20093 жыл бұрын

    really love the ending song :)

  • @Jingrr
    @Jingrr5 жыл бұрын

    Thank You!

  • @whitenoisefromelectronicto1728
    @whitenoisefromelectronicto17285 жыл бұрын

    Pure genius

  • @dg9576
    @dg95764 жыл бұрын

    Cool man, you think a sound behaviour and model it. You got the knowledge., BTW I know this is old but Volca FM also has 6 operators. Be lucky

  • @squackles
    @squackles6 жыл бұрын

    Would love a video covering generative music with modular synths! Maybe just you playing around with your eurorack, explaining what's happening and why you do certain things, bit of tips and tricks etc. Sadly VCV Rack doesn't have a quantizer just yet so a bit hard to make generative music in that atm, but I'm sure someone will make one soon.

  • @Phillibos
    @Phillibos6 жыл бұрын

    Hey Benn, First of all, i love your music very very much and you are one of my top favorite artists. thank you so much for your great music. this may appear a little bit Off-Topic, but i got a question that i'm really curious about: You often use pianos in your music. I'm thinking about getting some of these Kontakt piano libraries - do you think there's a big difference between real piano recordings and those Kontakt library things ? Do you always use your disklavier-thingy for all your piano lines or did you also used libraries? anyway, have a nice day man big love

  • @electropocalypse5877
    @electropocalypse5877 Жыл бұрын

    I get it now. Dexed has these things called EGs (envelop generators) and these shape the envelope that goes around each sine wave. The algorithm section arranges which operator affects the next one in a chain (leading to output). This from what I gather changes the timbre/tone and thus you get other sounds, like a square or saw wave. One thing I don't get is why are the 6 oscillators called operators? All in all I have a lot more to learn yet. 😕

  • @PeterJnicol
    @PeterJnicol4 жыл бұрын

    I leaned everything I needed to know but could find out elsewhere.

  • @KozmykJ
    @KozmykJ3 жыл бұрын

    Nice work on the Dexed. A powerful recreation of the DX-7 but not the friendliest of programmers. A darn sight easier than the little LCD window of the original though. I had (still have ) a Yamaha CX-5M MSX Music Computer, got it as soon as it came out. in '84. There are sounds in there that I can't find anywhere else, I've tried recreating them from my memory in various virtual FM synths but the sound I'm most eager to hear again must be relying on an aspect of zipper noise/quantization aliasing artefacts and just won't appear for me in the 64-bit world.. I'll just have to get the CX-5M going again if I can. A tipped lightbulb melted the mini music keyboard but I should be able to trigger it via MIDI ... Hopefully

  • @bm1259
    @bm12593 жыл бұрын

    Regarding the equation shown in the video there's another video by a guy called composing gloves that explanations how that equation works.

  • @vincentizghra6144
    @vincentizghra61445 жыл бұрын

    What does the "A mod sens" knob do? Thanks for the video I learned a ton.

  • @michaos1
    @michaos15 жыл бұрын

    It'd be nice to mention an oscilloscope when using Dexed, e.g. Signalizer by Lightbridge to see the wave.

  • @UBERLADEN69
    @UBERLADEN695 жыл бұрын

    Dexed is the Martin Luther of synths!

  • @woulg

    @woulg

    3 жыл бұрын

    Hahaha this is a deep cut joke.

  • @daniloprates
    @daniloprates4 жыл бұрын

    and I liked this video before 5 seconds

  • @LouisSerieusement
    @LouisSerieusement5 жыл бұрын

    you are so better than aphex twin ! I know I shouldn't compare people, it makes no sens but still

  • @anthonysg913
    @anthonysg9136 жыл бұрын

    Great vid. What’s your camera, lens, and editing setup? Sorry to be off topic I just dig the presentation.

  • @BennJordan

    @BennJordan

    6 жыл бұрын

    A Sony A7RII (various lenses) and the Adobe suite!

  • @paulbrocklehurst5873
    @paulbrocklehurst58735 жыл бұрын

    You mentioned that you think the Volca FM has 4 operators but actually it has 6 - it's the same form of synthesis as Dexed / the DX7.

  • @chrismillett
    @chrismillett3 жыл бұрын

    That outro 🤙🏻🤙🏻🤙🏻

  • @cesmcmyth
    @cesmcmyth4 жыл бұрын

    LOL... each time he says oscilatior..... I can't help hear "now let's go from the asshole ator ! hahaha

  • @herrpez
    @herrpez Жыл бұрын

    9:38 My mind instantly went "Syndicate!"

  • @Maxat_Ospanov
    @Maxat_Ospanov2 жыл бұрын

    In my city, there was an advertisement for the sale of the Yamaha DX7-2FD at a price of $429. I really like the unique sound of dx7, but I'm not sure if the 2FD version sounds like the first dx7 version, since 2fd used a stripped-down version of fm-synthesis. Tell me if they sound the same and if the 2fd justifies the $420 price tag? Thanks. (Sorry, I don't know English well, so I used google translator)

  • @zerla6018
    @zerla60185 жыл бұрын

    Man dat playing in the end was even more crazy then the main tutorial! How to learn to play like that?...

  • @TheQuesoJC
    @TheQuesoJC5 жыл бұрын

    a plus!

  • @marcuskruse1
    @marcuskruse16 жыл бұрын

    Can you cover fm ratios?

  • @garytelfer8608
    @garytelfer86086 жыл бұрын

    can you please do more dexed?

  • @robertsyrett1992
    @robertsyrett19926 жыл бұрын

    Hey is that a spec of poliosis on your eyebrow? By coincidence I too have two toned eyebrows courtesy of pigment deficiency.

  • @theconfessor3177
    @theconfessor31776 жыл бұрын

    noice

  • @grimmy49
    @grimmy495 жыл бұрын

    best intro XD

  • @JubileeGiggles
    @JubileeGiggles3 жыл бұрын

    3 types. Linear, exponential, and through zero, which doesn't alter the carrier's pitch. Pretty sure a lot of the old fm synths used phase modulation instead of true fm for the same reason

  • @ineffable_potentiality_01
    @ineffable_potentiality_016 жыл бұрын

    will dexed work with volca fm?

  • @ragequitredux
    @ragequitredux Жыл бұрын

    FM stands for "F****ing Magnets"

  • @neonblack211
    @neonblack2112 жыл бұрын

    Is doing this stuff in reaktor much different than doing it in something like VCV rack?

  • @nickcrider4309
    @nickcrider43094 жыл бұрын

    Operator 5 was turned off on the bell sound. Thats why it wasn't audible. Oops! Fantastic video thought!

  • @q11v
    @q11v4 жыл бұрын

    I klicked for the formula on the thumbnail, then I could only follow the first few seconds :D

  • @HatredPrime
    @HatredPrime6 жыл бұрын

    FM synthesis: How does it work?Whatever the fuck it wants.

  • @TeddyLeppard
    @TeddyLeppard2 жыл бұрын

    Replaced Dexed with KQ Dixie and haven't looked back since. No longer get the crashes I was getting with Dexed.

  • @hermask815
    @hermask815 Жыл бұрын

    FM-Synthesis is for the guys and gals who don't have a problem with the RT part of FM (RTFM that is. 😀)

  • @mellowgeekstudio

    @mellowgeekstudio

    11 ай бұрын

    Ha! I see what you did there. I use arch, btw. ;)

  • @cuttingedge1987
    @cuttingedge19876 жыл бұрын

    nice work but what is the music at 6:41 please..

  • @christianwheeler1816
    @christianwheeler18166 жыл бұрын

    ga bless

  • @vampires-from-mars
    @vampires-from-mars3 жыл бұрын

    FM Synthesis is randomly turning a bunch of knobs until it doesn't sound like crap anymore, right?

  • @bradschumacher419
    @bradschumacher419 Жыл бұрын

    Anyone else hear Melve by Autechre when Benn played around at 14:08? This guy....

  • @LysanderLH
    @LysanderLH6 жыл бұрын

    I think that about a year from now, I might understand this.

  • @woulg

    @woulg

    3 жыл бұрын

    How ya doin? Did you figure it out? :)

  • @mcblahflooper94
    @mcblahflooper946 жыл бұрын

    This video is great! Only qualm is around 7:35 it looks like the camera is focused on the microphone and your face is out of focus

  • @JacobSkriver
    @JacobSkriver3 жыл бұрын

    Love your videos and explanations but this video also made me once again realise how boring I find soft synths. All that mouse work just takes out all the joy of synthesis

  • @mellowgeekstudio

    @mellowgeekstudio

    11 ай бұрын

    That's what midi controllers are for! :)

  • @hagbardceline331
    @hagbardceline3315 жыл бұрын

    you're working on fl studio : same fight against our shame

  • @sylvainhaenen5444
    @sylvainhaenen54446 жыл бұрын

    "Musical instead of Atonal" ? or Tonal instead of atonal, no ? : )

  • @ButthurtNinja
    @ButthurtNinja3 жыл бұрын

    9:17 a little blue monday huh

  • @madsvadsholt5324
    @madsvadsholt53246 жыл бұрын

    Cover FM for Axoloti!

  • @kamalmanzukie
    @kamalmanzukie Жыл бұрын

    goo bah

  • @AnnedakDragon
    @AnnedakDragon2 жыл бұрын

    FM is best synthesis, change my mind. #YamahaDX7

  • @uhoh007
    @uhoh0074 жыл бұрын

    I just love watching sombody fight their Daw to explain something. Editing is like additive synthesis. You get alot more from alot less.

  • @BsYtHandle

    @BsYtHandle

    4 жыл бұрын

    You should explain this in more detail on your channel.

  • @valley_robot
    @valley_robot3 жыл бұрын

    FM synths are the most important musical instrument along with the sampler since the electric guitar, FM was not popular because of the lack of hands-on controls, it is way more powerful than subtractive synthesis, just have a play with the free DxD software, or buy a volca FM

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