Oscillators in fm synths are usually referred as operators. We do that by either modulating our oscillator by another oscillator or we can modulate oscillator by itself. So how do we introduce some harmonics in a sound without changing the waveform from default sine wave? We will create leads, bass sounds, fxs from a scratch and hopefully after that you will be able to see how powerful technique fm synthesis can be.Īlthough FM8 offers a wide range of different waveforms the original FM synthesizer works only with sine oscillators.
I also believe that fm synthesis is considered to be complicated because it offers such an immense world of possibilities and nuances in sound that makes it appear so difficult.Īlso, f you do not understand the very basic principles behind it can be very confusing so the aim of this first tutorial is to teach you those very basics.Īfter this tutorial I will concentrate on more practical examples on how to create certain sounds, also sound design for dance music. It sure requires a bit of a different mindset from that needed for subtractive synthesis and the main difference would be that in subtractive synthesis you build sounds from combining different individual elements (like oscillators, filters, vcas, etc) while the fm synthesis works trough interaction of basic building blocks called operators.Īs one element changes in relation to the other, the changes in timbre are produced. Fm synthesis is believed to be hard to grasp but I assure you that with basic understanding of the principles behind it, it’s not that different from normal subtractive synthesis. Understanding the fm synthesis in theory would require quite complex math so I will instead concentrate on more practical approach.
This is short fm8 beginner tutorial to FM synthesis with NI FM8. In this FM8 Beginner Tutorial we explain although it was heavily used through the history of electronic music, FM Synthesis still hides potential which is further expanded by modern implementations such as the one in FM8.