Hi Gordon,
Long time...
gordon hurd wrote:
>
> hey list,
>
> sorry i'm such a lurker, but it's hard to keep up with all the
> different
> lists i subscribe to--maybe i should stop buying gear! anyway 'tis
> the season to get back into my AN1x
> after neglecting it for a few months.
Good!
>
> i thought the patch programming tutorial thread was great. quite
> inspirational. thanks for the INIT tip, jon. one question for some of
> the seasoned programmers. how well can the AN1x do DX type FM sounds?
> any pointers on how to get started on patches in that realm?
>
The FM (Frequency Modulation) in the AN1x is bare bones compared to a
DX7 (6 Op) or TX81z (4 Op) FM Synth. Not even in the same league as the
FS1r from what I gather. We're talking old fashioned Frequency
Modulation not full blown FM Synthesis.
Basically, you have a choice of four algorithms in the AN1x: only FM,
Sync+FMbth, Sync+FMmst, & Sync+FMslv.
Use the Init function and choose '1' for Normal; Hit the Sync/FM parm
group button; check that Knob 1 'Algorithm' is set to 'only FM'; turn
Knob 6 'FM Depth' and you'll hear an immediate result. Depending on
your taste the sound is either great or awful ;-) Now, use Knob 7 'FM
Src1' and choose LFO1 - you're now applying FM to VCO1 altering its
frequency, i.e., this is your modulator and the output of VCO1 is your carrier.
Now for some real fun! Hit the PEG/LFO parm group button; use Knob 5
'LFO1 Wave' to select a waveform other than Sine - try 'saw dwn^^' for
example; now use Knob 6 'LFO1 Spd' to alter the rate of the low
frequency oscillator - try it real slow and fast. Pretty cool, huh?!
That's the basics of FM.
Now let's go back to SYNC/FM - use Knob 1 'Algorithm' to select
'Sync+FMbth'; now use Knob 2 'Sync Pitch' and adjust the value to
something like 16 - voila! You've just introduced Sync into the equation
- remember that great lead sound from the Cars hit 'Candy-O'? heh heh
heh Okay, once you switch to any of the Sync+ algorithms VCO1 actually
becomes two oscillators 'Master' & 'Slave' - yea baby!!! Use the VCO1
parm group button and use Knob 1 'Wave' to scroll through the available
options - notice that three additional selection are available - Innr1,
Innr2, & Innr3. These are useful with PW applied.
At this point we are applying FM to both the Master ran Slave so if you
want - go back to SYNC/FM and select Sync+FMmst - now you are applying
FM only to the Master of VCO1 and the Slave VCO1 is in 'sync'.
Check out pages 58 - 63 of the manual for more. Try experimenting with
the Pitch Src, FM Src1 and FM Src2 control - select a modulator from the
available choices, i.e., PEG, FEG, LFO1m LFO2 and start playing with
those settings to see how they affect the sound. Don't forget that the
Depth control for each of the PEG and FEG play a part in this too.
Happy FM!
Jon
--
http://www.jdlx-musique.com/Featuring support for the Ensoniq ASR-X Pro Sampler and Yamaha AN1x Synthesizer