Emu XL-7 & MP-7 User's Group

On 1/29/03 10:18 AM, "ByronIV" <byron@...> wrote:

>>> None of the major retailers are really better overall for one thing or
>>> another (except for Yamaha when it comes to FM).
>> 
>> Yamaha aren't actually better than everyone else when it comes to FM;
>> it's just that they control the licence of the technology.
>> 
> 
> Admittedly, yes, this is true...and I personally don't care for alot of the
> ways that Yamaha handles things, BUT the FS1r is indeed a monumental
> achievement in FM synthesis, that exceeds the boundaries that normally
> classify a synth as FM. Would be a hard ticket to beat if you ask me.
> 
> ByronIV

The time limit on the original Chowning FM patent ran out quite some time
ago.  So the lack of competitive offerings to Yamaha's former products has
nothing to do with technology licenses.  In fact the Nord Lead 3 has classic
FM synthesis, and the Korg MOSS (or Z1) has a variant which is for all
intents FM. Yamaha may still have some intellectual property that is current
relating to how they implemented FM but the basic patents that gave Yamaha
an exclusive for so long have expired.

BTW, the FS1r is by far the most potent pure FM synth Yamaha ever made.
Another interesting one though is the TG77.  It combined mature FM
synthesis, sample-playback (including as FM OSCs if I remember right) and a
full subtractive synth backend (filter, EGs, etc).  Also worth digging into
if your a fan of FM is the FM7 for Native Instruments.


drk

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