This week we’re bringing you an all new How To Use course and welcoming back his synth highness, King Unique, for an in-depth look into the world of FM synthesis using Arturia’s DX7 V.
Over the next 11 videos, we take a detailed look at all of the parameters and controls of this beautiful monster of a synth before delving into to some sound design to showcase what the DX7 is capable of.
Initially a daunting area of synthesis for many, Matt shows us just how much fun FM can be with unlimited envelope shaping and practically limitless modulation via the matrix on each of the operators, the DX7 is just an awesome synth when it comes to shaping, moulding and crafting your sound.
If you’ve got this synth already this course is essential viewing, and if you haven’t got a copy you’ll be wanting one by the end of it!
I have a quick question about FM synthesis. Why is it, when you were constructing the Bass sound, that 2 sine waves which are playing at the same pitch can modulate each other? I would think that this would just be similar to staking 2 sine waves onto of one another, which would create an increase in volume, but it changes the tonality of the sound. What is causing this occurance?
Thank you @Tekalight I think I understand a little better now. I believe what I was thinking of is actually additive synthesis. I suppose I didn’t fully understand how FM synthesis works. In FM synthesis it’s more like an LFO motivating the Carrier Wave to get faster and slower in Frequency (pitch). So even though the waves are set to the same frequency it’s pretty arbitrary because the modulator is not being added to the carrier but is instead acting like a rate knob changing the speed of the carrier’s frequency.
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