This is the BEST explanation of FM synthesis on TH-cam!! this confused me for sooo long but you simplified it for me when you used the EQ to show what it's doing to the frequencies. Great job man
smoothing issues. i get that, you've clearly displayed that. however , skrillex attests to using mostly fm8 for his growls, and obviously he's a bit of a prodigy, but he figured it out. i wonder where along the line he did it. you're awesome SeamlessR. you're really an inspiration and i could never thank you enough for your valuable resources. wait a second, could you get rid of that issue by clipping upt the frozen clip and taking the smooth part out? i think so. thanks again just wanted to think out loud here anyone?
I want my new serum based tracks to have more of that fm flavor back because I stopped using FL and switched to Ableton and hopefully now I'll have that deep and intense and RICH sound design that fm synths give. My best tracks we're all Sytrus based tracks. Serum can't even beat that. Thanks for this.
Have you tried placing FM8 in a patcher and automating each modulator with an X-Y controller? This works without the internal mod wheel and its lack of sharpness by turning the speed on the controller all the way up. Also you can set the ranges of each modulator and the increase/decrease amount independently via a regular or inverse link to a master X-Y controller in the FX channel for patcher.
Finally, i was just looking for fm8 tutorials, but you have managed to explain fm synth in words i can understand and process.. subbed, liked and gonna watch more of your stuff later :)
You, sir, are a synth guru, you definitely know what you're talking about ( even though you talk a bit too fast ^^ ). Thanks a bunch for this highly informative video.
Very nice video, you really know you stuff and even though these sound things are a bit hard to grasp, you shed way more light on it than I see in most other videos, which makes certain things "click" easier in my head. You've earned a subscriber!
Did you ever think of using Oscillator? It might be really helpful to see how waveform looks like while messing around in any synth, especially FM synths
Love the Vid man, Never stumbled upon yours before I'm interested in FM8's sound design and when you saying "smoothing" or "sharp" and how Fm8 doesn't sound like its hitting sharp possibly because you have a long attack in your envelope settings? which i didn't see you mess with in this video which in return wouldn't have a "Stab" to the sound but would also get rid of the build up on the vowel sound. Just my two cents..i have no problem with getting sharp growls with this synth. -Cheers!
FYI seamless the Morph section is like the AB mix in Harmor but with 4 instead of 2 and obviously work via an XY style control (its abit more detailed but thats the jist) Its absolutely awesome for blending pads into each other.
Damn the FL Parametrics EQ is great to visualize those kind of movements. The Ableton and Fabfilter EQ both can't show the oscillations so nicely for me.
you saint lol i couldn't figure out how to modulate with the mod wheel to save my Life ,I was using a series of low pass filters and the wow filter with modulated distortion to replicate the same affect
Nathan Leman I'm sure something from Operator is transferable. Also Operator uses a different algorithm. I've gone back to use operator simply for the fact that it's easy to use, but also, running the exact same patch in FM8 and operator will create a slightly different sound.
Hell yeah. To quote Skrillex "My best monster bass sounds have come from FM8. People think they all come from Massive, but most of the ones that kids online are trying to recreate in Massive are actually from FM8." www.musicradar.com/us/news/tech/interview-skrillex-on-ableton-live-plug-ins-production-and-more-510973
FM8 has a learning curve. FM synthesis is so totally different from anything you'll find in traditional subtractive synths. Learn how the ratio's work 1st....this is a must!
For some reason, when I in- or decrease the modulation leve of OP E to F it sounds kinda steppy for me. Does anyone know why that is and how to circumvent it / turn it off?
I've tested all the possibilities to automate and the smoothing issue is the same with everything. Only way to get the sharpness is to use the velocity and draw it there it can handle the fast phase, but trying to automate anything else makes the sound round like you showed here :/
Also dude I kind of have a problem pls help. I just downloaded FM8 and installed it, followed your steps exactly until about 3 minutes in, which is where you modulate F by E you say, when I do that absolutely nothing changes in my sound, your example has a drastic difference already but for me nothing happens. Also later when you mess with the ratio, my sound doesn't have that up and down wobble at all, it just seems to decrease in volume, below 0.3 I can barely hear anything where for you that range kind of gives a nice effect
I hate how the time bar is only displayed in portrait view (though I think thats a compile error, they probably missed an if() or while() statement somewhere.
Ableton has nothing over FL, apart from sometimes things are easier to set up and are more organised, you could theoretically replicate the entire macro system with some fruity formula controllers in a patcher setup, but that just creates problems as equally as it solves them. I'm starting to develop a macroish system with the FL SDK, but it's uncharted teritory, so wish me luck.
Colseon Lamb What I've seen from experienced FM8 users is that some create a very soft, detailed sound in FM8 and then use external effects/filters to exaggerate the vowel sounds and distortion.
Never mind my question I found the answer further down, had to right click the E to activate it, I feel stupid. It doesn't look obvious when you do it though, easy to skip over.
Take a drink everytime he mentions a different synth- Chug drink for as long as other synth is on screen get wasted p.s. I learned that this guy likes citrus
MrBaileyguitar The spectrum analysis is really annoying. It's hard to figure out where you need to boost something or cut because it all looks more or less the same.
you know what would be cool? if people who made these videos just talked about the subject matter and didn't act like people don't know what the fuck an LFO is... if you don't know what an LFO is you're on the wrong video, you're REALLY on the wrong video...
+xomblei Hey idiot, its called FM From The Ground Up, meaning it starts assuming people have no knowledge and ends with all of it. I think you are on the wrong video.... REALLY wrong video.
+Nick Williams oh right because one video is going to show them everything they need to know before they get to FM synthesis. Get your head out of your ass these kinds of videos are obnoxious just like your shit attitude
xomblei Dude, nobody knows what an LFO is. Are you looking for a way out where Seamless has to babysit you and define every single term in one video? If so…ouch, because of course he missed what the LFO actually is. Because this video isn't about LFOs. It's about how frequencies can be modulated in FM8. And consider this video a remix, because he was trying to remake a bass he made in Sytrus. Do you realize what it takes to do that? Do you have any idea how much time it takes Seamless to explain this stuff? Do you have any idea WHY Seamless explains this stuff? If your answer is no, that's completely fine! Each and every video goes into detail about one specific topic, which is why SeamlessR is so good in tutorial-making. However, if your answer is "no, and I want you to define specific terms every single video", YOU ARE ON THE WRONG CHANNEL!
This is the BEST explanation of FM synthesis on TH-cam!! this confused me for sooo long but you simplified it for me when you used the EQ to show what it's doing to the frequencies. Great job man
So nice to see quick and informative with zero BS, will check out the other vids.
smoothing issues. i get that, you've clearly displayed that. however , skrillex attests to using mostly fm8 for his growls, and obviously he's a bit of a prodigy, but he figured it out. i wonder where along the line he did it.
you're awesome SeamlessR. you're really an inspiration and i could never thank you enough for your valuable resources.
wait a second, could you get rid of that issue by clipping upt the frozen clip and taking the smooth part out? i think so. thanks again just wanted to think out loud here
anyone?
I want my new serum based tracks to have more of that fm flavor back because I stopped using FL and switched to Ableton and hopefully now I'll have that deep and intense and RICH sound design that fm synths give. My best tracks we're all Sytrus based tracks. Serum can't even beat that. Thanks for this.
Fr FM is just another world, same goes for additive synthesis
Have you tried placing FM8 in a patcher and automating each modulator with an X-Y controller? This works without the internal mod wheel and its lack of sharpness by turning the speed on the controller all the way up. Also you can set the ranges of each modulator and the increase/decrease amount independently via a regular or inverse link to a master X-Y controller in the FX channel for patcher.
Finally, i was just looking for fm8 tutorials, but you have managed to explain fm synth in words i can understand and process.. subbed, liked and gonna watch more of your stuff later :)
Thanks fucking god, you're using fm8... finally.
You, sir, are a synth guru, you definitely know what you're talking about ( even though you talk a bit too fast ^^ ).
Thanks a bunch for this highly informative video.
Very nice video, you really know you stuff and even though these sound things are a bit hard to grasp, you shed way more light on it than I see in most other videos, which makes certain things "click" easier in my head. You've earned a subscriber!
You have helped me so much with my productions. Even through just giving me the basics.
Every time I watch one of your videos I am more and more impressed with your knowledge. One day I wanna grow up to be like you
Did you ever think of using Oscillator? It might be really helpful to see how waveform looks like while messing around in any synth, especially FM synths
still learning it
thank u for ton of great content, Seamless. Through all these years.
anyone just looking at this and thinking wtf?!?! .. seamless ur soo good at this wish i could learn more about FL ive got FL11
Love the Vid man, Never stumbled upon yours before I'm interested in FM8's sound design and when you saying "smoothing" or "sharp" and how Fm8 doesn't sound like its hitting sharp possibly because you have a long attack in your envelope settings? which i didn't see you mess with in this video which in return wouldn't have a "Stab" to the sound but would also get rid of the build up on the vowel sound. Just my two cents..i have no problem with getting sharp growls with this synth.
-Cheers!
I'm never using Massive again! :D
Thank you for learning about FM synthesis !!! I learn au lot ! Really thanks ^^
I found this SO helpful, thank you.
FYI seamless the Morph section is like the AB mix in Harmor but with 4 instead of 2 and obviously work via an XY style control (its abit more detailed but thats the jist)
Its absolutely awesome for blending pads into each other.
I like the new video window addition, for some reason it just seems nicer to watch you use words.
Great video, and great explanations! Thanks!
Damn the FL Parametrics EQ is great to visualize those kind of movements. The Ableton and Fabfilter EQ both can't show the oscillations so nicely for me.
you saint lol i couldn't figure out how to modulate with the mod wheel to save my Life ,I was using a series of low pass filters and the wow filter with modulated distortion to replicate the same affect
Because I forgot to tell xSplit to record layered windows. Whoops :p
Hey seamless do you have a video similar to this for Sytrus? Where you walk through it from the ground up
I thought I was getting the hang of FM with Ableton's Operator, then I got FM8... :(
Nathan Leman I'm sure something from Operator is transferable. Also Operator uses a different algorithm. I've gone back to use operator simply for the fact that it's easy to use, but also, running the exact same patch in FM8 and operator will create a slightly different sound.
That would be How To Bass 6, as I mention in the video ;]
If you ever get the time, you should do a how to bass in Operator from Ableton
Yes.
Hello SeamlessR! Where can I see that Nucleon stuff you are talking about?
its a bit much to handle at first but after about an hour i loved it
So is FM8 a good choice if I want to make more hard-edged bass growls for a better sound design?
Hell yeah. To quote Skrillex "My best monster bass sounds have come from FM8. People think they all come from Massive, but most of the ones that kids online are trying to recreate in Massive are actually from FM8."
www.musicradar.com/us/news/tech/interview-skrillex-on-ableton-live-plug-ins-production-and-more-510973
FM8 has a learning curve. FM synthesis is so totally different from anything you'll find in traditional subtractive synths. Learn how the ratio's work 1st....this is a must!
Dereck Dunn
Okay! :3
Dereck Dunn halves... ratio time over xD
God I am in love with FM8. I've barely even used it, but I like it so much better than Massive already.
Seamless, why couldn't we see the drop down pages in this video?
For some reason, when I in- or decrease the modulation leve of OP E to F it sounds kinda steppy for me. Does anyone know why that is and how to circumvent it / turn it off?
If anyone wonders why his sound is not getting modulated after pulling the modulation up: Rightclick on the operator in the modulation matrix.
I've tested all the possibilities to automate and the smoothing issue is the same with everything. Only way to get the sharpness is to use the velocity and draw it there it can handle the fast phase, but trying to automate anything else makes the sound round like you showed here :/
I thought so. Get well soon.
Also dude I kind of have a problem pls help.
I just downloaded FM8 and installed it, followed your steps exactly until about 3 minutes in, which is where you modulate F by E you say, when I do that absolutely nothing changes in my sound, your example has a drastic difference already but for me nothing happens. Also later when you mess with the ratio, my sound doesn't have that up and down wobble at all, it just seems to decrease in volume, below 0.3 I can barely hear anything where for you that range kind of gives a nice effect
I assume that trying FM8's high resolution performance option didn't help the sharpness?
Watched this in 2015. Got scared when I saw his beard wasn't there.
is there a way to change the level curve so that you can hear that type of modulation on the fly?
You're right SR I had to turn my volume down on sytrus! I feel more knowledgeable
The sound you end up with reminds me of Gost. Cooool! :-p
I hate how the time bar is only displayed in portrait view (though I think thats a compile error, they probably missed an if() or while() statement somewhere.
Awesome tutorial :)
Ableton has nothing over FL, apart from sometimes things are easier to set up and are more organised, you could theoretically replicate the entire macro system with some fruity formula controllers in a patcher setup, but that just creates problems as equally as it solves them. I'm starting to develop a macroish system with the FL SDK, but it's uncharted teritory, so wish me luck.
What if you use the built in distortion in FM8 to create of fake kind of sharpness? Or turn up modulation from D to C?
Colseon Lamb What I've seen from experienced FM8 users is that some create a very soft, detailed sound in FM8 and then use external effects/filters to exaggerate the vowel sounds and distortion.
Thank you.
New TH-cam version for Android rocks... Although it freezes sometimes
life changer
wich program do you use to record screen/webcam/voice ?
The sound doesn't change for me when I change E-->F modulation thingy (when you raise the amplitude level). I use FL Studio 10. What do I do wrong?
I had the same problem first time round - I missed when he said to right-click on the 'E' in the FM Matrix to activate it :)
Great vid. What DAW are you using?
+Gavin Wheeler FL Studio
+Imtiaz Willems cheers. any idea what that parametric eq is? be handy for a project im working on.
Yeah, it's the standard Paramatric eq 2 of FL
Cheers
you're welcome
great and funny explanation! :) keep going
Never mind my question I found the answer further down, had to right click the E to activate it, I feel stupid. It doesn't look obvious when you do it though, easy to skip over.
Hi, You are Seamless
brilliant !
If you don't mind me asking, how does Sytrus stack up against FM8?
Shiek927 Seamless likes to use Sytrus over FM8 because FM8's smoothing cannot be disabled.
it. fucking. rocks.
Do you like have an permanent cold or something?
didint think that sound was so easy to make
:D yay more vidierz!
very clear and consciously taught, thanks!
why i dont have FM8?
If anybody still can't bass after 50 how to basses then they'll never be able to bass and should give up bassing
3:10
Have fun.
Take a drink everytime he mentions a different synth-
Chug drink for as long as other synth is on screen
get wasted
p.s. I learned that this guy likes citrus
bro this is some crazy calculus stuff
like!
Hahaha, he is a g!
I live in a digital world, its what I do. hahaha!
There are way to many great presets in order to start creating sounds of your own. I'd say it's a waste of time, even though it can be really fun.
is it a curse? did you make fun of a wizard for his silly hat? or did you trade having a permanent cold for having insane bass skills.
song made with fm8 ^ u ^ soundcloud.com/riveroftruth/merry-christmas-river-of-truth
Thanks for listening dude!
can't open
Electro that shit is old as fuck but here you go: soundcloud.com/pizza_gang/merry-christmas-river-of-truth
Pizza Gang I'll check it out
Pizza Gang Not bad. It's a little too loud on the highs but "everyone" is trying to be loud now.
That EQ looks incredibly difficult and annoying to work with...
Other than that, pretty cool.
Parametric EQ2? That EQ is like the easiest thing ever.
If I remember right, I was getting at the spectrum analysis of it. Not the EQ itself.
Still pretty easy to work with. I use it countless times
I guess it's just personal preference.
MrBaileyguitar The spectrum analysis is really annoying. It's hard to figure out where you need to boost something or cut because it all looks more or less the same.
50 th :3
why didn't I check out your videos first, I wasted so much time
It sounds like you're eating a sandwich.
chewing gum i guess, it's boring...
Everyone has FM8 because... everyone steals it?
65th :D
I thought it was called fishing...
nice tut, Rübezahl.
lol yois.....
you know what would be cool? if people who made these videos just talked about the subject matter and didn't act like people don't know what the fuck an LFO is... if you don't know what an LFO is you're on the wrong video, you're REALLY on the wrong video...
+xomblei Hey idiot, its called FM From The Ground Up, meaning it starts assuming people have no knowledge and ends with all of it. I think you are on the wrong video.... REALLY wrong video.
+Nick Williams oh right because one video is going to show them everything they need to know before they get to FM synthesis. Get your head out of your ass these kinds of videos are obnoxious just like your shit attitude
+xomblei don't wanna burst your bubble but who came here with a shitty attitude in the first place? Right...
+ARTFX STUDIOS Actually i came here with a great attitude and wasted a shitload of valuable time waiting for homeboy to get to the point
xomblei Dude, nobody knows what an LFO is. Are you looking for a way out where Seamless has to babysit you and define every single term in one video? If so…ouch, because of course he missed what the LFO actually is. Because this video isn't about LFOs. It's about how frequencies can be modulated in FM8. And consider this video a remix, because he was trying to remake a bass he made in Sytrus. Do you realize what it takes to do that? Do you have any idea how much time it takes Seamless to explain this stuff? Do you have any idea WHY Seamless explains this stuff? If your answer is no, that's completely fine! Each and every video goes into detail about one specific topic, which is why SeamlessR is so good in tutorial-making. However, if your answer is "no, and I want you to define specific terms every single video", YOU ARE ON THE WRONG CHANNEL!