DX7 EPs from ION

[MaNdU]

I was wondering if you can get DX7 FM eps type of sounds from the ion, or if its all oriented for electronic music type of sounds only.

[mildbill]

no, you won't get those DX type sounds out of it unless you hook it up to something like this:

 

http://www.native-instruments.com/index.php?id=fm7_us

 

but i wouldn't say it's electronic type sounds only. any usual type sound like brass, strings, percussion and so on can be made using the standard synth programming techniques.

 

of course, they'll be synthesized sounds and not samples - if you want to get more realistic sounds, you've got to go with some type of rompler. to get DX type sounds, go with some variety of DX (DX7, DX200, etc) - pretty cheap now.

[Yoozer]

I tried it when I read this post and while I'm not the greatest programmer when it comes to FM, I think you need at least 4 operators and better (inter-operator) routing for it.

 

Pick up a TX81z for cheap, done .

[Jeff Irok]

+1 Yoozer -

 

The DX series' FM sysnthesis is much more sophisticated than that of the Ion, or most any analog or VA FM. Comparably speaking, although you could view the Ion as a "3 operator" FM synth, the alogorythms are limited compared to a DX-type. Not that you can't make some cool, clangy sounds with the Ion...

[Yoozer]

I dare to say it's even worse than that: it's a 2-operator FM synth where 1 operator can be altered further than the default waveforms. This is just in terms of usability and parallels to conventional FM, and mainly due to the single "FM Amount" parameter that you can use ("Volume" is rather useless in the FM configuration as it's purely for the mixer, not for the FM strength. "Pitch" is a whole new ballgame.)

 

It's also not that easy to program; you need to handle the FM amount entirely in the mod matrix; it's almost always better (for conventional sounds) to never let the actual knob control the FM. Just keep it on zero and let the mod envelope handle the amounts.

[Meatball Fulton]

You can get EP sounds from the Ion, just not those ultra-icy DX style ones.

[mildbill]

as long as we're back into this again:

 

 

there was a thread about this recently. i tried to explain a concept and am not sure i explained it so good. it's about VA's using the 'amount' to control the 'frequency' of the modulator, instead of using an envelope to control the amplitude of a modulator.

 

since that time, i read Jim Aikin's book 'Power Tools for Synthesizer Programming', and while he isn't referring 'exactly' to what i'm talking about, i think it applies.

 

in a section on audio-rate modulation, he refers to filters producing sidebands similar in sound to FM and ring mod (AM).

 

he says ".....sweeping the frequency of the modulating oscillator from an envelope is a lovely special effect. If the filter is heavily resonant, this technique produces a thick metallic swirl of sound as the sidebands move rapidly up and down through the frequency spectrum."

 

this 'thick metallic swirl of sound', is exactly what i was trying to describe, and it's what VA's produce.

 

you can also get this effect from traditional FM style machines, but not in a conventional manner. you have to do it 'by hand', by setting a carrier/modulator ratio, maintaining peak amplitude with envelopes open, and then physically shifting the frequency of the modulator to get that thick metallic swirl of sound.

 

at any rate, i'm glad Jim so eloquently described what i was babbling about.

[Meatball Fulton]

 

Originally posted by mildbill this 'thick metallic swirl of sound', is exactly what i was trying to describe, and it's what VA's produce. you can also get this effect from traditional FM style machines, but not in a conventional manner

 

 

You can also do it with any analog synth that allows a VCO to modulate the filter cutoff like this.

 

It's textbook FM from Physics 101.

[mildbill]

Originally posted by Meatball Fulton .........................It's textbook FM from Physics 101.

 

 

i guess i must have been asleep during that part of the class.

 

 

 

 

 

till now, i've only seen the 'set the ratio to determine which partials are present, and use an envelope on the modulator's amplitude to determine which partials are heard' example in books.