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1

preenfm2 and preenfm3 / FM Questions

« on: January 26, 2015, 09:43:04 PM »

I thought it might be nice to have a dedicated thread where people can ask any questions they have about FM synthesis, especially how it works on the PreenFM, and hopefully answered by wise sages of the forum. We can also share resources for more information that people can study on their own.

I'll start with one of my own: so when you press the Algo button you get the IM (Index Modulation) page. IM is the amount of modulation from one operator to another, yes? The biggest question I have, though: what is the "v" on the IM page? Volume? I've never seen IMs until I found the PreenFM, is that because a lot of "FM" synths (DX7, FM8, etc.) use phase modulation?

Here's a great book on FM synthesis (technically PM): http://yates.ca/dx7/The%20Complete%20DX7/The%20Complete%20DX7.pdf

It was written for the DX7, but there's still a lot of great information for anyone interested in making FM sounds (which should be everyone on this forum!)

2

preenfm2 and preenfm3 / Help! Experiencing a lot of problems

« on: January 24, 2015, 06:24:31 PM »

Hi! So yesterday I received a used PreenFM2 that I purchased from eBay (I think from the first generation, it has an R4 board), which was tested and worked great before shipping. Now, though, it has so many problems, I don't know what to do:

-Does not power on when using USB

-Powers on when using 9V adapter, but screen is all blue. I can see the words if I tilt the synth in a certain angle. The screen says "Bootloader OK but No PreenFM Firmware". I cannot change the screen no matter what button I press. On the website instructions, when getting the bootloader and firmware, it says "Nothing on the LCD screen is normal", so is the screen supposed to be really hard to read, or did it possibly become damaged during freight?
- I removed the case and put the latest firmware on the USB stick (SanDisk the recommended model), but nothing happens on the PreenFM.

I feel almost like I'm more at a disadvantage that I bought this pre-made, because I have no idea about soldering and I don't know where to look or what to do if something happened during shipping.

I'd appreciate any help!