Any tips for a beginner? Learning preenFM2 and FM synthesis.

[muntanja]

Hi everyone,

I've had the preenfm2 for roughly a year now and, while I've used some of the presets, I've veered away from programming my own sounds due to spending my time developing music production skills in the DAW first. However, I'm now ready to devote the time to learning this synth.

I've searched the forum for a "tips for beginners" section, but have been unable to find a good thread that fits the purpose. So, I wanted to ask the community for any tips on getting started with the preenfm2 and learning fm synthesis.

Hopefully this thread can then become a useful collection of information that can help beginners, like myself, who may be feeling unsure or overwhelmed on where to start.

Thanks in advance and I look forward to your replies 

[solipsvs]

just change parameters willy nilly until it makes sense to you.

start with 2 operators and see what the carrier/modulator relationship is, how one effects the other.  then youll have a better idea what is going on in larger algorithms.

modulator basically makes the carrier’s pitch go up and down really fast, resulting in a waveform that has extra harmonics.  you influence the modulator’s effect on the carrier with a simple volume envelope.  every operator (oscillator) has a volume envelope.  also the waveform all operators produce can contain different harmonics to begin with, producing output with different character.  some waveforms sound good, some not so much, its all down to your preference.

theres a filter after the fm part that works the same way as any other subtractive synth, except there are many distortion types as well.  this is part of what makes preenfm2 so awesome.  also the fact that there are multiple lfos and a patchbay make preenfm an extremely versatile and expressive synth.

[ericd]

I found this to be a pretty good guide.
http://javelinart.com/FM_Synthesis_of_Real_Instruments.pdf

Also here:
https://www.soundonsound.com/techniques/introduction-frequency-modulation

[matrix12x]

I found this to be helpful:
http://cochranemusic.com/dexed-tutorial

It goes over how the operators work.

[Xavier]

This one can be interesting too :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yB2QfDQh5Vc

[Yan]

I've been using my PreenFM2 since a few years now, and honestly i never became an FM specialist
But when i started, i didn't knew anything about it and now it's obviously a bit more clear. But I will never be able to know what kind of operator algorythm i should use or what setting i should do on the modulation matrix to achieve a particular type of sound.

But what i still was able to use it since the beginning.
I started byt downloading lots of DX7 banks that are lying around in the net, browsing them and selecting my favourite presets.
In a second time I started tweaking them to get them closer to my sound tastes.
And now I can start a sound from scratch, but only by accepting that I'm not trying to reach something in particular. Just experimenting until something l like happen.

And somethimes it can be enough to make music.

[Yan]

I have to add than editing sounds with the computer editor helped me a lot, as a the editor GUI can give you a more direct overview of all the parameters and their interractions.

[served]

PreenFM3 has alot better interface to understand aboud the FM.
You can see the waveforms on screen etc. So I would suggest you to try it if they are available.