FM Synthesis - A Practical Guide - Part 1

video upload by ChrisLody

"Here's something I've been meaning to get round to starting for ages, a practical guide to FM synthesis. In my experience FM tutorials usually over explain all the wrong things and rarely get as far as the important things like the predictable way operator ratios change the waveform and frequency responses. So I've tried to approach things from an entirely practical view point showing you how to make saw, square, noise etc with filter like responses.

Here's chipsynth MD (from which I stole a diagram :) https://www.plogue.com/products/chips...

Details on different types of FM (its actually phase modulation)
• Comparing Exponential, Linear, and Th... [posted here]
• The difference between FM and Phase M... [here]

0:00 Intro
2:53 How the meters works
3:23 Operators and Algorithms
3:58 Carriers and Modulators
4:29 MEGA Synthesis envelope generator
5:48 Reface DX envelope generator
6:56 Adjusting algorithms and operators
8:35 Making a basic organ sound
9:47 Saw feedback
10:47 Square feedback
11:48 1:1 modulation (saw sounds)
13:03 Low pass like sweeps
14:12 1:2 modulation (square sounds)
15:34 2:1 etc modulation (band pass sounds)
16:37 Ratio chart
17:10 Quick demo bass patch
18:20 Summing up"

Sonicware CyDrums Full Tutorial - Wavetable Drum Synthesizer and Drum Machine

video upload by ChrisLody

"Full Disclosure: I occasionally take on freelance work at Sonicware on an hourly rate producing synth & sample sound design, beta testing, checking English text and videos like this.



0:00 Teaser
0:30 Intro
1:41 About this tutorial
2:15 Powering on, playing patterns, volume control, func button, system menu
3:13 Front panel overview, master volume, select tracks silently, menu buttons, external source
6:34 Common screen elements
7:21 Memory structure
8:11 Project 1, selecting and loading patterns, queuing patterns, switching patterns immediately
9:12 Performing preset patterns, mute button, global mute, mute modes, mixer, global mix, tempo menu, reload BPM, global BPM, reload pattern, stutter sequence mode, random sequence mode, dice function
13:48 Performance mode, varispeed, all release, all length, revert, all stutter

CLICK FOR MORE »

Standard Lody Acid - Sonicware CyDrums, Volca Bass, NTS-3

video upload by ChrisLody

"You may have noticed the complete lack of CyDrums tutorial on the channel despite being about 2 months since it was launched. Well events have conspired against me a bit on this one, I've just been too damn busy during the week and exhausted at the weekend to get it done. But, fingers crossed, I might have time to get it done soon.

With that in mind I thought it would be a good exercise to refresh my memory a bit on how it all works, so I plugged it in a within a few minutes I'd built a kit and I'd written a beat I really wanted to flesh out which is why this jam happened.

This is kind of my standard fare when it comes to jams like this. I think I've developed a bit of a groove that I tend to find comfy when it comes to the arrangement and I feel I was firmly sat in that today, hence the title. I probably need to learn some new tricks!

I've had the NTS-3 a while but it's not been used enough so far for me to really explore it so hopefully it will pop up more."

Sonicware Ambient Ø Sample Manipulation Experiement - Speak Clearly....

video upload by ChrisLody

"I had a an hour or so free time this afternoon to do something experimental, messing with the Ambient 0's Noise layer for the purposes of sample manipulation.

I found the tape deck shown, a Genexxa CTR-96, in a charity shop recently and bought it immediately as it had a tape inside. That's always in 'insta-buy' scenario for me and it paid off. On the tape is the phrase you hear, 'You should speak clearly to get the best recognition accuracy, full stop'. The lady repeats this 3 time on the 3 getting slower and sounding more frustrated. There seem to be children making noise in the background so my best guess is she was a teacher and was trying out some 90s speech to text which wasn't working well (it didn't back then), but I'm not sure. The rest of the tape is full of unintelligible voices of children in the presumed classroom. The tape deck has multiple playback speeds so I used High in order to be able to record the whole phrase in the sample time allowed on the Amb0, then pitched it back down afterwards.

So that's sampled into the Amb0 and then I use it's LFOs to mostly control pitch. In hindsight I should have also routed the level and cutoff, maybe in the future. It can do some interesting things with the stepped LFO shapes to pitch as they contain sections that stop moving so the speech is still recognisable. Also the reverse delay is very good for glitching things as you can hear at the end."

Ambient 0 v1.5 - Microtonal Ambient Techno Jam

video upload by ChrisLody

"So Sonicware dropped a new firmware update for the Ambient 0 on Friday which fixes bug and adds a bunch of new features, main details below.

So this jam uses the Noise channel to process external audio by filtering it and panning it around, plus the hands on control for that is great fun. I've also dialled in a Pure Minor temperament and I'm using the new Osc Level target to create an envelope like decay using a one shot LFO. Hopefully you'll be able to hear some of the new temperament in this, particularly in the melody line. Because of the way temperaments work (video soon) they all need a root note assigning to them and this can be abused to get things even more wonky which is what I've done here by setting it to Ab which I'm sure is the wrong key. All in all some very nice additions which make the Amb0 even more appealing to me."

https://sonicware.jp/pages/downloads

CLICK FOR MORE »

S.I.T.F.L - Ms20, MiniBrute, Ambient 0, Lofi-12 XT, Zoom R8 Jam - Song-a-day 2025

video upload by ChrisLody

https://chrislody.bandcamp.com

The Dual - Stylophone CPM DS-2 + 2xSQ1 jam - Song-a-day 2025

video upload by ChrisLody

"I've been wanting to upload something with the Stylophone CPM DS-2 for ages. It's a very fine bit of gear, mostly designed to make slowly evolving drone sounds. But luckily it's also equip with Eurorack compatible inputs meaning the drone oscillators can play tuneful stuff too. It also has an LFO with a reset function meaning it can be used for basic envelope duties.

I ended with 2 Korg SQ-1's after I bought my Ms20 Mini last year as John (Acrelid) offered it to me at a price I couldn't resist. So here they're clocked together so I can have 2 pitches going to the two different oscillators. There's only one LFO reset so the top SQ1 is used for gates, but the bottom one is set to a different length of steps which makes for some interesting stuff.

The Bastl Bestie and Volcas are doing bog standard stuff. All audio is passing through the reverb in the CPM DS-2"

Amb0 Acid - Ambient 0 CPM DS-2 - Song-a-Day 2025 Jam

video upload by ChrisLody

"Full Disclosure: I occasionally take on freelance work at Sonicware and Stylophone on an hourly rate producing synth & sample sound design, beta testing, checking English text, video manuals, promo content etc. This video wasn't paid for directly but as a result of my work with Sonicware and Stylophone it is marked as Paid Promotion

So someone casually asked me if the Ambient 0 could manage acid which I took as a challenge naturally. Yes it can as it turns out. So file this under non-ambient 0 again.

So the Ambient 0 can do a pretty respectable of some acidic. It's not really using many of it features to do this but it is damn good fun. To create this patch I started with the standard patch that loads in an empty pattern in the drone layer which uses a saw wave and turned the release down. I turned the resonance up to max, assigned LFO 1 to cutoff , set it's shape to RMP- and set the trigger to 1 so it works like a 1 shot decaying envelope. I also set the voice mode to Legato and turned the glide up to 30. The it's just a case of programming an acid pattern and getting it to slide by programming overlapping notes. The one shot LFO is a substitute for an envelope but feels a bit different to use. Speed is reversed compared to the way an envelope works and turning the LFO amount up in this case drives the cutoff down and it influences it more but it's still playable. The built in distortion and reverb sounded really nice on this too but I decided to go with the ones built into the Zoom r8 as then they wouldn't change as the patterns were loaded on the Liven.

As well as having worked on the Ambient 0 I've also been lucky enough to have a Stylophone CPM DS-2 in the studio since the end of last year. It's a very cool bit of kit and I was also lucky enough to work for them on their stall at Bristronica last year too showing people how to use them. It's designed as a drone synth but it's Eurorack compatible so will accept CV for pitch so it can be bullied into playing melodic and bass parts too. So it's connected to a Korg SQ1 here and is playing the high melodic layer. I've got both oscillators tracking pitch but Drone 2's output is fed into Drone 1's cutoff input for some filter FM goodness"

26th of #Jamuary - Number Station Jam - Liven Lofi-6 Nord Lead

video upload by ChrisLody

"If you'd like to support the channel you can grab a 'Pay What You Want' album from my Bandcamp or an instrument, kit or badge from my Etsy.
https://chrislody.bandcamp.com
https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/SymetriC...

Another sombre one from me for #Jamuary2025 , current mood I guess.

So a little bit of background. I grew up in a village in the middle of nowhere in Lincolnshire UK during the 80s. Out of boredom sometimes I would sometimes tune through the dial on my little radio and see what I could hear from around the world. I would occasionally pick up really strange transmissions including morse code and what I now know to be 'Number Stations'. They were supposedly used to transmit information to operatives behind enemy lines and would often be sent on the shortwave band as it was capable of transmitting over very long distances due to being able to bounce off the atmosphere around the curvature of the earth. The long distance nature of short wave transmission leads to all sorts of strange distortion. These have been used since the first world war but were most common during the cold war."

Divide by Zero - Non-Ambient 0 Jam - 19th of #jamuary2025

video upload by ChrisLody

"Full Disclosure: I occasionally take on freelance work at Sonicware and Stylophone on an hourly rate producing synth & sample sound design, beta testing, checking English text, video manuals, promo content etc. This video wasn't paid for directly but as a result of my work with Sonicware and Stylophone it is marked as Paid Promotion

So a few things happen this week to inspire this jam.

Firstly I discovered the absolutely wonderful 'Synth Nerd Covers' by ‪@nicolaneeco‬ which have rekindled my desire to play more keys, like properly play more keys. This jam was kind of an attempt to get there but didn't really scratch the itch because I got a bit distracted playing with the Amb0 LFOs. Hopefully more proper keys playing to come. Watching those covers also had the unfortunate affect of leaving me with the desire to buy a large expensive polysynth. I've promised myself I'll make jams with the gear I own before I do that but it's still likely to happen later this year.

Second was the new v1.1 update was released for the Ambient 0 so that got me thinking about playing around with it again.

Thirdly I received a comment describing the Ambient 0 as 'a one trick pony for new age background music'. Long story short I've had a very tiring start to the year due to illness and I really couldn't be bothered to respond to that so I deleted it. But that reminded me that I haven't used it very much am I'm fully aware of how capable it is. It's a pretty well stocked multitimbral polysynth with more than enough power for creating all sorts of sounds, so that's where this came from.

Anyway, still struggling to find time for Jamuary jams. It's the 19th already and I've done 4 🙄"

Berlin School Ambient-ish Jam - Zoom R8, Gen R-8, ELZ_1 play, PSS-380

video upload by ChrisLody

"Full Disclosure: I occasionally take on freelance work at Sonicware and Stylophone on an hourly rate producing synth & sample sound design, beta testing, checking English text, video manuals, promo content etc. This video wasn't paid for directly but as a result of my work with Sonicware and Stylophone it is marked as Paid Promotion

So I feel very lucky this year to have worked with a few wonderful companies, mainly Sonicware and Stylophone. Obviously I've been sent the gear I've worked on for Sonicware as you'll see it all over my channel, but also Stylophone were very nice to me and sent me a Gen R-8 from their vaults!

I'm also lucky that my wife (and in-laws) appreciates my second job/hobby and buys me music gear for Christmas, that's where the Zoom R8 multitrack recorder I'm using here came from. I bought a Zoom Livetrak L-6 this year for my dawless jams which I love, but it records all it's channel simultaneously so layering is not possible. Layering is an interesting way of working which I've often used on the channel with a four track tape recorder, mixer and a send effect (most often a Zoom 1201), but this replaces the need for all that with a lot more features to boot.

What surprised me the most about the R8 is that you can record, mix and even master a whole track without relying on a DAW. All effects etc you hear are the R8 alone here. It has a send reverb slot, a send chorus/delay slot and then a single insert effects chain. The insert effect can only be doing one thing at once so you'll typically record through it onto an audio track or you can record dry and re-record (bounce) through it later if you prefer. There are a number of algorithms which are just a number of effects slots in a chain which can be configured to your liking. You switch algorithms, channel, contents and settings or preset of the insert effect depending what you need it for and when. This information is not well presented in the manual though so I geeked out and made a spreadsheet to show more simply which algorithms can contain which type of effect and which can be synced to tempo. That's available here: https://mega.nz/file/quxm3CoD#H1-u2Db... (I printed and laminated these, yes I know how to nerd)

Perhaps the only let down about the R8 is there's no sync options, though it's not really expecting you to work that way. You can have the metronome on headphones only which may be the way to do things, but I suspect I end up recording and panning a click from a Volca/Liven as a way around this.

By the way the small glockenspiel was part of my present from my in-laws. I've never had much luck recording them because of the huge spike in volume when the bar is hit (transient) so I almost gave up, but after studying the effects I saw the R8 has a 'slow attack' effect which was perfect for this as it completely kills the clackiness of the hit. Nice one. I'm recording through one of the two built in mics for that btw.

A quick word about the Stylophone Gen R-8, it's a dirty little beast. It's been kind of wild to get to grips with and I'm finding it's not suited to quite a lot of patches I'd normally make, smooth basses are out of the question for example because it sounds like the oscillator resets at the start of each new note (maybe the envelope, idk) so there's always a percussive click. Plus the filter sound is agro with settings that would normally tame it, it refuses to be calm. But for more aggressive tones it's very nice so I'll probably use it mostly for that!"

https://chrislody.bandcamp.com

SONICWARE ELZ_1 play full tutorial

video upload by ChrisLody

To learn more about the ELZ_1 play please visit the Sonicware website here: https://sonicware.jp/pages/elz_1-play

0:00 Teaser
0:20 Intro
1:00 Elz_1 and play comparison
1:40 Layout overview
2:46 Getting started
3:29 Controls overview
6:10 MEM, PTN & LOOP saves contents
7:42 Save slots
9:08 Erasing presets vs selecting blank presets
9:34 Synth engines overview
10:29 Low bit osc
11:09 Using Mod type LFO
13:14 Using Mod type Envelope
14:50 Standard osc
15:15 PWM patch example
15:54 Custom osc
16:58 Super osc
18:50 8-Bit Wavemem
20:44 8-Bit Morph
21:55 8-Bit FM
23:51 8-Bit Warp
24:56 8-Bit ADASR
26:30 8-Bit Time
27:23 DNA Explorer
29:17 Recording a waveform for granular synthesis
30:50 SiGrinder
32:32 FM Synth (4-op)
33:50 FM patch example
34:46 Masked Noise
35:18 Sand Flute
36:39 Ztrings
38:29 STK Drummer
39:58 Amp envelope
42:30 Filter section
47:25 Effects section
58:40 Voice settings
1:02:28 Quick patch example
1:05:22 Save a patch
1:05:58 Sequencer section
1:08:36 Real-time sequence recording
1:10:17 Saving a sequence
1:10:27 Step recording sequence
1:11:42 Sequencer playback options
1:12:17 Looper
1:13:25 Looper overdubbing
1:14:03 Saving looper recordings
1:19:06 Recording external audio to looper
1:20:20 Mixer settings
1:22:37 Playing held notes using OK button
1:23:18 Menu and misc settings
1:26:18 Updating firmware

Ambient Techno Jam - Roland S-1, Sonicware Lofi-12 XT

video upload by ChrisLody

"It's been a really long time since I've had time to record a jam, but here's something I've been wanting to try for a while. I've had the Roland S-1 for a few weeks (actually maybe months 😅) without any time to actually dig in an make some music with it. It pairs very nicely with the Sonicware Lofi-12 XT sampler which in this video is handling drum and instrument samples as well as sequencing the S-1 via midi. I've even gone to the extent of making some custom DIN midi to TRS midi cables so I can connect the two together without the need for the usual clunky adapters. The audio from the S-1 can be run through the inputs on the XT for monitoring, adding FX and of course sampling, but here I've run the two devices into my DAW separately for recording. No FX were added after recording apart from a tiny bit of EQ, everything else is the FX on the S-1 and XT respectively. "

Sonicware Liven Ambient Ø Full Tutorial - Soundscape Synthesizer

video upload by ChrisLody

"Here's a full tutorial on the new Ambient 0, enjoy :)

For more information on the Ambient 0 please use these links:
Liven Ambient Ø:
https://sonicware.jp/pages/liven-ambient

Online manuals
https://sonicware.jp/pages/online_man...

0:00 Teaser

0:38 Intro

1:35 Overview

Powering up, playing a pattern, speaker mute, Shift & Func

83:56 Playing a pattern*

Headphone gain, pattern bpm, global bpm, Shift lock, knob Latch

6:20 PTN button (pattern)

Bank buttons, natural release, queue pattern, pattern chain

8:20 Layer selection

mute layers

9:15 Preset patterns and templates

Hold function, Hold jam

12:02 Shimmer reverbs

reverb send, shimmer send, reverb mix, reverb types, FX speed & amount, FX type

CLICK FOR MORE »

Volca Modular - Advanced Tips & Tricks - Waveshaping, 3rd Envelope, 3rd Oscillator, Source Crosstalk

video upload by ChrisLody

"This video includes so tips, tricks, hacks and patch ideas.

"Here's my original Volca Modular tips and tricks video: [below]

Here's my Volca Modular patch sheets: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/32jz5c...

0:00 Intro
1:23 Waveshaping
2:05 Quick and dirty waveshaping
2:55 Source crosstalk (Mod & Fold controls on modulator source oscillator)
4:40 Mini breadboard idea
5:20 Quick and dirty waveshaping method 2
7:00 Modulator source wonkiness
9:18 Func 2 as saw oscillator
(I should have mentioned here that using the lower CV output socket with nothing connected to the CV socket gives different result which may also be useful)
11:50 Func 2 as pulse oscillator
12:32 Ratio fine control
15:38 3rd Envelope"

Volca Modular - How To Make Square Wave PWM Noise - Advanced Tips & Tricks

video upload by ChrisLody

"Here's a bunch of tips to get a bit more out of the Korg Volca Modular. Using the gate input of Function 1 you can create square, pulse and pwm sounds as well as making shapeable noise and use the woggle at audio rate.

Patch cards for the stages along the way are available here and now include a version with an LFO sent to pulse width that uses a smoothed version of the gate as a simple envelope:

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/l6c592egul..."

Korg Ms-20 - True Duophonic Patches (without the wonk!)

video upload by ChrisLody

"I picked up a Korg MS-20 Mini recently because a friend was selling on (Hi John) and I've been nerding out with the patch bay. I already own the plugin as part of the Korg Collection but I've always wanted a hardware MS-20 of some description so this has been a long time coming!

Funny story, I've been looking around the internet since I got it looking for patch tips and general information, some of which has been really useful but I thought there might be more to learn than what I was seeing. So started searching for a good book on the subject and yeah there is a good book. Patch and Tweak with Korg, which I wrote and article about the Volca Modular and Korg MS-10 for and already own 🙄 I'm a bit slow sometimes!"

Lofi-12 XT - How to Resample While Adding External FX

video upload by ChrisLody

"More information about the Lofi-12 XT: https://sonicware.jp/pages/lofi12xt

Full Disclosure: I occasionally take on freelance work at Sonicware on an hourly rate producing synth & sample sound design, beta testing, checking English text, video manuals etc. This video wasn't paid for directly but as a result of my work with Sonicware it is marked as Paid Promotion

*Note: I probably should have pointed out that I have the Left and Right inputs selected as the input from the Sampling menu, that's pretty important* 😅

This is an old school analogue resampling technique you can use on the Lofi-12 to add external effects to your audio. Resampling can also be done digitally if you'd like to just record internal samples without adding effects by changing the source selection to one of the tracks or the master output from the Sampling menu. You can also adapt the method in the video and leave the monitoring switched off if you don't need to hear the results in real-time"

Sonicware Lofi-12 XT Now Shipping w/ "Try Now, Intro Deal!"

Playlist:
Lofi-12 XT [Basic Workflow] - Sonicware
Lofi-12 XT [Post-Apoc. / Cyberpunk Jam] - Sonicware
Sonicware Lofi-12 XT Sound Demo (no talking) Ambient, IDM and Dub Techno - Limbic Bits
Sonicware Lofi-12 XT - Drill n Bass Preset Patterns - ChrisLody
Sonicware Lofi-12 XT Full Tutorial - Portable Sampler Groovebox - ChrisLody

"Lofi-12 XT, announced on Kickstarter in '23, is now proudly completed!
https://sonicware.jp/pages/lofi12xt

・12/24kHz Early-Digital Sound Sampling
　with 12BIT Sampler mode

・Intuitive & Non-stop Beat Making
　with 8-Track Sequencer

・Powerful Signal Processing :
　8 x Insert FX, Delay, Reverb and Master FX

・Effortless Background Mix-Tape Recording

・Versatile Connectivity with Other Devices

・Extensive sample library of over 2,500 samples"

"Try Now, Intro Deal!" details:

"The MSRP for Standard Black is $499 (Limited Retro color $559), but we want as many people as possible to use it and spread the word about its fascination. So we are launching our 'Try Now, Intro Deal!' campaign at our dealers. [check with dealers on the right]

"Try Now, Intro Deal!" campaign prices:
Standard Black color: $399
Limited Retro color: $429

[Standard Black €469 (Limited Retro €499) in Germany, Standard Black £399 (Limited Retro £429) in UK]"

XFM Analog Waveform Pack - 50 Free Waveform Presets

video upload by ChrisLody

Download the free waveform pack from here:
https://www.sonicware.co.jp/DL/LIVEN_...

"I've been using the XFM in this Virtual Analog mode for quite a while but I've only recently thought of a good way of using a naming system that will fit into the X.X.X.X format available on the Livens that shows a decent amount of information about what the presets contain. It's a bit harder to read than I was originally hoping but it does contain all relevant information to show how all the analog style oscillators are setup across the different operators."

0:00 Intro
0:16 XFM as a virtual analog synth

Preset name code:
1:12 Envelopes types
3:17 Waveforms

4:27 Filtering
5:15 Acid example
5:42 Pulse example
6:49 Pad example
8:08 Sync waveforms
8:55 How to import presets
10:08 Outro

Super Lazy Sci Fi Soundtrack 3 - SmplTrek Liven MEGA Korg Volca Keys NTS1

video upload by ChrisLody

https://chrislody.bandcamp.com
https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/SymetriC...

"The Synth Tray 2 saga continues. It's now grown a little to include a battery bank to power the NTS-1 that you can see tucked under the cables behind the SmlpTrek. This has 2 outputs so it's also able to power my handmade midi thru box now I've made a cable for it, you can see it at the top right. I've also added a Little Bear MC5 mixer which is sat behind the ELZ_1 play. This is really just a temporary fix because I plan to replace it with a Bastl Bestie when I can justify dropping £200 on one.

So a bit about how this is all setup. The SmplTrek is controlling all the midi in this setup with multiple midi tracks set to different channels. The midi out goes to the midi thru splitter box which then connects into the Liven MEGA and Korg Volca Keys. The SmplTrek is also playing the deep pad from the beginning which was sampled out of the ELZ_1 play into it, and the drum loop. When I'm using this in a sofa session I mix the external gear on the Little Bear MC5 and monitor all the audio through the SmplTrek and usually add a little of my send effect to the output, but this time when I recorded it for this video I connected all the separate instrument outputs to my audio interface instead to give me a greater level of control over the final mix.

The Korg Volca connects through the NTS1 in this jam and I'm using the Hammond Eggs Music - Haze reverb. It contains a high pass filter so it's great for making top end pad/string type sounds. I checked this list of available plugins for the NTS1 recently and found loads of new stuff I didn't know about. Mine is absolutely full now :)

I'm using the ELZ_1 play to play the Liven MEGA here and using the LFO set to a speed of zero as a upward pitch bend. The current firmware of the ELZ_1 play has no 'local control off' function which makes it hard to use as a controller and sound module while composing in a setup like this as playing external midi channels also triggers the internal sound engine. I've suggested adding 'local control off' as an option, so fingers crossed for that one.

The MiniDisc player isn't really part of the setup I've been using, but it was nice to see it fit neatly with everything else :) I was planning to record the output down a global track on the SmplTrek, but they're mono so the ambience lost something when I did that, so I resorted to just playing it live and looping the track. The ambient recording is of my home town of Boston, Lincolnshire, UK.

The NTS1 is being used as an insert effect here (the Volca Keys is passing straight through) but once I buy a Bastl Bestie there is a way to use that in a send/return configuration which will be very useful from such a smaller mixer."