Howtosignalprocessing
- What sounds is FM synthesis good for?
- Does FM synthesis only use sine waves?
- Is FM synthesis analog or digital?
- How does FM synthesis achieve varying timbres since it doesn t use filters?
What sounds is FM synthesis good for?
FM synthesis is extremely good, however, at creating sounds that are difficult to achieve with subtractive synthesizers—sounds such as bell timbres, metallic tones, and the tine tones of electric pianos. Another strength of FM synthesis is punchy bass and synthetic brass sounds.
Does FM synthesis only use sine waves?
Operators are the basic building blocks inside an FM synth. Think of each operator like a tiny little synthesizer with its own oscillator and envelope generator. Except each of these mini synths can only use a basic sine wave oscillator shape.
Is FM synthesis analog or digital?
FM synthesis using analog oscillators may result in pitch instability. However, FM synthesis can also be implemented digitally, which is more stable and became standard practice. Digital FM synthesis (implemented as phase modulation) was the basis of several musical instruments beginning as early as 1974.
How does FM synthesis achieve varying timbres since it doesn t use filters?
Simply put, FM synthesis uses one signal called, the “modulator” to modulate the pitch of another signal, the “carrier”, that's in the same or a similar audio range. This creates brand new frequency information in the resulting sound, changing the timbre without the use of filters.
