FM Dreams Waveform Renderer




Disclaimer
First things first :-)
I will not be held liable in any way for any damage or loss of data caused by the installation, use, or uninstallation of this software. It is provided free of charge, with the only stipulation being to eMail me the patches that you create. These will in turn be uploaded to this website for access by the masses. Your name, if you prefer, will also be added to a list of contributors on this page, from which people can access your eMail or website address.

What is it?
This software allows you to render perfectly clear, noise-free digital waveforms using 4-op FM synthesis. The program also uses PD synthesis to create a huge palette of waveforms from which to choose. This makes it a lot more powerful than other 4-op FM synths. In fact, in many instances this 4-op synthesis rivals the 6-op synthesis on the original Yamaha DX7 synth. In some respects it even surpasses the 6-op synths too, since it has literally thousands of different waveform shapes and combinations, and it is 100% noise-free.

How does the software work?
Basically it uses mathematical principles to generate sounds based on FM synthesis, where the frequency of one operator (waveform/oscillator) is used in the generation of another operator. This frequency dependency produces sidebands, which form the basis of an FM sound. Without going into specifics, it can create sounds not possible with any other forms of synthesis. These generated sounds can then be saved as normal Windows WAV files, and imported into your favourite sample-editor or sampler.

How does FM synthesis work?
Well this is something I don't care to go into in depth, simply because I am providing this software for free and don't have the time to explain FM synthesis. For the novice, FM synthesis can be daunting, so if you've had no previous experience with it then you may struggle. There are, however, many ready-made patches, which you can use as a basis for creating sounds. Just change a few parameters here and there and see what the results are. Better still, search the web for sites which may explain FM synthesis. You may come across very little, since FM synthesis is unfortunately quite unpopular at the moment. Just remember that operators using frequencies which are multiples of each other produce "musical" sounds, while operators with non-multiple frequencies produce percussion or clangorous-bell sounds.

What do I need to use it?
1. Windows 95
2. Windows-Compatible Soundcard
3. Knowledge of FM synthesis

How do I use the software?
First unzip the 3 ZIP files into a temp directory. Then install it like you would any other Win95 software, running the SETUP.EXE program from the temp directory using START -- RUN.
Then onto editing and generating sounds ...

MAIN SCREEN

Actually, Main Screen is a bit of a misnomer, since this is really the only screen in the program. This may make things easier for some, but create problems for others. In any event, anything and everything you want to do is available from this screen.

OSCILLATOR/OPERATOR

This is where you will be doing most of your work, because all the actual synthesis calculations come from this point. There are 4 available Operators to apply settings to, and these will be available according to which Algorithm you have chosen (see ALGORITHM). Length is measured in milliseconds, so a length set at 1000 = 1 second sample. Amplitude Ranges from 0 to 32765. Feedback ranges from -1000 to +1000. Frequency Ranges from 5 to 22100 Hz. Feed-In (not shown) ranges from -1000 to +1000. Phase ranges from -100% to +100%. Rectification ranges from 1-4, and warp parameters vary according to the waveform (shown in red) chosen. If you enter incorrect parameters, they will be adjusted to the nearest correct ones.

ALGORITHM

 

Here's where you choose your algorithm, of which there are 16 to choose from (1-16). Each provides different settings, and AM/FM synthesis are interchangeable by clicking on their icons (blue or red arrows). Your algorithm determines how each operator interacts with another; which operator is fed into another, or added to another ... etc.

WAVE RENDER/PLAY/SAVE

Once you have set up your algorithm and operator parameters, you can render the waveform by clicking on the green waveform icon. You can hear what it sounds like by clicking the headphone icon, and save it with the disk icon. Note that this saves the waveform only. You cannot load this back into the program at a later stage. If you want to save this template (patch file), see SAVING PATCHES.

SAVING PATCHES

This is simple. Once you've rendered a great waveform you would like to keep, type in a name here and click on the save to disk icon. If you need to load this patch in future, you look up the name in the load list (see LOADING/DELETING PATCHES) and load it. This allows you to save your patches, and load the settings again later to continue working on them.

LOADING/DELETING PATCHES

This is just as simple as saving. Here you choose which patch you would like to load from a list (pic. shows BASS1), then click on the load from disk icon. You can then render that patch by clicking on the render icon as shown earlier. You could also trash an unwanted patch by choosing it from the list, and then clicking on the trashcan icon.


Want to see what your waveform looks like? Once you have rendered it you will see its shape in the waveform box as shown below.



Okay, that's about it. If you want more info on FM synthesis you're going to have to search the web, or take a look through my documentation on Waveform Rendering on this website. It may be a bit technical in that it discusses mathematical formulae, but basically it should give you an understanding of how FM synthesis actually produces sounds. Unfortunately for the uninitiated, many synth parameters used in FM synthesis don't seem to have much bearing on the resultant sound. Of course they do, but looking at things logically without knowing the maths tends to confuse people. The great thing is that you start recognizing that certain things produce certain results, and that's when FM synthesis becomes really interesting - It's just that first lightbulb that needs to go off in your head, and suddenly things become a lot easier and more interesting.

NOTE
There are a few bugs in the software, but nothing which should stop you using it. Just bare these in mind when you use the software :-) The 2 bugs I know about are :
1. The program crashes sometimes if you attempt to generate large samples. Sometimes even samples > 1.5 seconds cause a crash. Why? Mmmm, I'm working on this ..... Yes, complain if you want, since the software promises generation of 5 second samples. I am stumped at this moment though. It seems to be a shortage of RAM, but this just cannot be the case.
2. If your ADSR settings get a little too close to each other on the horizontal axis ... boom! I should have fixed this already, but didn't get around to it because I hardly ever need the settings to be that close to each other, so I've sort-of ignore the problem :-)

So you want to download the software?
Note that the file has been divided into 3 ZIPs. This is to hopefully make downloading a little easier because the connection can sometimes be very slow.


FM Dreams Waveform Renderer
1) FM Dreams Waveform Renderer 1.0b #1

611Kb

2) FM Dreams Waveform Renderer 1.0b #2

823Kb

3) FM Dreams Waveform Renderer 1.0b #3

587Kb

4) Original Sound Patches

24Kb
i) Bugfix 1 - FMD v1.1b (24 Oct 1998)

55Kb

ii) Bugfix 2 - FMD v1.2b (27 Oct 1998)

55Kb

iii) Bugfix 3 - FMD v1.3b (19 Jan 1999)

56Kb

iv) Update - FMD v2.0b (28 Aug 1999)
Lots of interseting new stuff : Filter + Resonance; Feedback Offset; User Comments. Doesn't seem to work under Win98!?

61Kb

v) Update - FMD v2.1b (12 Jan 2000)
This is a recompile of v2.0b. I have removed any compiler optimisation, and used the latest drivers and DLL files, so hopefully this will now work correctly under Win98. Can someone please contact me if this works?

75Kb

vii) New Compile - FMD v2.2b (14 Apr 2000)
This is a recompile of v2.1b. using Visual Basic 6.0. It seems the errors in previous version were pretty erratic, and I'm hoping the new compile will solve some problems. Note that this is a full installation and not an "update".

1.9Mb



eMail URL Patch Description
Ian Wilson Vintage Synth Dreams Original Patches Allsorts, but mostly rocking basses
Leslie NONE 9 Great Patches Great E-Piano, excellent basses + more