FM engine clipping

OP-1
#1

Got the op1 a week or so ago. Loving it, very refreshing device.

I looked around but can’t find a solution to this, it’s probably just me but the fm synth clips quite badly and is generally hotter than the other synths. The only way I can keep it from clipping the mixer is to make the sustain level very low in the envelope.

Wondering if anyone has a solution to this. This happens even with drive off. This is clipping before the drive is applied I believe.
Great operator community here! Thanks!

#2

Fm synth is always too clippy for me. Turn the blue knob all the way down. I find it very hard to get usable sounds out of it. But if you look at the logic employed for normal fm patches. You can copy those settings and it’s a very good approximation. Someone at one point mentioned the correct settings for a Rhodes piano and suddenly fm made sense to me. Still don’t use it much though. Maybe we can compile a bunch of commonly used settings. Fm should be able to make all the sounds. Lol

#3

Thanks for the reply MOS.
actually I think their method is simplifying
fm to predetermined ratios is excellent (although I wish
the ratio relationships were arranged perceptually rather than
numerically).

It just seems like the thing is just too hot in general.

Maybe most people play it in mono mode idk.

#4

Turn the input volume down in the tape screen(orange knob) until the clipping stops.

#5

i use fm4 on ios tons. and for some reason its so easy for me to dial in interesting musical patches. just switching the routing almost always makes something im happy with.

#6

Doh! Thanks chuck. That did it.
Actually it quite clear in the signal flow page that
the tape volume comes before the mixer.
My bad.

#7

@missingtwins No problem! It sounds obvious on paper, but in execution the gain staging in the OP-1 is a delicate little flower. One wrong move and the whole thing sounds like trash.

#8

@chuck Thank you for that tip! I’ve been so frustrated with the OP-1 because of the clipping. The String synth was completely unusable with Punch until you provided me with the fix.

#9
Fm synth is always too clippy for me. Turn the blue knob all the way down. I find it very hard to get usable sounds out of it. But if you look at the logic employed for normal fm patches. You can copy those settings and it's a very good approximation. Someone at one point mentioned the correct settings for a Rhodes piano and suddenly fm made sense to me. Still don't use it much though. Maybe we can compile a bunch of commonly used settings. Fm should be able to make all the sounds. Lol


Very interesting ! Would you mind developing ?
I love FM engine but I do all by ear+memory of previous patches… I would enjoy learning more for sure !

#10

I have some notes somewhere I’ll see if I can dig them up. Hopefully some others can chime in so we can get a list of patch generation ideas for FM. Fm synthesis is incredibly powerful but obtuse. I think in TE attempt to make certain musical things more accessible they made the already complicated fm more so. It would benefit greatly from an onboard patch randomizer imo.