KVR Audio

zklaus · Post by **zklaus** » Wed Dec 26, 2018 2:23 am

I love Operator's minimal user interface and I may just decide on buy that. But are they any VST FM synths similar in UI and preferably not too CPU hungry (I only have a dual core intel w/ 4GB). I have Dexed and it's a good one. I'm looking for non-free with minimal UI's. Arturia DX7 I bet is a bit too much as the Buchla Easel and Pigments I cannot run w/o the CPU going close to 50% in Ableton Live.

I'm sort of new to software synths so any advice by people with experience would be great.

nachenko · Post by **nachenko** » Wed Dec 26, 2018 9:44 am

Sytrus was considered CPU hungry when it was released, but that was more than ten years ago. It has received some skin updates and minor fixes over the years, but the sound engine is exactly the same, so the CPU consumption hasn't changed.

If you're looking for a top FM synth, Sytrus is a great choice. You can check SeamlessR tutorial videos for a good overview of its potential.

EDIT: oh, I skip the Operator UI part. Sytrus interface is different, but for very good reasons. It's much more powerful and it's many things besides an FM synth.

egbert101 · Post by **egbert101** » Wed Dec 26, 2018 11:57 am

Tone 2 Nemesis seems to have a very minimal interface. However, workflow is more important to me, so I prefer Arturia's DX7.

Rastkovic · Post by **Rastkovic** » Wed Dec 26, 2018 12:02 pm

zklaus wrote: ↑Wed Dec 26, 2018 2:23 am I love Operator's minimal user interface and I may just decide on buy that. But are they any VST FM synths similar in UI and preferably not too CPU hungry (I only have a dual core intel w/ 4GB).

If you are Ableton Live user, Operator should be your first choice. FM synthesis never got more practical than with these soft synth. Also don't forget to use the macro knobs, you can map different parameters to one knob. Very handy....

zklaus · Post by **zklaus** » Wed Dec 26, 2018 12:35 pm

Thanks everyone! I will look at Sytrus, Nemesis and maybe Arturia DX7...yes, I do like Operator so maybe I should go with that. It does seems like a no-brainer as it's really light on cpu while using in Ableton....never used macros, I will have to look into that. Thanks again!

fmr · Post by **fmr** » Wed Dec 26, 2018 12:43 pm

Another softsynth that is very good for FM sounds and is now very light on CPU is Native Instruments FM8.

Arturia DX7 V would be my first choice regarding FM. It may tax your CPU a bit, but that would not be on purely FM presets, but rather presets that take advantage of the complex modulation routings the synth is capable of (which don't have a parallel in Operator, AFAIK). For purely FM sounds (EG the old DX7 presets) Arturia DX7 V is the one that translates them better and is also very light on CPU.

nachenko · Post by **nachenko** » Thu Dec 27, 2018 9:26 am

fmr wrote: ↑Wed Dec 26, 2018 12:43 pm Another softsynth that is very good for FM sounds and is now very light on CPU is Native Instruments FM8.

True. FM8 and Sytrus have a couple similarities. Both them are more than ten years old, both them are so good that they could be released like new today, and both take Yamaha DX7 as starting point, then they go much further.

Edit: FM8 is more a "pure FM synth" than Sytrus, which does a few more things, while most of the work on FM8 was related to the interface and less on adding features. Both them are awesome and totally recommended. They are overwhelming at first, but the learning curve is totally worth it.

krabbencutter · Post by **krabbencutter** » Thu Dec 27, 2018 11:10 am

What about Waves Flow Motion? The UI is kinda funky, but it's pretty efficient. It's also breaking up the FM-Algorithm Structure, kinda like Sytrus & FM8. So every Oscillator can operate as Modulator and/or Carrier and also modulate itself. So even though you "only" got 4 OSCs, it's very flexible.

Bitwig 8 Track, which is included with the current issue of Computer Music, also has an integrated 4 Oscillator FM Synth, if you don't need a VST.

Examigan · Post by **Examigan** » Thu Dec 27, 2018 11:22 am

This one doesn't really have a "minimal" GUI but you might want to check it out:

https://www.kvraudio.com/product/aurora ... dio-nebula

discoDSP · Post by **discoDSP** » Thu Dec 27, 2018 11:33 am

Phantom has a very simple interface and it's incredibly easy on the CPU. Be warned it's Windows 32-bit VST2 only

https://www.discodsp.com/phantom/

Daru925 · Post by **Daru925** » Thu Dec 27, 2018 12:04 pm

Sytrus and fm8 advantages over operator:
you can choose customized routing with the mod matrix
mseg

voidhead23 · Post by **voidhead23** » Thu Dec 27, 2018 12:17 pm

i honestly think Operator fills its own little niche. i think if the minimal design of Operator (and Live in general) is attractive to you, the workflow in Operator will also be attractive since it's Henke's baby and he's a big proponent of limitations in instruments. Operator can also do decent subtractive sounds with the Cytomic filters and also complex additive stuff. And although it's only got one LFO, you can loop oscillator envelopes which opens up a lot of modulation capabilities on the oscillator level. i think it's an outstanding synth that suffers from being a native DAW plug, so it's easily overlooked.

Where it falls short for me is the sound. It's a little boxy, lacking the sheen of FM8 or the chest-thump feeling from the FM in Zebra (Sytrus also sounds a little fuller to me, but that's only from watching YouTube vids), but it kind of depends on your music. i think Operator is great for purely electronic music and you can also build insane chains for almost no CPU using Operator as your base sound and then stacking Live's effects on top of it.

Rastkovic · Post by **Rastkovic** » Thu Dec 27, 2018 1:25 pm

Another option could be Aparillo by Sugar Bytes.

Only 2OP FM, but that's the point. It's a more musically approach to use FM....

Echoes in the Attic · Post by **Echoes in the Attic** » Fri Dec 28, 2018 1:28 am

Reaktor has tons of simple 4 op fm synths like operator. It has an FM-4 for example, and many more in the user library. They are quite cpu friendly as well.

tripleflows · Post by **tripleflows** » Fri Dec 28, 2018 1:57 pm

Rastkovic wrote: ↑Thu Dec 27, 2018 1:25 pm Another option could be Aparillo by Sugar Bytes.

Only 2OP FM, but that's the point. It's a more musically approach to use FM....

Aparillo is outstanding in its concept, the versatility and range of sounds it can produce. Actually it is 16 x 2 FM operator synth in unison mode with crazy per voice modulations, which is second to none. However, I am not really impressed by its overall sound quality, as sounds often get somewhat muffled and 2d (together with pan modulation) when multiple modulations occur, lacks of low frequencies, etc.

I remember my favourite old DX7 could produce very exciting harsh overtones from the 12-bit aliasing D/A, and was more appearing for the ears with its sometimes noisy character, but always delivered that great oomph. Ok, it was overhead to edit it from its front panel...

I have the same problem with both FM8 and Dexed - they all have exciting and easy-to-use editing capabilities, but the raw sound is not very convincing in comparison to a DX synth. And yes, I admit there are softsynths with excellent sound quality, like Repro 1 or some Reaktor 6 Blocks.

Do you know any software FM instrument where the sound quality is on par (or better) with the original DX7?

FM synth with UI similar to Operator