Spectrasonics Omnisphere Tutorial Ep.4 - Frequency Modulation
Summary
TLDRIn this tutorial from the Spectrosonics series, the focus is on frequency modulation (FM) in Omnisphere, a powerful sound synthesis technique. The video explains how FM uses a modulator oscillator to alter the pitch of the host sound, with adjustable depth and frequency. It demonstrates how to select different waveforms for modulation and the importance of musical ratios in setting the modulation rate. The tutorial also shows how to control the modulator's wave shape and sync settings, and concludes with an example of FM applied to a preset for a dramatic effect, encouraging viewers to explore FM's creative potential.
Takeaways
- 🎛️ The tutorial is about using frequency modulation (FM) in Spectrasonics' Omnisphere, a feature accessible via the FM symbol on the interface.
- 🔊 FM uses a hidden oscillator as a modulator, which is independent of the main oscillators and is used to apply modulation to the host sound's pitch.
- 📈 The default view of FM has controls set to mid and boost by default, but these can be adjusted to introduce pitch modulation.
- 🔁 The pitch of the sound oscillates quickly with FM, even with minimal adjustments to the frequency slider, and can reach speeds into the low-frequency oscillator (LFO) territory.
- 📊 Increasing the depth slider in FM increases the amount of pitch variance, shaping the modulation's intensity.
- 📐 FM offers a variety of waveforms for modulation, including access to all wave tables in the synthesizer, allowing for diverse modulation shapes.
- 🎶 The frequency setting in FM determines the speed of modulation, with certain musical values represented by lines on the interface, such as 0.25 for a perfect fourth.
- ⚙️ Users can manually input values for precise modulation settings, such as typing '0.5' to set the modulation rate to halfway between the minimum and maximum.
- 🔄 The 'boost' button in FM amplifies the modulation effect, making changes more dramatic and pronounced.
- 🎼 The modulator in FM can track with the pitch of the keys pressed, or this tracking can be disabled for a consistent modulation speed across all octaves.
- 🔧 FM's modulator wave shape can be customized using the same functionality available for the primary oscillator, including shape symmetry and sync options.
- 🌐 The tutorial concludes with a demonstration of FM on a preset sound, showing the dramatic effect it can have on the timbre and character of the sound.
Q & A
What is the tutorial series about?
-The tutorial series is about Spectrosonic's Omnisphere, focusing on different processing options available to oscillators, starting with frequency modulation.
How do you access the frequency modulation option in Omnisphere?
-You access the frequency modulation option by pressing the FM symbol, which takes you to the oscillator zoom page and directly to the frequency modulation subpage.
What is a modulator in the context of frequency modulation in Omnisphere?
-A modulator in Omnisphere is an independent oscillator that applies modulation to the host sound's pitch, separate from the main oscillators A, B, C, and D.
What does the depth control do in frequency modulation?
-The depth control in frequency modulation determines the amount of pitch variance or modulation being applied to the primary sound.
What is the purpose of the shape control in frequency modulation?
-The shape control in frequency modulation dictates the form or waveform of the modulation over time, which can be any waveform available in the synthesizer.
How does the frequency control affect the modulation speed?
-The frequency control determines how fast the modulation takes place, with higher values leading to faster oscillation of the pitch.
What is the significance of the lines on the frequency modulation slider?
-The lines on the frequency modulation slider represent musical ratios that are sympathetic with the underlying pitch, providing natural and pleasing modulation rates.
How can you precisely set the frequency modulation value?
-You can precisely set the frequency modulation value by right-clicking and entering a parameter value manually or by using the control-click method to set it to exact musical ratios.
What does the 'boost' button do in frequency modulation?
-The 'boost' button in frequency modulation increases the range of modulation, making the pitch changes more dramatic.
How does the modulator track with the keys pressed?
-By default, the modulator tracks with every key pressed, meaning the modulation speed changes with the pitch of the key. This can be disabled for consistent modulation across all octaves.
How can you control the modulator's wave shape?
-You can control the modulator's wave shape using the same functionality available in the primary screen, including shape symmetry, hard sync, and shape symmetry sync.
Outlines
🎛 Introduction to Frequency Modulation in Omnisphere
This paragraph introduces the topic of frequency modulation (FM) in the Omnisphere tutorial series. The speaker explains how to access the FM feature within the oscillator settings and highlights that it utilizes a hidden oscillator, referred to as a modulator, to apply pitch modulation to the host sound. The default settings are described, and the speaker notes that without adjusting any parameters, the modulated sound will be indistinguishable from the original. The paragraph sets the stage for exploring the depth and frequency parameters that will affect the modulation characteristics.
🔊 Exploring Modulation Depth and Frequency in FM Synthesis
The speaker delves into the effects of adjusting the depth and frequency sliders in the FM synthesis process. They demonstrate how even slight adjustments can lead to rapid pitch oscillations, noting the limitations in speed that prevent the modulation from serving as a vibrato effect. The importance of wave shape in defining the modulation form is emphasized, with the availability of various waveforms, including custom wave tables, to shape the pitch variation. The paragraph also touches on the musicality of modulation rates that correspond to natural harmonic relationships, such as octaves and perfect fifths, and the use of the 'boost' function to intensify modulation effects.
🎵 Modulation Tracking and Wave Shape Customization
This section discusses the tracking feature of the modulator, which adjusts the modulation speed based on the pitch of the key pressed. The speaker shows how to disable this feature for consistent modulation across all pitches. Further customization options are explored, including the ability to alter the modulator's wave shape using the same tools available for primary oscillators, such as shape symmetry and sync. The paragraph concludes with a practical demonstration of FM synthesis applied to a preset sound, highlighting the dramatic effect FM can have on the character of a sound and the strategic use of modulation rates aligned with musical intervals.
🎉 Conclusion and Encouragement to Explore FM Further
The final paragraph wraps up the tutorial by summarizing the fun and creative potential of frequency modulation in Omnisphere. The speaker encourages viewers to subscribe for more tutorials and expresses hope to see them in the next episode, indicating a series of educational content aimed at helping users master the software's capabilities.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Spectrosonic
💡Omnisphere
💡Frequency Modulation (FM)
💡Oscillator
💡Modulator
💡Depth
💡Waveform
💡LFO (Low-Frequency Oscillator)
💡Waypoints
💡Boost
💡Tracking
💡Wavetable
💡Symmetry
💡Preset
Highlights
Introduction to frequency modulation as one of the six processing options in Omnisphere.
Accessing the frequency modulation option via the FM symbol on the oscillator zoom page.
Frequency modulation uses a hidden oscillator as a modulator, independent from the main oscillators.
The modulator applies pitch modulation to the host sound, creating a vibrato-like effect.
Default settings of the modulator do not alter the sound, requiring manual adjustments for noticeable effects.
Depth and frequency sliders control the intensity and speed of pitch modulation.
The modulation shape can be altered using different waveforms available in Omnisphere.
The frequency modulation speed can be fine-tuned using the parameter value entry.
Natural musical ratios like octaves and perfect fifths are emphasized in the modulation speed options.
The boost function intensifies the modulation effect for a more dramatic sound.
Modulation tracking can be disabled for consistent modulation speed across all pitches.
Control over the modulator's wave shape is available using the same functionality as the primary screen.
Demonstration of the sound difference between dry waves and those using frequency modulation.
Practical application of frequency modulation in a preset for a more dramatic and less harsh sound.
Frequency modulation set at 0.25 for a common and pleasing sound effect in presets.
Conclusion emphasizing the creative potential and fun of working with frequency modulation in Omnisphere.
Transcripts
hello welcome back to the spectrosonics
omnisphere tutorial series
still struggling to find an easy way to
say that today we're having a look at
frequency modulation one of the six
processing options available to to both
oscillators
and we access it by pressing the little
fm grayed out
fm symbol down here and that gets us
into the oscillator zoom page
and takes us immediately to the
frequency modulation option
this is actually the same zoom page for
all of these
features we're going to have a look at
just that whichever one you click on
takes you by default to that sub page
so here we have frequency modulation
i've initialized the sound we've got our
simple um
sawtooth sound and there it is
now what frequency modulation does is
uses yet another one of omnisphere's
hidden oscillators
it has four dedicated oscillators for us
to listen to
a b c and d but it also uses hidden
oscillators behind the scenes for
various of its
um processing options and frequency
modulation is one of those
because we have this thing called a
modulator this is an oscillator
completely independent from all of the
other ones that we've talked about so
far
and what this is going to do is apply
modulation
to the host sound
this square saw bright sound
uh modulation to its pitch so what i'm
going to do is this is the default
view that you get with both of these
controls set to mid
and set to boost by default i'm going to
actually
override all of that that's what i want
it to look like
so as things stand at the moment there's
going to be no difference between
played sound without modulation
and with modulation it sound exactly the
same
now what i'm going to do is introduce a
little bit of depth
a little bit of frequency and then
let's see what we've got now
now the first thing to note is that the
pitch is
oscillating really pretty quickly i've
hardly touched the frequency slider
and it's already jiggling backwards and
forwards really quite quickly
its absolute slowest speed
we just about get into what's called lfo
territory
where the the uh the modulation that's
being applied to the pitch
is slow enough for us to really take
note of so this entire frequency range
is really pretty fast you don't really
have the opportunity to act as a vibrato
engine which you do
in some other frequency modulation
engines just to point to note
so the more that i increase the depth
slider
that pitch variance is going to increase
so that's the amount of modulation
that's being applied
this shape over here is telling us what
form that modulation is going to take so
if i switch this
to a triangle instead
again a linear variation over time
rather than the sine wave constantly
changing one
and if we have a saw you're going to get
a ramp effect
but those are just the simple shapes
we've got access to every single wave
table in the synthesizer
so we can apply any one of the wave
table
shapes to it and it'll do that
to the pitch of the primary sound
frequency obviously determines how fast
the modulation takes place and can you
see these little lines
you're going to want to use those quite
regularly because that's where you get
the most musical
options for your frequency modulation
i'm going to take us back to a
simple sine wave keep everything nice
and simple
and i'll start increasing the uh the
frequency
rate and you'll you'll hear what i mean
[Music]
so in no time at all it's no longer
possible
to identify individual modulations
as it approaches this little line
seems to kind of fall in sync now can
you see i can't quite
get that slider exactly on the line
the line actually represents 0.25 what i
can do is right click
enter parameter value so if you want an
absolutely accurate
way of getting to each one of these
waypoints then you can always
and type it in manually so if i want to
go halfway
i mean we know we can control click but
i can also type 0.5 and it take me
straight there
and the difference between 0.5 and 0.56
is you know reasonably significant and
each one of these waypoints
[Music]
get something that's fairly musical
because
the rate at which the modulator is
varying the pitch
of the sound is sympathetic
with the underlying pitch our ears love
natural multiples
octaves are the purest and that's two to
one and then the perfect fifth is the
next
purest sound at three to two and so
our brains absolutely love natural
smooth nice round numbers
and that's what you get with these
little lines so don't take them for
granted they do
mean something but that's not not to say
that you can't
stick the slider right in the middle of
that range
an entirely different affair altogether
the boost button down below
does exactly what it says it makes the
change more dramatic
so if i press it i'll just get this back
to 0.5 again
play a three note chord
and then boost it
[Music]
so let's try to catch just what the
boost is doing there by bringing these
values down
to a more manageable level
[Music]
pretty nasty stuff going on
that's with the boost on and with the
boost off
so the range of modulation is
dramatically increased
now by default the modulator tracks with
every key that you press
but we can disable that so i'm just
going to set it slightly above zero
and play a low note
high note much faster every octave that
i come down
aggressively slows down because the
modulation is tracking
with the pitch of the key turn tracking
off
same speed everywhere
then we've got complete control over the
modulators
wave shape using all of the same
functionality that we had
in the primary screen shape symmetry
hard sync
shape symmetry sync
[Music]
so this is now the shape of the
modulator that i'm changing
you can see the graphic
morphing through the wave table
here's symmetry well i've got a sine
wave here i'll need to switch to a
different wave
sine wave is perfectly symmetrical so
that's not going to work
there we go
and similarly with sync so this is kind
of funny this is a hidden
modulator oscillator being modulated
by a hidden sink oscillator
that's all very well and good from a
theory point of view but we've been
dealing with very dry waves and it
sounds a bit harsh
so i thought what it quite nice to do is
to find
a sound that really
uses fm a little bit better so this um
preset here there's tons of other stuff
going on fx and all sorts of things
but all we're really interested in is
going down to a single
layer turn the frequency modulation off
this is the native
sound of the preset
[Applause]
turn fm on
[Applause]
[Music]
[Applause]
and now we've got this kind of dramatic
sound that's not quite as
hideous as a sawtooth
[Applause]
you see it's actually set to exactly
0.25
you'll see this a lot with presets they
set the
frequency modulation exactly on these
lines
uh that's a top tip i think
it's really cool
and the sound takes off and disappears
frequency modulation is a pretty big sun
pit
lots of fun to be had with this one hope
you enjoyed the video if you did please
consider subscribing hit notifications
you'll catch me for the next episode
hope to see you then
you
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