Yamaha V50 - CHAPTER 3. VOICE EDIT; FM Synthesis Basics

CHAPTER
3.
VOICE
EDIT
This
chapter
explains
how
to
create
and
modify
voices.
You
will
learn
to
use
FM
tone
generation
to
make
your
own
original
sounds.
THE BASICS OF FM TONE GENERATION
SSS
a
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ee
Here
we
will
briefly
explain
the
FM
tone
generator
system
used
in
the
V50
and
in
most Yamaha synthesizers.
Operators
i
The heart of FM synthesis is the “operator”. An operator
is an oscillator -- a device that produces a signal. The
V50 has four of these operators, and a voice is created
using these four operators. Each operator can be con-
trolled in three ways.
Output level ..... The level (volume) of the signal pro-
duced by the operator
Pitch... ee The pitch of the signal produced by the
operator
Waveform ........ The shape of the signal produced by
the operator
Combinations of operators
————— rr need
We have mentioned that these four operators are com-
bined to make a voice. To keep things simple, we will
be using only two operators in our example. There are
two ways in which these two operators (A and B) can
be arranged.
(1) Two operators arranged horizontally
© E
Resulting sound
The
sound
of
operator
A
and
operator
B mixed
36 Voice Edit
(2) Two operators arranged vertically
B
A
4 Sound output
Resulting sound
The sound of operator A modulated
by operator B
In the case of (1), the two sounds of the operators
A and B are mixed. In the case of (2), the upper
operator B modulates the sound of the lower oper-
ator A. The sound you hear is the modulated sound
of operator A, and operator B cannot be heard. To
summarize,
Arranged horizontally... Both operators produce
sound,
Arranged vertically ........ The upper operator modifies
the sound of the lower opera-
tor. The lower operator pro-
duces sound.
Carrier and modulator
When arranged vertically, the two operators act in two
entirely different ways; either as a “carrier” or as a
“modulator”.
Modulator...... An operator which modulates the sound
of another operator (B in the diagram).
Carrier... An operator which produces sound (A
in the diagram).