Best 6 op FM synth on iOS?

NeuM

@Fear2Stop said:
I’ll be honest, Dixie’s look kinda makes me not want it regardless of how good it may be. I couldn’t use it for too long …there’s a reason I use dark mode anytime it’s available … it’s too bright and would hurt my eyes

As for FM, I really dig the hell out of Omega. I can make some killer mid 80s arcade sounding tracks with that puppy, especially if I pair it with Synclavier Go,

Dixie is great sounding, but you’re right about the UI. It’s like going to Geometry class.

Fear2Stop

@Samu said:

@Fear2Stop said:
I’ll be honest, Dixie’s look kinda makes me not want it regardless of how good it may be. I couldn’t use it for too long …there’s a reason I use dark mode anytime it’s available … it’s too bright and would hurt my eyes

As for FM, I really dig the hell out of Omega. I can make some killer mid 80s arcade sounding tracks with that puppy, especially if I pair it with Synclavier Go,

Dixie has multiple themes

Oh…that’s MUCH better. I literally have only seen the white one previously. Ok I’m that case , with it also being dirt cheap, I might reconsider

Fear2Stop

@NeuM said:

@Fear2Stop said:
I’ll be honest, Dixie’s look kinda makes me not want it regardless of how good it may be. I couldn’t use it for too long …there’s a reason I use dark mode anytime it’s available … it’s too bright and would hurt my eyes

As for FM, I really dig the hell out of Omega. I can make some killer mid 80s arcade sounding tracks with that puppy, especially if I pair it with Synclavier Go,

Dixie is great sounding, but you’re right about the UI. It’s like going to Geometry class.

Great analogy!

Samu

@Fear2Stop said:

@NeuM said:

@Fear2Stop said:
I’ll be honest, Dixie’s look kinda makes me not want it regardless of how good it may be. I couldn’t use it for too long …there’s a reason I use dark mode anytime it’s available … it’s too bright and would hurt my eyes

As for FM, I really dig the hell out of Omega. I can make some killer mid 80s arcade sounding tracks with that puppy, especially if I pair it with Synclavier Go,

Dixie is great sounding, but you’re right about the UI. It’s like going to Geometry class.

Great analogy!

But still waaaaaaaay better than 2x16 character non backlit display and ONE data-slider like on the original DX7

Fear2Stop

@Samu said:

@Fear2Stop said:

@NeuM said:

@Fear2Stop said:
I’ll be honest, Dixie’s look kinda makes me not want it regardless of how good it may be. I couldn’t use it for too long …there’s a reason I use dark mode anytime it’s available … it’s too bright and would hurt my eyes

As for FM, I really dig the hell out of Omega. I can make some killer mid 80s arcade sounding tracks with that puppy, especially if I pair it with Synclavier Go,

Dixie is great sounding, but you’re right about the UI. It’s like going to Geometry class.

Great analogy!

But still waaaaaaaay better than 2x16 character non backlit display and ONE data-slider like on the original DX7

lol that’s for DAMN sure!

rs2000

@auxmux said:
The great thing about KQ Dixie which no other iOS fm synth can do is multiple layers and multi-out. You can stack 16 different patches on top of each other and route each of those to different fx.

So you can basically emulate a Yamaha TX816.

In theory that's fine ... you cannot transpose patches individually though which is quite limiting IMO, given that presets often vary in pitches by octaves, sometimes even pitches somewhere in between. I've written Ryouta about it, waiting for an answer.

auxmux

@rs2000 said:

@auxmux said:
The great thing about KQ Dixie which no other iOS fm synth can do is multiple layers and multi-out. You can stack 16 different patches on top of each other and route each of those to different fx.

So you can basically emulate a Yamaha TX816.

In theory that's fine ... you cannot transpose patches individually though which is quite limiting IMO, given that presets often vary in pitches by octaves, sometimes even pitches somewhere in between. I've written Ryouta about it, waiting for an answer.

There is a workaround for this. Map each layer to a different midi channel, then use a mozaic script or a midi node in AUM to adjust the pitch up/down as needed per layer.

Also, if I recall correctly, each patch has a root pitch mapping, you can use this to adjust each layer as needed.

wim

Score! You just made my day @u0421793. I'm definitely trying that one.

rs2000

@auxmux said:

@rs2000 said:

@auxmux said:
The great thing about KQ Dixie which no other iOS fm synth can do is multiple layers and multi-out. You can stack 16 different patches on top of each other and route each of those to different fx.

So you can basically emulate a Yamaha TX816.

In theory that's fine ... you cannot transpose patches individually though which is quite limiting IMO, given that presets often vary in pitches by octaves, sometimes even pitches somewhere in between. I've written Ryouta about it, waiting for an answer.

There is a workaround for this. Map each layer to a different midi channel, then use a mozaic script or a midi node in AUM to adjust the pitch up/down as needed per layer.

Also, if I recall correctly, each patch has a root pitch mapping, you can use this to adjust each layer as needed.

Ha, found it!
Indeed I can change the "Middle C" location in semitone steps so there it is, the mighty transpose function 😄
Thanks!

GLacey

Blasphemy alert!

I had a DX7 II from a friend for a couple of days back in the '80s. I was amazed by its sounds, I really wanted the get one for myself, but could not afford it.

Last year I discovered KQDixie in the appstore. I was super excited, expecting that it'll bring back wonderful memories. Despite I found some iconic presets from '80s pop songs (which are great), it's a disappointment overall. This isn't the fault of Dixie, I just realized the FM synthesis as such is not my cup of tea. It reminds me the music and sound effects of PC games from the '90s.

Telefunky

@GLacey said:
... Despite I found some iconic presets from '80s pop songs (which are great), it's a disappointment overall. This isn't the fault of Dixie, I just realized the FM synthesis as such is not my cup of tea. It reminds me the music and sound effects of PC games from the '90s.

Can‘t help with the memories... and a plain DX synth does sound pretty lame on it‘s own.
But once you add the proper dose of fx (reverb, delay in particular) it really starts to shine
Seriously.

Fear2Stop

@GLacey said:
Blasphemy alert!

I had a DX7 II from a friend for a couple of days back in the '80s. I was amazed by its sounds, I really wanted the get one for myself, but could not afford it.

Last year I discovered KQDixie in the appstore. I was super excited, expecting that it'll bring back wonderful memories. Despite I found some iconic presets from '80s pop songs (which are great), it's a disappointment overall. This isn't the fault of Dixie, I just realized the FM synthesis as such is not my cup of tea. It reminds me the music and sound effects of PC games from the '90s.

I think that may be why i like FM so much. When I was helping my daughter with her solo album she’d wanted to have the particular sound of games like Paperboy, Gauntlet, and other 80s arcade games on a couple of the songs

auxmux

@rs2000 said:

@auxmux said:

@rs2000 said:

@auxmux said:
The great thing about KQ Dixie which no other iOS fm synth can do is multiple layers and multi-out. You can stack 16 different patches on top of each other and route each of those to different fx.

So you can basically emulate a Yamaha TX816.

In theory that's fine ... you cannot transpose patches individually though which is quite limiting IMO, given that presets often vary in pitches by octaves, sometimes even pitches somewhere in between. I've written Ryouta about it, waiting for an answer.

There is a workaround for this. Map each layer to a different midi channel, then use a mozaic script or a midi node in AUM to adjust the pitch up/down as needed per layer.

Also, if I recall correctly, each patch has a root pitch mapping, you can use this to adjust each layer as needed.

Ha, found it!
Indeed I can change the "Middle C" location in semitone steps so there it is, the mighty transpose function 😄
Thanks!

Yup, no problem! It was a game changer when I actually tried that.

u0421793

@wim said:
Score! You just made my day @u0421793. I'm definitely trying that one.

If I didn’t already have a Korg Opsix lying around over there, I probably would do it too – I’ve got a spare Pi 2, and plenty of suitable displays, I’d need to get an encoder as I don’t have any, but other than that I’m ready to go

All my other Pis are occupied – three 3A+ with High Quality Cameras are my ATEM cams, two 3Bs are front and back motioneyeOS cams, Pi 400 is my Linux machine used now and then, and my latest one since a few weeks ago, 4B 8GB is a web server with newly acquired .page domain at it, which relieves my previous test server on a 1st gen tinker board, which is now spare, prob not for long though

Tinker board would’ve been a better bare-silicon target than a RPi because it has far better audio onboard without need for a off board dac

HotStrange

@auxmux said:
The great thing about KQ Dixie which no other iOS fm synth can do is multiple layers and multi-out. You can stack 16 different patches on top of each other and route each of those to different fx.

So you can basically emulate a Yamaha TX816.

Woah I did not know that. That’s actually a huge selling point. The Yamaha is a dream FM synth for me.

HotStrange

@GLacey said:
Blasphemy alert!

I had a DX7 II from a friend for a couple of days back in the '80s. I was amazed by its sounds, I really wanted the get one for myself, but could not afford it.

Last year I discovered KQDixie in the appstore. I was super excited, expecting that it'll bring back wonderful memories. Despite I found some iconic presets from '80s pop songs (which are great), it's a disappointment overall. This isn't the fault of Dixie, I just realized the FM synthesis as such is not my cup of tea. It reminds me the music and sound effects of PC games from the '90s.

I’m kinda the opposite. FM is likely my favorite form of synthesis. Something about it hits all the right sweet spots for me.

HotStrange

@Samu said:

@Fear2Stop said:
I’ll be honest, Dixie’s look kinda makes me not want it regardless of how good it may be. I couldn’t use it for too long …there’s a reason I use dark mode anytime it’s available … it’s too bright and would hurt my eyes

As for FM, I really dig the hell out of Omega. I can make some killer mid 80s arcade sounding tracks with that puppy, especially if I pair it with Synclavier Go,

Dixie has multiple themes

Woah that looks so much better!

HotStrange

Alright so it’s between NFM and Dixie for me. Gonna watch some videos and then make a final decision. But I’m leaning NFM at the moment, just due to the amount of tweak ability

rs2000

@HotStrange said:
Alright so it’s between NFM and Dixie for me. Gonna watch some videos and then make a final decision. But I’m leaning NFM at the moment, just due to the amount of tweak ability

Yep, that's the main reason for me using NFM too. Have you ever worked with Native Instruments FM7 or FM8?

HotStrange

@rs2000 said:

@HotStrange said:
Alright so it’s between NFM and Dixie for me. Gonna watch some videos and then make a final decision. But I’m leaning NFM at the moment, just due to the amount of tweak ability

Yep, that's the main reason for me using NFM too. Have you ever worked with Native Instruments FM7 or FM8?

Not personally, no. But I’ve seen it in action a couple times and have heard great things over the years. I’m thinking right now I’m gonna go with Dixie, since NFM goes on sale frequently. Next time I catch NFM on sale I’ll definitely snatch it up, though. At least I think that’s what I’m doing 😂

auxmux

Catch em all. I dig every fm synth in different ways. Just add fx. The harmonics of fm plus FX is the sweet spot. Otherwise it's just noise.

rs2000

Yeah, why not. Layering "boring old DX7 presets" in KQ Dixie can really make a difference and both synths are good in their own way.

auxmux

I forgot to mention that Nambu is like having a Korg Opsix on iOS, so it's a must-buy too. I have NFM but i haven't used it enough. With Nambu, you can do fm and more just like opsix; for example: using multiple operators as filters.

And you have multiple waveforms to use for operators, not just sine waves.

wim

I'm just gonna leave this here.

https://www.thisdx7cartdoesnotexist.com

It is so fun, and I never fail to get at least a few keepers for KQ Dixie from every pass. tbh, I spend less time finding stuff I like than I do wading through 10 gazillion archived patches from the internet, as nice as that is to have.

HotStrange

@auxmux said:
I forgot to mention that Nambu is like having a Korg Opsix on iOS, so it's a must-buy too. I have NFM but i haven't used it enough. With Nambu, you can do fm and more just like opsix; for example: using multiple operators as filters.

And you have multiple waveforms to use for operators, not just sine waves.

Oh Nambu is definitely on the list. It’s the only Iceworks synth I don’t have yet. But there are a couple of things I wanna get first, namely Scaler 2 and the MagicBlur/etc apps. Didn’t realize it was that fully featured but makes sense from the makers of Lagrange haha.

HotStrange

@auxmux said:
Catch em all. I dig every fm synth in different ways. Just add fx. The harmonics of fm plus FX is the sweet spot. Otherwise it's just noise.

Oh most definitely will have them all at some point haha. I just realized I didn’t have a 6 op at all and wanted to grab one up. Thanks for all the info!

HotStrange

@wim said:
I'm just gonna leave this here.

https://www.thisdx7cartdoesnotexist.com

It is so fun, and I never fail to get at least a few keepers for KQ Dixie from every pass. tbh, I spend less time finding stuff I like than I do wading through 10 gazillion archived patches from the internet, as nice as that is to have.

Woah no way. This is super cool. You just download the file and upload to Dixie?

HotStrange

So my final decision was KQ Dixie. As mentioned I’ll eventually have them all, but Dixie seemed like a good place to start as I really wanna get some old DX7 patches going.

Thoughts so far: I actually like the interface. Built in effects are great but they don’t initialize when making an init patch which is a bit strange. I can tell it won’t be my favorite to make patches on, but it’s not bad at all, sounds great, and seems very reliable so far. Already made a couple of cool patches of my own and can’t wait to dive in more. Thanks for all the help!

Also feel free to high Jack the thread to talk about FM. I’m enjoying the conversation.

wim

@HotStrange said:

@wim said:
I'm just gonna leave this here.

https://www.thisdx7cartdoesnotexist.com

It is so fun, and I never fail to get at least a few keepers for KQ Dixie from every pass. tbh, I spend less time finding stuff I like than I do wading through 10 gazillion archived patches from the internet, as nice as that is to have.

Woah no way. This is super cool. You just download the file and upload to Dixie?

yep.

wim

.