[A6] A6 sine osc

[MelloT at aol.com]

In a message dated 3/12/2005 9:07:00 P.M. Pacific Standard Time,  
sobrien at wavecable.com writes:

>>> One thing that makes me scratch my head is how the same FM  patch on two 
different Andromeda's does not sound the same at all, well  even between 
different voice chips when you are cycling through on patches  that use 
allot of FM,


It's not a big mystery. FM itself is a VERY touchy setting - try adjusting  
the level of one osc into another, or how the pitch of the modulator affects 
the  carrier; the results change FAST and in great amounts with a slight change. 
The  Andromeda has real analog control of these circuits, and (like the 
tuning issue  the oscillators do have), there  IS drift in the other circuits (VCAs 
etc) around the rest  of the synth. The main outputs even drift, but a tiny 
1% change would not be  audible - on an FM patch, they would. 
 
On subractive synthesis (basic "analog style"), you can put two oscillators  
into the filter - the relative levels could change (or you could detune one) 
and  there would not be a huge difference. But, if you put one osc INTO the 
other  using FM, every little change makes a big, big difference.
 
FM is a very unstable thing - This would be true on most analog synths. Try  
it on a modular synth of any kind. Digital synths do it well - they do NOT  
drift, it's all numbers repeating. Many "virtual analog" synths do it well too - 
 but they are NOT analog circuits, they only replicate how an analog synth 
works. 
 
FM, by its nature - is more drastic and dramatic than subtractive  synthesis, 
and the results are harder to predict, as they become complicated  quickly. 
This is why I find it less useful - the colors change too quickly  and too 
wildly to be much use...
 
BrianK