FM synthesis
FM (frequency-modulation) synthesis generates timbre by having one oscillator (the modulator) modulate the frequency of another (the carrier); at audio rates this creates rich sidebands, so complex, evolving, often metallic or bell-like tones come from very few oscillators. Oscillators in an FM synth are usually called operators, and the way operators modulate each other — the algorithm — is where the character lives, a pure instance of the spoke’s routing-defines-the-sound through-line.
FM is the digital-synthesis method that defined 80s music, canonized by the Yamaha DX7 (a six-operator FM synth). It’s a synthesis method, sitting alongside granular-synthesis and additive-synthesis on the wiki’s method axis; unlike additive-synthesis (which adds harmonics directly), FM reaches dense spectra indirectly through modulation.
Seen in the wiki
- ouranos7 — six-operator FM, an explicit DX7 homage (7×6 modulation matrix). Free software.
- tetraop — four operators that are each an FM operator and a wavetable oscillator; ten FM/RM algorithms plus a routing matrix (FM/wavetable hybrid). Free software.
- m-vave-fm-1 — the spoke’s first hardware FM synth: a six-operator, 32-algorithm engine — literally the DX7’s configuration — in a ~$75–100 pocket box with a battery, keyboard, and sequencer.
The two software entries arrived via the KVR Developer Challenge 2026 roundup, where FM was the most-represented method. That both an exact DX7-homage plugin and a DX7-spec $75 hardware box now sit here says something about the method: the DX7 configuration (6 operators, 32 algorithms) has become a commodity target hit at both the free-software and the budget-hardware ends, decades after it cost thousands.
Related
additive-synthesis · granular-synthesis · modular-routing · synthesizer · ouranos7 · tetraop