Yamaha V50, Authorized Product Manual

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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
Here we will briefly explain the FM tone generator system used in the V50 and in
most Yamaha synthesizers.
Operators
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 ................. The pitch of the signal produced by the
operator
Waveform ........ The shape of the signal produced by
the operator
Combinations of operators
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
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Voice Edit
(2) Two operators arranged vertically
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).