Making an FM8 Growl Synth – Part 3

Welcome back to the the third installment of the FM8 Growl series. This tutorial will focus on augmenting the FM8 Growl that was constructed in the second part of the series by introducing two more operators which will modulate the Filter (Operator Z). The FM8 Growl really becomes a beast as the two added Operators help emphasize the vowel characteristic even more.

Continuing on with the FM8 Growl from tutorial two, in the FM Matrix, remove the routing from Operator F to the Filter (Operator Z). Also, remove the routing from the Filter (Operator Z) to the the output. You should now have only Operator C and Operator F feeding the output.

To really bring out the vowel sounds of the FM8 Growl both Operator B and Operator A should be activated and given a Sawtooth Waveform. In the FM Matrix, route both Operator A and Operator B to the Filter (Operator Z) and allow them both to feedback back on themselves. At this stage the Noise/Saturator (Operator X) should be routed to feed the output as well. All you need to do now is make sure that Key Sync is enabled on all the Operators.

Remember that the values of the Cutoff, Spread, and Resonance needed to be continually changed to to really bring out the human voice characteristic of the FM8 Growl. The Cutoff, Spread, and Resonance should be automated to have the parameters change often, or the sound should be mapped to a midi controller for on the fly manipulation. It is also important to note that this type of synthesis requires a bit patience and plenty of practice. If you are having trouble reproducing the sound in the video you may want to seek advice in the forums.