Keep Yamaha FS1R or change to a Digitone or other FM poly

I have a G2X but even on that, any patching that requires connecting/disconnecting modules pretty much requires the software editor.

Someone actually built thisā€¦ just wild.

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I donā€™t know why Yamaha put all that power in one of their XG/General MIDI rack boxes. They still had to reorganize financially after that. Guitar Center blew them out for $300 new. Had one in a rack with a TG77 (Advanced FM+PCM=RCM). FS1r sounded modern hifi, TG77 sounded like a ā€˜pillow over the speakersā€™, but TG77 was much easier to program, though tough by todayā€™s standards. FS1rā€™s filters and formant sequences were unique, but you need software to edit them. I sold it and bought FM7. A Digitone with a filter bank+seq would be cool, like the Spectralis but with Elektronā€™s ease-of-use.

You should get the OPSIX instead. Iā€™ve owned a Digitone before, but the OPSIX is so much more powerful imo. I think it is so much more fun to program sounds with, and it sounds better.

Whoaā€¦quite a claim thereā€¦

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I think you can get a good idea of how much more it can do by just looking at the manual. The MS-20 filter models, awesome FX, mod matrix, etc. all add up. I canā€™t stop using unison on all my patches, and I love modulating unison detune and unison spread.

Yes, OPSIX has more features. But i argue, that it sounds ā€œbetterā€, because it has more features.
Both sound good. And at least, different. But i wouldnĀ“t be able to pick, which sounds better or worse. Both are too versatile for that.

It sounds much better to me, but it might not to others. It has a ā€œcreamierā€ sound to me maybe whereas the Digitone sounds a bit ā€œcolder.ā€

Ok, thatĀ“s then a question of taste. I didnĀ“t hear anything creamy about the OPSIX sound. ButĀ“s nothing to argue about, because of personal experience.

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OPsix is great, but Digitone is great as well and has 4 tracks and an amazing sequencer + arp. Otherwise they both sounds good and quite similar.

Digitone sounds good, but the OPSIX can definitely sound quite different imo.

Relatively creamier, for digital FM synthesis. It sounds more polished, and easier to mix to me.

Iā€™d be curious to hear your opinion after youā€™ve tested one.

They both are crazy good.

BUT!

But to do that, I need 4 x OPsix:

Digitone Wins. Always

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DonĀ“t temp me. :sweat_smile: I just purchased an Iridiumā€¦one Osc on that beast is like a whole DX7 by itselfā€¦

Yeah itā€™s quite a claim that the opsix sounds better. As you know I disagree. Definitely more polished - to much IMO while the DN sounds more raw/powerful/less polished and has more hardware character IMO. These are my experiences from my time with the opsix. The DN is unparalleled since it has so many ways of being used + ease of use. Iā€™d love to own that FS1R and would use both for sure. (Probably not relevant to the OP anymore though).

I suggest checking the latest comments out from this Gearslutz thread too. There is some more feedback from other owners of the OPSIX who own other FM synths.

Iā€™d go as far as to say the OPSIX is my favorite FM synth I ever used. Besides the vast amount more 6 op FM is capable of than 4 op FM, the OPSIX has a modulation matrix that allows the creation of all types of subtle sound complexities the Digitone is not capable of doing. You can modulate everything, including effects parameters.

The filter models on the OPSIX absolutely blow away the relatively boring filter on the Digitone. Iā€™ve been using the gritty MS-20 filter most because I love how it sounds with FM sounds. The effects sound so much better to me too; thereā€™s amp sims, a rotary speaker sim, and BRR/SRR I enjoy using.

What I especially like about the OPSIX is being able to make things sound lofi and dusty in all sorts of ways; this was my main complaint about the Digitone. The OPSIX letā€™s you select 8-bit and 12-bit oscillators, and then allows you to apply feedback, ring mod, additional filtering (with FM), or wavefolding to all the operators before adjusting the amp or main filter. The Digitoneā€™s lack of bit-reduction ability made it sound a little too pristine to me.

Iā€™ve been programming sounds with the OPSIX everyday so my opinion is based on designing sounds with its interface. Iā€™m not saying itā€™s good for making entirely FM-based ditties. For my music, I prefer only a single element making a really unique FM-based sound mixed with other types of synthesis so thereā€™s more contrast.

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Great, me too :+1:
I have ordered the EssenceFM MK2 which is also has 6 operators so Iā€™m looking much forward to experiment with it and do everything that I canā€™t do with the DN. Definitely going to do lofi and dusty with it too. And beatsā€¦ and wide unison pads and bassesā€¦

FS1r owner here, I would suggest to keep it anyways. The potential of it is something we still have to discover.

Concerning OPSix - Iā€™m more than sure itā€™s a nice synth, but could someone post more ā€œexperimentalā€ demo of it, with live tweaking osc parameters etc, showing itā€™s real power. All I find is boring presets like Rhodes or simple pads.

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