The Fundamentals Of FM Synthesis With Sugar Bytes Aparillo

This 16-voice FM synthesizer has a friendly look that hides a wealth of programming and sound shaping options. Rishabh Rajan explores the core of its sound generating tools.  

Sugar Bytes' Aparillo is an advanced 16-voice FM synthesizer that uses a blend of synthesis, wave shaping, filtering, FX and modulation to make a serious sound design tool for heavyweight sonic creation. Amongst its many features are Formant Shifting, Wave Folding & Shifting, a Multi-Mode Filter with Spacialize, 2 interdependent LFOs with S+H and Gravitation and an Orbiter for one-touch Sound Morphing. 

With all this to grasp, you might feel like you need a helping hand to get up and running. Luckily, Rishabh Rajan is here with a complete guide to this powerful synth. In this video from the course Sugar Bytes 101: Aparillo Sound Design, he explains the concept of FM synthesis which is at the heart of the instrument. 

Sugar Bytes 101: Aparillo Sound Design

Rishabh begins by stripping a patch back to its purest form - a sine wave. He also tweaks the envelope section before moving to the FM section to show how increasing the amount of FM modulation affects the sound. He then demonstrates how changing the Ratio setting alters the frequency relationship between the modulator and the carrier. With a few simple movements he is able to create a cool synth sound, and you'll see how these controls could be used to go much further when designing your own sounds. Be sure to check out the full course for a complete guide to this powerful instrument. 

Watch the full course Sugar Bytes 101: Aparillo Sound Design in the Ask.Audio Academy | macProVideo | Ask.Video

Hollin Jones was classically trained as a piano player but found the lure of blues and jazz too much to resist. Graduating from bands to composition then production, he relishes the chance to play anything with keys. A sometime lecturer in videographics, music production and photography post production, Hollin has been a freelance w... Read More

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