FM synth with UI similar to Operator

[gentleclockdivider]

This is in a different DAW, however: FM-4 in Bitwig is very similar in workflow to Operator. But in my opinion it is more functional.

I tried it many moons ago and they did some weird things to the operators ,wasn't sure what it was exactly untill I nailed it 100 percent in reaktor .
Bitwig FM4 actually restricted the ouptut range of an operator with a hard clipper , iow you will never get a pure sine doing 4 -8 pi radians of mod index .
Will try to dig up the thread where I showcased it ( must be a couple of year old )
This is how fm4 looks like ( the green waveform , right ) when using a clipper at the output of an FM modulator into carrier
Here I reproduced it in pure data .
Blue waveform = normal .
Green , operator clipping

[gentleclockdivider]

I think this is more ike it , a max index range of 2pi rad , and a clipper of -1/+1
As an FM nut , I've noticed it instanty (blue is phase modulation without cipping on modulator, green is clipping on modulators )
FM4 sucks

[Ah_Dziz]

I always thought that the bitwig FM synth was one of the worst FM setups I've ever used. It's pretty simple, but has a really dumb interface (I don't really enjoy any of the bitwig synths too much, but that's mostly just my own silly preferences). I never used fm4 enough to even notice anything strange about how it handles modulation. I do enjoy fiddling with PM synthesis in the Grid. There's lots of fun to be had with the phase controls along with the frequency controls and the various ways of processing the modulation. A couple oscillators and a couple math modules (basically replacing the clipper in your example with a more interesting waveshaper) along with some envelopes can get me some cool stuff that would be a bit of work with many FM synths.

[Alexander137]

Whoa. You surprised me. I've never looked closely at FM-4 and use other FM synthesizers (I haven't tried Operator at all, because I don't have Ableton). But I saw their similar structure and workflow, which is why I suggested it.
But it never occurred to me that the sound of an FM synthesizer could be very different. I was sure that the difference between them all lay in the effects, different modulators, interface, approach to work.
After reading your posts I checked and... It's true.
The sound is really different, as if clipped. Why did they do this? I am very surprised.

[jlgrimes11]

I love Operator's minimal user interface and I may just decide on buy that. But are they any VST FM synths similar in UI and preferably not too CPU hungry (I only have a dual core intel w/ 4GB). I have Dexed and it's a good one. I'm looking for non-free with minimal UI's. Arturia DX7 I bet is a bit too much as the Buchla Easel and Pigments I cannot run w/o the CPU going close to 50% in Ableton Live.

I'm sort of new to software synths so any advice by people with experience would be great.

FM8 Ui seems pretty good for FM, especially if you dont care for preset/legacy Algorithms (although it does have them). It doesn't really have a bad GUI, it's just a deep synth but it is light on resources. Probably more than Operator but not much.

Also Korg OpSix, Reason Algorithm have nice GUIs. OpSix is more CPU intensive though than Operator. Algorithm doesn't seem that CPU heavy though.

[jlgrimes11]

OPS7 is the best I've tried that matches my friends DX7. Plogue's libraries are usually programmed to efficiency with low CPU cost. Unlike... nvm.

That said, there isn't anything UI wise that's close to Operator. If you just want a minimal UI simple FM, just get Operator. You're already keen on it and it sounds great for a stock synth.

OPS7 is definitely one of the best DX7 clones and great for stacking FM patches. Light on resources as well.