In case you missed our enthusiastic review of Tela, let it be finally known that Fors.fm has finally entered into the VST3/CLAP/AU realm. After receiving much acclaim for their native Max 4 Live devices–Dyad, Chiral, and Opal–artists clamored for these creative tools to be released in a more accessible format, especially Steinberg’s VST3.
I remember when Opal first came out, I was jealous with rage at those snobby Ableton Live Suite 11 users and their fancy, integrated MAX/MSP environment. Ok, well, that’s a little strong, but I was sad that Fors’ brilliant products were held captive in Live’s walled-garden. Worse yet, at the time, a native plugin release wasn’t even on the horizon. C’mon, Fors, you’re missing out on free money, right? Not exactly…
Why It Took So Long
There are many reasons why producing Max4Live (M4L) is easier than the standard VST format. Not the least of which is that Cycling 74’s Max is already integrated into Ableton Live, which means there’s already a framework with which the device can interact. All the components are already there, which makes development for the platform easy. No external SDK or learning a new language’s idiosyncrasies, no licensing entanglements–just farm-to-table development, as nature intended.
Chief developer and co-founder of Fors, Ess, shares his thoughts on developing for VST versus M4L:
“It was always our plan to also develop native plugins, but it’s a more precarious format so I slowly worked towards gaining enough knowledge and time to do it. Needless to say the development environment is night and day, but more importantly I think we can deliver a much better and more optimized experience in a native plugin.“
Ess goes on about the delay, focusing on the supportive and open nature of the M4L community:
“Another reason why it took us this long is that the Max for Live scene is just really vibrant and nice. There is a lot of knowledge sharing and community which I haven’t quite been able to find with native plugins. There’s also a lot of love for Max for Live, it’s a fun and funky format…“
Regardless of the reasons, we’re happy that Fors’ creative tools will be coming to a DAW near you.
Following the succesful release of Tela, their first synth outside the M4L environment, Pivot is Fors’ new instrument for VST3/CLAP/AUv2 formats. Let us “Pivot” from this meandering intro then, and talk about the actual product.
Pivot: An Original Paradigm for FM Synthesis
FM synthesis is nearly ubiquitous and has been for about 100 years, but its strength is not in its accessibility. Even modern options like Native Instruments’ FM8, Korg’s opsix, and the free Dexed by Digital Suburban (links at the end of the article) require an understanding of operators, ratios, algorithms, and how they all interact, in order to concoct a sound you like. Very few FM synths can fit all this on one screen, and when they do, it looks more like a starship control panel. It can be frustrating, or at least time-consuming, to get to the parameters that make the most impact on your sound.
Pivot reduces the impenetrable obelisk known as FM synthesis to just three operators, their associated level and feedback controls, and zero algorithms. Kind of…
The difference between Pivot and all other FM synths that came before it, is that it doesn’t depend on so-called algorithms to mold the sound.
Algorithms are static configurations of operators and carriers; some are as simple as operator 1 modulating operator 2; others are so complex they look like a microprocessor schematic. Having a ton of different algorithms is great for sound design, but there’s almost no way to know which one does what. Cycling through 40 algos (in the case of opsix, for instance) isn’t very efficient.
Fors basically removes this core concept of FM synthesis and replaces it with a fun, dynamic control that represents how much operator 3 modulates operator 1 and 2. It looks like a trio of dice, but you don’t have to gamble on which algorithm out of 40 is going to sound cool. When you adjust the “3” die, the effect is immediate and apparent.
That’s the M.O. of Ess (and now Fors). As developer of the venerable Digitone, Digitakt, and Model:Cycles with Elektron, Ess is an expert at making complex forms of synthesis fun and engaging.
Let’s Get Into It (The Sound Engine)
Despite all the talk of ease of use and whatnot, it took me just a moment to figure out what was going on because this is a different take on FM, without regard for paradigms of the past. The controls in the first two rows are familiar, aside from that first totem with the die on it. You have: ratio, a waveform view, operator level, feedback, and a dedicated envelope for each of the three operators.
But what are the numbered “dice”? Well, they refer to the operator number (going from three to one) and if you click the die, it randomizes the OP’s parameters. Yes!! If you know me, you know I love what inspiration can come from a little chaos. I love that this control is integrated into the main control scheme and not hidden behind some other screen or ancillary section of the plugin.
So, you’re playing long, but you’re only getting that pure sine tone. What to do? Pivot’s operators flow from top to bottom, so OP3 modulates OP2 and OP1 (depending on the mix, which we briefly discussed earlier.) To get anything going, simply raise the level of OP2. Further shape the tone with the envelope of OP2 and now you have only the second most boring sound in the world. The fun comes in when you roll the dice and get some really unexpected results. Change the OP3 mix and hear the tone flip completely. Once you understand the signal flow, you can create any sound you can think of, from Sega Genesis to Phil Collins’ Genesis. (Actually, sounds not having anything to do with the word “genesis,” too, of course.)
One thing that those relics didn’t have access to is a filter and Pivot’s, frankly, kicks ass.
After the core tone shaping, the signal goes through a hand-crafted SVF (state-variable filter), which not only has the standard controls, but a variable mix between the HP/BP/LP configurations.
This filter is so clean and sharp, it almost sounds like a spectral effect, akin to something Autechre would use on some of their new stuff. It can take even something with few harmonics into a different realm.
Adding flavor to the end of the signal chain are four effects that really make Pivot its own thing. You have unison, glide, stereo width, and distortion.
Unison stacks two copies of the operators above and below the fundamental pitch. This can be used for subtle inharmonicity or additional tonal support. Glide works as you imagine; in mono mode, legato notes slide, giving an authentic acid techno touch.
Distortion can be subtle, but it also goes to scream-o levels. When comparing it to the Digitone’s “overdrive” master effect, it’s more balanced on the high-frequency range and sounds less like saturation. Use this at higher levels to get your industrial percussion sounding bombastic.
Modulation
The best software these days has its own internal modulation system. All of the products I’ve reviewed for ANR, DataMind Audio’s Combobulator, Noise Engineering’s dynamics plugins, and Polyverse Music’s Filterverse, have modulation and it’s integral to the plugin itself. More than integral, modulation is an essential component of the process of sound-design.
With that said, Pivot’s “mod matrix,” is one of the best.
I love this style of overview. Everything is right there on the screen. No extra clicks to get to LFO2. No hunting around to find out which envelope is modulating something you don’t want it to. Instant recognition and legibility.
You have two LFOs (with variable shapes!) and two envelopes. Looking a little like an Excel spreadsheet, you have the mod matrix proper on the bottom half of the screen. Sources are in the first column and the destinations in the first row. It may not be immediately obvious, but you change the target parameter by clicking on any label in the first row.
If the mod section looks familiar, it’s because it’s an advanced version of the one implemented in the awesome Opal M4L-only device.
The only thing Pivot’s mod matrix doesn’t have is more advanced modulation types, like a step-sequencer, and other sync options, such as monophonic-LFO (the LFO is synced to tempo, but doesn’t retrigger it on every note-on event.) I also really liked the dedicated random source found in Opal. That said, I don’t know where you’d fit these things! I’ll take simplicity over a crowded interface, any day.
Patch Management, Accessibility, and Extras
If you’re like me, you’re going to be creating lots of sounds and many variations of that sound. It’s nice that Pivot has made saving patches an effortless process. Just type a name, click the three-line icon, and hit save. Your genre-defying “FM Bass” will be automatically put into a “user” folder. (Unfortunately, as of 1.11, you’re unable to assign a category (bass, lead, etc.) or create your own sub-categories, but maybe this will be a future enhancement.)
Hitting the “+” sign gives scale options for us old-timers and access to a wide array of color themes. Don’t like what’s available? You can create your own on Fors’ website:
I had a lot of fun creating a handful of my own. Here they are if you want to download them:
https://www.glitched.org/files/(d) glitched – pivot themes.zip
Pivot Carves Out its Own Niche
Ess and Felisha of Fors have really created a unique thing here, with Pivot. That’s not easy to do in the well-tread world of FM. Every major synthesizer manufacturer has put one out at some point and there are 100 software plugins that range from the most basic 2-operator, to full-on DX7 emulations, and everything in between.
Some have lavish, internal FX and exotic oscillator types (Korg opsix), and some put a “twist” on a beloved sound from a bygone era (Twisted Electrons’ MegaFM).
Fors has developed a synth that sounds great with “only” three operators, a fantastic filter, and a rich modulation section.
Just as important as the sound itself, though, is how you interact with the synthesizer. Is it easy to get into? Are the controls responsive? When I make an adjustment to a parameter, do I hear and see a change? The answer to all these questions is an emphatic “yes,” in the case of Pivot; I’d expect nothing less from this team, and especially Ess, who brought us the venerable Digitone.
Pivot is so worth the $39 Fors is currently asking, but there’s a 2-operator, lite version, free to download. It has most of the cool stuff that the full product has, but gone is the modulation section and obviously one operator (and “route” control.) Learn more on the fors website.
Alternatives
I’ve already mentioned several “alternatives,” but they’re hard to compare to Pivot. I’ll just say that these are other synths in the same galaxy, but not much closer.
The opsix native is incredible, but it’s a bit of a behemoth and can be a challenge to program. It’s also over $160 more expensive than Pivot. I hope to review this one, one day.
Dexed is great if you want a 6-OP synth in the vein of the DX7. It’s free and cross-platform, too: https://asb2m10.github.io/dexed/
Plogue sells three flavors of FM. They include bit-accurate emulations of the chips at the heart of legendary synthesizers and consoles. Their pricing is around $29-49: https://www.plogue.com/products/chipsynth-ops7.html
Sound Demos
Ah, you’ve finally arrived at the demos section.
Might I suggest listening to and watching Fors’ own “trailer” for the plugin?
And then we have a few of my own creations.
This first one is just a simple arp demonstrating automation of the “route” parameter. I think one of the operators has a random waveform modulating the fine pitch of one of the OPs as well.
Of course, I love percussive FM sounds. Here’s a single instance of Pivot with a bunch of stuff going on, being controlled by Fors’s Opal-control, the M4L sequencing device that is at the heart of that product.
Finally, we have a neo-classical? Ambient thing? This one is my favorite. It shows that Pivot can do beautiful, tonal stuff, too. This is two instances of the plugin and their Sala reverb (free!)
Written by Derek, a.k.a. (d) / glitched
Derek, a.k.a. (d) / glitched is a multi-genre music producer, focusing on experimental electronic music. You can find his sounds at: http://glitched.bandcamp.com
