100 FS1R Sounds - part 1

I couldn't find a decent demo of the FS1R on here, so I figured I'd run through the sounds. These are the factory voices with no additional processing. My original intent was to do a voice-over as well, but you may have wanted to hear the sounds (go figure), and not my Ben Stein-esque drone of opinions of each sound, so I will put that in the annotations layer instead, where you can turn it off if you like.

The FS1R is an eight-operator FM synth, Yamaha's only as far as I know. The number of algorithms is increased to 88, and it retains compatibility with the DX7. Additionally, the "formant shaping" engine allows very intricate control of
the complex FM spectrum. It works something like a vocoder or a parametric EQ with knob automation. You can hear it in the "talking" voices.

When Tom Oberheim was showing off the reissued SEM, he surprised me when he qualified his demo with, "I'm not a keyboard player." Well, I'm not a -good- keyboard player. I design, repair, and modify synths. When I play, it is usually for my own enjoyment. But I will do the best I can to give you an idea of what this module sounds like in qualified hands.

There are 512 performances on this synth. I ran through them as fast as I could and managed to get about 50 into a ten-minute clip. Despite my expedient approach I still needed to clip out some of the silent parts to fit it into two videos, so you'll notice some jumpy editing.

The internal bank is about the least exciting one, so I think I'll do another video of the preset bank, but in a slightly different format to get the best parts into ten minutes.

Shouts out to Jexus and Dr. Squ; the inspiration for this project. Next time I promise more disturbing and/or off-beat imagery mixed in with the keyboard visuals.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• yamaha
• dx
• dx7
• fm
• fs1r
• synthesizer
• techno
• electronic
• music

[zzzxtreme]

SY85 at the bottom? had SY85 and FS1R, both sold a long time ago. really miss the SY

[stickyfox]

@zzzxtreme I could never get rid of my 85. If I was homeless I'd find shelter for it first, then look for a place to sleep. I almost bought a second one once. I settled on the TG500, which is pretty much the same synth with a few more sounds but no sequencer.

[KManJapan]

Are these factory patches or added? I bought an FS1R (eBay) recently and very few of the sounds listed here are on my unit. I'd like to know where i could grab some of these. Thanks, K

[stickyfox]

@KManJapan Oh yeah, and these were all factory sounds. I have not dared to do much beyond knob tweaking yet.

[Astralwurksdk]

I wish Yamaha would do more focused TRUE synths like this again. This thing was hard to program because of the interface, but it was one of THE most powerful and incredible FM synths ever made by far.

[pHr33kAcHu]

@davedagreat69 I like the way it looks, it's exotic and different.

[pHr33kAcHu]

Dude EarthLead is that EXACT Moog lead that is my favorite synth sound ever!

[Solarlite]

Really enjoyed that. I want one of these now.

[davedagreat69]

Nice demo of the FS1r, I'd love to have one to add to my collection. Can I just say that the YS200 gets my vote for ugliest synth ever. Whenever I saw one in a music shop it made me feel ill! ;)

[stickyfox]

@KManJapan Awesome! I am really glad this was helpful to you. It makes it totally worth the effort and embarrassment.

[KManJapan]

@TheMindOfPat

I have a fully populated TX816 and love it. The TX816 Yahoo group has some activity these days.

[KManJapan]

@stickyfox

Thanks for the info. I reset mine to factory defaults and now they are all present. Thanks for the vid. If not for that, i would have never known i was missing out here.