00:00Vector FM is a granular FM instrument
with a unique modulation system
00:04controlled by a 2D particle simulation.
00:07In this video we'll explore how to make sounds
with Vector FM and how to use the particle simulation
00:13to control elements within the sound.
00:15This video assumes a basic knowledge
of how FM synthesizers work.
00:19So if you're not familiar with FM synthesis, you may want to
do a bit more research before continuing.
00:25On the left of the device is the 2D particle system.
00:28This displays particles that are used
to affect elements of the sound.
00:33On the right-hand side of the device are additional controls
and four tabs we'll use
00:37to adjust parameters of the instrument
00:40as well as parameters that control the behavior of particles
within the two 2D simulation.
00:45At the moment, Vector FM is in MIDI Mode,
so it will be triggered by MIDI notes.
00:50When Vector FM is in MIDI Mode
and none of the four tabs are visible,
00:54you can access the ADSR envelope for the device.
00:58Let's click into the first of the four tabs.
This is the Operator's tab.
01:03Here we can define how many FM Operators
we're using and what their configurations are.
01:08For now, we'll leave only one Operator enabled.
01:12The second tab contains the conventional
parameters of an FM synthesizer,
01:16like the Carrier and Modulator waveforms.
01:19When only one Operator is selected in the Operator's tab,
the Carrier will modulate itself
01:24based on the Ratio and Index values
set in the Modulator section.
01:39When the Index is set to zero,
01:41you can use Vector FM like a conventional subtractive
synthesizer as well using the included multimode Filter.
01:57Let's go back to the Operator's tab.
02:00When we only have one Operator active, each new
MIDI note corresponds to a new particle in the display
02:06and the FM Amount is controlled
in the Audio Parameters tab, as we've seen.
02:16When two or more Operators are selected,
each additional MIDI note corresponds to a new Operator.
02:22How these Operators interact
depends on the FM configuration.
02:26For example, in the initial configuration,
the first note played will create a basic sine wave carrier.
02:32The second note played
will then frequency modulate the first note.
02:39A third note will create a new sine wave carrier
02:42and a fourth note will frequency modulate
that second Carrier and so on.
02:53This relationship between each Carrier
and Modulator is indicated by a line
02:57joining the corresponding particles in the 2D display.
03:00Each Carrier is also circled.
03:05An in-depth explanation of each Operator algorithm
is beyond the scope of this video,
03:09but explore other configurations
and pay attention to how each note interacts.
03:14For now, let's switch back to just a single Operator
and head over to the Audio Parameters tab.
03:21The five controls at the bottom of the Audio Parameters tab
03:24introduce us to the first controls
unique to Vector FM: the Particle Attribute controls.
03:30These let us manipulate elements of the synthesizer using
attributes of the particles within the 2D display.
03:37The first control represents the horizontal position of a
particle within the display. Let's map this to affect Panning.
03:46If I play a note, you'll notice that the note's panning
03:49corresponds to the particle's
horizontal position within the display.
04:00The second parameter represents the vertical position
of a particle within the display.
04:05Let's map this to control the Index value.
04:10Now, when I play a note,
you'll notice that the FM Index of the note
04:13is affected by the particle's vertical position.
04:25If I play additional notes, you'll notice that each note
creates its own particle within the display
04:30and each of these particles applies
independent modulation to that note.
04:46The third control uses a particle's distance from the center
to affect elements of the sound.
04:51Let's set this to inversely affect the Gain.
04:56Now, each note will get louder
as it approaches the center of the display.
05:13The fourth control uses the speed at which a particle
is moving to affect elements of the sound.
05:18Let's map this to affect the Pitch of the Carrier.
05:32When a control is mapped to the Pitch of the Carrier,
you can set a scale that the Pitches will be quantized to.
05:38Let's go with Octave.
05:47These results are a bit extreme,
so let's dial back the control to about halfway.
05:54The fifth control uses the Mass of each particle
to affect an element of the sound.
05:59At the moment you'll notice that the Mass of each particle,
which is indicated by the particle's size,
06:04isn't really changing.
06:06We'll deal with that in a moment,
06:08but for now, let's make this to affect the waveform
of the Carrier at about 25%.
06:13Let's start to control the particles in the simulation.
06:18Over on the fourth tab,
you can affect the Mass of the particles.
06:22You can set each new particle to have a Fixed Mass
or have the Mass of each new particle randomized.
06:28Let's set the Fixed Mass to about 50%
and the Random Mass to the max.
06:34Now, every time I play a new note or notes,
their Mass will be randomized.
06:50Not only does this Mass affect whatever parameter
I've mapped it to, in this case, the waveform of the Carrier,
06:55but it also affects how the particles behave
within the simulation.
06:59Let's head over to the third tab where we
can adjust some more particle behaviors.
07:04In the center of the display is a white square.
This represents the Attractor.
07:09Particles will be attracted to or repelled from the Attractor
based on the Strength control.
07:40Particles also have charges represented by the color
of the particle: blue for positive, yellow for negative.
07:47You can set whether the Attractor attracts
both positive and negative particles or only one or the other.
07:54You can also use the Magnetism control to affect whether
oppositely charged particles attract or repel one another.
08:13As you might have noticed, very small adjustments
to any of these controls can have quite varied results.
08:18So start by applying small adjustments
and noticing how the particles behave.
08:24Vector FM is quite a complex device, but the basic idea
is that you have a simple FM synthesizer
08:30whose parameters can be modulated
using a complex 2D particle simulation.
08:35There are many more controls we haven't
discussed, but remember that you can use Live's Info View
08:39to discover more about the controls in Vector FM.
08:43Click the toggle in the bottom-left of Live's window
to open the Info View.
08:47Then hover over any parameter within Vector FM
to learn more about that control.
08:53Also, be sure to explore some of the included Vector FM
presets to get an idea of the range of sounds possible.
