Twisted Electrons TWISTfm Synthesizer

General

Since the book on FM synthesis is never finished, Twisted Electrons add another chapter in the form of the TWISTfm. This poly-synth grants incredibly easy access to all of its FM parameters (no extensive menu-diving required) and is a can't-go-wrong-pick for experimental sound designers.

The Twisted Electrons TWISTfm

While the TWISTfm has the same number of operators as the now-classic DX7, so six, what's special about it is that you're not getting six ops grouped into a single algorithm, but two groups (4op + 2op) ֫— each with their own feedback! While this may not seem super significant at first glance, what this means is the TWISTfm can do something that the legendary DX7 was never able to: generate two solid sawtooth or square waves. And those certainly require feedback. Does that mean you're missing out on complex six-op algorithms? Not really because you're unlikely to create one sound that requires all six ops, and it's simply usually better to use multiple, less complex carriers. On top of that, the DX7 could only generate sine waves while the TWISTfm offers up eight waveforms per operator. In other words, this sound-sculpting machine truly packs masses of potential.

Other Features

Twisted Electrons have also built in an ever-practical filter, and not just any filter but a multi-mode filter that gives you high-pass, notch, MS20 and various other options. Add that to the built-in ribbon controller and the three LFOs and you start to get an idea of how potent this FM synth really is. Also, guess what? It runs on good-old YMF-262 OPL3-chips, which were already around when most of the artists listed in today's music charts weren't even born yet. Maybe some things should never change...