discoDSP have updated OPL AUv3 FM Synth, available for $9.99. The update is FREE to existing users.
What’s new in version 3.0:
OPL has been rewritten from the ground up
- NEW FM ENGINE – The synthesis core is now built on the YMF262 (OPL3), replacing the previous OPL2 emulation. All eight OPL3 waveforms are available on everv operator. where before there were four. The synthesis core, register layer, parameter handling, and interface have all been rewritten.
- SOUND QUALITY – Oversampling up to 16x is now applied to the chip itself, cutting the aliasing FM produces at high modulation settings. Pitch, envelope timing, and key scaling stay constant across every oversampling setting. Playback and pounce have separate settings, and offline renders use a linear-phase filter and report their latency, so a bounce matches what you monitored.
- NEW INTERFACE – Redrawn as resolution-independent vector graphics in place of the fixed-size bitmaps and freely resizable with a zoom menu. Voice activity is now shown live on the envelope displays.
- NEW PARAMETER – Panning: a kev-tracking stereo spread that places notes across the field by pitch,
- ON-SCREEN KEYBOARD – The iPad standalone app now has a MIDI keyboard, so OPL no longer needs an external controller to play. It sits below the panel with pitch and modulation wheels and octave buttons at each end. The modulation wheel drives a vibrato LFO with continuous depth, going well beyond the chip’s own fixed two-position vibrato. Toggle it from Menu > Show MIDI Kevboard.
- ON iOS – Oversampling settings are now available, with playback and bounce quality each set from 1x to 16x and remembered between sessions. Loading and exporting SBI instruments through the Files app and iCloud Drive has been fixed, and the AUv3 no longer opens at the wrong size in hosts.
- COMPATIBILITY – Existing projects and presets load unchanged, with automation assignments preserved. Adds a new Init Bass factory program.
- FM synthesis now uses ymfm by Aaron Giles under the BSD 3-Clause License.
OPL, a software synth that emulates a digital sound synthesis chip developed by Yamaha in the mid 1980s that was used in sound cards for PC, including the Ad Lib card and early Sound Blaster series.
At a technical level: the emulator has channels comprised of 2 oscillators each. Each pair of oscillators is usually combined via phase modulation (basically frequency modulation). Each oscillator can produce one of eight waveforms (sine, half sine, absolute sine, quarter sine, alternating sine, camel sine, square, logarithmic sawtooth), and has an ADSR envelope controlling its amplitude. The unusual waveforms give it a characteristic sound.
Each instance of the plugin emulates an entire OPL chip, but with this plugin, essentially you are just working with two operators: the carrier and modulator.
SBI files are an instrument file format developed by Creative Labs back in the day for the Sound Blaster. Essentially they work as presets for this plugin. Just drag and drop them into the plugin window.
Percussion mode is now supported! This mode is not very well documented, even in the original Yamaha documentation. Here are some tips on using it based on experimentation and looking at the DOSBox source code. Also, some much more detailed notes on percussion mode based on experimentation with real hardware!
- Bass drum: Uses both operators. Essentially just doubles output amplitude?
- Snare: Uses carrier settings. Abs-sine waveform recommended.
- Tom: Uses modulator settings. Sine waveform recommended.
- Cymbal: Uses carrier settings. Half-sine recommended.
- Hi-hat: Uses modulator settings. Half-sine recommended.
For more information on OPL, click here:
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