> Free software
There’s flavour in abundance with this month’s free software, taking its cues from the iconic sounds of classic video game consoles
It’s always exciting when we get to give away a synth, and this month’s offering is an absolute corker. Inphonik RYM2612 (VST, VST3, AU, AAX, Apple Silicon and Reason Rack) makes an excellent addition to your sonic toolkit and this £44 synth is yours absolutely free with this issue!
Boutique developer Inphonik (inphonik.com) has a love for the obscure and RYM2612 is a perfect example. Based on the sound chip found inside a number of classic games consoles, and most notably the original Sega Mega Drive, RYM2612 is an FM synth with heaps of character.
The OPN2 chip (YM2612) was designed by Yamaha to bring its own FM-operator-based synthesis system to a broader market, and to that end it’s essentially a self-contained 6-voice synthesis system with four operators per voice, stereo output DAC and sine wave LFO. Still, despite its popularity, it actually has a design flaw that results in low-level signals having exaggerated quantisation noise. This, of course, adds to the personality of the synth, and has been faithfully recreated in Inphonik’s emulation. Meanwhile, more undesirable limitations like the 6-voice polyphony have had a well deserved upgrade. Inphonik have kindy supplied some additional presets and channel strips. There’s 20 extra presets in both plugin and RePatch format, and also nine ready-made Logic Pro instrument channel strips. So follow along with us as we explore RYM2612!
> Step by step 1. Installation
1 To grab your copy of RYM2612 head to this month’s Computer Music download page (bit.ly/cm334downloads). With your issue to hand, answer the quiz questions to gain access and then follow the instructions to have your unqiue RYM2612 code sent via email.
2 Now head to inphonik.com/cm/. Enter your code where indicated and then provide your email. This gives you instant access to your own installers and will also email you links. You get three downloads, make sure to back up your installers. Once installed, you’re all set!
> Step by step 2. Familiarisation
1 The RYM2612 layout is straightforward. Let’s look at what’s included. At the top, the main bar includes the preset browser and access to plugin settings including window scale. Just below is the global frequency mode for the operators and on the left is the LFO.
2 Operators are the sine wave oscillator building blocks in an FM synth. Each has its own amplitude envelope and the various components are explained above. To the right of each operator are its frequency controls and main operator output level.
3 Operators work together and how they do this is controlled by the Algorithm. There are eight configuration options and signal flow has a big imp
