Dear Kodamo-Users,
i have a workflow question for you:
How do you organise your voices/patches/performances on the EFM when you start your session?
Do you use a “start-voice” with your, for example, favorite envelope shapes?
I ask because the structure of the sound engine in the EFM is not so easy for me to feel comfortable with.
Thank you!!!
Yes I do that often or I start with an existing patch in the category of the sound I want to make. Saves some time this way. Then as soon as I have a reasonable result I make a patch with 2 copies of that voice panned left and right (and detuned) just to get some stereo width which I really like.
Cool! Do you use sometimes a voice in multiple patches? I tried to avoid this since changing a voice and save it leads to the change of all the patches which are using this voice. This means every patch has its specific voice which is only used in this patch only. Does this sound like a good workflow?
Yeah I do reuse some voices especially drums. If you need the same sound in many patches you just use it and later if you want to change it a bit in one of these patches you make a new voice for that patch. No need to make too many almost similar voice presets unless they really need to be different.
Another way of seeing it is that if you suddenly improve the sound of a voice preset you probably want to improve it in all patches which will happen automatically if you used the same one.
Yeah. Personally, I’ll layer multiple copies of the same voice in a single patch more often then I use the same voice across multiple patches. But it depends a lot if I’m making some weird sound or modeling a thing.
If it’s just some sound, it’s usually very context dependent and I don’t use it a bunch of different places without copying first (because for it to work in the new thing, I’ll probably have to tweak it anyway).
But if I’m modeling a thing — be it a specific YM2612 or DX7 patch or a physical thing like a harp, piano or (like @Soarer) drum hits — then I sometimes figure out how to improve the model while working with it in a patch. And then I do want that change everywhere.
So I guess, for me, it really just depends. There’s no one rule I follow. Getting comfortable with it has just been a matter of experience.
Awesome! Would love to see how you did that. I get some cool sounds with the voice sequencer but nothing I’d describe as a sequence
This sounds pretty straight forward. Nice! I’m thinking now changing my mono-recording approach to stereo. How the does the performance-mode of the EFM comes into play during your creation process?
Really close to buying one of these. Can you guys comment on if it’s capable of producing the real gritty aliased 4 op early Yamaha FM type sounds as well as the lovely sounds I’ve been hearing ?
That’s one thing that I miss from my DN, though my preenFM is pretty good at it
Sounds like that the structure (voices/patches) of the EFM offers great flexibility for your sound creation process. If find your modelling way of using this machine very inspiring. THX!
I have used a preen fm2 for a shorter period and really enjoyed the gritty elements of its sound-character. I’m still in the beginning of learning the EFM and did not spend much time with it. Till now i find it a pretty clean and transparent sounding synthesizer. There is an option for turning off waveform-interpolation in the system-settings which i have yet to explore in detail.
Thanks for that info. I’d be interested to know how that goes
Kodamo support checked the backup file and said that they found the problem. It will be fixed in the upcoming firmware. I’m so glad that I don’t have to send it back.
Great! Yes that must be a relief.
At this time of creating patches I don’t use it. But as soon as you want multiple parts playing at the same time you need it (unless you’re using the voice sequencer but that sequences voice presets within a patch).
Performance mode is great for sequencing the EFM from an external sequencer like Octatrack, Digitone or other sequencer but I guess you know that.
Thanks 
Did you see the sequence on insta? These patches will be available like this or in an improved form in a soundbank at some time at the end of the year on Kodamo’s site.
The sequence itself is pretty simple. I used 5 drum sounds and two short synth sounds and passed it through the fold back distortion.
I mean, FM is FM. The math of it really doesn’t change between boxes. If one sounds grittier than another, it’s usually due to something in the output stage.
If you’re thinking about that 4op sound of the MegaDrive, for example, it’s grit had nothing to do with FM and everything to do with the YM2612’s broke-ass DAC. So recreating that sound is a matter of finding out what the original was screwing up, and imitating it with the application of bit crushing and distortion.
But that, IMHO, is a job for your FX chain, not your synth.
There’s another thing you can do in addition to checking Disable Waveform Interpolation to have a sound like the old FM synths.
Select the Bitcrush effect, apply it with 100% wet 0% dry and the following settings:
Frequency: 0
Bit Reduction: try different values from 35 (subtle) to 127 (exaggerated)
Cutoff: 127 (disabled)
That will simulate quantization noise on the envelopes and DAC, creating the famous “zipper noise” you hear on most YM2612/OPL2/OPL3 sounds.
Also sound design plays an important role, limit yourself to 4 operators and a single voice per patch I’m sure you’ll get enough grittiness for your liking 
Hi Kodamo, great to see you joining us here. 
Thanks. Good to know.
Does the EFM have a randomise patch facility with strength, like my preen ? I’ve grown to love that
Hopefully, controlable Wavefolder kind of effect