Effects · FM-1 guide

7.1BasicsManual §3.1 p.3, §3.2 p.6

The effect chain

The FM-1 has six effects in a chain: filter, reverb, delay, distortion, chorus and phaser. Press FX to see them as a 3 × 2 grid. A bright box is an effect that is on; a dim box is off. A blinking dot marks the one you are editing.

Press FX.
Turn SELECT to move the dot to an effect.
Turn KNOB 4 clockwise to switch it on, anticlockwise to switch it off.
Turn KNOB 1–KNOB 3 to set its parameters. The bottom bar shows the exact value, such as CutOff: 1004Hz.
Press FX again to go back home.

Key combinations

FX: Opens the effect chain, or goes back home from it.
Turn SELECT: Moves between the six effect slots.In FX mode
Turn KNOB 4 clockwise: Switches the selected effect on.In FX mode
Turn KNOB 4 anticlockwise: Switches the selected effect off.In FX mode

Filter and reverb each have a type on KNOB 1 and two settings on KNOB 2 and KNOB 3. The other four have three settings on KNOB 1–KNOB 3. Every effect keeps its on/off switch on KNOB 4.

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7.2IntermediateManual §3.1 p.3, §3.2 p.6

Reordering the chain

Effects process the sound in order, and the order matters: distortion after reverb distorts the whole reverb tail, while distortion before reverb gives a dirty sound in a clean space. The FM-1 lets you rearrange all six.

In FX mode, move the dot to the effect you want to move.
Press SEL. The dot stops blinking and the SEL LED lights: the effect is grabbed.
Turn SELECT. The grabbed effect swaps places with its neighbours as it moves.
Press SEL again to drop it. The SEL LED goes out.

Key combinations

SEL: Grabs the selected effect, or drops a grabbed one.In FX mode
Press SEL, then turn SELECT: Moves the grabbed effect along the chain.In FX mode

7.3IntermediateFirmware V16+

FX groups (V16)

Up to V15 each preset carried its own effect settings. V16 separates them: there is a library of 128 FX groups, FX001 to FX128, and one group at a time processes the mix of all eight Voices through a single stereo chain. Each group stores its own effect order, on/off switches, parameters and a name of up to ten characters.

Key combinations

Turn ALGORITHM: Chooses the FX group, wrapping round from FX128 to FX001.In FX mode, V16
Hold SEL: Renames the current FX group.In FX mode, V16

Rename a group

In FX mode, hold SEL.
Turn SELECT to choose a character position.
Turn KNOB 1 to change the character.
Press SEL to confirm and go back.

What changes in practice

Switching presets, patterns or arrangement columns no longer switches the effects.
The FX entry at the top of the PRESETS pop-up picks a group too (see Choosing a Voice and its quick controls).
FX groups are saved with Globe or ALL in the save menu, never with a preset (see Saving).
Bank Export does not include them.

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7.4BasicsManual §3.1 p.4

Filter

FM sounds can be bright to the point of harsh. The filter tames them, or thins them out: low-pass removes the top, high-pass the bottom, and band-pass keeps a band in the middle.

FX · FilterPress FX and turn SELECT to Filter.

Type

Which part of the sound the filter keeps.

KNOB 1Range Low Pass / Band Pass / High Pass

7.5BasicsManual §3.1 p.4

Reverb

Reverb places the sound in a space. Room is small and close, hall big and long, plate bright and dense — the classic choice for electric pianos and bells.

FX · ReverbPress FX and turn SELECT to Reverb.

Type

The kind of space.

KNOB 1Range Room / Hall / Plate

7.6BasicsManual §3.1 p.4

Delay

Delay repeats the sound. Rate sets the time between repeats, Decay how long they keep going and Mix how loud they are.

FX · DelayPress FX and turn SELECT to Delay.

Decay

How long the repeats keep going.

KNOB 1Range 0–100%

7.7BasicsManual §3.1 p.4

Distortion

Distortion adds grit. Small amounts thicken basses and organs; large amounts turn FM leads into something closer to an electric guitar. Use Level to bring the volume back down after raising Gain.

FX · DistortionPress FX and turn SELECT to Distortion.

Gain

How hard the sound is driven.

KNOB 1Range 0–100%

7.8BasicsManual §3.1 p.4

Chorus

Chorus thickens a sound by blending in a slightly wobbling copy. It is half the sound of the classic 1980s FM electric piano.

FX · ChorusPress FX and turn SELECT to Chorus.

FreqSpeed

How fast the chorus wobbles.

KNOB 1Range 0–100%

7.9BasicsManual §3.1 p.4

Phaser

A phaser sweeps notches through the sound for a swirling movement. Slow and deep for pads; faster for a more obvious, vintage effect on keys.

FX · PhaserPress FX and turn SELECT to Phaser.

FreqSpeed

How fast the phaser sweeps.

KNOB 1Range 0–100%

7.10AdvancedManual §5 p.13

Controlling the effects over MIDI

Each effect’s on/off switch and three settings can be set from a controller or DAW with MIDI CC messages, sent on the Effect channel (channel 2 unless you change it — see MIDI channels: notes and effects). V16 moved the whole map up to CC70–93; the order is the same.

Effect	On/off	First setting	Second setting	Third setting
Filter	70	71 · Type	72 · CutOff	73 · Q
Reverb	74	75 · Type	76 · Decay	77 · Mix
Delay	78	79 · Decay	80 · Rate	81 · Mix
Distortion	82	83 · Gain	84 · Tone	85 · Level
Chorus	86	87 · Freq	88 · Depth	89 · Mix
Phaser	90	91 · Freq	92 · Depth	93 · Mix

Values

On/off: 0 is off, anything from 1 up is on.
Filter and reverb type: 0, 1 or 2, in the order the screen lists them (low-pass, band-pass, high-pass; room, hall, plate).
Filter cutoff takes 0–107 and Q 0–10; the other settings take 0–100.

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