Accessing the Envelope Window in NI’s FM8

As anyone who has ever worked with FM synthesis knows, much of the character of any specific sound is dictated by the envelopes that control the amplitude of both carrier and modulator waves. This is the key to the complex FM sound. Unfortunately, until recently, tweaking the envelopes was a tedious business involving the setting of values with only your ears to tell you if you were on the right track. Fortunately, Native Instruments’ FM8 lets you see an overview of all the envelopes in the Envelopes Window. What’s more, you still maintain the ability of editing them, though we find it’s best to display a single envelope in the full on-screen workspace so you can make precise adjustments.