3 ms·
In DSP terms direct calculation of sine waves is incredibly expensive. Even more so with 1980s 8- or 16-bit fixed point arithmetic without a coprocessor. Table
by TheOtherHobbes 5y ago
In DSP terms direct calculation of sine waves is incredibly expensive. Even more so with 1980s 8- or 16-bit fixed point arithmetic without a coprocessor.
Table lookup was inherited from the first computer music software. It was the only way to create any kind of waveform at reasonable speed.
When you have a table, modulating the lookup index is almost an obvious trick. But the Chowning/Yamaha implementation worked so well musically that it took it from a curiosity to a best-selling product.
A different take on it might not have done that.
FM owes a lot to sound developer Dave Bristow. He made sure the DX7 had usable sounds. According to him, the original prototypes had tens of harpsichord-like patches and not much else.