Tubular and Composite, two new devices in openDAW
Tubular
Tubular is a six-operator FM synthesizer compatible with the Yamaha DX7.
FM synthesis has a reputation for being hard to program, which is exactly what makes it useful in class. Six operators, one of 32 algorithms and a handful of envelopes are the whole system. Students see the algorithm drawn in the editor, change a frequency ratio or an envelope and hear what it does. Bells, electric pianos, basses and brass all come from the same six sine waves, and finding out why is the lesson.
Tubular loads any DX7 .syx file, so the Yamaha factory sets and the many banks published over the last forty years play straight away.
Instrument Composite
Also new is Instrument Composite, an instrument that holds other instruments as layers. Every note reaches all layers, and each layer has its own effects, volume, pan, mute and solo. In class this takes a sound apart: students add a layer and hear what it contributes, or solo one to find out where a texture comes from.
Release Meetup 2026 in Cologne
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