YAMAHA FB-01

The FB-01 is a 4-operator, 8-algorithm FM tone module from the heyday of Yamaha FM synths. It was designed as a compact, affordable instrument targeted at the semi-professional market. At the time of the FB-01’s release, multitimbral synths were still the exception rather than the norm, and the FB-01 was one of the first multitimbral instruments to break into its price range. There is memory for 20 multi setups; each part of a multi setup can operate on any MIDI channel, and can be routed to either or both of the two outputs. The number of voices allocated to each part must also be specified; the FB-01 is 8-note polyphonic. There is only one LFO, which operates on all parts in a multitimbral setup, but the LFO depth for each part can be adjusted. There are 240 preset patches, and 96 user patches, divided into two banks of 48. The user patches can only be programmed through MIDI. The module has MIDI in, out, and thru.