Kodamo EssenceFM 7,0, new firmware adds a multi-track sequencer, second LFO, and more to the multi-timbral FM Synthesizer from France.
One of the most powerful FM synthesizers of the modern era is undoubtedly the EssenceFM Mk2 from the French company Kodamo. This 6-operator FM synth boasts 16-part multi-timbral capabilities with massive splits and layer options, 300 voices, and many special features, such as drawing custom waveforms for the oscillators (operators) and LFO.
Today, Kodamo released firmware 7.0 for the EssenceFM synthesizer, a major free upgrade with many new features.
Kodamo EssenceFM 7.0
EssenceFM 7.0 is out now, and it supercharges the synth with many new, powerful features.
The new built-in sequencer is the highlight of the Kodamo EssenceFM 7.0 update. It has 16 independent tracks with up to 128 steps that can be stored in each performance. You can record by entering notes on the touchscreen or sending MIDI data from your keyboard to the synth.
It supports up to 16-note polyphony per step, and you can set any length from 1 to 128 steps for the sequence, transpose it, and adjust tempo all in real-time. As a bonus, you can also sequence external gear through the MIDI output socket.
Features like probability and ratcheting are missing from the firmware 7.0 release. Perhaps we’ll see them in future updates.
More Modulation
Another significant new feature is the addition of a second LFO for all voices. According to Kodamo, it works like the first LFO except that it does not feature the attack and delay parameters. You can use it easily from the modulation matrix, and it is not hardwired to any AM/FM mod on the operator side.
This allows you to bring more movement into the sounds. Talking about modulation. All envelopes can now be set to FreeRun. They don’t offer a sustain point, but they can be helpful to patches that have timbre changes that do not reset on every key press. You can also use the envelope in this mode as an LFO.
Then, you can now modulate each slot’s ratio. Nice, Kodamo EssenceFM 7.0 has 128 effect slots available where you can store and load your favorite effect settings.
Besides the new multi-track MIDI sequencer, various changes are made to the internal MIDI Player, including MIDI output support and the play next feature. The latter allows you to play an entire folder of MIDI files like a playlist. And the Play Next and Looped options are now remembered during shutdown.
Many Improvements & Bug Fixes
- Volumes for all six operators can now be edited at the same time
- Global > Display > Startup Bank: allows to choose which Patch or Voice bank you want to load on startup.
- feedback level parameter has a more useful range when the source is a carrier (If you import sounds that were made before this change and use carriers as feedback sources, you will need to tweak them).
- MPE: on the Performance page, when keeping your finger pressed on a part, the popup allows you to clone that part into a range of parts (eg, from 1 to 8 instead of cloning to all parts previously). That makes for an easy and flexible MPE performance setup
- and more
First Impression
It’s very welcome to see that the developer continues to update the EssenceFM synth after so many years. It’s such a powerful FM synth, and I hope this update will bring it to people’s attention even more. One of the most powerful FM synths, but for me, still underrated. Big thumbs up for this update.
Kodamo EssenceFM 7.0 is a free update for existing users. The EssenceFM MK2 is available now for 1049€ (ex VAT) from the official website and retailers.
More information here: Kodamo
Available at my partner
300 voices? I should have looked at the specs years ago, that’s impressive — although it’s a shame it isn’t configurable from 2-OP up to 16-OP (which would be what? 100 voices?) to get closer to the full functionality of the FS1R with both voiced and unvoiced operators. The custom waveforms probably make up for that to some extent though.
It’s because it has been designed with multi-layering approach in mind.
This is at least what Stephane told me when i lent my FS1r for him to check and see how Yamaha had their formant implemented.