ORBIT FM

+ STELLAR FREQUENCY MODULATION MATRIX +
Orbit FM App Icon
ANCIENT APPARATUS // CELESTIAL SYNTHESIS UNIT

GRAVITATIONAL 16-OPERATOR FM

256 SIMULTANEOUS OPERATORS • REAL-TIME ORBITAL ROUTING

Orbit FM replaces rigid, menu-diving FM algorithm boxes with a living celestial radar. Each of its 16 polyphonic voices runs 16 independent operators (4 central Quadrant Carriers, 4 Inner Ring Modulators, and 8 Outer Ring Modulators). As modulators revolve around the core, spatial proximity ignites plasma discharge arcs—routing cascading 3-tier frequency modulation scaled dynamically by inverse gravitational distance.

DESKTOP STATUS
LIVE NOW (macOS & Windows)
LAUNCH PROMO $20 OFF WITH CODE: INTRO20 ($49 LAUNCH PRICE)
FORMATS macOS (VST3, AU, Standalone) • Windows (VST3, Standalone)
ARCHITECTURE Universal Apple Silicon & Intel x64 • Windows x64
iPadOS / iOS
AUv3 PENDING APPLE APPROVAL
AUDIO ENGINE 16 VOICES × 16 OPERATORS (256 TOTAL) // ZERO-TELEMETRY DSP
BUY DESKTOP (macOS / WIN) ↗ READ OPERATIONS MANUAL ↓ APP SUPPORT
ORBITAL CORE // LIVE TELEMETRY SIM ARCS: ACTIVE
256
SIMULTANEOUS OPERATORS
16
POLYPHONIC VOICES
4 + 4 + 8
CARRIERS / INNER / OUTER
70+
FACTORY + USER PRESETS
AUv3
MAC & iOS PLUGIN + APP

VISUAL INTERFACE TOUR

// CLICK ANY SCREENSHOT TO EXPAND FULL-SCREEN
Orbit FM Carrier Mixer and Orbital Speed & Direction
FIG 01 // OVERVIEW DECK: CARRIER MIXER & ORBITAL VELOCITY [CLICK TO ENLARGE]
MAIN OVERVIEW DECK

QUAD CARRIER MIXER & ORBITAL PROPULSION

The primary cockpit pairs the 16-node Orbital Core on the left with the Carrier Mixer and Orbital Speed & Direction deck on the right.

  • Color-Coded Carrier Faders (C1–C4): Balance the output levels of the four central quadrant carriers—Magenta (C1), Emerald (C2), Cyan (C3), and Amber (C4).
  • Dedicated Stereo Pan Sliders: Beneath each carrier fader sits a horizontal stereo pan control (-1.0 Left to +1.0 Right) for wide binaural FM imaging.
  • Inner & Outer Orbit Knobs: Independently dial rotational speed, direction, free Hz rate, or lock to musical metric divisions (e.g. CW 1/2, CCW 1/4) using the dedicated BPM SYNC clock engine.
Orbit FM Inner Modulator LED Inspector and Plasma Arcs
FIG 02 // OPERATOR INSPECTOR & GRAVITATIONAL PLASMA ARCS [CLICK TO ENLARGE]
DEEP OPERATOR SCULPTING

SEGMENTED LED INSPECTOR & PLASMA COUPLING

Tap any Carrier quadrant (C1–C4) or orbiting Modulator node (Inner Mod 1–4, Outer Mod 1–8) directly on the radar—or pick from the dropdown selector—to open its dedicated Segmented LED Parameter Inspector.

  • Live Plasma Discharge Arcs: Watch lightning-like plasma tendrils jump from Outer Modulators into Inner Modulators and straight into the four Carrier quadrants as nodes align.
  • Tactile 20-Segment LED Bars: Drag across high-contrast LED meters for Wave Shape, Feedback, Gravity Mass, Velocity Sens, Ratio, Mod Index, and ADSR.
  • Quick Return (`X`): Click the X button in the top-right of the Inspector at any time to return to the Carrier Mixer overview.
Orbit FM 8-Slot Assignable Performance Macros Deck
FIG 03 // PERFORMANCE MACROS & ORBITAL CLOCK [CLICK TO ENLARGE]
LIVE PERFORMANCE MATRIX

8-SLOT MULTI-TARGET MACROS & BIPOLAR MODULATION

Switch to the MACROS tab to access eight assignable performance encoders (M1–M8) capable of sweeping multiple carrier, envelope, and orbital physics parameters simultaneously.

  • Bipolar Target Routing (-100% to +100%): Invert modulation depth across destinations so a single knob twist opens filter resonance while shrinking attack time.
  • Tactile Multi-Parameter Shifts: Shape complex timbral transformations during live performance using hardware MIDI dials or on-screen gestures.
  • Direct Master Clock Coupling: Positioned directly above the Orbital Speed & Clock deck for synchronized rhythmic modulation.
Orbit FM Granular Category-Selective Randomizer Matrix
FIG 04 // GRANULAR MUTATION ENGINE & CATEGORY PILLS [CLICK TO ENLARGE]
SURGICAL PATCH EVOLUTION

INTELLIGENT RANDOMIZER WITH MUSICAL PRESERVATION

Open the RANDOMIZE tab to surgically mutate sound parameters without dissolving your patch into unusable noise.

  • Selective Subsystem Pills: Toggle individual randomizer targets for Carriers (C1–C4), Inner Mods (I1–I4), Outer Mods (O1–O8), Macros (M1–M8), and Orbit Dynamics.
  • Lock Pitch & Tempo: Leave TEMPO / BPM unselected to keep rhythmic pulses rock-steady while generating wildly fresh FM sidebands.
  • Instant Sound Discovery: Tap RANDOMIZE to discover unexpected acoustic bodies, ethereal pads, and morphing metallic leads in milliseconds.
Orbit FM Floating Holographic Keyboard with Latch Mode
FIG 05 // HOLOGRAPHIC LASER KEYBOARD & DRONE LATCH [CLICK TO ENLARGE]
PERFORMANCE & DRONE DECK

HOLOGRAPHIC PROJECTOR KEYBOARD & LATCH

Click the mechanical Projector Orb in the bottom-left corner to project a translucent laser performance keyboard directly over the lower chassis.

  • Hands-Free Drone Latch (LATCH: ON): Hold chords or bass notes indefinitely while keeping both hands free to spin orbital rings and sculpt modulator parameters.
  • Octave Transpose (< OCT / OCT >): Shift the 2-octave performance ribbon cleanly across C0 through C6.
  • 4 Laser Wavelength Themes: Click the wavelength badge (YLW, CYN, MAG, GRN) to switch the holographic laser beam and plasma border color.
Orbit FM MIDI Learn Mode and Controller Automation
FIG 06 // HARDWARE CONTROLLER INTEGRATION & MIDI LEARN [CLICK TO ENLARGE]
STUDIO INTEGRATION

SEAMLESS MIDI CC LEARN & CONTROLLER ARMING

Click the MIDI LEARN button in the top navigation bar to highlight every interactive fader, rotary knob, and transport toggle across the entire instrument.

  • One-Click Arming: Click any highlighted parameter and twist a hardware encoder, move an expression pedal, or push a mod wheel to instantly lock CC communication.
  • Right-Click Unmapping: Effortlessly strip assignments or click CLEAR ALL to reset controller mappings.
  • DAW Automation Support: All internal parameters report high-resolution automation IDs for sample-accurate host timeline modulation.

3-TIER CELESTIAL FM ARCHITECTURE

// HOW GRAVITATIONAL ROUTING WORKS
"Instead of wiring static boxes in a spreadsheet, Orbit FM treats frequency modulation as orbital physics—proximity equals modulation depth."

TIER 1 // CENTRAL CARRIER SUN

4 OPERATORS
C1: MAGENTA (NW) C2: EMERALD (NE) C3: CYAN (SW) C4: AMBER (SE)

At the center of the radar sits the mechanical core housing four independent Carrier operators (C1–C4) positioned at 45°, 135°, 225°, and 315°. These are the audible oscillators that receive incoming FM energy from the Inner Ring and sum directly to the stereo master output with individual Level and Panning.

TIER 2 // INNER MODULATOR RING

4 OPERATORS
INNER MOD 1–4 PRIMARY HARMONIC BODY

Four primary modulators revolve closely around the Carrier Sun. As each Inner Modulator passes through a Carrier's gravitational field, its coupling weight increases smoothly—shaping the fundamental harmonic body, woody electric piano tine, brass bite, or vocal formant of that quadrant.

TIER 3 // OUTER MODULATOR RING

8 OPERATORS
OUTER MOD 1–8 CASCADING MOD-ON-MOD

Eight secondary modulators orbit the outer perimeter. Whenever an Outer Modulator passes near an Inner Modulator, it injects tier-3 cascading FM (modulating the modulator before it hits the carrier)—creating shimmering metallic transients, complex sidebands, and continuously evolving textures.

PERFORMANCE MACROS & INTELLIGENT MUTATION

// 8-SLOT MODULATION DECK & GRANULAR MUTATION ENGINE
"Sculpt complex celestial movements with 8 multi-target performance macros, or mutate entire solar systems with surgical category-locked randomization."

8-SLOT PERFORMANCE MACROS

MULTI-TARGET BIPOLAR

Each macro block controls an assignable performance encoder capable of modulating multiple engine targets simultaneously. Every target assignment features independent bipolar depth (-100% to +100%), allowing single knob turns to open one parameter while closing another.

  • Multi-Target Assignments: Click the target badge on any macro block to open the popup assignments card and link multiple engine destinations to a single dial.
  • Categorized Routing Menu: Quickly assign to Carrier Ratios, Operator Mod Indices, Orbital Gravity, Orbit Speeds, Envelopes, or Reverb Space.
  • Bipolar Attenuation (-100% ↔ +100%): Drag depth sliders to scale modulation in positive or inverted phase for complex cross-fading timbres.
  • MIDI CC Learn & Automation: Assign hardware expression pedals, wheels, or control surfaces for fluid live performance gestures.
Orbit FM Macro Controls Screenshot
MACRO PERFORMANCE DECK [CLICK TO ENLARGE]
VIRTUAL MACRO DECK // ADJUST ANY ENCODER M1: WARP [0.65]

INTELLIGENT MUTATION MATRIX

CATEGORY-SELECTIVE RANDOMIZER

Randomizing sound shouldn't mean turning your synthesizer into unplayable digital noise. Orbit FM features a granular, surgical randomizer with selective toggle pills—allowing you to mutate specific parts of the solar system while preserving musical integrity.

  • Granular Target Toggles: Choose exactly which subsystems randomize: Orbit Dynamics, Carrier Ratios, Inner Modulators, Outer Modulators, or Macro settings.
  • Musical Preservation: Lock carrier frequencies and tempo to keep your patch in key and on beat while scrambling the cascading FM timbres and orbital drift.
  • Instant Solar Mutations: Generate limitless exploratory acoustic pianos, crystalline bells, warped tape organs, or cinematic sci-fi textures in seconds.
  • Select All / Clear All: One-tap toggle buttons for full chaos generation or focused surgical tweaks.
Orbit FM Intelligent Randomizer Screenshot
SURGICAL MUTATION MATRIX [CLICK TO ENLARGE]
SURGICAL MUTATION PILLS
READY FOR MUTATION

COMPLETE TUTORIAL & OPERATIONS MANUAL

// STEP-BY-STEP FIELD GUIDE
01

ORBITAL SPEED, LOCK & GRAVITY

Spatial distance between orbiting nodes determines how strongly modulators affect carriers. Mastering the ring controls lets you move between rock-solid acoustic instruments and swirling cosmic motion:

  • STATIONARY CORE LOCK (SPEED = 0.00) Setting Inner Orbit speed to exactly 0.00 locks Inner Modulators 1–4 directly over Carriers 1–4 at a 45° alignment. Use this for consistent, phase-locked Keys, Plucks, Strings, and Brass while letting the Outer Orbit spin slowly for subtle organic movement.
  • COUNTER-ROTATION (-2.00 TO +2.00) Set Inner Orbit to a positive speed (clockwise) and Outer Orbit to a negative speed (counter-clockwise) to create polyrhythmic timbral Phasing as Outer Modulators sweep past Inner Modulators.
  • MANUAL RADAR SCRUBBING & FREEZE Grab and drag any ring directly on the radar canvas to scrub modulation angles by hand, or engage FREEZE to lock a sweet spot in place indefinitely.
02

SCULPTING THE 4 CARRIERS (C1–C4)

Click any of the four colored terminals around the central core (or select Carrier 1–4 from the Inspector dropdown) to access its 14 per-carrier synthesis parameters:

  • WAVE SHAPE (SINE → TRI → SAW → SQR) Continuously morphs the carrier oscillator using band-limited Chebyshev harmonics—allowing warm bowed strings, analog brass, and hollow woodwinds without relying solely on heavy FM indices.
  • COARSE PITCH (-24..+24 ST) & FINE DETUNE (-100..+100 CT) Tune carriers to octaves, fifths, or chord intervals, and spread Fine Detune across C1–C4 for lush 4-oscillator unison supersaws and chorused pads.
  • PITCH ENVELOPE (-12 TO +12 ST) & SELF-FEEDBACK Add a fast exponential pitch blip on note-on for realistic brass lip-attacks and percussive thumps, and dial in Yamaha-style two-sample averaged tanh self-feedback for warm harmonic grit.
  • ADSR, ENV CURVE (EXP / LIN / LOG) & KEY SCALING Shape amplitude with continuous envelope curvature from snappy Exponential (-1.0) to blooming Logarithmic (+1.0), plus Key Scaling to naturally tame high-note brightness above C4.
03

MODULATOR INSPECTOR (M1–M12)

Click any orbiting node on the Inner Ring (Inner Mod 1–4) or Outer Ring (Outer Mod 1–8) to sculpt its 13 modulation parameters. Pro Tip: Double-tap any LED bar to snap it back to its default value.

  • FREQUENCY RATIO (0.25x – 16.0x) & FINE DETUNE Whole integers (1.0x, 2.0x, 3.0x, 4.0x) yield harmonic keyboard, bass, and brass tones; fractional ratios (1.41x, 2.76x, 3.14x) forge bells, gongs, and metallic plucks.
  • MODULATION INDEX (0.0 – 10.0) & GRAVITY MASS Mod Index sets peak FM intensity, while Gravity Mass expands or contracts the node's plasma halo—controlling how wide an arc it maintains as it orbits past target nodes.
  • PHASE SYNC (ON / OFF) & VELOCITY SENSITIVITY Enable Phase Sync for rock-solid, identical transient attacks on every keystroke, or turn it off for free-running analog drift.
WAVE SHAPETRI (0.25)
GRAVITY MASS0.50
VELOCITY SENS0.78
04

PRESET BANK, HOLOGRAM KEYS & AUv3

Orbit FM ships with 70 handcrafted factory patches across 7 expandable category folders, plus custom User Preset storage and full DAW state recall:

  • 7 EXPANDABLE PRESET FOLDERS + USER BANK Click the top preset bar (e.g. Plucks: Fibonacci...) to open the categorized browser. Click any folder header to expand its 10 patches, or click + SAVE PRESET... to store your own custom patches to disk.
  • HOLOGRAPHIC KEYBOARD & DRONE LATCH Tap the bottom-left Projector Orb to toggle the laser keyboard. Enable LATCH: ON to hold notes endlessly while tweaking parameters, shift octaves (C0–C6), and cycle through 4 neon laser themes.
  • DAW AUTOMATION & AUv3 HOSTING Load Orbit FM as an AUv3 Instrument in Logic Pro, GarageBand, AUM, Drambo, BeatMaker 3, or Cubasis. All 216 parameters are exposed for host automation with sub-block smoothing.
KEYS10
  • Dyno Rhodes
  • Lo-Fi Tape EP
  • Crystal Tines
PLUCKS10
  • Fibonacci Harp
  • Glass Marimba
  • Koto Vector
STRINGS & BRASS20
  • Warm Cellos
  • Solina Ensemble
  • CS-80 Blade Brass
PADS, LEADS, DRONES30
  • Velvet Saw Lead
  • Dark Matter Drone
  • Event Horizon

QUICK-START SOUND DESIGN RECIPES

// 4 ARCHETYPES TO TRY IMMEDIATELY

01 // VINTAGE TINE ELECTRIC PIANO

  1. Set Inner Orbit Speed to 0.00 (locks M1–M4 directly onto C1–C4).
  2. Set Carrier 1 to Sine (0.00) for fundamental body; set Inner Mod 1 Ratio to 1.00x with low Mod Index (1.2).
  3. Set Carrier 2 level to 0.45 and Inner Mod 2 Ratio to 14.0x with a fast 0.18s Exponential Decay for the metallic hammer bell.
  4. Dial in Carrier Key Scaling (0.55) so high notes stay warm and glassy.

02 // WARM BOWED CHAMBER STRINGS

  1. Morph Carriers C1–C4 Wave Shape to Saw (0.65)—giving instant rich string harmonics before FM is even applied.
  2. Spread Fine Detune across C1–C4 (-8 ct, -3 ct, +3 ct, +9 ct) and pan them wide across the stereo field.
  3. Set Carrier Attack to 0.45s with a positive Logarithmic Env Curve (+0.40) for a natural bow swell.
  4. Set Outer Orbit Speed to 0.12 for gentle ensemble motion.

03 // FIBONACCI POLYRHYTHMIC PLUCK

  1. Set Carrier 1–3 Decay to 0.60s, Sustain to 0.00, and Env Curve to snappy Exponential (-0.75).
  2. Tune Inner Mods 1–4 Ratios to golden/Fibonacci intervals (1.0x, 2.0x, 3.0x, 5.0x) with Phase Sync ON.
  3. Spin Inner Orbit at +0.85 and Outer Orbit at -1.10 so every note in an arpeggio catches a different harmonic alignment.

04 // DARK MATTER GRAVITATIONAL DRONE

  1. Deploy the Holographic Keyboard, turn LATCH: ON, and hold a low octave fifth in C1–C2.
  2. Pitch Carrier 1 to -12 st (Sub), Carrier 2 to 0 st, Carrier 3 to +7 st, and Carrier 4 to +12 st.
  3. Raise Gravity Mass on all modulators above 0.75 and set slow counter-rotating speeds (+0.06 / -0.04) for endlessly evolving plasma arcs.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

// SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE & REQUIREMENTS
SYNTHESIS ENGINE 3-Tier Gravitational Frequency Modulation Matrix (4 Quadrant Carriers + 4 Inner Ring Modulators + 8 Outer Ring Modulators per voice)
POLYPHONY & OPERATORS 16 Polyphonic Voices × 16 Independent Operators = 256 Simultaneous Real-Time Operators
OSCILLATOR WAVEFORMS Continuous Band-Limited Chebyshev Morphing (Pure Sine → Triangle → Warm Sawtooth → Hollow Square) + 2-Sample Averaged tanh Self-Feedback
ENVELOPES & MODULATION 16 Independent ADSR Envelopes per voice with Continuous Slope Tension (Exponential -1.0 / Linear 0.0 / Logarithmic +1.0) + Per-Carrier Pitch Envelopes
PERFORMANCE MACROS 8-Slot Performance Encoders with Multi-Target Assignment, Bipolar Modulation Depth (-100% to +100%), and Full MIDI CC Learn
INTELLIGENT MUTATION Surgical Category-Selective Randomizer with Musical Preservation (Independent toggles for Orbit Dynamics, Tempo, Carriers, Modulators, and Macros)
PRESET LIBRARY 80 Factory Patches across 8 Categories (Keys, Plucks, Strings, Brass, Pads, Leads, Drones, Bass) + Unlimited Local XML User Presets
SUPPORTED FORMATS macOS: VST3 • Audio Unit (AU) • Standalone (Universal Apple Silicon & Intel) • Windows: VST3 & Standalone (64-bit) • iPadOS / iOS: AUv3 & Standalone
DATA & PRIVACY 100% Offline, Local-First Execution. Zero Telemetry, Zero Subscriptions, Zero Cloud Dependencies.
BUY DESKTOP (macOS & WINDOWS) ↗ JOIN DISPATCH FOR SOUNDBANKS & UPDATES ↗
> TELEMETRY SUGGESTIONS // ORBIT FM LAB CHANNEL ● DIRECT SIGNAL TO WORKBENCH

Have an orbital modulation idea, carrier mixer wishlist, preset category request, or anomaly to report for Orbit FM? Transmit your ideas directly to our workbench: