Native Instruments FM7 (c. 2002)
Not much reliable information survives on the Native Instruments FM7. Most of what circulates is Native Instruments' own advertising, not independent editorial review. What the record shows: the FM7 was a software FM synthesizer pitched as compatible with the famed DX-series, with a modern sound engine of its own added on.
The company's launch advertising in Sound on Sound (Feb 2002, p.173) called it "the most powerful FM synthesizer of all time". That's marketing hyperbole, but it gives the pitch: FM synthesis, DX-series compatibility, and modern touches like multiple-breakpoint envelopes and analog filtering. The same magazine's January 2002 issue listed the UK SRP at £169.99 (Sound on Sound, Jan 2002, p.111).
By early 2005, Native Instruments had released an expansion library, FM7 Sounds Volume 2. It was a $59 CD-ROM with 256 sounds, as noted in Mix (Jan 2005, p.118).
Known specs from the period:
- Software FM synthesizer
- DX-series sound compatibility
- Multiple-breakpoint envelopes and analog filtering (per NI advertising, 2002)
- UK SRP: £169.99
- FM7 Sounds Volume 2: 256 sounds, $59 CD-ROM (2005)
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