How can I get even more sounds and textures out of Dexed? By using Dexed in a DAW, which most of you are probably already doing. In our Dexed Owner’s Manual series, we’ve gotten to the point where we can modify and create our own sounds. We can indeed maximize the 6-Op FM we have under the hood and adjust tones in Dexed as needed. But, as the DX7, which Dexed so accurately emulates, the sounds can be a bit “dry,” and there are limitations to what can be modulated and adjusted in real time.
Bringing Dexed into a DAW is like visiting another country – you never really imagined the differences until you visit. This article is like a road trip across the border. Let’s start the ignition, head onto the open road, and see where we end up – modify Dexed audio with all of the tools available in a DAW.
DIY Repairs – effects
The shortest path to enhancing the sound of Dexed in a DAW is by using the DAW’s built-in effects processors. Admittedly, this is probably not a new idea to most of you. For those early in Dexed ownership, I’ll show how it’s done, just in case you haven’t used Dexed in a DAW before.
Dexed + Effects in Logic Pro
In Logic Pro, the process is simple. Create a track in Logic, a Software Instrument Track, then select Dexed as the software instrument. Dexed will appear under the brand name “Digital Suburban → Dexed.” Once Dexed is assigned to a track, you can assign effect processors to the channel strip on that track.
To assign an effect processor to a track, select the Dexed track, then, below “Dexed” in the channel strip, click the greyed-out area to open the effects selection pop-up. You can navigate through the categories, or type the sort of effect you are looking for in the search box. In this example, I’ve created an effects chain of Chorus, Stereo Delay, and SilverVerb.
There are dozens of built-in effects and presets within Logic Pro, as well as the ability to design your own presets and save them.
Dexed + Effects in Fender Studio Pro
In Fender Studio Pro (here I show Studio One version 7), the process is slightly different, but the end result is the same. Once you have created a track with Dexed by dragging and dropping Dexed from the Browser to a track, you can do the same with effects.
Simply drag and drop effects from the Browser onto the Dexed track. Similarly, you can build multi-effects chains as we demonstrated in Logic.
Dexed + effects in Bitwig
Bitwig has a slightly different user interface paradigm.
Users of the program know to add multiple effects engines along the bottom of the tracks window for each instrument, including Dexed.
Intermediate Repairs – MIDI Control of FM Synthesis
The real power of Dexed in a DAW is to combine effects processors with MIDI modulation. Most DAWs can assign MIDI controllers to parameters within a VST instrument, such as Dexed. This example will be in Logic Pro from Apple, but the process is similar in almost every other DAW.
One of the very cool things about one of my favorite synths, the Korg OpSix, is that there are physical controllers directly attached to FM synthesis parameters on the front panel. This makes it very easy and accessible to twist and mangle FM sounds. We can achieve this sort of mangling in Dexed, too, by using a MIDI control, external to Logic, routed into Dexed. Let’s start with a simpler example using a MIDI controller knob or slider.
Assigning a MIDI Controller within Dexed
Since we already have a track with Dexed assigned, select “LAURIE” from the default Factory Cart of voices. As you experiment with this modulation in the future, you’ll find that some parameters have no effect, but some parameters can be modulated with great results. In LAURIE, the Level of OP2 is one of those. It’s a parameter whose level is fed back into itself, creating chaos as it increases.
Let’s use the Level knob for our example. Hover or Level in the OP2 section of Dexed, then right-click on the knob itself. You’ll need to hold the mouse pointer down to see two selections – “Map controller to MIDI CC for: OP2 Output Level” and “Clear MIDI CC Mapping.” For now, select the first option (Map). You’ll get a small dialog box as below:
Now, on your MIDI controller, move a knob or slider of your choosing – this will assign the movements of that knob to control the OP2 Level parameter. Once it’s mapped, you should be able to move that knob or slider with wild abandon and see the knob move on Dexed.
And, you can assign more than one controller at a time …
Audibly, this will increase the sound’s brightness. At the upper end of the control, “Laurie” can be chaotic. If you like this, no problem; if you want to tame it a bit, you will need to limit the transmit control range from the source, or just never move the controller to its maximum value.
You can assign a number of MIDI controllers to the synthesis parameters in Dexed – Attack and Release rates of the envelopes, the levels of each Operator, and even the Algorithm can be modified with the turn of a knob. You can also assign a single MIDI controller to multiple Dexed parameters.
Advanced Repairs – Use the Built-in DAW Generators
In addition to routing a MIDI control from your controller keyboard to a parameter in Dexed, DAWs like Logic and Bitwig can enable and route automatic modulators that can be routed into Dexed. With these sorts of modulators, we can overcome some of the shortcomings in Dexed. Let’s start with the example of controlling the Filter Cutoff with an external Envelope.
As I mentioned in the “Shortcomings of Dexed” posts, one of the bummers of the current Dexed implementation is the fact that you can’t really modulate the Filter Cutoff or Resonance – they are Global parameters that affect the output of the entire synthesis engine. There are no modulation routings of Envelopes or LFOs to the Filter, either.
Assigning Track Mod Sources within a DAW
Logic includes both an assignable LFO and an assignable Envelope that can modulate Dexed. The destination of this modulation can be the Filter Cutoff and Resonance. On the channel strip assigned to Dexed, click the gray box above the Dexed name, below the EQ settings. You will find a list of plugins labeled “MIDI FX”.
The MIDI FX in Logic Pro
The menu items for that box include several options, but we’ll focus on Modulator for this post. A pop-up appears when Modulator is selected, showing an LFO and an ENV generator. These can be used together or alone.
First, let’s set up an Envelope to modulate the Filter in Dexed. First, let’s power on the Envelope by pressing the “Power” icon next to the ENV name. Create an example envelope by programming the Attack to 400ms, the Hold to 10,000ms, and the release to 10,000ms. This will give us a short sweep envelope to apply to the Filter cutoff.
To apply to the Filter Cutoff, in the box to the left of the Output Level slider, click and select “- Learn Plugin Parameter-.” Then on Dexed, adjust the Filter Cutoff. You’ve now routed the Envelope on the track to the Dexed cutoff. This is not the perfect, pristine, artifact-free way to modulate Dexed sounds. There is sometimes noise from the sweeping filter and the Envelope’s steps.
In Logic, there are several parameters to try to dial in a modulation that makes sense for your sound. Also, try some of the Presets for the Modulator and see which ones work, then reroute to different destinations. In the “Drifting Modulation” preset, I selected Dexed Cutoff as the destination for the LFO, and Dexed Resonance as the destination for the Envelope for an interesting filter effect with Dexed – one that can’t be programmed using Dexed alone.
Studio One, Bitwig, and Ableton all have similar features. Mechanisms that can create modulation routings into Dexed for advanced sound mangling, including Note Repeaters, Arpeggiators, various Mathematic Generators, and more. The simple routing shown here is just a basic example.
Wrap-up
Using Dexed in a DAW can provide an infinite number of new ways to modulate audio and parameters. While Dexed absolutely has a stand-alone mode that faithfully models a DX7, if you only use this mode, or only use Dexed on a DAW track without applying these ideas, you are missing out.
We’ve continued our Dexed Owner’s Manual series by showing how to take advantage of three groups of modifications to the audio in Dexed within a DAW. By starting simple with Effects and gradually adding complexity with MIDI and generator-based modulation sources, we now have an FM synth with hundreds of thousands of miles of potential on its engine.
If you have just stumbled across this article and want to know more tips and tricks about Dexed, check out our entire series on the Dexed Owner’s Manual page. We’ve got tutorials from basic use to advanced programming – lots of learning opportunities. Thanks for reading, and we’ll see you in a couple of weeks with another Dexed-focused article. We’ve also got posts of the amazing K1v synths and Logic Sampler, too. Thanks for reading!
Resources:
- SoundEngine’s Complete Dexed Owner’s Manual Series:
- Our custom programmed Crankshaft: Dexed bank:
- Our custom programmed Flywheel: Dexed bank:
- The Dexed plug-in:
- FM Synthesis:
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