Fledge is a four operator FM synthesizer built by Takuma Matsui and Dr. Ryan Page.
The name Fledge refers to a young bird that have large enough wings to fly. It is built for the sole purpose of aiding a beginner in the journey of learning FM synthesis.
FM synthesis involves many parameters, but the operator modulation index, harmonic ratio, and amplitude envelope generator have the greatest impact on timbre.
Fledge highlights these controls by placing them front and center in the GUI.
Because of the carrier/modulator relationships in FM synthesis, students may sometimes feel that a knob is “not doing anything.”
To address this, Fledge includes a visualizer that displays the evolving output waveform, providing immediate visual feedback that mirrors audio changes.
In Fledge, controls do exactly what they indicate—there are no hidden macros or unnecessary abstractions.