Ring Modulator block

Available on which products

• Axe-Fx III, FM9, FM3: 1 block
• Axe-Fx II, AX8, FX8: 1 block

Channels or X/Y

• Axe-Fx III, FM9, FM3: 2 channels
• Axe-Fx II, AX8, FX8: no

About ring modulation

A ring modulator produces the sum and difference of frequencies in multiple waveforms. This often results in 'robotic' sounds.

Wikipedia: Ring modulation

FRACTAL AUDIO QUOTES

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[1] I absolutely hate ring modulators so I was determined to make one that could actually be used in a musical context rather than making robot noises.

Ring Modulator types

The Ring Modulator block has three types:

• Classic
• SSB Upper
• SSB Lower

“SSB Upper” and “SSB Lower” select the upper and lower sidebands of the modulation.

Ring Modulator block diagram

Pitch tracking

When this is enabled, the frequency of the oscillator tracks the pitch of the notes on the fretboard. This works specially great with lower octaves, zee below.

Tips, tricks and troubleshooting

Factory presets

The Ring Modulator block is present in a few factory presets. Search the Factory presets page for "ring".

Octaver effect

The Ring Modulator works great as an Octaver (adding a low octave):

• Enable Pitch Tracking
• Set FREQ MULTIPLIER to 0.500
• Turn down HIGH CUT FREQUENCY

For even more funky business: add a Phaser or an Auto-Wah effect.

Add a fuzz after the Ring Modulator to create a "filthy and fuzzy" low octave.

FRACTAL AUDIO QUOTES

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[2] I've improved the Octave Divider quite dramatically. In my research, however, I discovered a better way to achieve this effect, IMO. Use the Ring Modulator. Set Track to On and FMULT to 0.5. Adjust Locut and Mix to taste. The only drawback is that it's only one octave but it tracks way better than any analog technique.

Tremolo effect

You can turn the Ring Modulator into a Tremolo. Read this

Phaser / Uni-vibe effect

You can turn the Ring Modulator into a phaser or uni-vibe. Read this

Pedal control

Attach a pedal to the FREQ parameter to create a special effect.

Multitap Delay

The Multitap Delay block can apply ring modulation to delay trails.