Samedi Dimanche WXR-700 Pushes FM Synthesis Beyond Six Operators

For forty years, six operators have been the ceiling. Yamaha's DX7 codified that architecture in 1983, and the vast majority of FM plugins since have honored it, give or take a cosmetic rethink. Samedi Dimanche's WXR-700, released April 2, pushes the count to eight and then hands you a custom algorithm editor to wire them however you want.

The plugin ships with 20 fixed algorithms covering standard FM routing configurations, but the custom algorithm editor is the real differentiator: it lets sound designers build carrier/modulator chains from scratch rather than picking from a preselected menu. The developer posted on Gearspace at launch that "the aim of WXR-700 is to take classic FM concepts and make them more customisable and exploratory — hence the custom algorithm editor and large operator count." That two-extra-operator gap opens up denser inharmonic spectra and feedback routing possibilities that would require hardware modifications to replicate on vintage silicon.

The DX7 SysEx import is the feature that will get vintage FM collectors through the door. The WXR-700 accepts classic 1980s FM SysEx patch banks directly, meaning decades of accumulated DX7 libraries, from the famous Lately Bass presets to boutique sound design collections, load straight into the 8-operator engine. Those patches will sound different with two additional operators available, but they provide a familiar launching pad for experimentation.

The architecture is bitimbral, running two independent parts (A and B), each with its own filters, LFOs, effects, and modulation routing. A built-in arpeggiator and performance macros with MIDI control round out what Samedi Dimanche describes as a production-ready feature set, backed by a factory preset library spanning bass, leads, pads, textures, and keys.

At £40 for a Windows VST3 plugin, WXR-700 sits at a deliberately accessible price point for what is a technically ambitious FM architecture. The tradeoff, for now, is platform exclusivity: there is no macOS or Linux build currently available. Producers on Windows who have been waiting for an FM tool that goes further than Dexed's DX7 emulation or Ableton's four-operator Operator will find the WXR-700 a substantively different proposition, and the custom algorithm editor alone makes it worth the download.