# FM Essential - US

> Music

Canonical page: [https://chrome-stats.com/d/id1121442614](https://chrome-stats.com/d/id1121442614)

## Overview

- **ID:** `id1121442614`
- **Platform:** Apple
- **Type:** Apple app
- **Status:** Available
- **Publisher:** Yamaha Corporation of America
- **Category:** Music
- **Rating:** 3.00 / 5 (70 ratings)
- **Version:** 1.1.9
- **Last updated:** 2026-05-12
- **First published:** 2016-07-21
- **Size:** 88 MB
- **Data as of:** 2026-09-06
- **Store listing:** [Apple App Store](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/fm-essential-us/id1121442614)
- **Website:** [http://usa.yamaha.com/products/apps/](http://usa.yamaha.com/products/apps/)
- **Privacy policy:** [http://usa.yamaha.com/privacy\_policy/](http://usa.yamaha.com/privacy_policy/)

## Description

FM Essential - US is a Chrome extension that brings a powerful FM synthesizer to your browser. It offers a real-time tone generator, 16-voice polyphony, 271 preset voices, an arpeggiator with 64 patterns, 20 chord pads, and 25 scales for expressive music creation.

Features include a ball controller for multi-parameter modulation, a step sequencer to store ball positions, arpeggiator and chord pads for performance beyond a keyboard, and MX BK/BU series hardware integration. It also supports Audio Bus and Audio Unit Extensions for extended music workflows.

## Rankings

- #181,276 — Overall

## Review summary

FM Essential delivers high-quality FM sounds and a flexible patch workflow, and can work as a standalone instrument. However, the app is hampered by gating behind MX hardware, stability bugs, limited free content, and cross-device compatibility issues, which dampen its otherwise strong sound and usability.

### Pros

- Excellent FM synth sound with a broad library of presets
- Very flexible and easy to use, with many starting patches
- Works well as a standalone instrument
- Suitable for live use and integration with other apps (e.g., GarageBand)

### Cons

- Unlocking the full version requires Yamaha MX hardware, with unreliable or inconsistent unlocking across devices
- Crashes and stability issues (crashes when loading combinations, preset menus crashing, instruments disabling when effects are off)
- Most sounds are locked behind hardware or expensive upgrades (limited free content)
- Inconsistent compatibility across devices/OS versions and MX USB compatibility issues (e.g., iPadOS updates)
- CPU-heavy and resource-intensive

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Source: [Chrome-Stats](https://chrome-stats.com/d/id1121442614)