Back in the 80’S my Father was the music director of a municipal band, they had 1 tuba, clarinetes, oboes, a French horn and trumpets, a big kick Drum bass, crash cymbals. And in on the middle all those acoustic instruments, there was one dude with a Yamaha DX-100 😂
Badass band! My dad was part of some them too but no keyboard at all in any of them, only brass, woodwinds and percussions, as it should be;) We did have a DX7IID at home, though.
I was absolutely one of those guys in the late 90's who tracked down a used DX100 and a Rocktron Talkbox after seeing Teddy Riley use it live on MTV when Blackstreet blew up. I mainly still hold on to it for nostalgia reasons but I last summer I finally opened it up and soldered a new memory backup battery into it. 🥰
Same here. My gf had recorded Blackstreet's performance on VHS and I spent hours/days trying to figure out what this mini DX7 was. Thankfully it was the late 90's and internet was already here to help. Not as easy as it would be today but eventually I ended up finding that it was the DX100. I bought three of them because they went for cheap and I couldn't imagine my talkbox life without a working DX100. One day I was in Paris, both to attend a Zapp band concert and to record some talkbox in a studio. I had brought two DX100's, just in case one would fail on me. I met the whole Zapp band at the restaurant, after the concert, sat down with them and Terry Troutman told me his DX100 had died that day and asked if he could borrow one of mine for their London gig, the next day :D I later sold that one, kept the remaining two, one of which had dead keys and a dead battery. Fixed everything very easily and it's now like new. I love this guy for the size and the fat wheels on the side. Sound wise, I prefer my other DX's.
Am I the only one who clicks the thumbs up button before the video begins to play? Man this channel is my favorite! AudioPilz nails these Bad Gear videos every time. I hope people dont catch on too fast, otherwise the market value for these are gonna skyrocket. Fantastic jams sir! My weekend vibes are set now, thank you!!!
The DX100 was my ‘compromise synth’ back in 1987, when what I actually wanted was a DX7 (of course!). I was only 15 back then. Because it was my first programmable synthesizer, I had no preconceived complaints about there being a lack of sliders, filters and traditional ADSR envelopes - and by the time I did get my first DX7 a couple of years later, I was ‘ready’ for it and generally got into programming it quite quickly. The DX100 is one of those synths I keep selling, but then regret selling and end up buying another. I think I’m on No. 4 now !
Have you ever considered branching out into doing some sound design tutorial videos? FM synthesis is particularly elusive to grasp for a lot of people, but those 10 seconds where you explained how to make a bass patch were easier to follow (and immensely more entertaining) than some of the 40+ minute videos I’ve tried watching on RU-vid in the past.
I don't get why people think FM is so complex. I've read the manuals for a lot of older synths and they straight up walk your ass through most every basic of synthesis. The amount of times I've had to read what the fuck a filter is has driven me crazy alone. The best fucking teacher you're gonna find is the manual...sure a lot of them can be rather thick and rather dry but if you really wanna hear what FM is Yamaha does a good enough job explaining it.
@@d.g.f.7056 Anyway, DX FM can be a complex world if you don't understand how the algorythms shape the sound. Basic FM is easy as modulate two oscillators... but it's just the starting point.
Love the DX100. My long-time music collaborator (RIP) used one extensively in the 80s and 90s MIDI'd to an Ensoniq EPS. The two layered together was pretty amazing. We used it in everything from synth-pop to ambient to total abstract soundscapes. We'd put it in edit mode while performing and it could be extremely expressive. Best tiny synth I've ever used.
Also, you can set the pitch bend to affect all notes in a chord, only the upper one or only the lower one (the DX27 and the DX21 can also do this). That way, you can mimic a performance technique until then only available to guitarists...
Some of my favorite early Acid House/techno tracks used the DX100. Orbital used extensively on their first album in 1991 (Chime and Belfast in particular).
Very popular with the Balkan crowd, especially Serbians. The mini keys are like playing an accordion making trills easier. Well known sound to that particular style of music.
That 3 minute tutorial has helped me more than multiple hours of other people trying to explain FM to me. Well, time to dust off the old Mega-Drive I guess...
@@t0xcn253 Yes! It's a really funny game. Very original... About the soundtracks, I recommend (for their Techno vibes) The Adventures of Batman & Robin, Subterrania, Vectorman, and the Streets Of Rage series, of course...
Good timing with the Volca FM 2 release. I'm sorely missing an FM synth in my setup and stuff like this convinces me even more to pick up something to fill that gap in my production. I've even convinced the singer in my band to split on the FM 2 with me to get some different flavours in our sound, and this video certainly helped her see it's value. Another great video!
@@AudioPilz Tell me about it. I started programming my father's Dx-7 in the 80's, and it wasn't until we got a C64 editor for it, that I finally grasped them. That envelope design ruined my early synth- teens!!!
The DX 100 has a special place in my heart, because I got it when I was in my early 20’s (22) and it was a birthday present from my late Grandmother (which would make mine priceless imo, not for sale) it still works to this day. The crack that is in it by the pitch wheel, I covered with a band aid.
My new rig has a DX100, volca FM, and a Hydrasynth with an MPC One controlling them. I’ve had the dx100 for about 25 years and am so glad I hung on to it! I saw the magic of that bass watching Derrick Carter program in the studio and never looked back hahah
I’ve been enjoying Bad Gear for some time, but this is the first episode featuring gear I actually owned. Sadly, owning this keyboard in 1986 just made me want a hugely-overpriced sampler even more. (It really missed those two extra operators)
@@AudioPilz No, FM was on the way out and we wanted huge, low-quality samples and lots of them. All the orchestral hits, and people stuttering Na Na Na Na Na Na before saying the word “nineteen”, but I was fifteen, and that was out of my price range. 😕
I had one of these for a brief period of time (sold it for drugs). A headache to get around but I was able to get some crazy sounds out of it that were unlike anything achievable with analogue gear.
Good, genuine reason for sale. You're right, programming was a pig (not that I've ever done that to a pig/mammal other than human), and fergeddabout any atmospheric Eno type sound tho they should be in there, but yeah, the sounds are certainly unique if not useable so often.
@ghost mall the dx would have been the healthier choice, but the drugs made me a more agreeable person. in retrospect I would suffer from some form of brain damage no matter what.
The DX100 was my first taste of FM all the way back in high school. We had one in my guitar class. First time I played it, I was hooked. In college, the DX200 came out and I bought one of those. Then a few years ago, I bought a Volca FM. Then last year a Model:Cycles. I’ve probably had more FM synths than any other type. You never forget your first love. And mine is FM.
Holding down that 13 key and getting that ring modulator sound is a gateway drug to 80s music. If I need to write a 80s soundtrack one day, I'm looking for one of these. Bad Gear is a learning experience, once again. Thanks.
I've been on the hunt for an affordable DX-100 for years. the going rate locally is $600 ...Yikes! Now that it's on Bad Gear I'm sure the price just doubled. Great review, thanks for using something other than the cliche'd solid bass.
@@AudioPilz Yeah, Canadians don't always understand that used gear is used gear. People here charge top dollar at yard sales (boot sales) and flea markets. If you're persistent, you can find reasonable deals. I try to avoid ebay and reverb.
I was fortunate to acquire one when they were $227 (including GST since you’re Canadian) I was good to buy it when I was in my early 20’s. Oh and a good sound to use on the DX 100 pD 24 Mars to ???
It's so much fun to see a piece of owned gear show up every few months. I bought my DX100 for $100 off a guy from a BBS in 1990 towards the end of high school. Many a night would be spend toiling away tweeking oscillator ratios and getting creative with aliasing. Despite consistently being hooked up as my setup has evolved over the years, it's gotten less and less use. Thanks for the inspiration to dive back into it.
I do know that in the 90s Philip Best used the DX-100 in the notorious 'noise' group Whitehouse, which finally got me serious into synthesizers in the first place. I remember trying to track down an EDP Wasp famously used by that group but only to find out they were hard to come by, especially in the US...
While the DX100 is often discussed, it is far less so than the TX81Z. The TX81Z was found in practically every studio in the world, and consequently its presets found their way onto more songs than any other FM synth except the DX7. Lately Bass anyone? It also is the source of a very large number of patches on the internet, second only to those available for the DX7. Even now it I think it's fair to say that the TX81Z is the definitive 4-operator synth.
@@AudioPilz I had one, but I fried it on the evening of arrival, by some impatient and utterly moronic use of a too weak PSU. So I can proudly say that I don't really know the sound of a TX81Z, but I sure know the smell of one.
I've always loved the way Yamaha's FM bass sounds. Whether its from a DX synth or from Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine, the sound has always interested me.
Oh my God, I made that rhodes meme lmao. Thanks for the surprise feature, good stuff as always. We should get you a talk box, I want to hear you do computer love. 😂🙏
I used to sell these when they first came out in the eighties. It was a great 2nd keyboard for those who couldn't afford a DX7 etc. It was great to use with midi as it is velocity sensitive. Listening to the sounds that you can get from it now when, back then it was really only used for E piano brass organ etc. Amazing! Great little keyboard.
I Am Probably Not The Only One Guilty Of Suggesting The Yamaha DX 100 As A Bad Gear Episode , Even Though I Own One Myself . Interesting Enough Synth To Hang On To . Thanks For Another Amazing Episode .
Seems pretty capable of Detroit Techno for sure. Good to see the DX100 on here considering the Volca FM2 is now popping up in feeds. Speaking of Volca, the Volca Modular would be a good episode if not done yet.
@@AudioPilz Pokemon!!! Thats awesome 👏🏼 I know a guy that mods the Volca Modular so I’m stoked to eventually see your take on it. It’s got so much going on for Bad Gear lol
@@_sl3600 right on! I’ve seen the DX100 come up in a lot of articles about this. These instruments were so affordable and accessible in them times, and it’s amazing what they did with them to create that genre. Being from Detroit I definitely experienced them party’s of the day and eventually figured out what gear they where using on some of the tracks. I used to dance a lot, but also spent a lot of time in front of the Turntables watching the Dj do his or her thing, but it wasn’t the process of mixing that really got my gears turning, it was the production of what was on the record. Like I’d be standing there and hear a funky track and I was always wondering what and how is this or that element happing? What makes this sound? I still do it to this day, just not in abandoned warehouses lol.
I find it funny that he immediately brings up the Hatsune Miku color scheme, as her detached sleeves actually reference the DX100's Pad layout. In fact, Miku's V2 and up to V4X design is essentially an anthropomorphism of Yamaha hardware.
I picked up a PSS-480 for $30. It is half of the DX100 being a 2op synth instead of 4op and it’s even smaller. Surprisingly good when used creatively. Anyways, another great video!!
I have one too, got mine for £5 at a car boot sale because I spotted an envelope diagram on it and thought it might be deeper than it looked. It’s one of my regular go tos for bass sounds
Man I always like songs you made, I don't see bad gear at the end, with inspirtaion and skills as you got every gears can sound good and deliver nice results
Gawsh dang it... This is the one I should have gotten it for my boy!!! Dx11 still wails though! Best channel on RU-vid for staying up watching until 2am when you don't(and do) work in the morning!!
@@AudioPilz I’ve got the Reface, and It’s my Volca FM’s best friend. The two of them make a great team in layering FM sounds. One cannot have enough FM synths. Volca FM 2 is looking tempting….
Reface DX and Model Samples: that's my whole keys and rhythm section for mostly-guitar-based home songwriting and recording! It's a little workhorse that sounds great. Huge usability upgrade from my Volca FM.
I so much love your kraftwerkian sounds - you really hit the nail on the head showing you do'nt need to spend loads of money to get great sounds - thank you florian (maybe a re-incarnation - who knows)
Awesome video! The ending jam was especially nice, I didn't expect the DX100 to generate such a nice bass sound. Also, I'll definitely be using the term "artifact ridden like a museum" from now on ;)
Hope to see the SY-77 or SY-99 on your channel one day. These where Yamahas pinnacle of FM Synths in the early 90s and it seems, that they are totally forgotten nowadays.
When I was in high school I persuaded my Dad to buy a DX27 instead of a home organ. It's fun to play, if not fun to program. Such a shame there's no velocity or aftertouch... Sadly my father has passed away, but I still have the synth. Good to know it's basically a DX100, I'll have to pull it out and see what I can do with it. Love the videos, keep up the great work!
Shout out to korg for having already satiated my GAS for FM this week. Still love the way this one sounds. --IIRC uses the same sound chip as the Sega Genesis.-- Uses the OPP not OPN2. Had to check!
"Warehouse House" is a genre I never expected to hear - and it's beautiful :). Oh, and coming from a DX7 user, I always wanted one of these. I love FM synthesis, having taken a leaf out of Eno's book and just spent months programming all the patches from the numerous books I had, learning how each one was built and teaching myself how it all shaped. Fascinating sound tool if you're willing to put in the time to appreciate how it all comes together.
I kinda miss my DX100. I traded it for a Korg DS-8 though, and that was definitely an upgrade in the keyboard department and the unison mono stuff was brutal. Plus having built-in delay FX in 198X was nothing to sneeze at.
Another total banger of a vid that Roger would've have a sneaky grin to and said 'I think it's missing something' then jammed a talkbox tube into his mouth. FM hammondelic got me laughing good! 😂😂😂
I had a TQ5, and Alan Probandt made me a hardware controller for it, using a scavenged pcb from an alarm clock, new components, a midi in and out jack, and an old IBM ps2 keyboard. 😁
Great video. I have no idea how you can create such informative, entertaining, and creative content each week. I watch these and think to myself, does this dude spend his whole life editing videos? The synth reviews pulled me in but I keep coming back for the meme humor! 🔥 😂👌
I bought this back when it came out. Still got it, but it needs servicing. I only now realized that (from 4 mins in) I never even explored likely 90% of it's features.
Big shout out to Roger Troutman. Rest In Peace to a true legend of funk and a godfather to hip hop heads. Tragic the way he went out and what happened to his family. I remember hearing the news on the radio of his murder and was shocked. I grew up on his music. We loved him in California. His soul will live on forever in his music, in our hearts, and in the DX-100. Computer Love!
Another Friday bro. You're dependable. I find myself thinking how fast the weeks go by everytime I make it through another video. Thanks for getting us to the weekend.
My first ever MIDI synth which I used a lot in my 4-track recording days, and would later be the controller for my first MIDI sequencer setup, using an Alesis MMT-8 as the brain and a Yamaha RX-15 ad Roland MT-32. I loved programming it too, once I realized that the operators basically worked as organ drawbars. Traded up to a Yamaha DX11 from this, but I'd love to get another one. My brother owned the DX27 version. I can recommend, to recreate this sound in software, 2getheraudio's 4-op OpZilla plug-in. NI's FM8 can also happily load DX100 sysex.
Had that as well the MMT8 and DX100, but pretty much switch over to the Roland JV1010 to the MMT8 because it was multi-timbral voice with 16 parts. Pretty much use the DX100 for the lately bass only. Connect them all thru the MOTU XT midi bridge with 8 in and 8 out.
Well yes, I have often said that the DX7-II was my first synthesizer, but while that money-wise is true it wasn't my first contact with the DX series. In fact I bought the DX100 back in the 80's at my local music store and I was MISERABLE. Not only did the small keys drive me nuts, but the limitations (or perhaps my lack of imagination?) back then drove me to cry so much about it that I convinced my family to help me finance the bigger brother DX7-II. I delivered the needed amount of newspapers, sacrificed a lot of my toys and went crying back to the store telling them that this purchase was a HUGE mistake, and I eventually convinced them to take it back and give me my DX7-II. I still do not regret that choice. The keyboard quality of the DX7-ii was nothing short of legendary, and since I've grown a moustache and added 30+ something years to my life, I have acquired the Yamaha Montage (which in case you don't know - is a collection of DX7's on steroids, aka more FM sound than any sane person would ever want.
The DX7-II was the ultimate DX7 (well the 2FD was I guess) but I feel it lost some of the magic. The converters were upgraded to 16 bit, and that made it sound too clean. I had the module version TX-802 and wound up selling it. I still have the original Mark 1 DX-7 because nothing can replace it.
@@atarkus8 the DX7 ii ironically is harder to tweak in real time as the buttons aren't membranes anymore, which I actually used like a filter on the original. But overall, I'd still go for the ii. I can always just load in original sounds and use it in single mode, as come on, a mono out on the original and only 32 sounds on such an expensive synth was like the emperor with no clothes...
“Slaps” cuts to Will Smith? That’s good. “Dirty” cuts to Bukowski? That’s even better. But “PCB” cuts to a fully wet James Brown? Now that’s why we subscribe to Bad Gear!
Seriously, this has been one of my favorite channels for a while now. Hilarious content, entertainingly presented with editing that is impeccable. And that to say nothing of the tunes you’re able to coax out of all this “bad” gear. Keep up the great work man, it is appreciated and anticipated.
I have a DX27, got this for 100€ two years ago, would never pay 450€ for an DX100! The crisp sound can be nice and useful, but this is not a standalone device. Your video showed me that both devices sound equally good or equally bad :D
The 27 and 100 have the same circuit board in a different case. I’ve taken my defunct 100 apart, and the label on the board lists both models. After failing to fix (more than the coin cell battery) on mine, I just gave up and got the Reface DX, though. The Reface is mostly better, for less, except when it’s not.
@@Roboprogs I have taken my DX27 apart yesterday, because I wanted to know what the mainboard looks like and on mine the 100 is crossed out :D This is really funny.
bought mine for $50 at a local thrift shop at the time when no one wanted those synths. since i'm into mini-key synths (due to lack of space), it goes well with my cz-101 & cz-230s :P
Woah, woah, woah. Now you're talking about MY bad gear. Haha! I've owned one of these since 2007 and aside from the usual issues like crackly audio jacks and broken solder joints, it's still being gigged with steadily. It still has the original battery in it too! I check it with a multimeter frequently and look for leakage but if it ain't broke.... I've had a replacement battery since 2008 too! It's not as useful as its 6 OP DX7 brother but it gets the job done.
I love when you review the 2nd tier synths and keyboards, which seem more attainable than true vintage keys like Jupiter 8, Rhodes, D-50, etc. I recently found 4 track tapes of a bunch of song ideas I played on a DX7 back then. It would be fun to recreate them on a DX100, but it’s so must easier and cheaper just to use DeXEd in a DAW.
Aside of the slick case design that really looks good there had been nothing about this Micro-DX been appealing to me when it first came out early 86: no multimode (important feature back then), no velocity and the typical Yamaha DX-UI from hell. Today it surely plays a different role as a synth for special needs than a general bread & butter sound source.
My Algorithm: Put kettle on. Start Bad Gear episode. 3 Minutes in, pause, hot water + tea bag goes into cup, let steep, watch rest of Bad Gear episode, tea ready! EDIT: Oh snap GS1 mention at the end! Most Mysterious Song on the Internet conspiracy time!
My very first synth...well the DX27. I wanted the Alpha Juno, but this is what I could afford. If I'd known there would be a Bad Gear episode on it I would have waited till now to sell it.
Yet another bit of gear I lost in hurricane Sandy. Mine was mint until Sandy salt water destroyed it. I bought a few books trying to learn my way around the DX100 but never mastered FM synth programming. I loved the presets though. She's sorely missed.
I own a DX-100 and it was great for my Terminator movie theme tune renditions (used the Sample and Hold Synth sound as a drone backing track). Sadly mine is in need of repair as the AC power jack snapped off the PCB motherboard due to the way it is mounted in the keyboard and got pulled around during use (by it's previous owner). Gonna solder a couple of wires to the board and have a jack plug on the end to form a flylead style extender.
My first synth which I stole from my school and the synth I still have a love affair with hahah I love this thing, they used to be totally throwaway (£50) until few years back in terms of cost. You can use this DX to also program things like the TX81z which is nice cos the interface here is very accessible and programable and then just use the TX for tweaking the bits the DX doesn't have.
@@AudioPilz UK is crazy or was, always have to have the latest thing or what's in fashion lol I got a TQ-5 for £13 and more annoyingly my friend paid £200 for his MPC-60 not even that long ago round 2009 ish! Half of my studio is made up of crap that was uncool which is now cool and expensive lol inflammable means flammable? WHAT A COUNTRY! hhahah
@@tubthump Haha yes! Even when ebay was around prices whilst higher than before you could still get something decent but when international shipping started to be more visible to people damn. I remember buying a S950 for £120 which was the going rate at the time in the UK for a good one and he then called me to say sorry no changed my mind when he saw American's paying like $1k for them over there cos DJ Premiere HYPE hahah
I was looking up the gear Aphex Twin used on Ambient Works last night and the DX100 came up. Someone mentioned seeing one on set with him "Keys missing and all". It's like fate. OOI if you google Aphex Twin DX100, you can actually find his receipt. He would have been like 15 at the time. Cool first instrument if so, curious how he did lean more towards Analog stuff after that but kept using the 100.
I had a DX27, I think it was this guy's big brother. I thought I was getting 2x DX7, but I think it was more like half a DX7. But Solid Bass is still nice, don't ya think?
I think I'll stick with my Sonicware Liven XFM. The UI and FM capabilities are so much better than the DXs. If I were in the market for a new FM synth though, I'd go either Elektron Digitone or Korg Opsix.
@@dinogoldie9716 Yeah, and? Both accessories are cheap to buy, a Volca FM II with both a power supply and a MIDI adapter is still cheaper than a Liven XFM and espcially a Digitone and Korg Opsix. x)
The DX100 *cannot* reproduce the classic TX81Z LatelyBass sound, which requires a wave in Operator 3 that the DX100 cannot make. Less capable synths like the DX100/27/etc. replace Operator 3's wave with a sine wave, plus a few tweaks, resulting in the so-called "SolidBass" patch. It sounds similar but is not the same.
As I just ordered a TX81Z, I shall gloat accordingly. Never rated the DX100, tho if I found it in a Tokyo recycle shop/the garbage I might buy it, had a DX27, sounds the same, my keyboard player hated it.
Back in the tale-end of my San Francisco New Wave/New Romantic era, I got a DX100 by selling my Sequential Circuits Pro-1 (😢) and loved it for its LUDICROUS PORTABILITY!! Sure i missed the WOOF of my Pro-1 but this was actually programmable and paired well with my fluffy Juno-106. Sadly it was destroyed TWICE… melted by a floor heater once-replaced (thank you mom!)-then fell out of my back pack at 60mph on the freeway (motorcycles are just not synth friendly). I remember that it was “pingy”, thin, dirty-sounding and insanely hard to learn how to program… but i have great, pointless affection for it. It was the “iPad mini” of my San Francisco New Wave life! -Handy, even if a bit disappointing.
That description at the end sold me on it…lol. Those DACs are the sell point…noisy as heck, but in a good way, they practically act as a quasi-analog filter (that you really can’t adjust).
