Up until 2007, I had both a TX81z and a DX11 in my arsenal. Programming the TX81z was a breeze if you had an Atari 1040ST running Dr.T's 4OP Deluxe. It had a randomisation feature that was amazing - every parameter had a checkbox as to whether or not you were going to randomise it. So, you just go click click click and within a minute you had some seriously crazy sounds. Then you just tweak them a bit and you're done. The lack of FX I see as a feature, not a bug. Most synths then that had built in FX, the FX were shite. I had an SPX90 and a MIDIverb, so I had that covered. The TX81z was, in one respect, better than the DX7, if just for those extra waveforms. Overall I really dug that 4OP joy joy. Especially the DX11. The keyboard on it was very nice and responsive and it had a feature or two the TX didn't have. The TX was not bad gear, at all. If you listen to my music right up to 2000, it was always buzzing around the mix. I stopped using it because I ditched the Atari. Dr.T had folded shop, so there was no way to easily program the beast, so I bought other synths (CS2x, Motif, etc.)
Finally an episode on a synth I actually own (and actually played today!) I personally love it, but I'm a fan of FM - after all the first actual "synth" I played was an old Yamaha 2op FM keyboard. The presets are decent, but there are a few ones I particularly like - Guitar 1, ElecBass 1, BaadBreath, Hi/LoTine81Z, ThinClav (this one actually sounds like some old baroque clavichords!) and the 60s/70s organ emulations (6 Tease and Farcheeza). It, however, "comes alive" with some chorus (and probably also reverb, but the only FX unit I have rn is the Korg Triton LE (which functions as a FX unit with the sampling expansion, which adds 2 audio inputs), which doesn't have good reverbs - I bought a Yamaha SPX990 but haven't set it up yet so we'll see - I was thinking about getting a SPX90 but that seems to only be good for drums, so you should definitely review it).
Of all the stuff I had that was featured on Bad Gear, I miss my DX11 the most. It was a step up from my DX100, and my first dynamic keyboard. It was also very fun to program. Back in the eighties, Yamaha US put out these pamphlets, which I believe was bi-monthly, about new products in the Yamaha line. One feature was reader's patches - and they had a ton of them for TX81Z/DX11, as well as DX7. Whenever I'd visit the States I'd visit music shops and get as many of those issues that I could. I wound up using quite a few of those sounds. First with my Alesis MMT-8, and later with an Atari 1040STe (a mighty 4 megabytes!) running a light version of Notator SL. I also used my Roland GM-70 guitar synth system to do melody stuff. I foolishly traded it on a Roland D-20, then went back to the shop to get it back, only to find out it'd been sold! Wound up with a DX7S, which was pretty cool but just wasn;t the same. BTW, you heard about the deal on NI FM8 through Plugin Boutique? $10 is an insane price, and though it's an older program it's still great. Not quite as good as the DX11.
You killed it with your special use case music composition on this one. I am waiting for a cheap usb plug in that can do all things fm synthesis. Thanks for the list of super cool wave forms that are available for FM so I have a better idea of what to look for. Actually I'm hoping AdaFruit comes out with something I can play around with to call FM synthesis.
On an unrelated note, this thing is awesome, very direct and to the point, simple, powerful sounds. This channel is changing the instrument world and forcing musicians and producers to make do with what they have. Some of the greatest records in the world were made with undesirable equipment and because the artists had to fight with the machine to make it the best it could be, it ended up sounding unique and original
Spot on. The best music is often the simplest, and also because it takes exceptional talent to do. The sounds of thse instruments, most may forget, are themselves- by being stand-alone never-heard-before creations - veritable works of genius , even by today's standard. Just imagine them being heard FOR THE FIRST TIME IN THE WORLD in the 80s.All that merits respect.
My main (only) instrument used to be a Yamaha DX11 - a keyboard adorned TX. FM drums, bass, a lead sound and enough luxurious multitimbral polyphony left over for the occasional minor triad.. Ah, those happy, simpler, less complicated and totally frustrating days...
I was sitting impatiently after the second jam, waiting to weigh in about how I use it for sharp, percussive bass noises and squares and then you absolutely nailed it in the techno underground at the end - how could I have ever doubted you? Forgive me, my prince
That frequency modulated inter-dimensional man-machine gateway to a dark realm of ice-cold underground techno arenas was slamming, I really didn't anticipate those sorts of textures from the TX! Kinda makes me want an FM synth again...
Bought one a couple of years back for $180. Along with a nice delay/reverb and a software editor this thing makes some of the lushest pads I have heard. And yeah, lately bass is a perfect sound. It’s rare you get a preset that doesn’t need any post-production at all. Loved the waveform descriptions btw haha
FM synthesis is just amazing .. it shows when you start adding more and more fm sounds into mix and they still doesn't competite between each other but rather perfectly fit and shine ine mix ...
Well you manage to test my bass even at low volumes, But no Hatsune Miku colorscheme is a total dealbreaker for me (J/K), hm... can we have too many FM synths? Have 3 already. The answer might surprise you.
That synth sounds like Paul Hardcastle, which is weird, I'm sure you'll agree. EDIT: Turns out in SEP 1991 SOS, he said this about his, "great for little clavs and so on".
Haha, great video. They are a bit bland and boring if you don't dive deep into them with an editor. That's for sure. But I find good use of the TwelveStr, Pizzicato, Lately Bass and a few other presets though. And if you have two, detune them slightly, pan them L-R and slap on a few good effects... you got some nice FM goodness going on. :D
The quality of this page keeps impressing me! That last jam was a fucking banger, and once again my mind is baffled by, where the hell you find these visuals
Um, ackchually it's phase modulation! (although phase modulation with with sine waves is just phase-shifted FM, with easier math and oscillator synchronization).
Not surprising the Roland Space Echo dramatically improves the sound of the patch. Surprising, the Alesis drum machine sounds great still after all these years.
How many Detroit Techno bangers were made with this? (All of them). I need to stop myself from buying a Haphax and just filling the house with rack synths.
Ah yes the Lately Bass machine. I bought mine for $90US BTW. Other than Lately Bass I love the SynStrings2 preset. It's the perfect electro strings sound.
My favorite part of the TX81Z is the buzzy transformer inside. You can fix it if you want, but it also adds a nice "I think something is broken in my rack" background sound.
I have the pleasure of owning a US voltage TX 81. It came with a step-down transformer which seems to turn those extra European electrons into heat and noise. No chance of hearing anything from the tx over that.
Funny you mention that because when I first got mine, and turned it on for the first time, I thought "oh sh***t". Now, I'm like "love that transformer buzz!"
Fun fact, the DX11/V2 (I have the V2 myself, and I love it! Apart from the laughably small number of user savable slots) has one noteworthy advantage over the 81Z. It actually has pitch envelopes!
I had one of these for 20 years before 'upgrading' through the DX7s, TX7, and SY77... but I ended up getting a DX11 in the end. Needed that specific crunch back. 8 voices with 8 part multitimbral over 2 outputs might seem tight, but all you need to do is make 2 complementary bass patches, layer 4 of each with panning and detune, and you've got a monster.
Only upgrade you can do from here is Yamaha V50. Same chip but with 16 polyphony, and can set oscillator fixed frequency down to 0hz. Also has onboard FX, a sequencer, and a basic drum machine.
I only had my TX81Z for a few weeks before it developed a fault and had to be sent back. Unfortunately it was lost in the postal system, never to be seen again and as I was only on a training scheme wage, this was an expensive loss for me! Despite this, I learned it’s idiosyncrasies and quite liked it. Sadly never got another one, but what I learned came in handy for later synth life with devices like the SY77.
Great video as always! My first synth was the very rare Yamaha DS-55 which featured the same sound engine, but in a keyboard format with added chord styles and what i think was an analogue BBD delay effect. 😀
@@AudioPilz it’s funny, I feel like these things reach insane prices exactly when there’s so much better new options to chose from. We’re suckers for nostalgia.
Those Jams!!So tasty! That Space Echo is beautiful. My TX81Z was bought in the late 80's and it is not going anywhere for the reasons you listed. This little beast has been my secret weapon for decades! Great video sir!
I don't think I've hated demonstrating a piece of gear more in my career (p.s. massive love for everything they've done from the MiniBrute and beyond - PolyBrute is among the finest synths ever).
Great video. I have a tx81z and love it for what it is. Add some effects and some tones really pop through. Definitely a great complimentary Rackmount.
I had a "wintage" DX21 for a while. Didn't totally hate it and I made ONE custom patch (a "DIGIORGAN" I rather liked), but ended up trading it towards something else within 6-8 mos.
It was my FIRST SYNTH. I was a guitarist with a GR-700 but wanted to contribute to the band's growing pool of synths and purchased mine back when it hit the market (wondering if I would go for the FB-01 instead). I got even more triggered to see this in "Bad Gear" than my newly purchased DFAM. Its display is so iconic to me that, as a DIY synth guy, I purchased a few 16x2 displays for my homebrew stuff. Great review and jams as always.
Try a Korg Z3 - it’s basically the synth engine of the TX81Z with the GR700’s 24 pin guitar interface - but way more playable than that makes it sound…
I own one. My piano teacher back then gave it to me because he found no use for it. I then programmed a bunch of patches and showed them to him. He said he almost regretted giving it to me after listening to my patches. Haha!
Thanks for clearing up the confusion with the waveforms, they've been a mystery for me since i brought it back in the early 90's 🤣 I love mine, its a keeper.
The SY77 and SY99 (maybe the 22 and 33 too?) took that feature and ran with it. Six-op FM with sixteen waveforms and 45 algorithms, plus 100-some samples, and you could combine and cross-modulate (RCM) the two synthesis types within a patch. The 77 was the first synth I ever bought, and I highly doubt I will ever part with it.
I actually like the TX81z, but in classic Yamaha fashion the UI is virtually impossible to use. Has Yamaha ever made a synth with a good UI? I've yet to see one 😁
One very very rare time where the opening theme done with the gear in question sounds so mm mm MMM good it gives me an unstoppable smile. Not sure if there's a free java programmer for it like the FB01 has but if there is - I'd recommend this one. Can probably be tweaked for cleaner sharper output by component replacing.
@@AudioPilz There is a "Patch Base" editor for this on the Ipad or Iphone. This remind me to ask if you consider reviewing using the Ipad foer the synth, seems like more and more synth are offering a screen connection to them. I use the Ipad as a editor for my Aerophone wind controller, Verselab MV-1, Yamaha VL70m, and the JV1010.
I had a DX100, and sold it before I knew what it was. I was in the market for a DX a few months ago, and tried to find a TX81Z, but couldn't find one at the right price. I ended up getting a Reface DX, which was nice and good enough until I got the Volca FM2. Now I'm selling the Reface, as the Volca is great.
@@TimWrightDJ I’m a bit of an FM head. I’ve got a DX7, TX816, TX802 and the two TX81Z’s. Korg OpSix on the way. The 7 and 816 were both purchased dirt cheap and I needed to repair them. One of the 81Z’s was partial payment for repairing a friends Oberheim Matrix 1000.
I have the 81Z since November 2020: it's sooooo good and it sound so warm even for an fm synth. It might be due to the crunchy 12 bits DAC, it really does punch holes in the wall and the brass patch is 🤩
When I was graduated college I owned one of these. I loved it. I had a Kurzweil K2000S for getting crazy. with the TX I would find a preset I liked and then tweak for my purposes and use it that way. I also had an Oberheim Matrix 6. and a soundblaster sound card in my computer that was all run by Cakewalk. I was a beta tester for them. They weren't free back then. but I loved it...
First of all, you must be visiting my home cause almost 80% of my gear, has appeared in Bad Gear, YOU ARE DEVALUATING MY GEAR!!!!! Second: those flashing memes needs to last at least a full second on screen not .003 pick seconds, I CAN’T READ THEM THAT QUICKLY!!!!! Third: I have no third
I found an almost-mint one recently, with the pull out card, no scratches or rack-rash, so I paid maybe a little over the odds for it. No idea what I'm going to use it for but I felt like I needed to preserve something from my late teens (along with a Kawai K4r and a Roland JV-880). I've got far more kit/gear than any normal person needs but at least my kids will have fun with their inheritance.
As a Texan, I can attest to the majesty and sheer brilliance of the BBQ smoker when utilized properly. Also, as a proud owner of a DX11, I can most assuredly attest to the strength of this little beast when utilized properly as well. However, don't get the two confused. One is for cram-packing pure gold into the next smorgasbord and the other is guaranteed to satisfy, whatever the occasion, depending on how many beers you've had.
A brilliant episode and an impressive rack.. I dropped some codeine for some knee pain before watching the episode and the bass in my headphones met in the middle brilliant.. The FB01 sound set is just as good and the lately is still tweekable. I for one would certainly push for the rack unit revival…👍☢️
@@AudioPilz ...for underwear...no, it's not a reflection of my thinking! Look! It's all boobs, bras, knickers, some even hanging on a washing line. it's not me it you 😁
Woah, this seems right up my street!! 👀👀👀 Couldn't agree more on racks being due a comeback, they're absolutely my particular poison... but I'm not sure I'd want them to have one, as they're one of the cheaper and more accessible avenues of synth collecting right now!
I had one of these 30 yrs ago (as well as the FB01), but didn't keep it / them for long. I think the reason was that I already had an SY77 at the time which sounded legions better, and I only purchased the TX81Z and FB01 to expand my polyphony. That being said, with instruments like the Digitone, 4-op FM can certainly sound amazing, so I prob didn't give the TX81Z and FB01 enough of a chance to shine when I had them. Also, I can listen to Skinny Puppy even now and still _really_ enjoy those types of sounds, at least in that context 🙂
Best channel, always entertaining and never boring. I can only imagine the time it takes to do one show is hours upon hours of editing, writing and tweaking. Thanks for doing what you do!
Interstellar Spaceballs intro, AP. “So, the combination is - ‘T-X-8-1-z’. That’s the stupidest combination ever heard in my life. It’s the kind of combination an idiot would have on his synth module.” Hehehehehehe! Seriously, when Yamaha’s research and development people put out the SY 77 and its successors, it would’ve probably been worthwhile if somebody had designed a whole new set of patches for the DX and TX lines to keep them relevant. It could’ve been done.
@@arpalaser It's impossible to recreate Lately Bass on the DX7II. You can more or less do *Solid Bass*, as it uses all sine wave operators. But this is not the case for Lately Bass. And they are qualitatively different.
@@seanluke3052 I have both patches in my DX (i did not programed them). I had the DX100 and the DX7 SOLID BASS sounds exactly the same, and may be for the reasons you point out. I'll try to record a sample of the LB DX7 version an post it , but It sounds pretty close to my ears!
0:18 - Full, 4:43 - 8/10 Full, 5:53 - 6/10 Full, 6:42 - Half Full, 7:45 - 2/10 Full - How can you leave me hanging like this?! What's the next part of the sequence? I need to figure out where to put my last Opsix slider.
Killer baseline on the techno track. FM has been my thing lately. Just bought a new OpSix from the Korg Warehouse for $329. Crazy deal, but it was for US only. Still the FM itch can be scratched with this Yamaha. Not too shabby! Also I’m with ya on the Rack Mount gear. EuroRacks older brother lol
@@AudioPilz you welcome, Yeah that price is crazy low. Last thing I need is another synth, but how could anyone pass that up? It has equity from the get go lol.
Does anybody still make dedicated sound modules/rack synths? I started my music GAS with budget grooveboxes (Volcas, Circuits, Roland Airas and, most recently, Livens). However, having just purchased a Keystep Pro, I now find myself surrounded by boxes full of redundant sequencers, key-beds and control surfaces. Today I just want boxes containing editable sound engines. Anybody got any recommendations?Are there any serviceable/reasonably priced sound modules from the 90s and 00s? Great video btw.
Everyone here is talking about this synth in the comments and I'm thinking "Hey, cool... He has a Space Echo....I really the Arturia demo of that SPace Echo.."
0:49. Luke! Since I sold my DX7 before the dark times, you must learn the mysterious Alchemy force of FM programming….or flip through the thousands of presets available on the internet and use any software DX vst or iOS app! And trust in the randomization button to achieve whacked noises R2 D2 can communicate with….assuming it blends with ARP 2600
That's the 3rd synth I own that you've covered in recent weeks (TX81Z, DFAM & DX21) .. are you remotely switching on my webcam 🙂. I must admit to not using the TX much in recent years but back in the 4 track portastudio days its multi-timbrality was an absolute godsend for being able to program up tracks without having to commit bits of it to tape.
