SYNTH LORE YAMAHA DX7 SERIES OF SYNTHESIZERS 

I absolutely adore the Yamaha FM sounds. So much so that last year I went insane and bought a Tx81z, Tx802, SY99 …AND the FS1R! I have a lifetime of exploration ahead of me, and I’m enjoying it 😊

Thanks for all the interesting information. I love all the nerdy stuff and your delivery is nice.

I had and still have one of the original DX7s. Got it brand new from a store in Atlanta GA. around 83 or 84. Paid $1695 for it. I have a KX88 Yamaha controller that is weighted and it is my favorite key bed, but the DX7s key bed is by far my favorite non weighted keyboard I've ever played. It's not weighted, but it's not plasticky either. Somewhere in between. I haven't fired it up in a while now because I mainly record in my studio and no longer tour. I use the DEXED plugin and I'm quite happy with it not to mention managing thousands of patches is very easy with it and I would challenge most anyone to tell me if it's real or plugin in a mix. Very close. I also can play it with my KX88 and it responds to the full 127 steps of midi. But this was groundbreaking at the time and it's my understanding it is the best selling synth of all time, even today. I played hundreds of gigs with it. Never a moments problem.

Great nostalgic video for me. My first synth was the Yamaha DX-7 II FD and since it was in the days before computer DAW's, the E! upgrade combined with the floppy drive was huge because I could use the DX-7 II as my sequencer to play complete songs by splitting the 16 voices up across tracks, and send MIDI tracks to my drum machine and other rack modules. That E! upgrade combined with the storage capabilities essentially made it a workstation for me.

I notice the most difference between implementations with the aliasing behavior. Some patches can really push the aliasing foldback effect hard to get bright noise and ringmod types of sounds, the train patch you presented here demonstrating them very clearly. Thanks for putting this shootout together.

Another enjoyable episode.I traded my DX7 with grey matter for a DX7 2D and something else can't recall now.Would not sell my DX7- 2.With loopers available now one can do multi voice layers .I am a hardware lover. One of my favorite CDs is Dave and Don Grusin's Sicks and Stones( I think that album was done using DX7s and RX5 tones.) As usual best wishes

The DX7 is indeed an amazing synth but the Grey Matter E! expansion installed on my DX7II FD became infected with mold within a year after installation, apparently due to poor ventilation, as E! unfortunately is not sealed with clear vanish. The glue the tech used for the holder apparently attracted mold additionally because especially there it's very visible. Those bacteria also reflect in functionality. Since then, I have to load banks any time to use the device at all. However, it doesn't matter because the DX collection in my house (1x DX7 II E! FD, 2x DX7 II D, DX5 (=2x DX7.1), FS1r (=2x DX7 II & DX200 (=1x DX7S)) results in 8 like TX816 though I've admittedly never tried that elaborate MIDI connection to sync them in a TF-way. I definitely understand your passion for that groundbreaking instrument. You eventually could've mentioned Yamaha's FM test balloons GS1, 2, CE20 & CE25. To be clear, I just use GS 2 and CE25. Other than DX7.1 those are the epitome of pad machines, even with Ensemble button OFF. Tubular bells and DX Rhodes still were already introduced with those brute & warm sounding "digital pianos & kb" in '81 &' 82 (CE20 does without convincing Tub. Bells & Rhodes, but CE25's are marvellous). The latter I very recommend since it sounds incredibly warm/smooth & the famous ens effect is even mixable.

Would love to hear your thoughts on Arturia DX7 and the free Dexed..

Looking forward to a potential Korg M1 synth lore episode in future!

Brilliant video, nice to see some love for this classic synth. It was also Brian Eno's favourite synthesiser.

DX7's main fault was its success -- impossible to avoid, all over the radio, until your ears got sick of it. I never want to hear a major seventh chord on a DX7 again ;) Meanwhile: Brian Eno made it sound wonderful on his Apollo album, and the band band Shadowfax were never the same after they hired David Lewis with his DX7/TX7. Listen to "Another Country" and "The Dreams of Children" today, and it's like an announcement that the DX7 had arrived

DX7 is a powerhouse, even today. I still have my OG Japanese 100V version with SuperMax. I play and record it more than my Prophet.

Best emulation is Plogue’s Chipsynth OPS7. Beats everything else, hands down.

The M-1 is sleek and sexy, while the DX-7 looks like it was designed by a blindfolded toddler with a crayon, but a toddler that also has a PhD in rocket science just to navigate that maze called a user interface, blindfolded, only to dial up patches that sound like a dying cat being dragged across a chalkboard. 😂Just kidding I love the DX-7 more than KORG's ROMpler. 😏

Your statement is spot on. 100%

I bought an original DX7 from Japan last year off Reverb. The condition is a new as to perfect as you could ever expect for a 40 years old synth. And works perfectly as well. I even got an original Yamaha case all for 550 USD including shipping. A great deal. I would really appreciate a video with some of your insights of how you use the DX7 after 35 years of ownership.

Have you considered Plogue's OPS7? It's $25 on Black Friday!

Back in 1988 I had a Grey Matter E DX7II FD and I didn't like it (I don't recall why) so I ran an ad in the Recycler offering my DX for a _stock_ DX7II FD. Right away someone showed up and we made the trade. BTW, back then I took an FM programming class with Bo Tomlyn, who IIRC came up with some of the factory DX7 patches. Good times...I still have a TX802 and a TG77...

if you need references to original manual, packaging, i have all still. dx7 has the best keybed with channel aftertouch.

I was able to pick the DX7IIFD out in 7 of out 10 examples, and FM8 has a particular way it "handles" that data that often doesn't seem to yield accurate results. The DX7IIFD was my first "real" synthesizer back in 1994, when I was 11 years old...I had that manual pretty much memorized within a year and had made a whole bank of my own patches, mostly just me blindly stabbing at trying to recreate Moog sounds I'd heard on records. That one got passed around in my family over the years and I'm not sure whatever became of it. I sure would like to have those patches, for nostalgia's sake! I've bought and sold a ton of DX-series synths over the years, but something happened to me in 2021, I reconnected with my Yamaha-soaked childhood and started buying up every piece of vintage Yamaha gear I could afford! I ended up with over 180 pieces in my collection before I pared it down a little. I'm about to do another purge, actually...But yes. DX7. I could talk about it all day! Thank you for this, it was fun!

Have you ever imagined what would people's reactions be like IF you were having a Kronos played to them in 1983? Makes you appreciate it more, doesn't it?

In 1986, I remember seeing a band in Austin, TX, where the keyboardist had a convincing DX-7 acoustic piano patch! That would be an interesting topic - early piano sounds for gigging musicians.

I love FM, but programming a TX7 with a software was so unsatisfying. I need to get some other FM synth that has a nicer interface, maybe a Korg?

Thank you for this. 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

Thanks for the content. Wonder how close the Korg Volca FM2 measures up. That and DEXED are the only “DX7” I probably will ever own. I also own the Yamaha Reface DX and Yamaha SeqTrak which has a four operator FM engine. They can get close enough for fast work. For me, the DX7 changed the game. Roland came and show us all how digital can be sweet with the D-50. If I could only own one, D-50. The closest I got is owning a D-05.

To be honest, I couldn't really tell the differences. Although I'm kinda listening and working from home at the same time. I got myself a broken TX802, which is the multi-timbral module version of the DX7-II. It's probably just the power supply that needs to be fixed, and €200 for the module and a memory cartridge was worth the risk. I still need to fix it, though, but I'm going to get myself some better tools first.

Thanks for the video. And what's your feeling about Dexed?

Whats your thoughts on the sy77 and 99? They should have named them DX 77 and DX 99

I've always hated the sound of the DX7. CZ101was cheaper and sounds better to my ear.

Japan got 110 volts