OMG! 80's flashback. I was around 13 years old when I went to the nearest IRS Music and fell in love with the DX100 (Love at first sight and hear). I begged Mom to get me one for my birthday, but when my birthday came around, I didn't get it. I cried all day in my closet (I was a brat) Then a few months later on one beautiful Christmas Day, I opened my present, and BAM THERE IS WAS in all it's it's glory. It was my new girlfriend, my first love. Thanks for making this. It brought back AWESOME memories. 😍🎹
zibbybone what where you when you had him? Fifteen? Ten? I know people are eager to squirt children out at earliest possible occasion in the states generally, but that is next level.
Neat job! Big shout out to Brandon! If you ever visit Dallas, go by his store and check out his incredible synth collection! You won't be disappointed. :D
I love old keyboards. Of coure there are a lot of simpler professional keyboards even with reduced keys. On reverse I remember the advertising of the Farfisa Bravo organ on Italian Mickey Mouse magazine (Topolino) advetised as a "toy" keyboard, 2.bp.blogspot.com/-4To4hq1kBFc/Vt5quukZRoI/AAAAAAABjl8/4p8q6R2Dl1c/s1600/28-Bravooo-Topolino_1255_dicembre_1979.jpg
givolettorulez Your comment made me think this: If i were to mention the name 'Bontempi', you would probably think "kids' toy keyboard", right? - Well they also made a range of more or less real keyboards for adults, such as the PM65 (Which i happen to have): ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Dy6z3l7Y_uE.html This is actually a pretty decent keyboard, which follows the General MIDI (GM) standard pretty closely; the only thing it lacks imo is actual MIDI connections.
@@cynergyarts4876, FIRST... watch the threads of Mr Carlson's Lab here on Patreon and RU-vid. It will help you a LOT with reviving a dead instrument and with general electronic repair techniques, tools and instruments.
Oh and another thing i really like is how friendly all these retro geek youtubers interact with each other; a lot of other youtubers could learn from that.
diamondsmasher yeah you have a point there, but i wasn't talking only about this specific situation; i was also thinking about guys like Clint from LGR, or Obsolete Geek (whose name i can't recall atm), popping in from time to time to comment, as well as video collaborations between the retro youtubers - even as far reaching as the video where Techmoan in the UK and David here worked together on the video about how NOT to transfer cassette tapes to mp3.
Oh and lest i forget, there's also Anders Enger Jensen from Norway who has made a few appearances here on this channel, and who also composed the 'new' intro music theme for David as a personal favor.
The same chip died in my dx100 about 4 years after I bought it. The replacement chip worked perfectly. I re-positioned the strap lugs and often used the breath controller. The harmonica sound was perfect for eighties covers. Played guitar sounds through pedals and a guitar amp too. I got very comfortable with the tiny keys. The key contacts finally wore out years ago and I’ve passed it on to someone else for restoration. Thanks for bringing back memories of cheesy bands, smokey bars and making music with amazing people.
Definitely bring him back; I wanna see more of stuff like this because it is just awesome. Brandon is really good at that pitch bending, even better than I am and I play a five string bass guitar. Also, the breath controller performance was spot on, even if the sax sounded far more like a trombone.
twocvbloke I guess I have seen it in shows and thought the keyboard player was faking because his hands weren't moving in sync with the music and he wasn't singing either, having no idea he was actually using a miniature wind instrument not just making faces.
One cool feature about the DX-100 you didn't mention is the fact that, even though the keys do not, it actually has velocity sensitive control through MIDI, using another keyboard as a controller. Which makes it more useful as a professional piece of gear. I do still have my DX-100. I love it and even use it on occasions. And I have also had mine apart and repaired it quite a few times over the years myself.
8 bit guy you are awesome! I've seen you have people from much smaller channels on your channels numerous times. Massive respect for showcasing incredibly talented people on your platform!!!
I'd bet that Out1 on that chip went to the headphone jack, and Out2 (the dead output) went to the line-out jack. Good job tracing that issue. That's a good lesson in troubleshooting.
filkry88 Yes, the DexEd is a 6-operator FM synth, the DX-100 has a much simpler 4-operator design. The closest DX7 software emulation today is the Arturia DX7-V (soundwise identical to the original hardware), but it not free.
1. Brandon did a great demonstration! 2. I love the feel of the keyboard and pitchbend wheel on this great and portable little synth. Thanx for taking the time to repair/review it!
Those LM4558's are 'operational amplifiers' or OPAMPS. They're used as active filters here. The analog signal from the DAC needs at least a low-pass with a cutoff frequency of half the samplerate (nyquist).
The DX line is classic. I dunno if this little synth is quite as pro level as the rest but it does sound good. Love the trouble shooting and repair. We used to be afraid of trying to fix digtial gear back in the day, but sometimes it can be done! :) Nice job!
I love this channel, and I've enjoyed the episodes with guests as well. Thanks to Brandon for being on the show, and to David for having him on. I've never seen a breath controller demonstrated before, so that was definitely something special.
I have no knowledge or skills or real interest in keyboards or anything of that nature, but I still watch every single one of these videos and love every bit of them. You rock sir.
So many of those sounds I recognize from the Sega Genesis. Then I remember that Sega put a Yamaha FM synthesis chip in there. A keyboard I think would be interesting if I could pull it off, is one where I can get an assload of FM synthesis chips, and use one for *each key!* That means every note would have polyphony, and you could select at LEAST three different sounds with their own parameters for each key press. Of course, controlling all thouse would likely take a single-bard computer like the RPi3...
Yup, the Seinfeld bass is from the KORG M1. I think my NX5R actually has a recreation of that bass in its memory, so I guess KORG was pretty happy with it.
Great job. I did the same thing with a Baldwin digital grand piano from 1989. Had to replace the backup battery which was soldered to the board. I did practically a similar operation as yours and use the socket mounted it to the wood in the compartment where the computer was. Replaced it with a standard CR2032.
14:12 sound on DX7 was used on opening to Thriller. The electronic bass was danger Zone, Take My Breath Away. DX7 was REALLY used on ALOT of well known 80s albums! Enya, Mr. Mister, Phil Collins, Journey, it's ENDLESS
Awesome video. Brandon was great. Yes please bring him back. He had good camera confidence. I didn't even know what a breath controller was, Thanks guys! If you don't show the insides of the keyboard then you make up for it by showing what it can do....I find myself mesmerized by these videos. They really feed my tech lust. These videos are so well thought out and put together. All of your channels are the same PREMIUM!
Right? I knew it by name from when I used to dink around with midis. It never occurred to me it wasn't breath control as in how a virtual musician was controlling their breath, but was instead an actual input device.
Simon Tay If that's the case then wouldn't any microphone work as long as you had the right plug size? I would assume it would be a sustain pedal sort of plug. I also think that might be incorrect since usually with a mic close to your face everytime you blew even if it was very soft it would clip the input. I'm probably wrong about this though considering this is my first time seeing it in action.
Simon Tay While i agree there is a strong resemblance to an ordinary headset, if you look closely you'll notice that there is a mouth piece which Brandon puts into his mounth and blows into during his playing. I am not 100% sure how it is made, but i know there is an electronic device called a strain gauge, which exhibits varying resistance according to how much pressure is put on it. It then seems logical to me to assume that a breath controller may employ one of those strain gauges, in combination with a membrane/diaphragm of sorts.
I make music and none of it is on 8-bit stuff, but I love your show and find it totally inspiring to work more creatively with the stuff I do use... I also find it all to be quite cathartic and relaxing. Love it.
If the keyboard has a dual output amp there is a possibility that the Line Out is configured as TRS balanced output for connection to a mixing desk, might be worth checking this you can fully confirm it if you had an oscilloscope to see two signals one the actual signal the other being the inverted signal of the output to eliminate noise in the line
@8-Bit Keys: You don't need an oscilloscope for that. Just sample the signal on the PC as it was a stereo signal. Then zoom and see if the left channel signal is a mirrored version of the right channel signal. To confirm - sum these stereo channel to one mono (in a program on PC of course). If this is a balanced signal - the left and right channel will cancel each other out and you'll get more or less flat line. Mystery solved. :) BTW. I've worked 6+ years with pro audio on stage, hence what I say has a solid background and if you'd have more questions - just reply to this comment. :)
do you think you would investigate this theory david? seeing s CJ gave an easier way to test it I had a closer look at the video and the circuit board, and it looks like a stereo 1/4" jack running as a balanced output. But it up to you if wish to verify this :)
@Celcius1au: Thanks for noticing. :) @8-Bit Keys: Not to repeat myself, just wanted to underline that on-stage experience (where many times a lot has to be done fast) gives the advantage of seeing simple solutions to wide range of audio problems. I hope we could sort out this "is it balanced or not?" question. :)
Those strap hooks on the side are just in case you want to go Devo style in playing, or Revenge of the Nerds if that is your preference. Great Video! I prefer Devo style btw.
That was my 2nd keyboard/synth some 30 years ago. I couldnt afford a dx-7 so I bought the dx 100. Had big fun with it and brings back great memories, thanks for the upload.
Nice one. Was waiting for this since I watched you opening the box! I guess it would nice to have Brandon every now and then to help with the most complex keyboards.
whoa, I never noticed the number of subscribers before now --I always assumed you were one of the tech biggies on RU-vid! The details and quality of the content deserves a lot more subscribers!
13:46 Now every time I hear that song, I'm going to think of this video, grr! Nice little repair there though, definitely going to make it easier to replace that chip or the battery if they go bad again in the future.
Brandon: Every synthesizer needs helicopter sound...))) LOL He is so cute and know a lot, you definetely should call him more often for such complicated technics))
So glad you featured this keyboard. I discovered FM keys in high school and have owned a TX7 (module form of the DX7) since about 2004. I don't think I've actually seen a proper demo of a breath controller before so thanks to you and Brandon for that. I hope I can come across one of these someday.
Fantastic video as always, and I do enjoy seeing guests on your show. I dig that the DX100 is just a DX27 in a smaller form factor. That seems really handy for folks on a space or cash budget, or for a professional musician's backup and stage instrument.
I remember seeing the DX100 in the BX/PX catalog. My wife already had the Yamaha DX7 and wasn't interested in a new keyboard. I knew the DX100 was smaller than the DX7, but until I saw this video I had no idea how much smaller. She's always been a fan of Yamaha, it's the only brand of keyboards we've ever bought. Even our acoustic piano is a Yamaha. Her current keyboard is a Montage. (88-key)
This would still be a cool keyboard to do a multi-track recording on, even with just the factory patches. Sound wise, it's very similair to a Sega Megadrive and many arcade boards. Also this keyboard is sort of a grandfather of the Reface-DX in many ways.
