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DX7 Use and Abuse!


synthdogg

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The "Synth parts" thread had me wondering...where have you heard the DX7 used well? What are some examples of DX7 abuse, just FM texture in horrible context? Give some examples of pros and cons of the historic DX7!

 

I'll start:

 

DX7 abuse, "Danger Zone"Kenny Loggins. I hated that opening bass line when I first heard it, and it still makes me cringe thinking about it today!

 

Good DX use, I already posted some examples from Jeff Lorber's "Facts of Love"...good stuff there.

 

Brian Eno also did some incredibly beautiful stuff with FM, including his work with U2.

 

 

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The synth folks love to hate. :laugh:

 

I really wanted a DX7 back in the 80s. By the time I could afford to buy one, I went with something else.

 

Yet, I've had my FM fill over the years up to present.

 

Good--"Whip Appeal" by Babyface.

 

Bad--Theme from "Hill Street Blues"

 

While it makes Tonysounds' teeth hurt, the "DX" sound can still be used like MSG. :laugh::cool:

PD

 

"The greatest thing you'll ever learn, is just to love and be loved in return."--E. Ahbez "Nature Boy"

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Bad--Theme from "Hill Street Blues"
Would most/all of the Mike Post stuff from that era be DX7? I didn't have the ear for it back then, and even if I did now, I haven't heard most of those things in ages. I'm thinking Doogie Howser, Quantum Leap, etc.

 

Anyone here ever have or hear the James Newton Howard and Friends demos they did for Yamaha back then?

"I'm so crazy, I don't know this is impossible! Hoo hoo!" - Daffy Duck

 

"The good news is that once you start piano you never have to worry about getting laid again. More time to practice!" - MOI

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The only good DX7 is a dead DX7.

 

Hey Moe,

 

What do you hate the most, DX7's, X Stands or Wall Warts? :D

 

Regards,

Joe

 

:idea: Christmas present for Moe: A DX7 sitting on an X Stand that's held together with the power cord of a wall wart.

 

Yeah.

 

:snax:

"Music expresses that which cannot be put into words and that which cannot remain silent." - Victor Hugo
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The only good DX7 is a dead DX7.

 

Hey Moe,

 

What do you hate the most, DX7's, X Stands or Wall Warts? :D

 

Regards,

Joe

 

:idea: Christmas present for Moe: A DX7 sitting on an X Stand that's held together with the power cord of a wall wart.

 

Yeah.

 

:snax:

 

Installed by somebody who can't solder... :thu::D

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Plugged into Roland KC and Peavey KB amps, don't forget.

"I'm so crazy, I don't know this is impossible! Hoo hoo!" - Daffy Duck

 

"The good news is that once you start piano you never have to worry about getting laid again. More time to practice!" - MOI

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Good DX-7 use: Wayne Horvitz, downtown NYC keyboardist in the 80's, played with John Zorn, Frisell, etc. His albums with his electric band The President have some really creative DX-7 sounds, often triggered from a yammie drum machine. If you can find it, his 1991 "Miracle Mile" album is a real masterpiece of electronic arranging, and I believe all the keyboard sounds are DX.

 

Also, years ago when I first got a computer, I wrote a MAX patch that did algorhythmic, semi-randomized sysex code for the DX-7. If you think about it, the DX is basically like a really big modular with lots of oscillators and envelopes, and no filters. Somewhere around here I have a cassette of a show I did in the early '90's of a duo with a drummer, and me on DX/Computer/delays. Definitely no Hill Street Blues there :-)

 

I think that the DX was a very under appreciated synth that got a bad rap for some of its really cheesy and over-used sounds, while it was capable of a lot more.

Turn up the speaker

Hop, flop, squawk

It's a keeper

-Captain Beefheart, Ice Cream for Crow

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For great DX-7 I always think of David Gamson's work in Scritti Politti.

Cupid & Psyche 85

Provision

Those CD's are text books for pop counterpoint arranging.

 

Also, Gino Vanelli's 'Black Cars' was DX and reverb heavy, but I thought it was mesmerizing.

Black Cars

 

The biggest thing I remember about DX-7s was seeing people play them on TV and then being disappointed in its sound the first time I played one. I finally realized that people were using them as midi controllers and they were usually hooked up to a rack of cool synths and samplers. (Emulator's and Roland MKS-80s and such) :freak:

 

 

www.cityprayz.com

www.thesalvationpoem.com

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Hey Moe,

 

What do you hate the most, DX7's, X Stands or Wall Warts? :D

 

Regards,

Joe

 

:idea: Christmas present for Moe: A DX7 sitting on an X Stand that's held together with the power cord of a wall wart.

 

Yeah.

 

:snax:

 

Installed by somebody who can't solder... :thu::D

 

Plugged into Roland KC and Peavey KB amps, don't forget.

 

AIEEEEEE! Mommy mommy make them stop... :evil:

Moe

---

 

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So it went from a guitar-centric band to a keyboard-centric band. Sweet!
LMAO!

"I'm so crazy, I don't know this is impossible! Hoo hoo!" - Daffy Duck

 

"The good news is that once you start piano you never have to worry about getting laid again. More time to practice!" - MOI

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