Can someone explain the DX7 to me?

[Felix_dup1]

...and don't forget those cool membrane switches!

 

Does anyone think that the Triton is anywhere near approaching the DX7's level of success?

[SoundMeister]

Originally posted by burningbusch:

many people were happy to dump their 150 lbs Rhodes pianos for the vastly lightly DX7.

Also, the Incredible Hulk decided on an acting career and left keyboard players to do their own lugging. The choice was simple: DX7 or hernias.

 

~Peter Schouten

Pyramid Sound Productions

'Real Rhodes' for Akai & Kurzweil

[Jode]

Originally posted by burningbusch:

Also, while the DX is known for the percussive bell tones it can produce standard saw/pulse stuff as well. Granted it doesn't sounds as FAT as the real thing, for gigging cover-band keyboard players it was often good enough. Good enough so that they could sell their behemoth, expensive analogs, kill their string synth (remember those gems?) and dump their Rhodes. Any wonder why a few years later Rhodes, Moog, ARP, Sequential were all gone.

 

Busch.

So the DX7 killed the ARP String Ensemble? Okay, I changed my mind. I hate them again.

[ReggaeIdrin]

It is important for us not to forget our past, because it can provide us with useful guidelines to the future.

I read most of the reviews posted and there were some nice things said. But those of you who downplayed the DX7 uniqueness at that time couldn't be more wrong, Why?

Simply because we sometimes use things of the future to judged things of the past, when the reverse should be so! Not because I'm playing a keybd with a built in studio and thousands of multi-sampled sounds, I'm going to under-rate the DX7 in its moment of prime.

 

In all things respect is due to the DX7 for not only being revolutionary but for the many doors it opened for the advancing realities of this music we so love and devote our lives to!!!!

[Dan South]

Originally posted by felix:

 

Does anyone think that the Triton is anywhere near approaching the DX7's level of success?

I don't know about the Triton, but the Triton's great-great-grandfather, the M1, is the only synth to have sold more units than the DX7.

[Dan South]

Originally posted by burningbusch:

 

Also, while the DX is known for the percussive bell tones it can produce standard saw/pulse stuff as well. Granted it doesn't sounds as FAT as the real thing, for gigging cover-band keyboard players it was often good enough.

I think it sounds more than "good enough for cover bands." FM can create sounds that are warm without being muddy. They cut through a mix without cluttering it. Toto's "Africa" is a good example of FM in action, although I believe that it was played on a DX7 predecessor, the GS-1 (expensive, and not programmable).

[Dan South]

A recent copy of EM had an article on FM7 programming, and the mentioned a little bit about Chowning's work. He was working with ways to create complex waveforms on computers. Computers in the 1960's were not very powerful, so CPU-intensive sound creation algorithms were impractical. Chowning happened upon the idea of using frequency modulation between two VERY SIMPLE waveforms (that could be modeled easily with a sine function) as a way to create complex, dynamic (changing over time) waveforms in real time on slow computers. It's a brilliant approach, and it hints at why Yamaha could produce the DX7 cheaply. They didn't need high powered chips to create the sounds.

 

Dynamic timbres are one of the aspects of FM that I find most appealing. Instead of a sample or a static analog waveform, the output of an FM algorithm can change its waveshape over time. This opens possibilities for everything from subtle nuances to extreme timbre changes. I've heard some of Chowning's music. It's both subtle and extreme, all at once. Sustained notes change timbre dramatically, second after second, but it all sounds smooth and rich and warm. I'm going to have to try to get some of those types of sounds from the FM7!!!! ( Project for the weekend! )

[Dave Bryce]

Originally posted by Dan South:

although I believe that it was played on a DX7 predecessor, the G1

GS-1?

 

dB

[Dan South]

Originnally posted by Dave Bryce:

GS-1?

Thanks! I couldn't afford one of THOSE, either!

 

Oh, thank goodness for the soft synth versions!

[Roto]

Originally posted by Dave Bryce:

Originally posted by Addix Metzatricity:

A couple of you mentioned 'breath' control.. Now, when I think of a breath controller, I think of something that looks like a clarinet.

 

But, in the Reason synths, there are expression options: Aftertouch, something, and BREATH...

 

Does this mean something different?

Yes.

 

First of all, I believe that you're thinking of a WIND controller - that's the thing that looks (and is played) like a clarinet - a Yamaha WX-7 or Akai EWI would be examples of this. Whole different ball game.

 

A breath controller is a funny looking thing that you put in your mouth and blow into to basically produce a continuous controller effect just like aftertouch or a mod wheel, except it's controlled by your mouth, not your fingers. Combined with wheels, AT, foot control, etc it allows for a nice modicum of expression because of the nature of the force used to control it (your breath).

 

A good example of something to use it on is to control brightness when you're playing something like a harmonica patch.

 

IIRC, it has it's own dedicated cc#...2, right?

 

dB

Reminds me of how much I wanted one of these when I was about 12 http://www.tedkeys.com/dh500/dh500.jpg

[tenthplanet]

Since we're in "DX" land is anybody using a DX-200? It's supposed be a DX 7 like engine with a step sequencer and filters. (As well as a few knobs for good measure ). Kind of looks like fun.

 

Michael

[RABid]

As DB pointed out, a lot of what was attributed to the DX-7 as being first was actually preceeded by the Rhodes Chroma, and to some extent by the earlier Yamaha. I think the CS. The Chroma and DX-7 are surprisingly simular in specs.

 

Chroma came out first and had

 

16 voice polyphony.

Velocity

After touch as an option

Membrain switches with a dificult programming interface. (nothing to brag about)

No wheels but a pair of spring loaded levers that are to this day my favorite for pitch bend. I would love to find a MIDI controller with these levers.

No breath controller, but it did have extra contact and voltage pedal inputs for lots of control.

 

The bad thing, the Chroma cost twice and much and weighed twice as much as the DX7.

 

The big benifits of the DX7.

Price

Weight

Polyphony

Bell sounds that you could not get from an analog.

Osc stability. After playing stacks of analogs it was nice to have a synth that stayed in tune. Note: the Chroma also stayed in tune. It had an excelent auto-tune feature that I wish my MemoryMoog had.

 

Robert

[waveterm]

Probably been commented before:

 

"Do you remember the first time ....

you bought a musical instrument and never had to tell your parents?"

 

Yes I do. Now it´s my wife I have to hide it from

 

LOL

[billjv]

The DX7 was truly a watershed for the entire synth industry. One of the more underrated features of the DX that most analog synths didn't do at the time was to stay in tune! (Actually, the older synths would just have to "warm up" for a half-hour or so before they would finally stay in tune.)

 

One thing that really bummed me out at the time was that the music store I was dealing with would finance me for a DX-9 (1,500) but not the DX-7 (2,000+). So, I got the DX9, and it sucked REALLY bad. 4 operators instead of six, no velocity, etc... but I was desperate at the time. Two months later they released the DX100, which had all the features of the DX9 except the large keyboard, but it was even touch sensitive through MIDI control. It listed for $350. Unbelieveable. The DX9 that was barely two months old was now worth less than 350 dollars. Ugh. And, of course, the DX7 went on to live in infamy. The DX9 was quietly discontinued shortly after the dx100 came out. Grrrr. Oh well, I learned a valuable lesson then about getting the gear I want, not just settling for what I could afford at that moment.

 

Anyway, the DX7 was awesome for the time. There's a disc entirely recorded with DX7 sounds and live percussion called "James Newton Howard and Friends", which was basically the Pocaro brothers and David Paich. It was a live direct-to-disc recording (remember those?) and it was very cool for the time. Lots of neat examples of the DX. I think Yamaha had a hand in that recording, actually.

 

BTW, this is my very first post here, so hello everyone!

 

BV

[Felix_dup1]

I had a DX100, it was actually the first time I ever got credit. Remember, it even had guitar strap buttons and could run off batteries - cool!

[RABid]

One more thing about the DX7. It is the first synth I remember that people guarded their patches like a valuable commodity. Remember the feature that allowed you to lock your patches in the expansion ROM so they would not work on another unit? Paranoia!

 

Robert

[Markyboard]

One thing that really bummed me out at the time was that the music store I was dealing with would finance me for a DX-9 (1,500) but not the DX-7 (2,000+). So, I got the DX9, and it sucked REALLY bad. 4 operators instead of six, no velocity, etc... but I was desperate at the time. Two months later they released the DX100, which had all the features of the DX9 except the large keyboard, but it was even touch sensitive through MIDI control. It listed for $350.

I don't recall the DX100 coming about till way later. Are you sure about this timing? I thought there were other versions between the DX9 and DX100. The DX9 may have been an

"old" model by that time.

[billjv]

Yeah, I actually ended up doing about an even trade from the DX-9 to the DX100. After almost 16 years, that little DX100 still works! I gave it to my six-year old, he loved making sounds with it.

 

I don't think I've ever wanted a piece of gear more than I wanted a DX7 at the time. When I finally could afford one, there were much better axes out there, so I never did get one. As a keyboard player without one during that "boomtime" I always felt left out of the "DX7 club". It really did generate a community of users like no other keyboard before or since - I even remember hearing about composers writing symphony music with added DX7 parts and patches to be played live!

 

It's really hard to imagine what an impact it really did have - but it really was all part and parcel of the digital revolution in general. CD's came out at around the same time, and digital samplers. Those were great days for keyboardists. Then came the 90's, and all keyboard players were looked upon like lepers in the pop world! LOL!

 

BV

[billjv]

Originally posted by Markyboard:

I don't recall the DX100 coming about till way later. Are you sure about this timing? I thought there were other versions between the DX9 and DX100. The DX9 may have been an

"old" model by that time.[/QB]

Yeah, it was my timing that did it. The DX7, DX9, DX5 and DX1 all came out together. About a year later is when I could finally get my Mom (love ya, Mom!) to co-sign for my first real keyboard. About two months after that was when Yamaha killed my DX9 with the 100.

 

BV

[Pat Azzarello]

Originally posted by felix:

[QB]...and don't forget those cool membrane switches!

[QB]

The switches underneath were actually pretty durable. It was the heavy plastic on top (that ran the width of the keyboard) that was the problem for me.

 

The plastic would eventually split/tear (#8 - The original electric piano seemed to be the worst offender). There were a lot of us who ended up cutting out the plastic over the offending switches. I eventually replaced the plastic cover over the membrane switches on mine (twice, if I remember correctly).

 

BTW - I still have my original (1984 vintage) DX in the garage rafters, in it's Shuttle bag. It will eventually end up as artwork.

[rylos]

A couple of years ago I needed to acquire an inexpensive synthesizer. The requirements I had were that it had to sound decent, had to be a bitch to program the sounds on, had to be reasonably well-known, and had to have midi. So of course I got a DX7. Only problem was the midi implementation on the original flavor DX7 wouldn't let you adjust sound parameters over midi without reseting the voice every time you changed a value on anything, hence a lot of stuttering if you adjusted parameters real-time while playing. I figured out a work-around that would keep it from stuttering, but that made it way too slow to update (I'm cranking three or four parameters around at a time).

 

So I got a DX7II, which works for me quite nicely.

[synthetic]

Originally posted by Dan South:

Originally posted by burningbusch:

 

Also, while the DX is known for the percussive bell tones it can produce standard saw/pulse stuff as well. Granted it doesn't sounds as FAT as the real thing, for gigging cover-band keyboard players it was often good enough.

I think it sounds more than "good enough for cover bands." FM can create sounds that are warm without being muddy. They cut through a mix without cluttering it. Toto's "Africa" is a good example of FM in action, although I believe that it was played on a DX7 predecessor, the GS-1 (expensive, and not programmable).

Dan, are you sure you're not confusing the GS1 with the CS80 on that tune? I think the marimba tones on Africa were FM, but I'm pretty sure the phat sawtoosh brass sounds came from a CS80, Yamaha's super-lush analog synth.

[Erlic]

I still have my DX7, and still use it as a secondary instrument. Sorry the Kurzweil won out on being the primary.

 

Anyway, PatAzz, a good friend of mine sold me his commodore 64 computer. When hooked up to the DX7, you could actually see the wave sounds, load programs from and to it, see what patches were loaded on the old 5-1/4 disks, etc. Pretty remarkable at the time, and probably very passe now.

 

Still, it was interesting to have such a set up at the time.

[Yamis]

After I go my DX7, I also picked up a Commodore 64 with the Disk Drive. It was neat to use (patch editing, sound librarian, midi monitor, etc.)at the time. One software package I remember running on the Sommodore 64 was something made by some company named Passport. It came with a midi interace for the Commodore. I have still have the Commodore 64 and software stored away somewhere. Maybe it will be worth something as an antique one day.