Yamaha DX7
Category: Products / synthesisers / fm & digital synthesisers
Added: 20-Dec-98 | Author: admin
New price: discontinued | S/H price: £300 upwards
Company Link: Yamaha UK
Company Link: Yamaha manuals
Company Link: Yamaha dsp factory
Yamaha DX7
The grand father of them all. Released in 1983 this was the first Yamaha FM synth, it sold widely to the public & it changed everything with its ability to offer a diverse palette of sounds including passable imitations of pianos, strings, bell & other percussive type sounds, all delivered with 16 note polyphony which was more than most synths at the time and to cap it all it was quite cheap compared to other flagship synths of the era.
The DX-7 is a six Operator DX synth, with the operators arranged into 32 different Algorithms, each with a different configuration of Carriers & Modulators which yield different types of sounds. Within each Algorithm, the individual Operators each have a 6 Stage Envelope Generator allowing both the Carrier & Modulator Operator waves to have different envelopes.
The DX7 shipped with a measly 32 internal patch slots, but an additional set of ROM cartridges were made available delivering a total of 128 Factory patches, with each ROM cartridge having 2 x banks of 32 patches. To save user edited patches or patches created from scratch beyond the 32 internal slots you would need to use an add-on RAM cartridge. Additionally patches can be saved & loaded via System Exclusive data and soon a burgeoning cottage industry appeared with people punting their patch creations to new DX7 users in the various magazines of the day.
The DX-7 has been heard of a massive variety of material since its introduction, from underground club tunes to big chart hits and was famously and exclusively used by Brian Eno for much of his soundscape work which ushered in the term 'Ambient' music. The most famous of his DX-7 compositions is probably An Ending (Ascent) from the Apollo album.
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Category: Products / synthesisers / fm & digital synthesisers
User Comments
Product: Yamaha - DX7
Name: Haaad
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: part-timer
Date: 11-May-99
Just to correct a mistake in Kilo's review - the DX7 is 16 note poly, not 8. One additional point - the operators on the DX7 are sine waves only whereas on most of the later 4-operator FM synths you had a choice of waveforms (as you did with the 2nd-generation FM like SY77 and, I believe, the new FS1R. BTW this is a classic website and an extremely valuable resource for musicians - superb!
Product rating out of 5:  |
Product: Yamaha - DX7
Name: encore
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: Hobby-ist
Date: 07-Apr-00
Well, I've got one (this was my first synth) and one of the reasons was that my brother once had one and I had heard all those special sounds it could make from old tapes. Now when I got one I never think about it anymore, the magic's gone. However, it can sound analogue if you really want to and there are possibilities to convert DX100 patches (I converted the famous SOLID BASS patch) however you have to do it by hand and ear. The converted patches doesnt sound EXACTLY like the 4 OP ones (less noise etc) but my window shatters when I go deeeep so it's okay! :) btw, there's a lot of patches on the net, so there is much to play with. Also a lot of info on the net and some newsgroups.
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Product: Yamaha - DX7
Name: nunchucks
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: part-timer
Date: 18-Oct-00
what a crappy writeup
the dx-7 is amazing
the best synth i own
ya you got to make your own patches
big deal
you can get sounds out the dx7 that
you can't get anywhere else
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Product: Yamaha - DX7
Name: chinaski
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: Professional
Date: 18-Oct-00
The Dx7 is a great synth for actual professional keyboardists and pianists. It captures the 'real' feel of playing a piano and has great sounds for any type of music. The bad point is that it's very hard to program for techno music. The board was more oriented for live playing and talented keyboard players. Overall, it's geared for people who like to jam in a band and ones who want to get funky
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Product: Yamaha - DX7
Name: mathew wilson
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: Professional
Date: 18-Oct-00
At last some one who can see that the DX7 is a great synth . the sound is great and is still sampled today . it is hard to programme but it has the biggest amount of patches on the NET of any synth.
Product rating out of 5:  |
Product: Yamaha - DX7
Name: mathew wilson
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: Professional
Date: 18-Oct-00
At last some one who can see that the DX7 is a great synth . the sound is great and is still sampled today . it is hard to programme but it has the biggest amount of patches on the NET of any synth.
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Product: Yamaha - DX7
Name: Kevster
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: Professional
Date: 05-Dec-01
DX7 is a classic..but still very useful..right now Kilo my boy I am sampling some clinks into my PC and runninng through your interesting little tutorial on sampling. I am triggering with my DX7 and naturally its the master in the system. It has velocity and after touch and you can't seem to get that anywhere for less than mucho bucks. Not to mention it has weighted keys. I got mine on Ebay for $165 USD. Can't beat that...who the hell buys a synth for sound anyway? I use the 6459 patches I have from the net and it is a great tutor for programming. THEN you just use the bloody thing as a master MIDI. Nuff said. DX7 started all that synth shit so it technically is the the grandad forevermore. Well..back to the project..I am almost done..you will get the 7" when I am finished.
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Product: Yamaha - DX7
Name: Dj_DEADLY
Email: Email supplied but hidden
www.hardcoretechno.ca
Activity: Professional
Date: 07-Dec-01
YEAH THE Dx-7 Is one of my favs since years back! ITS GOT AWESOME JAPANIMATION LIKE SOUNDS!!!! I LOVE IT!
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Product: Yamaha - DX7
Name: Phil James
Email: Email supplied but hidden
none
Activity: part-timer
Date: 29-Apr-02
can you get wind bells on the DX-7 like you can on the DX-21? i know the DX-21
has solid bass
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Product: Yamaha - DX7
Name: Brian
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: Hobby-ist
Date: 02-Sep-02
I just purchased an excellent condition DX-7 for $265 US. Let me tell you that this is a bargain price for a VERY powerful synth. This thing is no joke. I also own a Roland Juno 106 and Korg EA-1. FM synthesis is much more expressive that the sythesis seen in the current virtual analogs. If you're looking to round out your studio the DX-7 will fill in very nicely. Programming sounds takes a little brain work, but the results are worth it. The range of this synth is truly awesome. Highly recommended!
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Product: Yamaha - DX7
Name: BASS-T
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity:
Date: 21-Mar-03
Does anyone know how to use the integrated Test Program?
My DX7 writes a lot of "f" in the display and makes only stpid "sounds" like "schwubbbelblubblub".
I checked the battery and even put a new one in, but the problem is still the same.Then I started the Test prog. with "Edit 16 32" but I don`t know how to use it! Is there anybody who can help me to fix this problem?
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Product: Yamaha - DX7
Name: carl
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: Hobby-ist
Date: 13-Sep-03
everyone always says this synth is really hard to program. my first encounter with the world of synthesizers was with a dx 100 so it’s not that much different. true it is extremely unpredictable but it’s not as though it’s hard to use or anything you just have to do a lot of things by trial and error. the onboard sounds aren’t all that great but give it a chance, work with it for a month or so, put time into creating sounds, explore the endless possibilities and you will see the light. you can make it sound like practically anything if you work with it long enough and it’s got the nicest keyboard you can get on anything i've ever seen (excluding digital pianos and stuff like that) with midi! if you want a nice midi keyboard buy it (even if you don’t use any audio from it) it beats all competition around the same price. if you want a distinct sound and the room to express yourself to the max buy it. but if you want "phatt analog" sounds you should probably go for an analog synth. FM synthesis is really cool and the dx7 looks really cool and if you play one you will be really cool.
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Product: Yamaha - DX7
Name: Nolnova
Email: No email added
Activity: Professional
Date: 28-Feb-04
I think Brian hit the nail on the head here. It is perhaps the quintessence of FM algorithmic, but is certainly no stand-alone. The DX-7 has a crisp and robotic response, even in the sub-range. For that reason, it is great at augmenting tones with a low freq. accompaniment while retaining cleanliness. Of course buzzing high's and zippy leads are this things specialty, not to mention a mean organ or two (or dozens...)
The programming is self-explanatory (what with it being inked right on the bloody front panel,) but ploddish, with the multi-function membrane buttons and the single parameter slider effectively handicapping ones spurious creativity.
For what it is, the sounds are better than good, and the programming is relatively intuitive. Despite being a late-comer to the studio, I am rather fond of this additive synth.
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Product: Yamaha - DX7
Name: greg klosowski
Email: No email added
Activity: Hobby-ist
Date: 25-Mar-06
I just bought a DX-7 last year, expecting the classic bell tones and FM-synth bass -
not realizing that the DX-7 is the heart of most mid-80's industrial noises. For
anyone who is a fan of Front 242, Nitzer Ebb, old Ministry, etc...you have to check
this thing out. Weird synthy textures with all sorts of crazy (and controllable)
harmonics are sometimes hard to avoid.....
I also run it though a $75 multi-effects pedal i got at Guitar Center and get these
incredible percolating sequences going -
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Product: Yamaha - DX7
Name: Stan Bascomb
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: Professional
Date: 26-Jun-06
You've heard the DX7 - half of it. The 80s were full of it - vibes, chimes, marimbas, those gawdawful "liberace rhodes" patches, the stereotypical spooky FM whine, like bowed bells, the whistly soprano voice things Brian Eno still uses. The unexplored side of the DX7 is the continuum between chiptunes, Edgar Allan Poe's bells, modem noise, and an extended session of ringmodulated garbage cans played by an ensemble of metal drummers.
One advantage of the 6op models (DX7, TX7, TX802, and rarer ones) is that the tens of thousands of existing DX voices all work in them. While they can be ported to 4op FM synths, they usually don't sound as good.
Good basses, if you don't want quack. Sine-wavey subbasses, solid woody things, metallic clanks, bowed/blown bass things, even brass - just no resonant filters, and no fat chorusey stringlike things.
If you like little sounds that don't take up much room in a mix, FM produces a lot of them. If you like your organs clean and Brazilian instead of distorted and rocking, the DX7 does 'em up fine.
The 6op and 4op models sound very similar if you are using generic sounds, and quite different as you approach the more interesting extremes of the instrument. 6 envelopes gives more power over the shape of the tone over time, while the alternative waves of the 4-op all add harmonics, giving more varieties of grunge, buzz, and other high-harmonic effects. These effects are a fair amount of the sound of the instrument, and the 16-bit DX7II series sound different than the 12-bit DX/TX series because of it.
Programming CAN be learned - you need to walk through a handful of 'this sounds like this' examples to get a head for what the principles sound like, then it's no harder or more random than a 100-knob VST synth plugin :)
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Last added comment
Product: Yamaha - DX7
Name: jesus
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: Professional
Date: 08-Sep-09
dam those dx7 r sick on the tuba i want one soooooooooooooooooooooooooooo bad if u have one hit me up and ill buy it
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'Yamaha DX7'
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Total stars: 64 | Total votes: 16
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