10 ms·

Yamaha’s DX7 synthesiser changed modern music

95 points by aluket 6y ago

davtbaum 6y ago
The DX7 can lay claim to being one of the most important advances in the history of modern popular music. Perhaps not since Leo Fender attached a pick-up to a six-string in 1949 Statements like this are, exaggerated, to say the least. While the DX7 is undoubtedly prolific in 80s pop, it was just a synth that was successful for its price point (and timing!) as called out in the article. Case in point that today, nearly all the major manufacturers are building re-issues and the most coveted are those the analog counterparts of the Dx-7 (the sequential prophets, Oberheims, ARP...). FM has no way succeeded the typical subtractive synthesis of the analog machines. source: I write 80s influenced music and collect synths
- ksk 6y ago
  Are there any reasons to use a full synth these days? I'm not a musician but I've been dabbling in digital audio on and off and I really like the sound quality of sampled instruments especially for Piano. I haven't used the original DX7 only a VST (Dexed) for it.
  - sounds 6y ago
    It's not a science, so objectively it could be argued either way. The "No synth" argument - as you say, a good DAW with the right plugins completely covers the space. No one will ever need a physical synth again. I guess we could both imagine a "Yes synth" argument for the counter.
    - woah 6y ago
      Computers still can’t handle the style of complex analog FM synthesis that people do with “eurorack” style modular synthesizers. You can approach it with software like https://vcvrack.com https://vcvrack.com, but it will start to stutter out quickly even on a fast computer, and introduces artifacts if you are modulating with high frequencies.
      - klodolph 6y ago
        Well, VCV rack is far from the definitive solution here. There are commercial alternatives like Reaktor which are much more powerful. Reaktor is powerful to a fault, you might say, but if you are running into limitations with VCV Rack then something like Reaktor is the obvious upgrade. As an analogy, if VCV Rack is like a Unix shell that lets you pipe programs, then Reaktor is like a C compiler.
        scns 6y ago
        Or Bitwig where you can integrate your physical Eurorack modules or other voltage controlled analog synths and build any synth or effects unit you want from small building blocks with Grid. Bitwig Sound Design And Hardware Integration Workshop: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=125sfyebk1o https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=125sfyebk1o FM v PM: TRUE Frequency Modulation (linear) in Bitwig’s Grid: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nIwwgM3m3uc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nIwwgM3m3uc Disclaimer: not affiliated (edit: add disclaimer)
  - carry_bit 6y ago
    The main advantage of a hardware synth is the user experience. Its controls are tailored specifically for that synth. If it has a built-in keyboard, it also has the benefit of being a self-contained unit, and can feel (psychologically) more like a real instrument.
  - ratww 6y ago
    Physical synths are great because they have knobs and are great for real time tweaking along with playing. Also, some people enjoy some of the "special sauce" that analog synths have due to their imperfect nature. ...with that said: the DX7 is digital, and its UI/UX sucks. It has only buttons and menus, so no realtime control, and it's a bit unpleasant to use IMO. There used to be an external programmer unit with knobs but I never saw one in the flesh. So, your VST is light-years better in terms of both UI/UX and sound due to better anti-aliasing filters and probably new features. Another good option if you enjoy the DX7 sound is the Native Instruments FM7. If you want to experiment with a real analog synth may I suggest something in the subtractive synthesis family? Something Moog-ish is a great start! Behringer makes some very affordable ones!
  - noizejoy 6y ago
    I much prefer using the Dexed VST software based synth for recording over a DX7. The sound is hard to tell apart, the DX 7 doesn’t have a good surface for programming, has a crappy midi implementation, and doesn’t integrate into a DAW as well as a plugin. Since the DX7 is digital anyway, you also don’t loose much real or perceived “analog warmth”. Source: I have both.
    - raphlinus 6y ago
      Thanks, appreciate the kind words! Disclosure/shameless self-brag: I wrote the original synthesizer engine that became Dexed, though the team has moved it forward in lots of important ways. I did careful reverse engineering of an actual DX7 II, including disassembling its ROM, so the fact that it matches well should not be surprising.
      - ssalazar 6y ago
        Amazing work! Would love to read/learn more if you ever have the time/motivation for a blog post about it.
      - noizejoy 6y ago
        You deserve a lot of praise for your engine! And the reverse engineering leading to full patch compatibility is one of the real gems about Dexed. And therefore it becoming arguably the unofficial official editor and librarian software for the DX7. I hope you got some satisfaction out of the fact that 2020 seemed to be a real renaissance year for Dexed. It’s been at or near the top of every list of free plugins I’ve seen or watched, so your work from a long time ago keeps bearing lots of musical fruit! Thanks for making it and giving it to the world!
- tgv 6y ago
  The DX series is having a bit of a revival: Yamaha's Reface, Korg's Volca, and a few others. The DX are also in demand again: not so long ago I bought a TX7 for around $75, now they sell for $350. The DX100/DX27 is also desired by quite a few, it seems. There are multiple reasons, I think: - analog got popular again because bands started using it again when the prices dropped (due to digital tech, of course) - classic synths are vulnerable, making them decent investement objects, thus pushing the price, and making them more coveted than they deserve - that left only cheap digital synths for players bands without money, much like the 303, 808 and 909 back in the day (speaking of synths that changed music...) - which makes them desirable for the trend-followers, like analog 10 years ago. - the DX series fits better in modern music than something like the early Roland romplers with their super-cheesy sound.
- spinchange 6y ago
  Apple's Logic Pro User Guide page on FM Synthesis: "The DX7, sold from 1983 to 1986, remains the most commercially successful professional-level hardware synthesizer ever made." https://support.apple.com/guide/logicpro/frequency-modulation-fm-synthesis-lgsife418213/mac https://support.apple.com/guide/logicpro/frequency-modulatio... How do you get good bells and brass or as punchy bass sounds from subtractive-only synthesis? "According to Dave Smith, founder of the synthesizer company Sequential, 'The synthesizer market was tiny in the late 70s. No one was selling 50,000 of these things. It wasn't until the Yamaha DX7 came out that a company shipped 100,000-plus synths'" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yamaha_DX7#cite_note-:7-16 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yamaha_DX7#cite_note-:7-16
  - musicale 6y ago
    > How do you get good bells and brass or as punchy bass sounds from subtractive-only synthesis? Quick answer: modulation (primarily oscillator modulation but also filter and amplitude modulation.) Analog brass is great already, but for metallic (or sometimes woody) sounds oscillator sync, cross modulation and/or analog FM, and ring modulation are your friends. You can also get some pretty jarring sounds out of pulse width modulation, some tinkly bells out of sine and triangle waves, and "punchy" basses out of square and sawtooth waves. I hear a lot of pretty raw sawtooth-derived basslines and leads. Stacked waves of different shapes can also be interesting. It also depends on your oscillators. Many subtractive synths will feature analog filters attached to flexible oscillators that can generate waves other than classic waveforms.
jdontillman 6y ago
Interesting. I agree that the article is an exaggeration. It could be argued that the DX7 had a significant negative musical contribution. Oodles of sounds at the expense of musical expression. The musician became alienated from the process of making the sound. The keyboard player's job moved from playing the piano or organ to coming up with all the accompaniment parts that aren't guitars. And the DX7 was way too difficult to program. Sort of like trying to solve a Rubik's Cube; you can be one twist away and not know it. And since whole point of synthesis was for the musician to explore and tweak their sound, the DX7 was sort of an anti-synth. That said... Maybe it was an accidental choice of words in the article, but I would also say that the DX7 was, indeed, one of the most important advances in terms of musical engineering. Given 1983 technology, it was very difficult to implement digital audio filters, which require millions of multiplication/accumulation operations a second. The microprocessors of the day were not up to the task. TRW offered a 16x16 bit multiplier chip, but it cost around $300 for the chip alone (!!!) and required significant support circuitry. FM synthesis, as such, was not new. The Buchla synthesizer featured it in the 60's. John Chowning refined the concept, moved from frequency to phase modulation, and brought FM into the digital realm. Then some smart folks realized that FM synthesis could be implemented entirely in add and ROM lookup operations, which is downright easy in 1983 technology. Then they refined FM some more so it could produce a wide timbral range from the single engine. That's the impressive part of the DX7.
- Exmoor 6y ago
  I would agree that the DX7's sound is really dated has honestly really negatively impacted some of my favorite songs recorded in the the 1980's [0][1], but I really cannot think of an specific instrument as distinctive and widespread as it. The Telecaster and Stratocaster were very popular, but it's very tough to pick them out in a recording from other types of electric guitars. Hammond Organs are distinct and popular, but nowhere near as ubiquitous as the DX7. [0]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTTC_fD598A https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTTC_fD598A [1]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXRLozwejDk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXRLozwejDk
  - scoopdewoop 6y ago
musicale 6y ago
I am a huge fan of FM synthesis popularized by the DX7, but the DX7 is only one of many highly influential synthesizers, and FM is only one of many influential synthesis approaches including modular, subtractive, additive, sampling, wavetable, hybrid, phase distortion and various forms of wave shaping, physical modeling, and others. I would rank many other developments such as modular synthesis (e.g. Moog - think Switched on Bach etc. to modern Eurorack), subtractive analog (e.g. Sequential, Roland, Oberheim, etc.), hybrid and digital synths (e.g. Roland D-50, Korg M1), cheap Casio synths (from the VL-Tone to phase distortion), samplers (e.g. Fairlight, Emulator, etc.), analog (TR-808) and digital (Akai MPC) drum machines, not to mention monster systems like the Synclavier, supersaw synths like the JP-8000 and Access Virus (basically the sound of trance) as well as the rise of virtual analog synths, software instruments/plugins, and DAWs to be similarly groundbreaking and influential. In many cases these instruments were keys to the development of genres of popular and electronic music (e.g. hip hop, techno, trance, modern EDM, etc..) For 1980s popular music (and radio recognizability for instruments of that era) the DX7 should probably share the spotlight with the Sequential Prophet 5, Roland D-50 and probably others.
- ratww 6y ago
  IMO the DX7 sound was kind of a fad and a dead-end in terms of evolution and influence. Both the sound and the music it contributed to are relegated to nostalgia those days. Its popularity in the synth world was quickly eclipsed by Roland-303s and Korg M1s after some mere 5 or 6 years of production. People were very keen to move to anything else and it sorta gave FM a bad rap for a while... Also, Synths like Prophet and Oberheim were already dominating pop when the DX7 popped up, and they paved the way for the DX7. That's why I don't think the DX7 "changed music", like the article says. However, unlike the DX7, bands didn't stop using those synths when the "next thing" else came (even though they lost some market popularity), and they're still sought after today. People still love that Bernie Worrell funky-sync sound. And Moog and ARP were already popular it in the preceding decades and were back on hits in the 90s, with Dr. Dre using a Moog in N.W.A., in his solo and in Snoopy Dogg's albums. Trent Reznor used a MiniMoog very prominently in Closer, but treated DX7s as disposable: they were just live MIDI controllers that were meant to be destroyed at the end of every concert. Maybe there will be a DX7 revival but I'm not really holding my breath. Vaporwave was sort of, but in an ironic way, and using samples instead of the synth itself.
musicale 6y ago
It is true that the DX7 piano (among other presets) was on tons of songs, but so was/is the Korg M1 piano sound which became the "dance/house" piano of the 1990s. Its punchiness (basically compression, fast/percussive attack, quick dropoff, and tinny aspect) of the sound worked perfectly, cutting through mixes and also working as a solo instrument, providing strong melodic/harmonic/rhythmic support without sounding overly harsh. They're clichés/classics, now, but imitations (and samples) of both still abound.
- type0 6y ago
  M1 beats both DX7 and D-50 in units sold. We are living through the death and simultaneous revival of synthesizers, there probably won't be any characteristic bestsellers anymore. Last I checked MicroKorg was bestselling (in nr of units) current synth still in production but it can't leave the same mark on the current era of music like DX7 presets did.
  - klodolph 6y ago
    I think the biggest synth from the current era will be the eurorack. Yes, it’s really a form factor and not a synth but it’s taken off in the past few years in a really startling way.
    - ratww 6y ago
      Maybe in influence... it helped kickstart the modular revival and even made other form factors popular again. But in number of absolute units in operation, I don't know... Unless we compare number of modules sold vs number of Microkorgs. Modulars are expensive!
      - type0 6y ago
        > Modulars are expensive! So often eurorack synth building ends up in addiction like gear acquisition syndrome that it's almost like gambling. The only reasonably priced building is via DIY kits, but it still end up expensive and even more so time consuming, so it suits those who like soldering more than making music. I'm excited for a few digital eurorack modules, like Erica Synths Black Wavetable VCO, but no one could argue that it's affordable for a hobbyist.
type0 6y ago
Korg recently released fm synth (Opsix) looks cool but I wonder where innovation in synthesis is nowdays? Interesting products like ASM hydrasynth have fantastic sound design possibilities but it still could be somewhat done in a DAW. The semimodular stuff can offer things for experimentation, I wish there were more digital semimodular affordable synths like Microfreak that would offer versatility and invite to experimentation.
- klodolph 6y ago
  New synthesis techniques don’t really pop out of the woodwork. As far as I can tell, what we’re seeing is old techniques repackaged with new user interfaces. There’s a ton of room for innovation in user interfaces.
- arvinsim 6y ago
  Speaking of Microfreak, I wish there are more portable but powerful synthesizers that run on batteries.
- musicale 6y ago
  For me, the key aspect of the ASM Hydrasynth is polyphonic aftertouch/MPE support. Polyphonic aftertouch sadly died (for the most part) in the 1990s, but MPE is becoming more popular and I expect to see innovation in terms of MPE controllers and synths, with associated improvements in expressive performance capabilities. Physical modeling dates back decades but still hasn't really hit the mainstream. I expect to see it in more keyboard synthesizers. There are a lot of interesting apps and plugins that feature things like physical modeling, granular synthesis, various kinds of waveshaping and wave folding, etc.. There has been a huge modular synthesis revival with Eurorack and digital modular, as well as a commensurate explosion in available modules that go well beyond traditional modulars. One major innovation in the past few years has been the rise of FPGAs and programmable oscillators such as those on the Korg Prologue; DSP synths have existed for a while, but it's remarkable to have FPGA hardware oscillators and effects that you can modify by downloading new bitfiles. Companies like Sinevibes have managed to add a variety of new oscillators (e.g. FM, resonator, waveshaping and effects (e.g. granular reverb, random repeater) to the Prologue.
httpsterio 6y ago
FM (frequency modulating) synthesis in itself was rather groundbreaking. Typically when we're talking about creating sounds, we mainly had additive and subtractive synthesis where stacking oscillators were used to shape sounds. FM uses oscillators to manipulate other oscillator's waveforms, which opened up a whole lot of new possibilities. The DX7 mainly was an affordable all-rounder that got loaded with a ton of already-good presets and a way of managing presets. Yamaha had already released the GS-1 three years prior, but obviously it didn't remain in the books of history quite the same. The Sega Genesis soundchip, YM2612 is also a great showcase on how different FM synthesis can sound compared to comparable competing consoles. If anyone is interested, there's a great open source soft synth called Dexed, which is compatible with DX7 soundbanks (and comes bundled with a lot of em). A free, fun way of getting a glimpse into FM synthesis and music production techniques of yore.
- ninjin 6y ago
  Indeed, the Genesis (aka Mega Drive) brought a sound very different from what was around at the time. As an example, here is the rendition of the Battletoads soundtrack for the NES [1] which you can compare to the Genesis version [2]. Both by legend David Wise [3] of later Donkey Kong Country fame. [1]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCFqF-IeeAk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCFqF-IeeAk [2]: https://archive.org/details/md_music_battletoads/ https://archive.org/details/md_music_battletoads/ [3]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Wise_(composer) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Wise_(composer)
  - ratww 6y ago
    For FM sounds I really enjoy the Neo Geo soundtracks of the 90s: Fatal Fury, The King of Fighters, Samurai Shodown. They were a combination of FM and early sample chips, but all super tasteful (as far as 90s game soundtracks go!) and exploiting the maximum of the chips.
  - scns 6y ago
    OT since not FM, but my favourite OST is from Battletoads in Battlemaniacs for SNES: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RGsaKoP66o&list=PLA90CC2EE74CAA109&index=1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RGsaKoP66o&list=PLA90CC2EE7...
neonate 6y ago
https://archive.is/Gap8m https://archive.is/Gap8m
- IndySun 6y ago
  Thank you.
TrackerFF 6y ago
I love the DX7. It's by no means a perfect synth, not anywhere close - but for certain sounds and styles, it really excels. Pain in the @ss to program at first (and later for that matter...), but for me, the bass and electric piano sounds are just wonderful, at least if you're doing retro stuff, or 80's cover tunes.
MrGando 6y ago
The DX7 is indeed super important. The E. Piano preset is in like all the 80s cheesy ballads ever... but not only those. It was also used in Jazz (fusion) quite a bit. Hell, Chick Corea was a fan of the Synth (listen Electric City), also George Duke. Even the big brands these days have sampled the DX E. piano, because if you're a live performer it's quite likely that you'll need it if you're playing anything from the 80s in your repertoire (https://www.nordkeyboards.com/sound-libraries/nord-sample-library-archive/synthesizers/yamaha-dx7-mk-ii https://www.nordkeyboards.com/sound-libraries/nord-sample-li...). The DX 7 E.Piano is not a great "E.Piano Sound", but it has a life of its own... :) Source: Been playing Piano for 27 years and started on Synths ~22 yrs ago... first synth was an FM Korg X5D :)
alfiedotwtf 6y ago
The DX7 is also the reason people flooded the market with all their classic analog synthesizer. These days, while a DX7 is about $800 Australian, an OG Jupiter 8 will set you back $30K AUD
- ratww 6y ago
  It's 800 now? I remember seeing them in the early 2000s for about 200 USD in used music stores and pawn shops, and even then people thought that was expensive since everyone were starting to hype analog stuff and had some disdain for them!
  - alfiedotwtf 6y ago
    Hehe... there’s one on Gumtree for $580 AUD! But at the time, you couldn’t give away Prophet 5s! If only I had a time machine
    - ratww 6y ago
      I was too young at the time but I remember older people saying the same about Les Pauls, Jazzmasters and vintage guitar pedals in the late 80s! It was truly a weird time in terms of music and music equipment! Everything from the 50s/60s/70s went out of style, but returned in full force in the 90s, while the 80s stuff started getting rejected. Crazy!
malthaus 6y ago
If anyone is interested in playing around with FM (or PM), have a look at the Elektron Digitone. It's "opinionated"; something like Ruby on Rails for FM with some guardrails to keep you in the sweet spot of sounds mostly. FM can become quite metallic / noisy quickly otherwise. Additionally you get an interesting sequencer and audio over usb in a custom format and it doesn't take up too much space. You can build small tracks completely on its own with it. There are also really good DX7 software emulations on the market but i suggest something more beginner friendly; even back in the 80s the DX7 was a pain to program. And theres a nice podcast episode about its ubiquity: https://switchedonpop.com/episodes/the-cyndi-lauper-conspiracy-sam-sanders-all-through-the-night https://switchedonpop.com/episodes/the-cyndi-lauper-conspira...
IndySun 6y ago
What's the HN soft rule about linking to soft paywalls? https://archive.is/Gap8m https://archive.is/Gap8m I lived through the DX7s arrival in to the recording studio. It sounded harsh, thin, very un-musical, vastly overpriced, and was dated then, and it still does. Never sounded 'cool'. Recent software recreations flatter its legacy, which is a good thing.
spinchange 6y ago
Everyone arguing that the DX7 is NOT the most important commercial synth (for whatever reason) are ignoring one metric that every other synth maker, alive or dead, envies about it: its sales.
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
scns 6y ago
I was astounded when i realized that the keyboard player of my favourite Psychedelic Rock band plays a DX7. You can check them out here: https://smokemaster.bandcamp.com/album/smokemaster https://smokemaster.bandcamp.com/album/smokemaster Somehow affiliated, since the bassplayer and main songwriter is a friend of mine. They might have some blue (1st press) and orange (2nd press) vinyls left to sell. If you want to get one and don't want to feed the scalpers on discogs, send me a mail. (edit: added last paragraph)
fxj 6y ago
The DX7 was the first of this kind of digital musical instruments. Every keyboarder at that time had to have one. They were pretty expensive, so Yamaha came out with some cheaper models with 4 oscillators instead of 6. The sound was also very good and the E-Rhodes is still a classic. But soon after that Roland came out with the D50 and that changed everything again, because now you could mix samples and digital oscillators. Yamahas answer to that was the SY77. A monster synth that nobody could program any more.
memdiag 6y ago
This reminded me of "How to vintage your synth", which features DX7: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eL_N3A5gVhQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eL_N3A5gVhQ
moogly 6y ago
It would be a crime to have an article about the DX7 and not mention one of the most famous DX7-slingers: Jens Johansson https://youtu.be/Ry_AP13ylVk?t=1147 https://youtu.be/Ry_AP13ylVk?t=1147 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ocpi_saZQak&t=1390 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ocpi_saZQak&t=1390 https://youtu.be/6CJHt37ya88?t=33 https://youtu.be/6CJHt37ya88?t=33 Also a fellow geek. Happy to see his old page still up and running: http://www.panix.com/~jens/sect-index-brief.par http://www.panix.com/~jens/sect-index-brief.par
rcarmo 6y ago
I’ve always wanted a DX7, and even though I already have Dexed and other emulations, I got myself a Reface DX - which is a little marvel on its own, and much handier to have around: https://taoofmac.com/space/blog/2020/08/08/1430 https://taoofmac.com/space/blog/2020/08/08/1430
- xkcd-sucks 6y ago
  Korg Volca FM can import DX7 programs, not sure how the actual audio compares though

95 points by aluket 6y ago

The DX7 can lay claim to being one of the most important advances in the history of modern popular music. Perhaps not since Leo Fender attached a pick-up to a six-string in 1949 Statements like this are, exaggerated, to say the least. While the DX7 is undoubtedly prolific in 80s pop, it was just a synth that was successful for its price point (and timing!) as called out in the article. Case in point that today, nearly all the major manufacturers are building re-issues and the most coveted are those the analog counterparts of the Dx-7 (the sequential prophets, Oberheims, ARP...). FM has no way succeeded the typical subtractive synthesis of the analog machines. source: I write 80s influenced music and collect synths

ksk 6y ago
Are there any reasons to use a full synth these days? I'm not a musician but I've been dabbling in digital audio on and off and I really like the sound quality of sampled instruments especially for Piano. I haven't used the original DX7 only a VST (Dexed) for it.
- sounds 6y ago
  It's not a science, so objectively it could be argued either way. The "No synth" argument - as you say, a good DAW with the right plugins completely covers the space. No one will ever need a physical synth again. I guess we could both imagine a "Yes synth" argument for the counter.
  - woah 6y ago
    Computers still can’t handle the style of complex analog FM synthesis that people do with “eurorack” style modular synthesizers. You can approach it with software like https://vcvrack.com https://vcvrack.com, but it will start to stutter out quickly even on a fast computer, and introduces artifacts if you are modulating with high frequencies.
    - klodolph 6y ago
      Well, VCV rack is far from the definitive solution here. There are commercial alternatives like Reaktor which are much more powerful. Reaktor is powerful to a fault, you might say, but if you are running into limitations with VCV Rack then something like Reaktor is the obvious upgrade. As an analogy, if VCV Rack is like a Unix shell that lets you pipe programs, then Reaktor is like a C compiler.
      - scns 6y ago
        Or Bitwig where you can integrate your physical Eurorack modules or other voltage controlled analog synths and build any synth or effects unit you want from small building blocks with Grid. Bitwig Sound Design And Hardware Integration Workshop: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=125sfyebk1o https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=125sfyebk1o FM v PM: TRUE Frequency Modulation (linear) in Bitwig’s Grid: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nIwwgM3m3uc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nIwwgM3m3uc Disclaimer: not affiliated (edit: add disclaimer)
- carry_bit 6y ago
  The main advantage of a hardware synth is the user experience. Its controls are tailored specifically for that synth. If it has a built-in keyboard, it also has the benefit of being a self-contained unit, and can feel (psychologically) more like a real instrument.
- ratww 6y ago
  Physical synths are great because they have knobs and are great for real time tweaking along with playing. Also, some people enjoy some of the "special sauce" that analog synths have due to their imperfect nature. ...with that said: the DX7 is digital, and its UI/UX sucks. It has only buttons and menus, so no realtime control, and it's a bit unpleasant to use IMO. There used to be an external programmer unit with knobs but I never saw one in the flesh. So, your VST is light-years better in terms of both UI/UX and sound due to better anti-aliasing filters and probably new features. Another good option if you enjoy the DX7 sound is the Native Instruments FM7. If you want to experiment with a real analog synth may I suggest something in the subtractive synthesis family? Something Moog-ish is a great start! Behringer makes some very affordable ones!
- noizejoy 6y ago
  I much prefer using the Dexed VST software based synth for recording over a DX7. The sound is hard to tell apart, the DX 7 doesn’t have a good surface for programming, has a crappy midi implementation, and doesn’t integrate into a DAW as well as a plugin. Since the DX7 is digital anyway, you also don’t loose much real or perceived “analog warmth”. Source: I have both.
  - raphlinus 6y ago
    Thanks, appreciate the kind words! Disclosure/shameless self-brag: I wrote the original synthesizer engine that became Dexed, though the team has moved it forward in lots of important ways. I did careful reverse engineering of an actual DX7 II, including disassembling its ROM, so the fact that it matches well should not be surprising.
    - ssalazar 6y ago
      Amazing work! Would love to read/learn more if you ever have the time/motivation for a blog post about it.
    - noizejoy 6y ago
      You deserve a lot of praise for your engine! And the reverse engineering leading to full patch compatibility is one of the real gems about Dexed. And therefore it becoming arguably the unofficial official editor and librarian software for the DX7. I hope you got some satisfaction out of the fact that 2020 seemed to be a real renaissance year for Dexed. It’s been at or near the top of every list of free plugins I’ve seen or watched, so your work from a long time ago keeps bearing lots of musical fruit! Thanks for making it and giving it to the world!
tgv 6y ago
The DX series is having a bit of a revival: Yamaha's Reface, Korg's Volca, and a few others. The DX are also in demand again: not so long ago I bought a TX7 for around $75, now they sell for $350. The DX100/DX27 is also desired by quite a few, it seems. There are multiple reasons, I think: - analog got popular again because bands started using it again when the prices dropped (due to digital tech, of course) - classic synths are vulnerable, making them decent investement objects, thus pushing the price, and making them more coveted than they deserve - that left only cheap digital synths for players bands without money, much like the 303, 808 and 909 back in the day (speaking of synths that changed music...) - which makes them desirable for the trend-followers, like analog 10 years ago. - the DX series fits better in modern music than something like the early Roland romplers with their super-cheesy sound.
spinchange 6y ago
Apple's Logic Pro User Guide page on FM Synthesis: "The DX7, sold from 1983 to 1986, remains the most commercially successful professional-level hardware synthesizer ever made." https://support.apple.com/guide/logicpro/frequency-modulation-fm-synthesis-lgsife418213/mac https://support.apple.com/guide/logicpro/frequency-modulatio... How do you get good bells and brass or as punchy bass sounds from subtractive-only synthesis? "According to Dave Smith, founder of the synthesizer company Sequential, 'The synthesizer market was tiny in the late 70s. No one was selling 50,000 of these things. It wasn't until the Yamaha DX7 came out that a company shipped 100,000-plus synths'" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yamaha_DX7#cite_note-:7-16 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yamaha_DX7#cite_note-:7-16
- musicale 6y ago
  > How do you get good bells and brass or as punchy bass sounds from subtractive-only synthesis? Quick answer: modulation (primarily oscillator modulation but also filter and amplitude modulation.) Analog brass is great already, but for metallic (or sometimes woody) sounds oscillator sync, cross modulation and/or analog FM, and ring modulation are your friends. You can also get some pretty jarring sounds out of pulse width modulation, some tinkly bells out of sine and triangle waves, and "punchy" basses out of square and sawtooth waves. I hear a lot of pretty raw sawtooth-derived basslines and leads. Stacked waves of different shapes can also be interesting. It also depends on your oscillators. Many subtractive synths will feature analog filters attached to flexible oscillators that can generate waves other than classic waveforms.

jdontillman 6y ago

Interesting. I agree that the article is an exaggeration. It could be argued that the DX7 had a significant negative musical contribution. Oodles of sounds at the expense of musical expression. The musician became alienated from the process of making the sound. The keyboard player's job moved from playing the piano or organ to coming up with all the accompaniment parts that aren't guitars. And the DX7 was way too difficult to program. Sort of like trying to solve a Rubik's Cube; you can be one twist away and not know it. And since whole point of synthesis was for the musician to explore and tweak their sound, the DX7 was sort of an anti-synth. That said... Maybe it was an accidental choice of words in the article, but I would also say that the DX7 was, indeed, one of the most important advances in terms of musical engineering. Given 1983 technology, it was very difficult to implement digital audio filters, which require millions of multiplication/accumulation operations a second. The microprocessors of the day were not up to the task. TRW offered a 16x16 bit multiplier chip, but it cost around $300 for the chip alone (!!!) and required significant support circuitry. FM synthesis, as such, was not new. The Buchla synthesizer featured it in the 60's. John Chowning refined the concept, moved from frequency to phase modulation, and brought FM into the digital realm. Then some smart folks realized that FM synthesis could be implemented entirely in add and ROM lookup operations, which is downright easy in 1983 technology. Then they refined FM some more so it could produce a wide timbral range from the single engine. That's the impressive part of the DX7.

Exmoor 6y ago
I would agree that the DX7's sound is really dated has honestly really negatively impacted some of my favorite songs recorded in the the 1980's [0][1], but I really cannot think of an specific instrument as distinctive and widespread as it. The Telecaster and Stratocaster were very popular, but it's very tough to pick them out in a recording from other types of electric guitars. Hammond Organs are distinct and popular, but nowhere near as ubiquitous as the DX7. [0]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTTC_fD598A https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTTC_fD598A [1]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXRLozwejDk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXRLozwejDk
- scoopdewoop 6y ago

musicale 6y ago

I am a huge fan of FM synthesis popularized by the DX7, but the DX7 is only one of many highly influential synthesizers, and FM is only one of many influential synthesis approaches including modular, subtractive, additive, sampling, wavetable, hybrid, phase distortion and various forms of wave shaping, physical modeling, and others. I would rank many other developments such as modular synthesis (e.g. Moog - think Switched on Bach etc. to modern Eurorack), subtractive analog (e.g. Sequential, Roland, Oberheim, etc.), hybrid and digital synths (e.g. Roland D-50, Korg M1), cheap Casio synths (from the VL-Tone to phase distortion), samplers (e.g. Fairlight, Emulator, etc.), analog (TR-808) and digital (Akai MPC) drum machines, not to mention monster systems like the Synclavier, supersaw synths like the JP-8000 and Access Virus (basically the sound of trance) as well as the rise of virtual analog synths, software instruments/plugins, and DAWs to be similarly groundbreaking and influential. In many cases these instruments were keys to the development of genres of popular and electronic music (e.g. hip hop, techno, trance, modern EDM, etc..) For 1980s popular music (and radio recognizability for instruments of that era) the DX7 should probably share the spotlight with the Sequential Prophet 5, Roland D-50 and probably others.

ratww 6y ago
IMO the DX7 sound was kind of a fad and a dead-end in terms of evolution and influence. Both the sound and the music it contributed to are relegated to nostalgia those days. Its popularity in the synth world was quickly eclipsed by Roland-303s and Korg M1s after some mere 5 or 6 years of production. People were very keen to move to anything else and it sorta gave FM a bad rap for a while... Also, Synths like Prophet and Oberheim were already dominating pop when the DX7 popped up, and they paved the way for the DX7. That's why I don't think the DX7 "changed music", like the article says. However, unlike the DX7, bands didn't stop using those synths when the "next thing" else came (even though they lost some market popularity), and they're still sought after today. People still love that Bernie Worrell funky-sync sound. And Moog and ARP were already popular it in the preceding decades and were back on hits in the 90s, with Dr. Dre using a Moog in N.W.A., in his solo and in Snoopy Dogg's albums. Trent Reznor used a MiniMoog very prominently in Closer, but treated DX7s as disposable: they were just live MIDI controllers that were meant to be destroyed at the end of every concert. Maybe there will be a DX7 revival but I'm not really holding my breath. Vaporwave was sort of, but in an ironic way, and using samples instead of the synth itself.

musicale 6y ago

It is true that the DX7 piano (among other presets) was on tons of songs, but so was/is the Korg M1 piano sound which became the "dance/house" piano of the 1990s. Its punchiness (basically compression, fast/percussive attack, quick dropoff, and tinny aspect) of the sound worked perfectly, cutting through mixes and also working as a solo instrument, providing strong melodic/harmonic/rhythmic support without sounding overly harsh. They're clichés/classics, now, but imitations (and samples) of both still abound.

type0 6y ago
M1 beats both DX7 and D-50 in units sold. We are living through the death and simultaneous revival of synthesizers, there probably won't be any characteristic bestsellers anymore. Last I checked MicroKorg was bestselling (in nr of units) current synth still in production but it can't leave the same mark on the current era of music like DX7 presets did.
- klodolph 6y ago
  I think the biggest synth from the current era will be the eurorack. Yes, it’s really a form factor and not a synth but it’s taken off in the past few years in a really startling way.
  - ratww 6y ago
    Maybe in influence... it helped kickstart the modular revival and even made other form factors popular again. But in number of absolute units in operation, I don't know... Unless we compare number of modules sold vs number of Microkorgs. Modulars are expensive!
    - type0 6y ago
      > Modulars are expensive! So often eurorack synth building ends up in addiction like gear acquisition syndrome that it's almost like gambling. The only reasonably priced building is via DIY kits, but it still end up expensive and even more so time consuming, so it suits those who like soldering more than making music. I'm excited for a few digital eurorack modules, like Erica Synths Black Wavetable VCO, but no one could argue that it's affordable for a hobbyist.

type0 6y ago

Korg recently released fm synth (Opsix) looks cool but I wonder where innovation in synthesis is nowdays? Interesting products like ASM hydrasynth have fantastic sound design possibilities but it still could be somewhat done in a DAW. The semimodular stuff can offer things for experimentation, I wish there were more digital semimodular affordable synths like Microfreak that would offer versatility and invite to experimentation.

klodolph 6y ago
New synthesis techniques don’t really pop out of the woodwork. As far as I can tell, what we’re seeing is old techniques repackaged with new user interfaces. There’s a ton of room for innovation in user interfaces.
arvinsim 6y ago
Speaking of Microfreak, I wish there are more portable but powerful synthesizers that run on batteries.
musicale 6y ago
For me, the key aspect of the ASM Hydrasynth is polyphonic aftertouch/MPE support. Polyphonic aftertouch sadly died (for the most part) in the 1990s, but MPE is becoming more popular and I expect to see innovation in terms of MPE controllers and synths, with associated improvements in expressive performance capabilities. Physical modeling dates back decades but still hasn't really hit the mainstream. I expect to see it in more keyboard synthesizers. There are a lot of interesting apps and plugins that feature things like physical modeling, granular synthesis, various kinds of waveshaping and wave folding, etc.. There has been a huge modular synthesis revival with Eurorack and digital modular, as well as a commensurate explosion in available modules that go well beyond traditional modulars. One major innovation in the past few years has been the rise of FPGAs and programmable oscillators such as those on the Korg Prologue; DSP synths have existed for a while, but it's remarkable to have FPGA hardware oscillators and effects that you can modify by downloading new bitfiles. Companies like Sinevibes have managed to add a variety of new oscillators (e.g. FM, resonator, waveshaping and effects (e.g. granular reverb, random repeater) to the Prologue.

httpsterio 6y ago

FM (frequency modulating) synthesis in itself was rather groundbreaking. Typically when we're talking about creating sounds, we mainly had additive and subtractive synthesis where stacking oscillators were used to shape sounds. FM uses oscillators to manipulate other oscillator's waveforms, which opened up a whole lot of new possibilities. The DX7 mainly was an affordable all-rounder that got loaded with a ton of already-good presets and a way of managing presets. Yamaha had already released the GS-1 three years prior, but obviously it didn't remain in the books of history quite the same. The Sega Genesis soundchip, YM2612 is also a great showcase on how different FM synthesis can sound compared to comparable competing consoles. If anyone is interested, there's a great open source soft synth called Dexed, which is compatible with DX7 soundbanks (and comes bundled with a lot of em). A free, fun way of getting a glimpse into FM synthesis and music production techniques of yore.

ninjin 6y ago
Indeed, the Genesis (aka Mega Drive) brought a sound very different from what was around at the time. As an example, here is the rendition of the Battletoads soundtrack for the NES [1] which you can compare to the Genesis version [2]. Both by legend David Wise [3] of later Donkey Kong Country fame. [1]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCFqF-IeeAk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCFqF-IeeAk [2]: https://archive.org/details/md_music_battletoads/ https://archive.org/details/md_music_battletoads/ [3]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Wise_(composer) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Wise_(composer)
- ratww 6y ago
  For FM sounds I really enjoy the Neo Geo soundtracks of the 90s: Fatal Fury, The King of Fighters, Samurai Shodown. They were a combination of FM and early sample chips, but all super tasteful (as far as 90s game soundtracks go!) and exploiting the maximum of the chips.
- scns 6y ago
  OT since not FM, but my favourite OST is from Battletoads in Battlemaniacs for SNES: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RGsaKoP66o&list=PLA90CC2EE74CAA109&index=1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RGsaKoP66o&list=PLA90CC2EE7...

neonate 6y ago

https://archive.is/Gap8m https://archive.is/Gap8m

IndySun 6y ago
Thank you.

TrackerFF 6y ago

I love the DX7. It's by no means a perfect synth, not anywhere close - but for certain sounds and styles, it really excels. Pain in the @ss to program at first (and later for that matter...), but for me, the bass and electric piano sounds are just wonderful, at least if you're doing retro stuff, or 80's cover tunes.

MrGando 6y ago

The DX7 is indeed super important. The E. Piano preset is in like all the 80s cheesy ballads ever... but not only those. It was also used in Jazz (fusion) quite a bit. Hell, Chick Corea was a fan of the Synth (listen Electric City), also George Duke. Even the big brands these days have sampled the DX E. piano, because if you're a live performer it's quite likely that you'll need it if you're playing anything from the 80s in your repertoire (https://www.nordkeyboards.com/sound-libraries/nord-sample-library-archive/synthesizers/yamaha-dx7-mk-ii https://www.nordkeyboards.com/sound-libraries/nord-sample-li...). The DX 7 E.Piano is not a great "E.Piano Sound", but it has a life of its own... :) Source: Been playing Piano for 27 years and started on Synths ~22 yrs ago... first synth was an FM Korg X5D :)

alfiedotwtf 6y ago

The DX7 is also the reason people flooded the market with all their classic analog synthesizer. These days, while a DX7 is about $800 Australian, an OG Jupiter 8 will set you back $30K AUD

ratww 6y ago
It's 800 now? I remember seeing them in the early 2000s for about 200 USD in used music stores and pawn shops, and even then people thought that was expensive since everyone were starting to hype analog stuff and had some disdain for them!
- alfiedotwtf 6y ago
  Hehe... there’s one on Gumtree for $580 AUD! But at the time, you couldn’t give away Prophet 5s! If only I had a time machine
  - ratww 6y ago
    I was too young at the time but I remember older people saying the same about Les Pauls, Jazzmasters and vintage guitar pedals in the late 80s! It was truly a weird time in terms of music and music equipment! Everything from the 50s/60s/70s went out of style, but returned in full force in the 90s, while the 80s stuff started getting rejected. Crazy!

malthaus 6y ago

If anyone is interested in playing around with FM (or PM), have a look at the Elektron Digitone. It's "opinionated"; something like Ruby on Rails for FM with some guardrails to keep you in the sweet spot of sounds mostly. FM can become quite metallic / noisy quickly otherwise. Additionally you get an interesting sequencer and audio over usb in a custom format and it doesn't take up too much space. You can build small tracks completely on its own with it. There are also really good DX7 software emulations on the market but i suggest something more beginner friendly; even back in the 80s the DX7 was a pain to program. And theres a nice podcast episode about its ubiquity: https://switchedonpop.com/episodes/the-cyndi-lauper-conspiracy-sam-sanders-all-through-the-night https://switchedonpop.com/episodes/the-cyndi-lauper-conspira...

IndySun 6y ago

What's the HN soft rule about linking to soft paywalls? https://archive.is/Gap8m https://archive.is/Gap8m I lived through the DX7s arrival in to the recording studio. It sounded harsh, thin, very un-musical, vastly overpriced, and was dated then, and it still does. Never sounded 'cool'. Recent software recreations flatter its legacy, which is a good thing.

spinchange 6y ago

Everyone arguing that the DX7 is NOT the most important commercial synth (for whatever reason) are ignoring one metric that every other synth maker, alive or dead, envies about it: its sales.

deleted 6y ago
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scns 6y ago

I was astounded when i realized that the keyboard player of my favourite Psychedelic Rock band plays a DX7. You can check them out here: https://smokemaster.bandcamp.com/album/smokemaster https://smokemaster.bandcamp.com/album/smokemaster Somehow affiliated, since the bassplayer and main songwriter is a friend of mine. They might have some blue (1st press) and orange (2nd press) vinyls left to sell. If you want to get one and don't want to feed the scalpers on discogs, send me a mail. (edit: added last paragraph)

fxj 6y ago

The DX7 was the first of this kind of digital musical instruments. Every keyboarder at that time had to have one. They were pretty expensive, so Yamaha came out with some cheaper models with 4 oscillators instead of 6. The sound was also very good and the E-Rhodes is still a classic. But soon after that Roland came out with the D50 and that changed everything again, because now you could mix samples and digital oscillators. Yamahas answer to that was the SY77. A monster synth that nobody could program any more.

memdiag 6y ago

This reminded me of "How to vintage your synth", which features DX7: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eL_N3A5gVhQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eL_N3A5gVhQ

moogly 6y ago

It would be a crime to have an article about the DX7 and not mention one of the most famous DX7-slingers: Jens Johansson https://youtu.be/Ry_AP13ylVk?t=1147 https://youtu.be/Ry_AP13ylVk?t=1147 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ocpi_saZQak&t=1390 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ocpi_saZQak&t=1390 https://youtu.be/6CJHt37ya88?t=33 https://youtu.be/6CJHt37ya88?t=33 Also a fellow geek. Happy to see his old page still up and running: http://www.panix.com/~jens/sect-index-brief.par http://www.panix.com/~jens/sect-index-brief.par

rcarmo 6y ago

I’ve always wanted a DX7, and even though I already have Dexed and other emulations, I got myself a Reface DX - which is a little marvel on its own, and much handier to have around: https://taoofmac.com/space/blog/2020/08/08/1430 https://taoofmac.com/space/blog/2020/08/08/1430

xkcd-sucks 6y ago
Korg Volca FM can import DX7 programs, not sure how the actual audio compares though