Synth: Yamaha DX7 MK I Review by: Batz Goodfortune Summary: Digital representation of an analogue process. Frequency modulation. (FM) Where the phase angle of one sinewave oscillator is controlled by a previous oscillator. Possibly the most popular synthesizer ever made. 6 operator. Each operator consists of a sinewave oscillator and attenuator. The pitch is controlled by the keyboard and controllers. The amplitude is controlled by envelopes (6 off) and controllers. There is a myth that the DX7 and it's derivatives can only produce thin, real-world type sounds and emulation of some real instruments. However with careful programing it is also able to produce rich analogue-like tones. It is very hard to program unless a full understanding of the concepts involved is reached. Years Made: 1984-1988 Polyphony: 16 Multitimbrality: no MIDI: Note on/off: yes MIDI controllers: pitch/mod wheel/foot/after/breath Sysex patch dumping: yes Sysex parameter control: yes Other external control: CV/Gate: N/A Clock: no Other CV: N/A Audio input: no Proprietary (DCB, etc): N/A Programmer: N/A Patch storage: 32 patches (another 32 on RAM cart) Patch dumping (tape, MIDI, etc): midi, Cartridge Voice architecture: 6 operator FM. 16 bit 6 Envelope generators 8 parameters each. 1 pitch Envelope Generator 1 LFO (Sine/Square/Tri/SAW up/SAW Down/Random) Delay, rate Keyboard scaling (rate/pitch/amplitude) Sequencer/Arpeggiator: no Keyboard/rack: 5-octave keyboard, velocity and aftertouch. Rotational assignment. Known problems: Sends MIDI FE (MIDI active sensing) Only transmits on MIDI channel 1 Is more noisy than one would expect from a digital synth. However Robin Whitle of Real World Interfaces can supply a retrofit that fixes this and improves facilities. Later versions from the TX7 up do not suffer noise problems. Accessories: BC01 Breath controller Related synths/gear: DX1 The mother of all FM synths. like 2 DX7s with weighted 76 key Keyboard TX7 Table top version. No keyboard DX5 Like DX1 but all plastic bits and non weighted. TX816 8 DX7s in a 4U 19" rack Four Operator Cousins. DX9 4 op no velocity. Looks just like a DX7 FB01 Single half U. 4 op 8 voices polytimbral TX81Z. 1 U 19" rack. 4 op with a choice of waveforms Later incarnations. DX7 MK II. Cheap cruddy plastic thing. Bad switches. 2 voice split keyboard. DX7 MK II FD. AS above but has floppy for voice storage. TX802 DX7 MK II in a rack. 8 voice polytimbral. 16 voice total 8 voice channels + stereo. Price range: AUST $450 - $500 depending on condition. Availability: fairly common. everyone uses one. Comments: Strengths: good midi implementation, Able to produce rich tones although it can be a little sharp. Is difficult to program from scratch unless you know what you're doing. It is better to find a voice that is close to what you want and tweak it from there. Other: Most users of this synth have no clue as to how to program it. Thus there use to be a market for voice libraries but there are thousands of voices available on the net. However if you do take the time to program it, you will find a wealth of potential underneath the surface.