Yamaha DX21

thane1200

thane1200

Medicated Member
I'm looking to get opinions on a Yamaha DX21. I have a chance to buy one under 100.00 and am wondering if that is a good price.

I don't have much experience with keyboards, so any info would be helpful. I'm looking for something to learn on and get decent synth sounds for electronic/dance music.
 
Its a 4 operator FM synth from the same family as the DX27 and DX100. The little brother of the DX7 which is 6 op. I would guess 90% of music from the 80s had a DX7 in it. Very "bright" and "shimmery" sounding, very good for bells, organs, and similar sounds. A full on nightmare to program since FM synths are not like subractive synths at all but there are literally thousands of patches available online since these things were so popular. It will sound pretty dated now but being an owner of at TX802 (rack DX7II) and a TX81z (rack DX100) i find uses for them all the time (good for dance music) and you can get some good, modern sounds out of them if you actually learn to tweak the patches. The "Solid Bass" preset was a staple of house music for years. For under a 100, I would say go for it if it is in good shape

Here is a good demo of the capabilities (the DX100 is the same engine as the DX21)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bm4KXWc1zmw&feature=related
 
altitude909 said:
Its a 4 operator FM synth from the same family as the DX27 and DX100. The little brother of the DX7 which is 6 op. I would guess 90% of music from the 80s had a DX7 in it. Very "bright" and "shimmery" sounding, very good for bells, organs, and similar sounds. A full on nightmare to program since FM synths are not like subractive synths at all but there are literally thousands of patches available online since these things were so popular. It will sound pretty dated now but being an owner of at TX802 (rack DX7II) and a TX81z (rack DX100) i find uses for them all the time (good for dance music) and you can get some good, modern sounds out of them if you actually learn to tweak the patches. The "Solid Bass" preset was a staple of house music for years. For under a 100, I would say go for it if it is in good shape

Here is a good demo of the capabilities (the DX100 is the same engine as the DX21)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bm4KXWc1zmw&feature=related
Click to expand...

Thanx for the info, that's pretty much what I want is some good sounds for dance music, plus something a little better than my cheapo MIDI controller for actually playing on. That video is pretty killer. Auction ends in 1.5 hours so we'll see how the price goes.
 
Just avoid using the awful 'tine' presets though. They're the DX range's version of the Rhodes piano, even though it sounds nothing like the real thing. Every other record in the 1980s had that sound on it, especially the more earnest ballads for which it appears to have been a legal requirement. It really makes me cringe.
 
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