Dx-7

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twist

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There are a couple of DX-7s on e-bay right now. Can anyone aquaint us newbies with their strengths/weaknesses?


Thanks in advance.

Twist
 
Very early digital synth. The definitive FM synth - a strength and a weakness. 6-operator (oscillator) sine wave only, but 32 available algorithms for operator routing allowed for very complex sound creation.

Later FM synths offered 8 waveforms instead of just sine wave, but a lot (all?) of these were 4-op. Stay AWAY from 4-op sine wave FM synths (DX-9, DX-21, DX-100 <I think>) - very few good sounds in those.

Midi implementation is WAY lite on the DX-7 - may have been Yam's first midi synth. I believe it only sends (receives? both?) on channel 1. Also, some global parms weren't storable, and had to be reset for each patch. NOT true of a DX-5 (a "double" DX-7) or TX-7 (a desktop DX-7 module) - these stored "performances" which held the global data.

Some very cool things about DX7s:

1) breath control - absolutely get a breath controller to use with these - you get lots of expression control using them;

2) there are a million DX-7 patches available for download - some very creative programming out there;

3) they're cheap;

4) there are a few bazillion DX-7s floating around out there, so repairable/replaceable for a long time;

5) they're "real" synths - no samples. Lots of addressable parameters - very well thought out. Gives the would-be sound pregrammer lots to work with.

They have a bit of a thin sound, and everybody got sick of that syrupy DX-7 fake Rhodes sound eventually - still, a landmark synth historically, and an excellent instrument, if a bit dated.

I have 2 TX-7s, but don't use them much. Still, combined with my KX-88 controller, they were my central rig from '85-'97.
 
i've got one. bitch to program. quite rewarding when you know how. bit over-rated.

If you buy it prepare to switch it on and say 'is that it' then spend hours a decent sounding patch.
 
there's always the new DX200's, which offers some easier programming and different waves... but the dx-7 is a classic, don't know quite if that's a good thing or not, people tend to over hype it because of that...
 
if its worth getting or not dpends on what your expecting from it? what sort of music do you do?
 
I do a pretty broad variety of music, I don't like to get stuck in just one genre.

My original hope was to get one keyboard with good piano, electric piano, organ, strings, and synth sounds. It's starting to look like that's not going to happen though. So now I'm looking for something with good string/synth sounds or good piano sounds that could also be used for a midi controller.

I'm a little shy about the DX-7 if it's going to be difficult to program as I'm pretty new at this stuff. Of course price is also a concern, especially if i'm going to have to buy 2 keyboards to cover all the sounds I want to get.

I've looked at the Yamaha S-03, Roland RS5 and Alesis QS6. In general, they all had some sounds that were ok, but some of the sounds were still pretty "cheesey". I mean if I could settle for those cheesey sounds, I could just buy a Casio for a hundred bucks and be done with it.

Thanks for the replies

Twist
 
twist said:
I do a pretty broad variety of music, I don't like to get stuck in just one genre.

My original hope was to get one keyboard with good piano, electric piano, organ, strings, and synth sounds. It's starting to look like that's not going to happen though. So now I'm looking for something with good string/synth sounds or good piano sounds that could also be used for a midi controller.

I'm a little shy about the DX-7 if it's going to be difficult to program as I'm pretty new at this stuff. Of course price is also a concern, especially if i'm going to have to buy 2 keyboards to cover all the sounds I want to get.

I've looked at the Yamaha S-03, Roland RS5 and Alesis QS6. In general, they all had some sounds that were ok, but some of the sounds were still pretty "cheesey". I mean if I could settle for those cheesey sounds, I could just buy a Casio for a hundred bucks and be done with it.

Thanks for the replies

Twist
Click to expand...

Sorry to break this to ya, but the DX7's piano and string patches will sound cheesier than the newer gear you're looking at. DX7's are only good if you want unique percussive and bass sounds or decent sounding EP's.

The DX200 with a MIDI controller would sound better. I am really impressed with what NAtive Instrument's FM7 soft synth can do - much more than the older 4-op and 6-op FM synths I've owned in the past. The DX200 and FM7 are basically the same thing.
 
I tried the FM7 and it was really cool, then i tried a DX7 and its like is that it??
 
toby.I. said:
I tried the FM7 and it was really cool, then i tried a DX7 and its like is that it??
Click to expand...

FM7 and the DX200 are light years ahead of the DX7. IThey have 32 waveforms where the DX7 only had the sine wave, plus they add the X and Z operators (multimode filters).
 
DX7 is the epitome of 'cheezy' sounds unless you are a very good programmer. Do not get it if you want anything in the way of realistic sounds.

I'd look for a used Kurzweil K series or a Korg T or O if you want good piano and strings on a budget.
 
Well, it's become pretty clear that I should plan on owning more than just one keyboard, and perhaps the DX-7 could become part of the equation. I'm starting to shy away from these older pieces though, for fear that I'll be missing out on some of the capabilities of a newer model. Limited midi capability for example.

Thanks again for the replies.


Twist
 
I used to have a DX-7 back when....I hated it. I program my own sounds, and it takes a lot of effort and tweaking to get a good sound out of one of these things, its just not worth it. The sound is not that great, especially compared to modern stuff, or analog stuff.

If you want FM sounds on a budget, find an old Casio VZ-1 or VZ-10m. Much better sounds, easier to program, and you can still get the cheesy DX sounds. It was part of Casios ill fated attempt to enter the pro market, and they put out a couple of good pieces of gear, but people couldnt get used to the Casio name on pro gear.
 
The DX7 was the first real synth I owned, and I agree with what others have said, it’s a f**kin bitch to program and It sounds pretty cheesy next to today’s stuff, also there are no built in effects, making it sound worse.
I paired mine with a good Roland effects processor and was able to get some really nice synth sounds out of it. Reverb, delay and chorus makes the DX7 sound sweet. So my opinion is that with efx and a knowledgeable user, it has its use for the unique, cool sounds it can make. It aint ever going to sound like a real piano though, it’s not the keyboard for that (maybe it was in 1980…)

What I did always like about the DX7 was the action of the keys, I always loved the feel of the thing (except when carrying it, its pretty dam heavy). It’s an old board but it has most of the features you would expect from a modern keyboard (velocity sensitivity, after touch, even breath control!) So maybe it could be used as a midi controller, you can then connect it to a decent module and get all the nice modern sounds too…
$150 for a DX7 on eBay… $399 for a Roland Jv1010 module for the modern sounds… not a bad deal actually.

Gunther
 
Gunther said:
The DX7 was the first real synth I owned, and I agree with what others have said, it’s a f**kin bitch to program and It sounds pretty cheesy next to today’s stuff, also there are no built in effects, making it sound worse.
I paired mine with a good Roland effects processor and was able to get some really nice synth sounds out of it. Reverb, delay and chorus makes the DX7 sound sweet. So my opinion is that with efx and a knowledgeable user, it has its use for the unique, cool sounds it can make. It aint ever going to sound like a real piano though, it’s not the keyboard for that (maybe it was in 1980…)

What I did always like about the DX7 was the action of the keys, I always loved the feel of the thing (except when carrying it, its pretty dam heavy). It’s an old board but it has most of the features you would expect from a modern keyboard (velocity sensitivity, after touch, even breath control!) So maybe it could be used as a midi controller, you can then connect it to a decent module and get all the nice modern sounds too…
$150 for a DX7 on eBay… $399 for a Roland Jv1010 module for the modern sounds… not a bad deal actually.

Gunther
Click to expand...

Only one problem though - the orginal DX7 could only transmit MIDI note velocity values up to 100 and not the full 0-127 range
 
Gunther said:
...So maybe it could be used as a midi controller, you can then connect it to a decent module and get all the nice modern sounds too…
$150 for a DX7 on eBay… $399 for a Roland Jv1010 module for the modern sounds… not a bad deal actually.

Gunther
Click to expand...

That's what I do basically, use it as a controller. Other than that I use it to compose with, than find the voices in my sampler or other synth modules that I really like.

FM programming is mathematical and complex, let alone DX programming. I hear AWM/AFM is similar...and that's what all my synth engines are in my studio:eek:
 
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