Yamaha DX-7

I've owned this keyboard now for almost four years since I last posted a review here and I'm back really just to say that this synth really kicks butt!

The flat control panel isn't like your button-per-function analogue synthesizer I agree but, all the buttons that are available are clearly labelled. You can't do much in the way of realtime editing on the DX7 as is the case with analogue synths or other synths with more controls, but the value slider, if assigned to an edit parameter while in edit mode can be used to alter the sound in realtime. Compared to some of the later digital synths of the early to mid 1990s, there are comparatively more controls atop this synth.

Most of the presets are pretty good, but really shine once we bring multi effects processors (or even just basic chorus and reverb to be honest). Without effects at all the DX7 sounds pretty dry but the effects add depth and make the sounds more natural to the ear.

Editing is done one parameter at a time which in a way makes things easier because you can determine systematically which parameters do what to the sound, in a step by step manner. Programming really is just a case of commiting some time to sitting down at the console and working your way through so if you want to create new sounds in a live situation, this might not be your cup of tea... but I like it and don't find it in anyway difficult - just a bit more lengthy than with an analogue-style control surface.

I managed to download a manual in PDF from Yamaha's website and printed it and bound it in the same way as the original. There is a lot of detail about the FM tone generating system, but I think this is good. I bought a DX7 because I was interested in the physics of this type of sound so for me the manual was an interesting read, which seemed clear and logical. For those wanting to edit and change the sounds straight from the box, this more methodical manner may be a hindrance. I had the manual after I found out how to do the programming so trial and error is also a winning solution here.

Also, the fact that so many people have found the DX7 difficult to program is another reason why I bought it - some commital is required rather than just being able to plug and play like you can with today's things. The additional knowledge you need to make a DX7 sound so good is ultimately what makes this synth retain its professional status more than 20 years after it came off the production line back in '83.

The DX7 is 16 note polyphonic, over the six oscillators (operators in DX-terminology). Since the synth can only handle one timbre at a time then in a lot of instances this isn't much of an issue. For sustained piano lines note-stealing will become audible but for many other types of music this is sufficient. Back in 1983 most other synths were still at maximum eight note poly, many still 1 to 4.

There are no built-in effects on the DX7 which is what makes it sound dated because it sounds so dry. By cleverly using the six operators though, all having independently controllable ADSRs, it is possible to achieve delays and echoes, and with detune, chorus can be implemented, albeit to a limited degree.

Expansion was through the third-party manufactured GreyMatter E! card which I know little about except for you could store 320 sounds in local memory (more to recover if your internal battery dies) and, I think it allowed multi-timbral operation and it could send on any one of the 16 MIDI channels rather than just channel 1 - but I can't be 100% sure - my DX7 doesn't have this.

No sequencer on the DX7 but it does have velocity and aftertouch sensitive keys. The physical keyboard itself is one of the best of its type and even after all these years the keys still retain a fluid, fast motion that caters for fast solos or the tenderest of piano solos. They don't make 'em like this anymore!

Expressiveness... this is what the DX7 was renowned for. With many of the sounds, the harder you play the keys, the more the sound will 'bite'. Take for example the preset program number 15 - Bass 1. If you play harder, the attack will become notably more sharp and achieves a sort of slap effect. The Rhodes electric piano also becomes noticably richer the harder you play the keys.

The architecture of the DX7s sound generating system is also what lends itself to the synths ability to create sounds of uncanny realism - in some respects. Take for example the sound Piano 3 (button 10). In factory default the decay length is a little short so I lengthened it a bit. By dropping the octave down so that you can reach the equivalent octave you'd get on a grand piano, you will be amazed at the way the sound decays, which just isn't possible on a sample based implementation. You've got six operators that are independently tunable, have independent ADSRs and that can be configured to create complicated feedback loops which just isn't possible on some of the more modern stuff (except NI's FM7 which is also great).

Pads were always a weak point for the DX7, but that was before effects processors became cheap. Run some of the string sounds through chorus and delay and you will be surprised at what you can achieve.

Finally, the analogue versus digital war - this is just totally beyond the point. The sound of the DX7 certainly is very unique and (sorry in advance to any analogue fanatics) in some cases much more interesting than analogue implementations. I don't think you can get the same types of animation in the sound as you can with the DX7. At the end of the day, just like any other synth, the DX7 has certainly earned it's place and I will always be a fan of its sounds.

It's also 14bit output on the DAC - so what? this adds another dimension to the character of the sound...

This is pretty well made. I had to tighten a few screws up as I could hear the metal grounding plates rattling in the end cheeks. I'm loathed to say it's built like a tank because if you put any weight on the control panel you can see it move. The whole thing is made from steel and weighs in at over 14KG but some of the aluminium synths such as the Korg 01/w and the Roland D10 feel solid even if you place excess weight on the front panel.

I would probably have used this on a gig without a backup twenty years ago but I'm not sure now as it's getting on a bit and I cannot afford for this synth to die. I would probably sample out the sounds I needed to use the most and get round it that way except being samples, you'd lose that expressive bite.

No comment

This really is a great synthesizer, made even better for those who are enthusiastic about the older, more obscure technologies. FM synthesis isn't something we hear about on the grape vine very often these days but there are countless studios out there who still rely on that famous, unforgettable sound. It came up in computer sound cards and even the Sega Megadrive had an entire FM synthesizer built into it for it's music and sound effects.

Aesthetically, I think this is a great looking machine and still seems somewhat futuristic, in an old-fashioned kind of way if you know what I mean. The membrane control panel has been a frequent gripe by many users but there really are real buttons beneath that surface that have a real click to them. The membrane makes the whole panel perfectly flat and the buttons haven't suffered the same bad contact problems as some of the other older synths like the Roland D50. It still retains professional respect - seemingly to those people who are willing to delve more into the science and physics of sound generation and praise the DX7 for its strengths rather than limitations.

Whether it's to do with the looks, the feel of the keys or just the fact that it is still the most famous synthesizer the world has ever seen, there is still a great feeling from standing behind and playing a DX7. It was a synthesizer that was built in the very heyday of the technology - at the cutting edge of everything, it took 15 years to design... How many other synths can you say that about?

I've had no problem using my DX7, but ther is one little problem. Appearantly there's a button or combination of buttons that mutes it, and I cannot figure out how to un-mute it. This has happened to both of the DX7s that I have used (though it was never me who muted it), so it seems like a pretty standard problem. But other than that, it's real easy to use and is quite self-explanitory.

All of the features are great, except not even the real owner of the keyboard can figure out how to use the memory card. But everything sounds really cool on it. You can change the pitch and the tone, and you can even get realistic car and train sounds. The laser is pretty neat, too.

All of the sounds on the DX7 are very crisp and clear, and have been prgrammed in tune. Everything sounds the way it should, even the #12 setting of flute sounds like a flute would if it went real low.

This keyboard works great for my garage band and for my school jazz band. So long as it's only used by those who know how to use it (it's quite easy to learn how) and so long as you don't press that button that it won't make a sound (unlikely that you would push it) there's absolutely NO need for a backup of any sort. It's good for bass and as a sound-effect tool, too.

I just can't get it out of the soundless mode, but other than that, it's fine.

If this keyboard were lost, I would buy it again, but I'm not all too suree that they even make them anymore, so buying a new one would be very difficult. I don't own any other Yamaha products, but I do have a Baldwin piano and a selmer guitar, clarinet, and trumpet. What I love about the DX7 is thatit's very versital and is easy to play. The only thing the I hate is that it can get muted somehow. It comes in much handiness when I'm writing music and when I need sound effects for a presentation that I can tape-record.

Just recently pick-up a DX-7 MKI from Ebay and after fixing
all the problems including electrical, I am one happy puppy!
I am using DX Librarin by Jon Morgan and let me tell you, I'm not
a music software guru, but this guy can write one excellent piece of software making the MkI manageable.
I can find not only manuals but schmatics and everything in between for this synth.

More then enough for a second keyboard with a variety of incredible sounds. Just picked up a RAM CARTRIDGE off of Ebay made by Symphony with 128 voice storage and I have more than enough voices for any type of music I play.

Without editing any of the patches I have acquired, alot of them sound similar but some are unique enough for me to include them in my voice banks.

I got this synth with a broken upper white key, a cracked side cover with missing plastic, and not working because the power supply was cracked in two. Fixed everything in one weekend and it's working ever since.
This keyboard is a work horse and it's almost indestructible.

Yamaha site still has manuals and patch related documents at their site and many other sites throughout the internet have tons of info for free.
This is GREAT!

I buy another one in a heart beat even if it was in the same condition as the one I got from Ebay. Definitely worth fixing up and using.
Started with accordion when I was eight years old, then got into guitar and now I play strictly keyboards.
Have a Yamaha DGX-500 88 key, My newly acquired DX-7, and I running everything through two Roland KC-150 keyboard amps.

It's not so easy for a beginner. When i first had it in 2001 A.D. it was really difficult to understand how to deal with all that menus. But later i've just started modding the factory presets (on my own risk, cuz i had no factory ROMs and still having problems with MIDI input). The result was that i've lost my girlfriend and started wearing BIG glasses (SHIT! - no backlight!). But hey! - you've got to love it! What i'd reccomend everyone - is to read the lectures of a man who programmed a half of the ROMs - Noritaka Ubukata. They are REALLY helpfull - explaining both DX7 programming and FM synth basics. http://www.digitalmusicworld.com/html/hardware/SynthSeminars/fm-e/index.html

The DX-7 is a whole big feature by itself. It is not only a synth but a lifestyle - you start to recorgnize it's sounds in recordings (trying to figure out the EG parameters used), and it is the one to be a lead in your keybord rack. At studio works I never use internal effects at all, but on gigs i do sometimes miss a nice warm reverb or delay. But i have them both on the mixing desk anyway. I love it's pitch bend and the mod wheels - very nice.

If you want the realism - forget about it! This is not a piano (exccept FANTASTIC rhodes), and not a string or saxophone imitating instrument. This is a synthesizer!From soft and touching pads (used by Enya in all her recordings) to a screaming distorted leads (great for a rock solos - my guitarist hates it!!! :)))))) ), from a soft moogs to a mean FAT benassi-like basses (good for drum and bass and rave lines). By the way - check out that coarse controller menu. You can make a nice techno sound modding it on the bass registers. Sounds like turning Cutoff|Reso knobs on analogue synths if you know what i mean. ((((((((ACID-ROCKS!!!!)))))

This synth can guard itself very well - it is ugly, damn heavy and really sharp edged (MK 1). No one will dare to steal it :)))))) they would better steal another ROLAND or YAMAHA MOTIF 6 :)))) I usually gig with it + yamaha 9000 pro (for strings, pianos and sampling).

Once it's sound output stuff broke right before the gig:(((( Everything was fine but there was no sound at all. I went to the Yamaha Music Gallery - their oficcial dealer in my hometown (Baku, Azerbaijan), they said that it's just an old beast, and recommended to buy a brand new PSR 2100. :(((((( Dumbfucks! Then i've found a small repair shop for a wedding-party masters where it was fixed in a 2 days for $30. If you need an adress - e-mail me ))).

I love it! This is a cult, and no one gets out of it so easy.) I'll never let it go and shurely would buy it over and over again. It's now just a part of my music and nothing would replace it. You can try using FM7 VST plug-in from Native instruments which emulates all the DX keyboards from th 7 MK to a DX 200 but it sounds just like a half of an original. If you want more info - try the www.thedx7.co.uk - lots of links and banks or mail me - i'd like to build a sort of community or something... )

The DX-7 is notoriously difficult to use for beginners, but after a bit of practice, it's not bad at all. Without a manual, I figured out how to make some fairly decent sounds out of the thing, and made better with the manual. Better study up on FM Synthesis and the Physics of sound though.

I've only programmed directly with the unit, but it's hardly difficult after some practice.

The DX-7 has 16 note polyphony I believe, and the keyboard action is soft and plasticky. Hardly feels like a piano, but the sounds are worth compensating the feel.

The DX-7 accepts ROM and RAM cards which are readily available on eBay, plus downloadable patches via Midi can be had from almost anywhere on the net. The DX-7 is capable of Midi (not sure to what extent, I haven't used it)

The sounds on a DX-7 are somewhat cheesy, and out of 32 in each bank on each card, I find myself using maybe four or five regularly on each card. The instruments are pretty fake sounding, but in a live situation, they're great, or for composing, they're even better. It is great for 80's rock, and just about anything slightly techno-ish.

It reacts to the playing with speed reactive keys, the harder you smack it, the louder it is.

It's twenty years old already, gets left on for days at a time, dropped a few times and just keeps going. I would use this thing without a backup on any gig, but I'd bring along others for more realistic sounds.

Yamaha has always been able to provide great responses to the emails. I will likely need to go in to the shop for a quick modification to accept the newer FC-7 volume controller though.

Definately worth $200, I'd purchase again if lost or stolen. I may go for the updated versions, or I may stick to the original. Depending entirely on what's available at the time.

I'm a newbie to keyboards, but find that as a bassist, they provide a lot of extra expressiveness to my composition. I love the fact that it's a DX first of all, and the sounds may be cheesy, but the features can't be beaten for the price. Add all four stock ROM cards, a few aftermarket cards and a few pedals, the DX-7 is possibly THE greatest synth ever made.

After all, programming the DX-7 is not exactly hard. The difficult part about it is getting a decent result. Even if you know what all the parameters are for and what they effect, the result seems rather unpredictable.

I've bought my DX7 about a month ago. It seems of very high manufacturing quality and has lots of features (for its time, of course). Also the sounds I get out of it are very impressive, though it's hard to aim at a certain voice and just program it.

I bought this as a controller, so I was not interested in the sound. The presets are a bit cheesy, good if you are into 80s.

Since I use it as a controller, I just took a MIDI Cable and plugged it into the MIDI out. Very easy!

The Keyboard Action is great, it's still used in Tritons and Motifs today. The wheels are very good. The 32 Buttons are nice for fast program changes. Aftertouch is there, and good to use. Breath Control avaible -> sweet.

I just stepped through the Presets.. Like I said, great for eighties. Nothing for me, though.

Built of solid metal. Sure I would gig without backup.

Never dealt with them.

Why buy crappy platic M-Audio/Evolution if you can have this for the same price.
Really nice controller... cheesy sounds, but the sonic possibilities are high.

Bought the early DX-7, (83), big move for me as I have been playing a Rhodes, Wurlizter, and B-3 and have hated the syth sound, but I need to be just a little more portable. Love the presets, but the patches are VERY time-consuming. I found the manual and LOTS of other things at http://www.math.uga.edu/~djb/html/dx7.html. Greedy people are selling manuals on ebay for 10 bucks!

The polyphony is great, the action takes some getting use to. Need to find a good source for accessories (cartridges, pedals,case,add-ons)

The DX-7 has an unique sound that was used heavily in 1977-1992, still used by pro's today!

Find a good repair guy, I use Audio Repair Specialists in Canoga Park, CA. These guys do quality work on all keyboards. Also fixed my Kurz SP-88 when Kurzweil said they had nobody but the factory to fix.Had a key return bad on the DX and they fixed for $40, and gave it the once over. Seems reliable and sturdy

Find a good 3rd party repair, although Yamaha will repair, but they will try to sell you something new.

Love the sound, am planning to study the doc's and get educated on programming, estimate 6-months+. Will always have a DX-7.

The DX-7 is known for being hard to program, and it sure is. Since this is an FM synth, you don't deal with things like oscillators and filters. Instead, you work with things like operators and algorithms. It's quite confusing if you're used to programming analog synths like I am. Luckily, if you don't want to deal with that, simply use the preset sounds or you can get extra sounds which are available on cartridges.

The DX-7 may not have any built-in effects or stereo sound, but it has a velocity-sensitive keyboard with aftertouch. The DX-7 also has a breath controller input so you can modulate the sound much like a wind instrument. It does have MIDI, but since the DX-7 was released in the early days of MIDI, the implentation is quite simple, but it does recieve SYSEX messages.

While the DX-7 maybe not be capable of analog synth-type sounds, it is however, capable of making very good percussive sounds and a few other sounds which wouldn't be possible on an analog synth. The DX-7 does well for any type of music IMO. If you want good Rhodes sounds, New Age-type bells, and various types of basses in one keyboard, the DX-7 is the one to go to.

I'd defiently gig with this synth without a backup, it's mostly made out of metal and it weighs a ton(!), not to mention the fact that it's completely digital, so you don't have to worry about the synth going out of tune and such.

I haven't dealt with Yamaha yet, but hopefully, with all the support for the DX-7 on the web, I won't need to.

If it were stolen or lost, I'd defiently miss it alot, but I would replace it with another synth, preferably something analog. It sounds pretty good as-is, but I would defiently add stereo sound, chrous/delay effects and a filter to beefen up the sound.

presets are a bit cheesy but u can manipulate them thru editing,no manual,but the person who sold it to me gave me the original dx 7 manual,it helped a bit...if you guys have a manual please,send me a copy..ianQ@eudoramail.com.or switch@thefragile.com

good polyphony,aftertouch is great.fx are godd when u kno your way around it,i have 1 card free when i bought it,dunno how to load other fx tho..i need help from u guys on that one...there is no sequencer,again the manual i have is from the 1st dx7...help:)

some instruments are good,others like brass,bells etc...i really dont need them..wat i need are heavy bass industrial synths...doesnt have that many on the cards...u guys kno where i can download these?:)it really help:)i love playing with it...velocity and aftertouch are cool!:)

dependable,built like a f@ckin tank,u can use it as a weapon also:)hahaha yeah im planning to sample the sounds and use the dx7 for back up effects/sounds live...

jus bought it a few days ago,couldnt keep my hands of it...i hope it doesnt break up...

id buy it again...or buy something more powerful...im jus starting my band,i have the boss dr 202 for beats,the dx7,and im planning to buy and sp 202 or 303?..im still deciding...if the dx7 had a sequencer it would rock my world...its the only thing that limits me and my music..but its an 80s model so what would u expect?:)