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Yamaha’s DX7 synthesiser changed modern music

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Re: Yamaha’s DX7 synthesiser changed modern music

#91

Post by noizejoy »

raphlinus wrote: post #69
noizejoy wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

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.

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!

Re: Yamaha’s DX7 synthesiser changed modern music

#92

Post by megameter »

httpsterio wrote: post #11

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 alr…

The specific thing that made the DX7 perfect for its time was not just the sounds, but the way in which it could be at home on stage or in the studio, making it both a players' and producers' product: MIDI was basically brand new, and while the dry sound that came out of the DX lacked body, outboard digital effects were available. Combine all of that and you had the defacto setup for "production music": a computer-based sequencer, a DX7 and some other MIDI synths and drum machines, a rack of effects units, a mixing board and a multitrack tape system. That's how it happened that music in TV commercials, soundtracks, etc. abruptly went from session recordings to synth-only during the 80's - you could bring it in under budget by leaving it all to a one-man band.

The DX7 just happened to be positioned to capitalize best on this trend, as well as being useful live gear, but the quick move towards sampled instruments afterwards indicates how interchangable the sounds themselves were.

Re: Yamaha’s DX7 synthesiser changed modern music

#93

Post by klodolph »

type0 wrote: post #61
ratww wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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!

> 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 co…

Was the Korg M1 affordable for a hobbyist? It cost $2,166 at launch in 1988, or about $4,800 adjusted for inflation in 2020. You can get into eurorack for under a grand easily these days.

Considering that you might easily spend more money if your hobby is playing the violin or piano, or taking photographs, it doesn’t sound outrageous to me.

Re: Yamaha’s DX7 synthesiser changed modern music

#94

Post by klodolph »

SeanLuke wrote: post #67
jdontillman wrote: post #4

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 dif…

> FM synthesis, as such, was not new. The Buchla synthesizer featured it in the 60's. But the critical feature of FM synthesis that made it usable as a musical element was linear FM. Early synthesizers (like, I presume Buchla's) sported "FM" but it was exponential due to volt/oct. > John Chowning refined the concept, moved from frequency to phase modulation, and brought FM into the digital realm. ?? Chowning's paper…

> This would seem to be in the same level of complexity as six carrier/modulator interactions; you have to do a multiply to do a lookup after all.

The Yamaha FM synthesis chips do zero multiplications. Everything is done with additions in log scale, with a lookup table for log-sine and another lookup table for exp. I’m unaware of a technique for implementing digital filters without multiplication.

I don’t know why lookup would require a multiplication. Recall that the Yamaha FM chips do not use interpolation.

Re: Yamaha’s DX7 synthesiser changed modern music

#95

Post by musicale »

type0 wrote: post #10

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 exper…

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.

Re: Yamaha’s DX7 synthesiser changed modern music

#96

Post by musicale »

spinchange wrote: post #48
davtbaum wrote: post #2

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, nearl…

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-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 synthe…

> 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.

Re: Yamaha’s DX7 synthesiser changed modern music

#97

Post by xkcd-sucks »

rcarmo wrote: post #77

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

Korg Volca FM can import DX7 programs, not sure how the actual audio compares though
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