hey ppl. how you all doing. my friend here is all ticked because he thinks you guys think that the dx7 is an old, antiquated, piece of junk that no one in there right minds' would ever think of using for a gig. I was just wondering how many of you would like to shout out a resounding IT SUCKS or perhaps if anyone here does actually like it. The real reason i am writing is to ask if an alesis qs whatever or some sort of roland would better serve his non-lead needs, and which one that would be. thanks again for all youse wisdom and speak! Z

Zack, a great keyboard, in 1984..The DX tine pianos really did the job, as long as you had a Roland SH101 for bass and a Roland synth[JX10] for the fat sounds[color]...

Hey Zack, FYEO...

Manufacturer:
Yamaha

Model:
DX7

Production period:
1983-87

Quantity produced:
160,000


Also:
- Brian Riley's DX7ii,


Who played this instrument?

A-Ha, Andres Calamaro from Los Rodriguez, Tony Banks of Genesis, Karl Bartos of Kraftwerk, John Beck of It Bites, James Brown Band, Cabaret-Voltaire, Ray Charles, Coil, The Cure, Depeche Mode, George Duke, D:Ream, Electronic Dream Planet (with Yellinghouse DX-programmer), Brian Eno, Enya, Front 242, Herbie Handcock, James Ingram, Jens Johansson from Stratovarius, Michael Jackson - from 1983 to 1990, Al Jarreau, Kitaro, John Lord of Deep Purple, Chris Lowe, NIN Goldie and Rob Playford, Steve Porcaro and David Paich of TOTO, The Smiths, Stabbing-Westward, Talking Heads, Type O Negative, U2, Underworld, Eddie Van Halen - on "Love Walks In", Stevie Wonder - on "Ribbon in the Sky", Vangelis
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Seems to me if these guys played it then your friend should have no concern as to whether it will suit his needs or not. Those monster players should be all the endorsement he needs. Go for it! DX7, yeah baby!

Best regards,
Mike

The DX7 is a fine synth especially if you run it through an outboard FX module for reverb, chorus etc. It has its own character and can't be beaten for certain digital sounds.

But if your friend needs acoustic instrument emulations such as acoustic piano, strings, sax, trumpet etc. then a Roland or Alesis is certainly a better option. Just as with analog synths, a digital synth like the DX7 is best at creating unreal synthetic sounds.

You just mention non-lead, but what sort of sort of sounds is he going to be using ? Pads, synths or electric pianos or what ?? That would make it easier to decide what sort of keyboard would be better for him.

I'm with Nigel on this one!

Nigel is right.. That DX-7 is a Classic. Some of those sounds can only be found on the original.. Some have done a good job duplicating the DX sounds, but that synth alone was killer in its time, and you'd be surprised to see how many people still have them too. They sound great, and play nicely too. Soooo many bands used the DX in its day. It was quite popular. Of course it's not a synth for everyone.. If you're looking for the latest cutting edge sounds, then the DX-7 might not satisfy you. I think the DX-7 would be a great addition to anyones set up. You can get them for a good price on ebay too... Also if you like the DX-7, take a look at the monster DX-1.... Also the DX-7 does not suck at all. It's sound is classic and all its own....

Squeak

[This message has been edited by squeak_D (edited 06-04-2003).]

One big problem with the original DX-7: it was early in the days of midi when it came out so the velocity scale is only 1-100 instead of 1-127 as it should have been. So if you try to play external modules with it then they can't be played at their full volume using the DX-7 as a controller. Also the DX-7 is a very weighty instrument compared to newer keyboards and you'll likely never be able to get it repaired should it break.

Ah, the DX-7. Back in the day eveyone wanted one. I could only as close as the DX-100, a mini keyboard, 4 op. version, but good enough for my needs back then. Today, I would think twice before buying one unless I had a specila need for a sound or was a collector - too many better, cheaper boards offer the DX piano and other emulations. BUT, if your friend already has one, there's definitely nothing wrong with using it.

Cass

Still have a module version of it at the house. Comes in handy for certain classics where the DX7 was actualy used in the original recording.

Aww, FM!
I had a DX7, later a V-something-or-other. FBO-1 module, TX81Z module, and DX100.
I have a friend here (actually he is president of the Musicians' Union Local} who still uses two DX7s. He gets some very good E. Piano and organ sounds. Before them he hauled around a B3 and leslie.
DonM

I personally liked the DX-7.. It had a nice warm sound to it..

Squeak

Actually now that I think about it a good friend of mine who is one hell of a jazz player uses a DX-7 for a lot of his work. He creates his own sounds as well and uses the presets.. That DX sounds great with his style of jazz.. It's kind of fusion meets hip hop with a personal twist..

Squeak

Actually, it depends on what breaks. The Main board is no longer in stock, but many of the parts on it are. We still fix them. The action type is the same at that used in the Motif and 9000PRO.
Keys: In stock
Contacts: In stock
Volume Slider: In stock


------------------
Steve Deming
Assistant Manager
Customer Support Dept.
Pro Audio & Combo Division
Yamaha Corporation of America

The DX7 is one-of-a-kind synth. I've own one in 1997. Mine was a newer edition but without the floppy drive. The DX7 is old but it can still be use today. It is the music that you make out of it and not the technology. There are some version of it today like DX200 (a desktop groove machine), an expansion card, and a software version called FM7 from the maker of B4), but I haven't tried them yet. Since I sold my DX7 I missed its unique sounds specially its E. Piano, MalletBrass, Softhorn.

Anybody used those version of DX7 I mentioned above? Let me know what's your opinion.

Thanks,

Dan

I think a lot of the "Whitney Houston style" electric piano sounds nowadays are modeled on the infamous "DX7 electric piano".

If you MIDI (layered) the DX7's bass with other synth, it adds more low and oomph to the sound.

I basically hadn't finished elementary school when the DX came out

Hey Zack here is more info on the DX7. This is actually the DX7 II FD but it's still a DX7. Also congratulations on raising two fine daughters who are now out on their own facing the challenges life has to offer in this big wide World of ours. But I'm pretty sure the solitude without them will actually be quite theraputic for both you and the Mrs. That is until the Grandkids show up on the scene then You & the Mrs. will want them over every other weekend at least.

Here is the Info:
Yamaha DX-7 II FD
Summary
Manufacturer URL www.yamaha.com
Ease of Use 7.1 (11 responses)
Features 8.2 (11 responses)
Expressiveness/Sounds 9.3 (11 responses)
Reliability 9.3 (11 responses)
Customer Support 8.7 (11 responses)
Overall Rating 9.4 (11 responses)
Additional Info Search Web
Submit a review for this product!

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Price Paid: US $2250.00
Ease of Use: 9
Has been easy to use (also had one with E! that I sold, what a learning curve for that one!!), learned fm synthesis on a DX21 and TX81z, so the IIFD was a natural progression for me. I rarely use any factory patches, the originals were not that good, but aftermarket programmers and Yamaha techs proved that it could out D50 a Roland D50. Most of the patches I use are either highly edited versions of the original factory patches or originals.

Features: 9
No expansions available except the E! card, no sequencer, no effects, midi implementation was excellent for the time it was made. Their was a ROM chip upgrade (which Yamaha installed for me at no charge) that addressed some glitches. Keyboard action is firm and fast, the aftertouch can make your patches very expressive (as can the breath controller)with a little patch tweaking. LCD is on the small side, but once you get used to the many little red function LEDs, it is OK. I often see complaints from people about polyphony, but really, how many fingers do you have and how many notes are you apt to play at one time on this type of synth?

Expressiveness/Sounds: 9
The sounds can be very good or very bad, depends on the patches you are using. As I mentioned, with proper editing you can make the patches VERY expressive. I use the breath controller and aftertouch at the same time to control different parameters at the same time on some patches. Velocity control is excellent and also contributes to the expressiveness. I play many types of music, from country to rock to classical.

Reliability: 10
This keyboard is built like a tank, totally reliable, the only real service I have had done was the updated ROM chip at 6 months old, a new output board (under warranty), and a new battery at six years old.

Customer Support: 10
Customer support, I can't say enough good things about Yamaha's customer support (Roland should be so lucky). When I had the output boards replaced under warranty, my dealer called Yamaha, the tech there agreed with the diagnosis, pulled parts into the conversation (three way call)and the part was sent out next day air. That was 2:30 on a Wed. afternoon, the keyboard was back in my hands repaired at 10:30 Friday morning. As a comparison, I bought a Roland D10 shortly after that and discovered an inherent chip defect (same chip in D10, D110, and D20), had to keep calling them at my expense, they finally admitted that it was a chip defect, told it would not be fixed (does not respond properly to midi volume change), I bought it and it was mine. Fortunately, my dealer gave me a refund on the D10, I sold all of my Roland equipment and will NEVER buy from Roland again. All of my Yamaha equipment has been rock steady and rarely ever needs anything done, my hats off to Yamaha customer service in the US. Guess who gets my business?

Overall Rating: 9
I like this keyboard, it was my primary keyboard until I bought my SY77 (1991?). I've been playing for 30+ years, played in bands for a number of years, just do the home studio gig now. I also use an Alesis drum machine, two Yamaha MEP4s, Yamaha MJC8, Alesis midiverb, Yamaha 12 ch. mixer, Yamaha power amp, a pair of large Yamaha speakers, a pair of large EV speakers, Hammond C3 with a 910 Leslie and a Steinway model L grand. And I would still buy another DX7 IIFD if anything ever happened to this one.

Submitted by Clyde Atkinson at 06/06/2003 20:59


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Best regards,
Mike

I still have the TX81Z FM Tone Generator and the QX21 Digital Sequence Recorder which I bought in 1987 for a month's wage both!
I don't use them now of course but when the Antiques Road Show comes around here I'll make a fortune!
I had a mountain of fun with them way back but they are now surplus to requirements and carefully stowed away in my music room, together with manuals and cables.
Yeah, we were really Techies then
cheers
Eddie

------------------
Eddie from Rotherham
www.yamahakeyboards.info

my mail is virus-free thanks to Norton Antivirus2002


[This message has been edited by eddiefromrotherham (edited 06-07-2003).]

Without doubt, probably the most complicated synthesiser ever to program! The presets were fantastic at the time, creating anything else yourself was virtually out of the question unless you were a computer programmer and mathematician with an understanding of FM modulation theory in a time variant way! Needless to say most who played it used the presets, hence why its so easily distinguishable. By modern standards the original DX is noisy, it has a hard touch sensitivity which does need some banging and those membrane switches on the control panel wear out with time. It also weighs a ton, has limited midi support and is only 16 note polyphonic and is not multitimbral. There's no built in effects, or filters as such, so you get a very digital cold and clanny sound in my opinion, but its unique. There are later models including the DX7 II which offer improved multitimbral and effects, also the TX rack etc. Of course there were also many 4 operator variants, such as the DX100, DX9, DX21, DX27 and then the cheesiest naffest sounding 2 operator early FM PC soundcards and early yamaha arranger keyboards. I owned a CX5M at the time which was essentially an 8 note multitimbral polyphonic DX9 built into an MSX computer. THe advantage was it came with a voice editing cartridge which made sound editing possible, though attempting to recreate acoustic instruments was beyond me! Best sounds famous for are basses, electric pianos, bell and clanging sounds and anything bright, sharp and metallic! A nice retro piece of kit but now adays you can also get a VST plug in that emulates the DX7 on your PC - and includes the original DX sounds!

Regards
Simon Williams

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I still have a Yamaha SY77 with AFM and onboard FX as well as a TX802 rackmount module so FM is still a firm favorite of mine. The AFM on the SY77 adds even more capability to FM as on the DX7 and is capable of some great sounds.

I still don't find that many other synths have the range of dynamic velocity response that Yamaha's FM synths provide. They set a standard years ago that is hard to beat today. It is great to see Yamaha continue providing FM synthesis in their recent products.