Yamaha DX-7, TX-xxx question

[glendower]

Okay, my friends have a son who is really good with the ol' piano, but he wants to be in a band and play guitar even though it's not really his strength. I think he doesn't really know what his keyboarding powers could do for him and his small-town band (and he's only 14), so I would love to track down an old, awesome synth for him that is flexible and unique sounding. I really like some of the industrial-type sounds that the DX-7 can churn out (based on demos, anyway) and just have some really basic questions about it.

The first one is that I keep reading about how difficult it is to edit sounds-- I guess my question is: how is it difficult? Is it difficult to even start messing with the sounds, or is it difficult in the sense that 'I know what sound I want, but how in the hell do I get it to sound that way'? Does that question make any sense?

Also, I know that there are a ton of sounds floating around the 'net, so I assume that it can be plugged into the computer (TX, especially :-D)-- is it easier to tweak on a PC?

I'm still kicking this around--- I know that there is a plug in card that will work with an SW1000, but I'm not giving mine up, and getting a second one and a PLG150-DX or a 100-DX would be more costly, me thinks (and just not as cool as a retro synth ).

Thanks!

[JK1974]

Late reply because I have just registered, but maybe better than nothing And maybe it´s some very basic information for all on how FM works.

I own a Yamaha SY99 which is the "successor" of the DX7. And to be honest, the FM synthesis is indeed very, very difficult to program.

Just imagine a sine wave. Now take a second sine wave at low frequency and let this sinewave manipulate the frequency of the other sinewave. You will get something like a siren sound: high-low-high-low... . Now imagine, that the manipulating sine wave has an envelope. The result if you program a slow attack phase: The sine wave starts normally and then tunes to a siren sound.

This is a very basic example, but now imagine
- having the manipulating sinewave at very high frequency which can become something like noise
- having not only a sinewave but also modifications of a sinewave
- having not only 2 operators like in this example but 6 of them
- having different possibilities to combine these operators

So, programming a DX7 is quite complex, and I would rather recommend to download all the available soundbanks on the net and searching them for interesting sounds than programming it. I also never even tried it because creating impressive sounds might only be possible if you have very, very much free time
I rather preferred playing and programming the samples of the SY99 sample rom and trying to transfer my own samples.
Furthermore, FM bass sounds might have been impressing, but the SY99 suffered from digital noise which lead them not to having the power which actual sound generators or Native Instruments software synth FM7 has.

[andrew603]

  Unless you are only interested in FM sound of the Yamaha DX7, and bearing in mind that you would need an external effects processor for it... (DX7 has no chorus or reverb, and is a mono instrument on its own.)

  I would go with an old Roland D-50 and if you can get the PG-1000 programmer for it, even better.  I have two Roland D-550's (Rack D-50) and one PG-1000 and can say that programming sounds for this thing is a mostly enjoyable experience however I usually start with an empty patch.. screw around and see where it takes me.  I have yet to be dissatisfied.

  Additionally, If money is not an issue.  I would go for a Roland V-Synth, which you can also get an expansion card that contains a complete D-50 synth, down to sysex compatibility.  I don't have one but have checked it out in stores quite a few times and the interface for that instrument seems pretty good.

  Alternatively, maybe look into the old Korg M1, I have never used one personally but do know the sound is quite impressive.  Note, the DX7 is a pure synthesizer, the D-50 is Sample & Synthesis, The M1 (I believe) was a pure rompler (sampler).  The M1 is also multi-timbral, the D-50 dual-timbral capable, though I don't think that matters to someone who will be using it live.

  Also, The D-50 while technically a digital synth like the DX7 and M1, is the only of the three that also excels in producing the sound of the older analog synths which is quite different then the digital synths of the time and FM synthesis.  You can however create similar sounds to the DX7 using ring modulation on the D-50/V-Synth.

  The Yamaha DX7, Roland D-50, and Korg M1 are all from basically the same era in digital synths so while they each have quite unique sounds apart from each other, they still fit the sound of the era musically and in fact defined it.

  You can't go wrong with any of them in my opinion, they are all amazing machines once you put some time into learning them, and have yet to be surpassed even today.

You should check out www.synthmania.com its a great website with tons of demo clips of many vintage synths.
  http://www.synthmania.com/dx7.htm
  http://www.synthmania.com/d-50.htm
  http://www.synthmania.com/m1.htm

I hope this has been helpful for you.

~Andrew

PS:  Has your friend's son ever listened to some Emerson Lake & Palmer?  I know that would inspire me to stick to keyboards

[JK1974]

Speaking of Roland D50, I would also throw in the Kawai K1 which was (and might still be) very cheap but uses a similar synthesis like the D50: Having some synthetic waveforms and a few samples especially of the attack phase of natural sounds. However, only the Kawai K1 II had a basic effect section, and it has no filters at all - which are the biggest drawbacks.

Visit YouTube to listen so some sound demos.

Joerg