The Yamaha DX7 was a synthesizer manufactured by the Yamaha Corporation from 1983 to 1986, based on FM synthesis developed by John Chowning. It was the first commercially successful digital synthesizer, with its sound included in many recordings from the 1980s. The DX7 was the moderate priced model of the DX series of FM keyboards that included the smaller DX9, DX100, DX21, and the larger DX5 and DX1. For other uses, see Synthesizer (disambiguation). ... The headquarters of Yamaha Corporation Yamaha redirects here. ... Year 1983 (MCMLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1983 Gregorian calendar). ... Year 1986 (MCMLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link displays 1986 Gregorian calendar). ... Frequency modulation synthesis (or FM synthesis) is a form of audio synthesis where the timbre of a simple waveform is changed by frequency modulating it with a modulating frequency that is also in the audio range, resulting in a more complex waveform and a different-sounding tone. ... John M. Chowning (1934 - Present) Contribution Born in Salem New Jersey, John M. Chowning is most famously known for having discovered the frequency modulation (FM) algorithm, in which both the carrier frequency and the modulating frequency are within the audio band. ... The 1980s refers to the years from 1980 to 1989. ...

One major reason for the success was the precision and flexibility of digital sounds. Although the DX7 was not a sampler, its bright sounds were much clearer than the analog synthesizers that preceded it. Yamaha claimed that the DX7 used FM, but it actually implemented phase modulation synthesis. The DX7 is well-known for its electric piano, bells, and other "metal striking metal" sounds. It was monotimbral and capable of 16-note polyphony. It has thirty-two algorithms, each being a different arrangement allowing the user to combine its 6 sound operators together dependently and/or independently. An AKAI MPC2000 sampler Playing a Yamaha SU10 Sampler A sampler is an electronic music instrument closely related to a synthesizer. ... An analog synthesizer is a synthesizer that uses analog circuits and analog computer techniques to generate sound electronically. ... Phase modulation (PM) is a form of modulation which represents information as variations in the instantaneous phase of a carrier wave. ... From the root prefix mono meaning one, and timbre meaning a specific tone of a sound independent of its pitch, monotimbral is usually used in reference to electronic synthesisers which can produce a single timbre at a given pitch upon pressing a single (if the synth is monophonic) or multiple...

Voices can be programmed by a user, and stored into a 32-voice ROM internal memory, or corresponding DX7 ROM cartridge. Several computer applications exist (mainly for Atari and Mac OS including OS X) that can enable a user to load different presets into the keyboard from a computer via MIDI.

The synthesizer included MIDI ports, but was released shortly before the specification was completed, and has incomplete support for the standard: It only transmits information on MIDI channel 1. It can receive information on any one of the sixteen MIDI channels at a time, but lacks the OMNI feature that enabled later DXs in the series to receive on all MIDI channels simultaneously. Very early DX7s manufactured in 1983 are distinctive for not having "MIDI Channel" inscribed next to the button that opens this function. This lack of marking was corrected by 1984. MIDI redirects here. ...

An additional DX7 MIDI oddity is that the keyboard will not send velocity data beyond value 90 or so, while the maximum value permitted in MIDI is 127. The implication of this is that a user recording an expressive piano passage (or one consisting of a similar expressive voice) into a sequencer from the DX7 would not be able to achieve true fortissimo dynamics; most other MIDI keyboards could achieve this easily.

Several improved "DX7 II" models were released between 1987 and 1989, most notably the DX7 II (FD) which improved sound quality and allowed bi-timbrality. Third-party products for the DX7 also flourished in the 1980s, including Grey Matter Response's E! expansion board, which added sequencer functions to the keyboard. DX7 IIs can transmit and receive on any one of 16 MIDI channels at a time. The DX7 family remains popular to this day with many recording and performing artists. In the field of electronic music, a sequencer was traditionally a device or piece of software that allows the user to record, play back and edit musical patterns. ...

Rackmount versions of the DX7 also exist, ranging from the TX7 (a simple desktop DX7 unit, with limited editing abilities) to the TX802 (a DX7II in a 2-unit rack mount unit, with 8 outputs) and even the TX816 (eight DX7s in a large rack unit, with individual MIDI ports and balanced outputs for each module (via an XLR connector), giving the musician a massive 128 notes of polyphony). XLR3 cable connectors, female on left and male on right The XLR connector is a rugged electrical connector design. ...

In 1988, in celebration of the company's 100-year anniversary, Yamaha released the DX7 II Centennial. It was a DX7 II FD with a silver case, gold painted buttons and sliders, and 76 glow-in-the-dark keys. Only 100 were made and were priced at US$3995. Year 1988 (MCMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday (link displays 1988 Gregorian calendar). ...

Software Emulation

Native Instruments have developed a popular software synthesizer, FM8 (2006) (previously FM7 (2001-2006)), that emulates the DX7's digital circuitry and can load original DX7 patches. It has been suggested that Traktor DJ Studio be merged into this article or section. ... FM8 is a commercial, proprietary software synthesizer from Native Instruments. ...

Program Piracy

Since the DX7 allows users to program different tones, it is possible to "steal" someone else's synthetic sound for use in your own piece. Skilled programmers would go to great lengths to protect their sounds. "Various DX7 programmers have told me that they "bury" useless data in their sounds so that they can prove ownership later. Sometimes the data is obvious, like weird keyboard scalings on inaudible operators, and sometimes its not, like nonsense characters in a program name."^[1]

Notable Users

• Nine Inch Nails used and abused the DX7 both in the studio and on stage
• KAVINSKY
• Observe & Control
• Jan Hammer used the DX7 extensively while scoring Miami Vice
• David Paich
• The Cure
• XO Skeletons
• Mike Post
• Beastie Boys
• Depeche Mode
• Brian Eno
• Kool & The Gang
• Madonna
• Talking Heads
• Stratovarius
• U2
• Stock Aitken Waterman
• Scooter
• Front 242
• Underworld
• Enya
• Herbie Hancock
• Harold Faltermeyer - Axel F
• Sting
• Queen
• Sun Ra
• Paul Waaktaar-Savoy of A-ha
• Paul Young and Adrian Lee of Mike and the Mechanics
• Phil Collins
• Tony Banks of Genesis
• Chicago - Hard Habit To Break - Chicago 17
• Tangerine Dream
• Les Misérables (musical)
• mentioned in "Cool Dry Place" by the Traveling Wilburys
• Bill O'Connell

Nine Inch Nails (abbreviated as NIN) is an American industrial rock band, founded in 1988 by Trent Reznor in Cleveland, Ohio. ... Observe & Control was created by Tom Cohen (aka Gnuth) in 2002, in Tel-Aviv, Israel. ... Jan Hammer (IPA: ) (born 17 April 1948, in Prague, then Czechoslovakia, today part of the Czech Republic). ... For the 2006 movie, see Miami Vice (film). ... David Paich during a live concert David Paich (born David Frank Paich on June 25, 1954 in Los Angeles, California) is a session musician from the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, keyboard player, vocalist and main composer of the Los Angeles based rock/pop band Toto. ... This article is about the band. ... Mike Post (born Leland Michael Postil on September 29, 1944) is a Grammy and Emmy award-winning composer of music and theme songs for many of the most popular TV dramas first shown in the United States. ... The Beastie Boys are a hip hop musical group from New York City consisting of Michael Mike D Diamond, Adam MCA Yauch, Adam Ad-Rock Horovitz. ... Depeche Mode (pronounced ) are an electronic music group formed in 1980, in Basildon, Essex, England. ... Brian Eno (pronounced IPA: ) born on 15 May 1948 in Woodbridge, Suffolk, England) is an English electronic musician, music theorist and record producer. ... Kool & the Gang is a highly successful American jazz/R&B/soul/funk/disco group. ... This article is about the American entertainer. ... The Talking Heads was an American rock band formed in 1974 in New York City and active until 1991. ... Stratovarius is a Finnish power metal band, formed in 1984, still active today. ... U2 is an Irish rock band featuring Bono (Paul David Hewson) on vocals and guitar, The Edge (David Howell Evans) on guitar and pianos and vocals, Adam Clayton on bass, and Larry Mullen Jr on drums and vocals. ... Stock, Aitken & Waterman, sometimes known as SAW, are a British songwriting and record producing trio who had great success during the mid-late 1980s and early 1990s with many of their productions. ... Music sample: Scooter are a successful German dance band, who have sold over 12 million records and have earned 60 gold and platinum awards. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Underworld is the principal name under which British electronic music duo Karl Hyde and Rick Smith have recorded since the late 1980s. ... For the letter Ñ pronounced Enye, see Ñ. Enya (born Eithne Patricia Ní Bhraonáin[4] on 17 May 1961, Gaoth Dobhair, County Donegal, Ireland), sometimes presented in the media as Enya Brennan, is an Irish singer and songwriter. ... Herbert Jeffrey Hancock (born April 12, 1940) is an Academy Award and multiple Grammy Award-winning jazz pianist and composer from Chicago, Illinois, U.S. Hancock is one of jazz musics most important and influential pianists and composers. ... Harold Faltermeyer (born October 5, 1952 in Munich) is a German musician and moreover composer. ... Axel F is the electronic instrumental theme from the 1984 film Beverly Hills Cop performed by Harold Faltermeyer. ... This article is about the musician. ... Queen are an English rock band formed in 1970 in London by guitarist Brian May, lead vocalist Freddie Mercury and drummer Roger Taylor, with bassist John Deacon joining the following year. ... Sun Ra (Born Herman Poole Blount; legal name Le Sonyr Ra;[1] born May 22, 1914 in Birmingham, Alabama, died May 30, 1993 in Birmingham, Alabama) was an innovative jazz composer, bandleader, piano and synthesizer player, poet and philosopher known for his cosmic philosophy, musical compositions and performances. ... Paul Waaktaar-Savoy (born September 6, 1961, Oslo). ... a-ha is a Grammy Award-nominated band from Norway. ... Paul Young (17 June 1947 – July 15, 2000) was a singer and percussionist who worked with several successful bands, including Sad Café and Mike + The Mechanics. ... Adrian Lee is an English musician, known especially for his keyboard work with several well-known acts of the 1980s. ... Mike and the Mechanics is a British band started in 1985 led by Mike Rutherford, already a founding member of Genesis. ... For other uses, see Phil Collins (disambiguation). ... Tony Banks can mean: Tony Banks the musician, from Genesis Tony Banks the politician, MP for West Ham Tony Banks the NFL quarterback This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... This article is about the American pop-rock-jazz band. ... Chicago 17 is the seventeenth album by American rock band Chicago and was released in 1984. ... Tangerine Dream is a German electronic music group founded in 1967 by Edgar Froese. ... Les Misérables (pronunciation ), colloquially known as Les Mis, is a musical composed in 1980 by French composer Claude-Michel Schönberg on a libretto by Alain Boublil. ... The Traveling Wilburys were a supergroup consisting of George Harrison, Jeff Lynne, Roy Orbison, Tom Petty, and Bob Dylan. ... Bill OConnell (born on August 22, 1953 in New York City) is a jazz pianist and bandleader. ...

See also

• DX7 Rhodes

DX7 Rhodes, also known as DX Rhodes, FM Rhodes, FM E. Piano, or Digital Rhodes, is a synthetic Fender Rhodes emulation originally produced by the Yamaha DX7 (and TX-series rackmount) line of synthesizers. ...

References

1. ^ Cox, C and D Warner. (2006). Audio Culture: Readings in Modern Music. New York: The Continuum Publishing Group Inc. ISBN 0-8264-1615-2

External links

• DX7 page on Vintage Synth Museum A photograph, samples of DX7 sounds and a few technical details.

• Dave Benson's DX7 Page A huge DX7 resource, with service manuals, circuit diagrams, and auxiliary software.

• Yamaha DX7 Resource Centre - A site dedicated mainly to the mark 1 DX7