In his latest video, composer & synthesist David Hilowitz offers a vintage synth review of the Yamaha DX7.
Along the way, he offers an intro t0 FM synthesis, an overview of the DX7 and his thoughts on its role in music history.
Best line: “The previous owner has loaded the upper banks with weird, experimental sounds. Or maybe the memory got corrupted – I can’t tell which!”
Check it out and share your thoughts on the Yamaha DX7 in the comments!
Little known fact: If you could successfully program this back then, you would be awarded an honorary doctorate from MIT.
My first synth was a DX27. Albeit not as complex as a DX7, I learned how to program it pretty well.
I think it may have been an advantage with no prior programming experience on subtractive synths, so it was easier to wrap my head around FM
Gaaap! realy…?
Nice review, hadn’t heard of this synth before. Love seeing obscure old gear find a second life, might pick one up for cheap before everyone catches on
Interesting that he never mentions expressivity. The hardware DX7 has mod/pitch wheels, velocity, after touch, expression pedal, AND breath control!
It’s really weird to me how many people say “ah the original dx7 is a total waste of time just get a volca”, all the while completely failing to recognize how many facilities for expression the original hardware had. It is a musical instrument in the truest sense of the term. I guess that doesn’t matter to people who just sequence everything but for a keyboard player it’s really a fantastic machine. I love mine.
Really cool video, thanks