I thought I’d start this blog with something really basic, but also something that I know quite a few people are curious about: what gear I use. I’m a total nerd and love to research the gear people use, so perhaps this is interesting info to others.
The old saying is true: the gear you have doesn’t make you a better musician… or something like that. Anyway, it’s 100% correct. But, one’s gear of choice & how they use it will absolutely become a defining characteristic of their sound, and so it is certainly important. Certain sounds & colors are unique to a given instrument and I love to figure out what tools my favorite musicians used to get that sound.
So, with all that said, I wanted to start off with this ol’ guy & talk about its history & impact, as well as how I’ve used it…
The Yamaha DX7.
This beast is 12 years older than me and has 100% less back pain. Originally released in 1983, my specific model was manufactured in ‘85. And it still works like a charm. I inherited it from my granddad who simply needed a keyboard for arranging choir & orchestra, and he actually started using it after his son (my dad) stopped having a use for it years ago. So this beauty’s been through three generations. But of course, I certainly have found many, many uses for it, and I absolutely love this guy.
The Yamaha DX7 is perhaps the defining synth sound of the 1980’s, and certainly of the mid-80s, no question. And even once the 80’s were long gone, the iconic sound of the DX7 (especially its electric piano patch) was recreated & reimagined in a majority of the synthesizers & workstations following. But 40 years later (yikes), the DX7 still stands on its own.
The DX7 was the first widely successful digital synthesizer, using FM (frequency modulation) technology (though to be precise, the first Yamaha FM synthesizer was called the Yamaha GS 1, released in 1980). The DX7 was a complete game-changer when it released and it still sounds totally unique today. While I’m no scientist that can explain to you why it sounds the way it does, it is undoubtedly its own sound. Once you listen to enough DX7-inspired electric piano patches across dozens of different synths (and you will find them everywhere), you’ll know which one is the actual DX7 right away. It just has an incredibly warm, full-bodied, and ironically analog sound to it, despite being digital.
the “analog” sound
Which, let’s talk about that word: digital. Don’t let it fool you. That “unique color” to the hardware has not yet been perfectly replicated with computer software emulations (though one has come close… more on that in a minute). If the synth is essentially just 1’s & 0’s, why is the hardware’s sound so unique? Am I just being one of those hardware elitists that’s psyching myself out over non-intelligible differences?
Again, I don’t know the scientific specifics, but I think I know the main reason: the DAC (digital-to-analog converter). Since the synth is digital, it of course has to translate that digital signal into an analog one since we listen in an analog world. This specific little piece of the puzzle is what gives the DX7 that warm, analog sound I mentioned. From a technical standpoint the DAC is actually sort of crap. It’s noisy & dirty and is missing some high end information. While Yamaha did improve their DAC’s as time went on, that sound is—I think—a defining characteristic of the DX7.
unique quirks
There are, in fact, a few interesting & strange quirks about the DX7. The velocity information on the keyboard (NOT the sound engine) maxes out at 100 (MIDI information caps at 127, so 100 is cutting it noticeably short). This means that if you hit the DX7 key as hard & loud as you can, it will never actually reach its loudest potential note. You can actually bypass this by routing the DX7 through a MIDI interface and playing it externally via another MIDI controller (the DX7 is also historically one of the first synthesizers to utilize MIDI, and remarkably it still works like a charm with all my modern gear!). What’s interesting though is that—again—because the original keyboard capped it at 100, hitting the note any harder on an external MIDI controller brings out a tone that I actually typically don’t like. I’ve heard it was a manufacturing mistake but I’m starting to wonder if it was intentional…
cons
There are of course downsides as well. I have honestly never been a big fan of the pitch bend & mod wheel, personally. I don’t ever feel like I can get good grip on the pitch bend wheel which I use religiously for vibrato & of course bending notes. I generally (though not always) prefer the pitch wheel to the mod wheel for vibrato because I feel there’s more “character”—for lack of a better word—and a more human element to doing the vibrato “manually”. But I digress.
On the flip side, I will say I love how quickly the pitch wheel snaps back to the center. If I can get a good grip on the thing, the action of the wheel is awesome. That specific action actually does play into the sound of the vibrato in a fun & funky way.
That said, perhaps the biggest con of the DX7 that seems to be pretty universally agreed upon: it’s programmability.
This thing was notorious for being an absolute headache to program. People that figured it out (such as Brian Eno) have gone on record saying it is a great synth with a lot of untapped potential by other producers & players, but that untapped potential is thanks to the button vomit players had to navigate in order to get anywhere. I mean, look at all these buttons. And that info at the top is not helping. Did they think they were selling this to electrical engineers or musicians? And yet the problem is that that info is important to help explain how FM synthesis works, and admittedly it is a bit convoluted.
The interface. Dusty, I know. The cartridge on the right could be used to load in new patches.
As a result of its not-so-user-friendly design, most people (including myself) resorted to just using the factory patches on the thing, or loading in patches from a cartridge. This may have single-handedly contributed to its iconic sound though, because listeners ended up hearing the same electric piano & synth bass patches over & over again on everything.
my favorite examples
Here are some of my favorite examples of the DX7 in use:
“Take On Me” is—in my mind—the quintessential 80’s song (and one of my favorites of the era; it was my favorite song when I was a little kid). Check out that super punchy synth bassline. That’s the DX7’s “Bass 1” patch in action. The DX7 is found all over this track, combined with the Roland Juno-60 & the PPG Wave, but that bassline is perhaps the most obvious.
My favorite song off Fleetwood Mac’s Tango in the Night, Christine McVie’s “Everywhere” puts the DX7 front & center. That main 16th triplet riff is unforgettable & absolutely beautiful. The glassy sound of the DX7 shines right through. Christine being the keyboardist of the group (and really into the DX7 at the time), it’s no wonder this song so prominently featured it. Other songs off the album that I love that also feature the DX7 are “Seven Wonders” & “Little Lies”, though I’m sure you will find the DX7 everywhere (haha) on that album. Great album, I highly recommend giving it a listen. It’s my second favorite Fleetwood Mac album behind Rumours.
There’s that synth bass again. Michael Jackson’s Bad features the DX7 in quite a few places (Thriller does not at all as its recording took place a year before the DX7’s release), but “Another Part of Me” might be my favorite example because that bassline is TIGHT. Something I actually love about this track is how the pocket of the drum hi hat plays a bit straighter, but everyone else is swinging a bit more. It’s actually a really cool feel.
Is this a Rickroll? I mean, you saw the video thumbnail & title & still decided to press play. Whatever, I’m calling it a Rickroll.
Yeah, I think by this point you get the picture and can hear what I’m talking about. The bassline is pretty clearly some form of the classic DX7 bass patch, though it has a specific, more percussive tone here that sounds a little different than other examples I’ve given. It could simply be a compressor they ran it through. I don’t know. I am pretty certain that is the electric piano patch playing the chords in this one too. A classic.
Those are a few of my top favorites, though there are so, so many more. Again, you could turn on just about any mid-80’s hit and likely hear the thing. The DX7 was still very prominent into the late 80’s and perhaps the early 90’s, but by that time other synthesizers like the Roland D-50 and the Korg M1 were taking the spotlight.
legacy & influence on video game music
The DX7’s impact & legacy cannot be understated. It was a sound never heard before in a synthesizer and still stands out to this day. The glassy, gritty, percussive, punchy, fat, funky, & warm sounds it could produce were unmatched. Today, FM synthesis is still incredibly prominent. EDM, for instance, utilizes it often. It’s often used in conjunction with other types of synth & sound design.
The DX7 also left a huge footprint on video game music. Yamaha provided FM sound chips for numerous arcade cabinets & video game systems, perhaps most notably the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive. The sound chip was the YM2612 which I might call a “discount DX7”. It was essentially the same technology, just lower quality. But that gritty, punchy, percussive element of the DX7 certainly made its way to the YM2612, and that’s what made the Genesis sound. I adore it & personally prefer it over the “SNES sound” (which is perhaps a topic I will get into at some point in the future).
Hyrodicty Zone Act 2 from Sonic 3. Killer arrangement. Despite the 8-bit sound quality, this hits.
It doesn’t end there for video games, though. Like I mentioned earlier, tons of synthesizers imitated, reimagined, or were inspired by sounds from the DX7 in the years following, including the Roland JD-990 with its “Crystal Rhodes” electric piano patch that can be found front & center in this iconic video game piece by the great Koji Kondo:
Sufficed to say, the DX7 is one of the most important synthesizers in history and still finds use in music to this day, such as Mac DeMarco, Tyler, the Creator, Thundercat (to my ears, though this isn’t confirmed), and of course my own. Heck, I just went to a Men I Trust concert (great band) recently and their keyboardist was using a DX7 for the entire set!
software emulations
Trying to find & buy a working hardware DX7—while not a rare bird—does have its downsides. For one, you need the space for the keyboard, you need extra pieces like a stand, cables, & an interface to record it (or even speakers just to listen to it since it doesn’t have built-in monitors), and of course the hardware sells on average for $400-500 as of 2023. So are there software alternatives?
There are. First, there’s Arturia’s DX7 V which goes for $150.
And then there’s Dexed. It’s free.
You might find this crazy… but the free Dexed is more accurate to the original hardware than Arturia’s $150 emulation. It’s still a bit brighter & cleaner than the original, but tonally it’s insanely close. Just listen to this comparison between all three that Woody’s Piano Shack did. Skip to 7:00 for the iconic electric piano patch.
Crazy, right? In most of the patch comparisons, the difference between the original & Arturia was night & day, while Dexed was far closer to the original. Whether you prefer that or not is ultimately up to you, but if you want the authentic sound without buying the hardware, Dexed is the one. And it’s free.
However, a big upside to the Arturia is its user interface. It substantially improves the UI mess of the original, as well as adding some stuff the original didn’t have, like an effects rack.
My two cents: if you want something that very clearly nods to the original but is easier to program, does things a bit differently & is perhaps a little more modernized, go with the Arturia. If you want something that’s far more authentic & accurate to the original, go with Dexed. If you have the money & the space, get the original!
songs i’ve used the dx7 on
Here’s a few examples of times the DX7 has really shone in my own music.
“What If I’m Hurt Again”. Probably my best-known original, the DX7 shines in the choruses. It’s all over it. The glassy, metallic sounding synths playing the chords? DX7. The little electric piano fill under “why do I even try”? DX7. The classic “Bass 1” patch is even in there, saturated to oblivion & stacking the bass.
“Switch”. Hear that bass? Yeah, you recognize that sound. There’s that classic bass patch again.
“Thank U, Next” cover. Clearly nodding to the 80’s sound here too, DX7 is all over this one. The marimba in the verses, the lead synth (stacked with a few other elements) which you can see me play in the middle of the song, and of course the electric piano patch at the very front of the song, which actually is a play on Ariana Grande’s original version—that’s a super heavily “lo-fi”’d & effected DX7 electric piano in the intro!
“Satisfy”. Just a fun little remix I did back in 2021. The synth solo halfway through is all DX7, as you can clearly see from the video of me playing it. Heavily saturated and panned all over the place.
“Just Buy the Game” - Scott The Woz. This ridiculous comedy song that I co-wrote & produced for Scott is an indirect parody of “We Are the World”, which of course meant we were going full force on the 80’s ballad sound. It goes without saying that the DX7 is on this one.
So there’s a few examples in my own work. I’ve used it in plenty of other songs (it plays a literal shimmery sinewave part in “Settle It In Smash”, for instance!), but these songs feature it most prominently.
conclusion
There isn’t much more for me to say about this synth that I haven’t already said. It became one of the most famous synthesizers of all time for a good reason. It has an incredible dynamic, from soft, warm analog tones to biting, gritty, percussive sounds. Despite some of its setbacks, the incredible sound (and a groundbreaking one at the time) made up for it in spades. It was monumental in shaping the sound of some of our favorite songs & genres, and continues to kick serious ass even now.
I adore this thing & it’s absolutely one of my favorite synthesizers of all time.
What are some of your favorite songs that use the DX7? Have any questions? Leave a comment, I’d love to hear your thoughts & discuss!