| Yamaha DX7 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Manufacturer | Yamaha |
| Dates | 1983–1989 |
| Price | $1,995US £1,495GBP ¥248,000JPY |
| Technical specifications | |
| Polyphony | 16-voice |
| Timbrality | Monotimbral Bi-timbral (DX7 II) |
| Oscillator | 6 digital sine wave operators per voice, 32 patching algorithms[1] |
| Synthesis type | Digital linearfrequency modulation / Additive synthesis (alg. #32) |
| Filter | none |
| Attenuator | 1 pitch envelope & 6 amplitude generators per voice |
| Aftertouchexpression | Yes (channel) |
| Velocity expression | Yes |
| Storage memory | 32 patches in RAM (battery backup); front panel ROM/RAM cartridge port |
| Effects | none |
| Hardware | YM2128 (OPS) operator chip YM2129 (EGS) envelope generator |
| Input/output | |
| Keyboard | 61-note with velocity and aftertouch sensitivity |
| Left-hand control | pitch-bend and modulation wheels |
| External control | MIDI in/out/thru, input for foot controller x2, input for foot switch x2, input for optional breath controller |
TheYamaha DX7 is asynthesizer introduced byYamaha Corporation in 1983. It was the first successfuldigital synthesizer and is one of the best-selling synthesizers in history, selling more than 200,000 units.
In the early 1980s, the synthesizer market was dominated byanalog synthesizers.Frequency modulation synthesis, a means of generating sounds viafrequency modulation (FM), was developed byJohn Chowning atStanford University, California. FM synthesis created brighter, glassier sounds, and could better imitate acoustic sounds such as brass and bells. Yamaha licensed the technology to create the DX7, combining it withvery-large-scale integration chips to lower manufacturing costs.
With its complex menus and lack of conventional controls, few learned to program the DX7 in depth. However, its preset sounds became staples of 1980spop music; in 1986, it was used in 40% of the number-one singles on the USBillboard Hot 100. Itselectric piano sound was particularly widely used, especially inpower ballads. The English musicianBrian Eno was proficient at programming his own sounds, and it was instrumental to his work inambient music. Chips based on the DX7sound chip, such as theYM2612, were used in technologies such as theSega Genesis game console.
The DX7 was succeeded by FM synthesizers including theDX1,DX21,DX27 andDX100. In later years, its sounds came to be seen as dated or clichéd and its use declined.
By the mid-20th century,frequency modulation (FM), a means of carrying sound, had been understood for decades and was widely used tobroadcast radio transmissions.[2] In the 1960s, atStanford University, California,John Chowning developedFM synthesis, a means of using FM to generate sounds that differed fromsubtractive synthesis. In 1971, to demonstrate its commercial potential, Chowning used FM to emulate acoustic sounds such as organs and brass. Stanfordpatented the technology and hoped to license it, but was turned down by American companies includingHammond andWurlitzer.[3] Chowning felt their engineers did not understand FM.[4]
At the time, the Japanese companyYamaha was the world's largest manufacturer of musical instruments but had little market share in the United States.[4] One of their chief engineers visited Stanford to view the technology. According to Chowning, "In ten minutes he understood ... I guess Yamaha had already been working in the digital domain, so he knew exactly what I was saying."[4] Yamaha licensed the technology for one year to determine its commercial viability, and in 1973 its organ division began developing a prototype FMmonophonic synthesizer, assisted by Chowning.[3][5] In 1975, Yamaha negotiated exclusive rights for the technology.[3]
Ikutaro Kakehashi, the founder of the Japanese companyRoland, was also interested, but met Chowning six months after Yamaha had agreed to the deal. Kakehashi later said Yamaha were the natural partners in the venture, as they had the resources to make FM synthesis commercially viable.[2]
Yamaha created the first hardware implementation of FM synthesis.[4] The first commercial FM synthesizer was the Yamaha GS1, released in 1980,[6] which was expensive to manufacture due to itsintegrated circuit chips.[4] At the same time, Yamaha was developing the means to manufacturevery-large-scale integration chips. These allowed the DX7 to use only two chips, compared to the GS1's 50.[4] Yamaha also altered the implementation of the FM algorithms in the DX7 for efficiency and speed, producing asampling rate higher than Stanford's synthesizers. Chowning felt this produced a noticeable "brilliant" sound.[4]
Yamaha displayed a prototype of the DX7 in 1982, branded the CSDX in reference to the Yamaha CS range of analog synthesizers.[7] In late 1982, Dave Bristow and Gary Leuenberger, experts on theYamaha CS-80, flew to Japan to develop the DX7'svoices. They had less than four days to create the DX7's 128 preset patches.[8] The DX7 was released in 1983.[9]
Compared to the "warm" and "fuzzy" sounds ofanalog synthesizers, the DX7 sounds "harsh", "glassy" and "chilly",[10] with a richer, brighter sound.[11] Its presets constitute "struck" and "plucked" sounds with complextransients.[11] Its keyboard has fiveoctaves,[8] and thekeyboard expression allows for velocity sensitivity and aftertouch.[8] The DX7 has 16-notepolyphony, meaning 16 notes can sound simultaneously. It has 32 sound-generating algorithms,[1] each a different arrangement of its sixsine wave operators.[11] The DX7 was the first synthesizer with aliquid-crystal display and the first to allow users to name patches.[8] Its cartridge slot allows users to share patches.[5]
The DX7 was the first commercially successful digital synthesizer.[12][13][14] According to Bristow, Yamaha had hoped to sell more than 20,000 units. Within a year, orders exceeded 150,000 units,[8] and Yamaha sold 200,000 in three years.[15] It remains one of the bestselling synthesizers.[13][16]
The DX7 was the first synthesizer to sell more than 100,000 units.[8] Yamaha manufactured units on a scale American competitors could not match; by comparison, the American companyMoog sold 12,000Minimoog synthesizers in 11 years, and could not meet demand.[15] The FM patent was for years one of Stanford's highest earning.[17] Chowning received royalties for all of Yamaha's FM synthesizers.[3]
According toDave Smith, the founder of the American synthesizer companySequential, the synthesizer industry was "tiny" in the 1970s, which changed with the DX7.[18] Smith said it sold well as it was reasonably priced, had keyboard expression and 16 voices, and was better at emulating acoustic sounds than competing products.[18] Chowning credited the success to the combination of his FM patent with Yamaha's chip technology.[4]
At the time of release, the DX7 was the first digital synthesizer most musicians had used.[10] It was very different from the analog synthesizers that had dominated the market.[19] According toMusicRadar, its "spiky" and "crystalline" sounds made it "the perfect antidote to a decade of analog waveforms".[19] It was praised for its accuracy in reproducingtubular bells,metallophones and theharpsichord, and took over theelectric piano market.[20][21]
With complex submenus displayed on an LCD and no knobs and sliders to adjust the sound, many found the DX7 difficult to program.[22]MusicRadar described its interface as "nearly impenetrable", with "operators, algorithms and unusual envelopes ... accessed through tedious menus and a diminutive display".[19] Rather than create their own sounds, most users used the presets.[10]
The Japanese musicianRyuichi Sakamoto was an early user of the DX7, using it forMari Iijima's debut album,Rosé, in 1983 and his solo albumOngaku Zukan in 1984.[23] The DX7 was widely used in 1980s pop music, in hits such as "When Doves Cry" byPrince, "The Best" byTina Turner, "Smooth Operator" bySade and "Smooth Criminal" byMichael Jackson.[5] The "BASS 1" preset was used in songs such as "Take On Me" byA-ha, "Danger Zone" byKenny Loggins, and "Fresh" byKool & the Gang.[10] The "E PIANO 1" preset became particularly famous,[10][24] especially forpower ballads;[25] it was used by artists includingWhitney Houston,Chicago,[25]Phil Collins,Luther Vandross,Billy Ocean,[10]Celine Dion[26] andGeorge Michael,[5] and in the theme tune of the television seriesTwin Peaks.[5] In 1986, the preset was used in 40% of the number-one singles on the USBillboard Hot 100, 40% ofcountry number ones, and 60% ofR&B number ones.[27] The preset imitates aRhodes piano, prompting some to abandon the Rhodes in favor of the DX7.[28]
A few musicians skilled at programming the DX7 found employment creating sounds for other acts.[29] The English musicianBrian Eno learned to program the DX7 in depth and used it to createambient music on his 1983 albumApollo: Atmospheres and Soundtracks.[10] He shared instructions for recreating his patches in a 1987 issue ofKeyboard.[22] Eno used the DX7 on records he produced byU2 andColdplay.[10] In later years, the DX7 sounds came to be seen as dated or clichéd, and interest in FM synthesis declined, with second-hand digital synthesizers selling for less than analog.[10] The development ofsoftware synthesizers such asNative Instruments FM8 led to a resurgence in the popularity of FM synthesis.[30]
In the mid-1980s, Yamaha released numerous less-expensive FM synthesizers.[7] A desktop module version, the TX7, was released in 1985.[7] In 1987, Yamaha released the DX7II, which did not match the success of the DX7.[8] Further successors included theTX81Z,DX1, DX11, andDX21.[7] Yamaha manufactured reduced versions of the DX7sound chip, such as theYM2612, for use in technologies such as theSega Genesis game console.[31] In 2015, Yamaha released a smaller FM synthesizer, theReface DX.[32]
At that time, a number of Yamaha departments were developing different instruments in parallel, ... the direct forerunner of the DX Series synths was a test model known as theProgrammable Algorithm Music Synthesizer (PAMS). In recognition of this fact, the DX7 is identified as aDigital Programmable Algorithm Synthesizer on its top panel. / As its name suggests, the PAMS created sound based on various calculation algorithms—namely, phase modulation, amplitude modulation, additive synthesis, and frequency modulation (FM)—and from the very start, the prototype supported the storing of programs in memory. However, this high level of freedom in sound design came at the price of a huge increase in the number of parameters required, meaning that the PAMS was not yet suitable for commercialization as an instrument that the average user could program. / In order to resolve this issue, the Yamaha developers decided to simplify the synth's tone generator design by having the modulator and carrier envelope generators share common parameters. They also reduced the number of algorithms—or operator combination patterns—to 32.
In 1967, John Chowning, at Stanford University, accidentally discovered frequency modulation (FM) synthesis when experimenting with extreme vibrato effects in MUSIC-V. ... By 1971 he was able to use FM synthesis to synthesizer musical instrument sounds, and this technique was later used to create the Yamaha DX synthesizer, the first commercially successful digital synthesizer, in the early 1980s.
The first digital synthesizer to make it into the studios of everyone else, the Yamaha DX7, became one of the most commercially successful synthesizers of all time.
By the time the first commercially successful digital instrument, the Yamaha DX7 (lifetime sales of two hundred thousand), appeared in 1983 ...(Note: the above sales number seems about whole DX series)
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