Yamaha DX7 :

The Yamaha DX7 is a FM Digital Synthesizer manufactured by the Yamaha Corporation from 1983 to 1986. It was the first commercially successful digital synthesizer. Its distinctive sound can be heard on many recordings, especially pop music from the 1980s.

Yahama DX7 History:

Tone generation in the Yahama DX7 is based on linear frequency modulation synthesis (FM for short), based on research by John Chowning at Stanford University. The Yamaha DX7 was known for precision and flexibility of its bright, digital sounds, which were much clearer than those of the analog synthesizers that preceded it. The Yamaha DX7 is well known for its electric piano, bells, and other “struck” and “plucked” sounds which emphasize complex attack transients. It is capable of 16-note polyphony. While the instrument is mono timbral, it is notable how the sound of a single DX7 patch can change either subtly or wildly along the length of the keyboard or when played with different velocities. The Yamaha DX7 features 32 algorithms, each being a different arrangement of its six sine wave Operators, allowing for a great deal of programming flexibility.

Frequency modulation synthesis:

FM synthesis can create both harmonic and in-harmonic sounds. For synthesizing harmonic sounds, the modulating signal must have a harmonic relationship to the original carrier signal. As the amount of frequency modulation increases, the sound grows progressively more complex. FM synthesis using analog oscillators may result in pitch instability, but FM synthesis can be implemented digitally. Digital FM synthesis (using the more frequency-stable phase modulation variant) was the basis of Yamaha’s groundbreaking DX7, which brought FM to the forefront of synthesis in the mid-1980s.

Yamaha DX7 MIDI:

The original Yamaha DX7 included MIDI ports, but was released shortly before the specification was completed. As a result, its MIDI implementation is quite modest – 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 Yamaha DX7s manufactured in 1983 were distinctive for not having “MIDI Channel” inscribed next to the button that opens this function (button 8). This missing label was corrected early in the production run.

Yamaha Pro Audio:

Yamaha Pro Audio, Inc. is a company which is part of the Yamaha Corporation group. It offers a complete line of professional audioproducts for the live sound and sound reinforcement markets. It has a long history of introducing significant products for the professional audio market such as the PM-1000 modular mixing console, the REV1 and SPX90 digital signal processors, and the 01, 02R, PM1D and PM5D digital mixing consoles.

Yahama DX7 Specifications:

• Polyphony: 16 Voices
• Synthesis:   Digital Linear Frequency Modulation
• Memory: 32 Patches
• Date Produced:  1983-87
• Original Price: $1,995 USD
• Effects: None
• Keyboard: 61 keys (with velocity and after touch sensors)