DX7: That Electric Piano

[wrench45us]

what was the statistic that something like 95% of DX7s lived their entire life with nothing but the factory presets

that's more the root of the problem overexposure
it isn't the entire FM synthesis method

what Gravehill and BearNoahm do with FM7 is outstanding and Tim C was pushing the envelope way back when. There was such an emphasis on the ability to emulate existing instruments back then -- why did somebody make a DX7 rhodes when a rhodes was right there. still somebody must have liked that sound
a Hexaline chorus with KT Granulator and Grease Tube and it starts to sound pretty usable

[The Chase]

what was the statistic that something like 95% of DX7s lived their entire life with nothing but the factory presets

It was 90% of all that were sent in for repair still had 100% of factory presets.

[duncanparsons]

dare I mention the CEHR effect here?



DSP

[Stupid American Pig]

I think that running the Dx7 rhodes through the cher effect is what is described in revelations as the signal of the apocalypse...

[duncanparsons]

with a touch of wah run through a leslie, and the White rider is here to stay!

DSP

[the_nihilist]

Along with the gated reverb snare, the FM piano sound was one of the worst things that came out of the 80's.

[Bunnyboy]

Say what you want, but that Shakuchi patch sounds fkucing awesome in Enigma's Sadness. That's one of my favorite patches of all time, I love it.

But the DX piano sucks, I hate most FM sounds.

Instead of that, i think if "pretty green eyes" by ultrabeat. god knows what they used (sample CDs probably) but that song makes me want to puke and force everybody around me to puke as well, wether they want to or not

[deggy]

Wasn't the DX7 was the best selling synth of all time (or so people say)? (That's prob not true anymore but I have no idea what would have replaced it since then). Still, some of those presets still haunt me to this day.

All I have to say is remember that awful cover of "Lean on me" with a cheesy hip hop beat in the background, for the soundtrack to that Morgan Freeman "Lean on me" Movie.

Brian Eno was supposed to be an awesome DX7 programmer (or so I'm told). It supposedly appears on some of the great albums of the 80s.

[P.T.]

I like it.

Hey...stop throwing things!

Doesn't mean that I like everything that was done with it.

I think you have to be from Mars or someplace to be able to program FM.

[The Chase]

Wasn't the DX7 was the best selling synth of all time (or so people say)? (That's prob not true anymore but I have no idea what would have replaced it since then). Still, some of those presets still haunt me to this day.

i think casio made a model that surpassed it, but i could be very wrong. However i wouldnt be surprised if it has been used most-often in commercial music.

[james0tucson]

what was the statistic that something like 95% of DX7s lived their entire life with nothing but the factory presets

It was 90% of all that were sent in for repair still had 100% of factory presets.

Now, that *could* mean that before sending them in, the owners wiped the memory in an attempt to diagnose the problem... or it could mean that the most common cause of failure was a dead backup battery... or it could simply mean, as I suspect, that not only did people tend to not edit patches (even those who could understand the operator model) but they didn't even use anything but the first preset. (I can't remember if the famous piano was the first one or not).

That keyboard had a tremendously great feel, that wasn't equalled for years after.

For the record, I actually like the DX piano sound, but I agree that it's been overused, not just overused, but so overused in a certain context, that one would avoid using it else be forced into an incorrect genre.

But I could say the same thing about the damned house piano, or any #0# box.

[ugo]

dx-7 ep = barf

slap bass done by some lip biting grooveless bassist in a white bread cheeze pop band = barf

the "slap bass" preset on synths = pure evil

that same preset used in place of the above mentioned white bread lip biter bassist while the keyboardist plays the dx-7 ep with the other hand = a horror that no ear should ever have to endure.

but real slap bass played by a grooving creative player can be awesome. however, i cant think of any way to make the dx-7 ep sound cool. at least no unless you throw so much processing at it that it looses all its original tone and character. (sorry tim, i just cant dig on the dx ep. )

-ugo

[Bruce Bartlett]

All this talk about overused piano sounds, and nobody has mentioned the infamous Korg M1 that spawned a million second-rate Italo House tracks?

[P.T.]

Piano is such an overused piano sound.
How about those guitars?

[Stupid American Pig]

At least a real piano or guitar doesnt sound like a giant feminine turd with a sprinkle of retardedness. The Korg M1 is just a babystep above the dx7rhodes