Free FM Synthesizer Dexed (VST Windows and Mac)

[tristan-]

Also posts in the vein of "We have better now, who needs it, drop the development" are not constructive and don't contribute a thing positively in a master post about a specific plugin development. Sorry.

[EvilDragon]

I never said development of Dexed should be dropped, though?


Look at this though:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHycGwuWcn0


Waveforms are damn near identical between HW and DX7V. Arturia nailed it for sure. Nevermind, though.

[waltercruz]

That's not to say that Dexed is bad or anything. It's excellent, but Arturia's is a few steps closer to the real thing, still.

... but eats a lot of CPU!

[EvilDragon]

That is true!

[Turello]

Didn't understand where to download the 0.9.5... Someone have the link?
I'm curious to try the VST3...

[tristan-]

Waveforms are damn near identical between HW and DX7V. Arturia nailed it for sure. Nevermind, though.

Thanks for sharing. I know of his videos of course. The waveforms of Dexed vs a real DX7 are damn near identical too.
If you see this video from him though, you'll hear that both DX7V and Dexed are not dead on. especially on the bell patch with the chorusing going on.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3xCO8tB1kg

I really wanted to love DX7V. This is purely my own preference. It's a heavy plugin, the UI is slow, browsing presets is sluggish, importing DX7 patches is cumbersome and it makes it a real hassle to nicely browse sysex data. Dexed, to me, with its single screen interface and easy to browse sysex presets is perfect for me. Just needs a few more tweaks. You called it "bug emulation". so there's not much more to make it flawless. To me, just get rid of the clicks in mono mode, give me polyphony of 128 and I'm really happy!


You wrote that DX7V pro is DAC emulation. but according to the Dexed website:

Engine Type
Dexed can be configured to use some of the original math limitation of a DX synthesizer. This does not only apply to the DAC, it also involves the bit resolution of the sine waves and the way that the amplitude is applied to each operator. Since all of this is experimental, multiple engines will be available to be able to compare them easily.

Dexed comes with 3 engine types :

Modern : this is the original 24-bit music-synthesizer-for-android implementation.
Mark I : Based on the OPL Series but at a higher resolution (LUT are 10-bits). The target of this engine is to be closest to the real DX7.
OPL Series : this is an experimental implementation of the reversed engineered OPL family chips. 8-bit. Keep in mind that the envelopes stills needs tuning.

[Failed Muso]

Didn't understand where to download the 0.9.5... Someone have the link?
I'm curious to try the VST3...

0.9.4 is the latest version. The developer is working towards a VST3 version soon.

[EvilDragon]

You wrote that DX7V pro is DAC emulation. but according to the Dexed website:

Engine Type
Dexed can be configured to use some of the original math limitation of a DX synthesizer. This does not only apply to the DAC, it also involves the bit resolution of the sine waves and the way that the amplitude is applied to each operator. Since all of this is experimental, multiple engines will be available to be able to compare them easily.

DAC emulation is something else. Arturia is using same size of LUTs as the original DX7, so it's equivalent to Mark I mode of Dexed. But, as Dexed info says, envelopes still need tweaking.

[tristan-]

You wrote that DX7V pro is DAC emulation. but according to the Dexed website:

Engine Type
Dexed can be configured to use some of the original math limitation of a DX synthesizer. This does not only apply to the DAC, it also involves the bit resolution of the sine waves and the way that the amplitude is applied to each operator. Since all of this is experimental, multiple engines will be available to be able to compare them easily.

DAC emulation is something else. Arturia is using same size of LUTs as the original DX7, so it's equivalent to Mark I mode of Dexed. But, as Dexed info says, envelopes still need tweaking.

I agree. but for what it is, I, personally, greatly prefer it. I love the streamlined UI. It takes FM to a whole different level of simplicity...

[Failed Muso]

But, as Dexed info says, envelopes still need tweaking.

Only on the OPL Series engine, according to the dev.



I think that we can all agree that the differences seen in waveforms from all three are minimal and, in the ear where it really matters, they are, at best, negligible. DX7 V has a pretty interface but poor CPU usage. DEXED has a less sexy interface but is very lean on CPU usage.

Personally, DEXED wins out for me not because it is free (no "freebie" cognitive dissonance here, as I have bought and paid for DX7 V, as well as other FM emulations, such as Reason's PX7) but because, to my ears when comparing to actual DX hardware that I own, it just sounds closer, but not by any great margin. DX7 V is very close too. DEXED also wins for me because of its editor and librarian features which I use regularly with my hardware. Those features alone are worth their weight in gold, but I appreciate that not everyone else is using it for that, nor did Arturia ever intend for DX7 V to compete in this area.

Anyway, let's not go off topic with these debates. Let's try and stay focused on giving the developer of DEXED the help, encouragement and support that they need

[EvilDragon]

Only on the OPL Series engine, according to the dev.

But then it says that Mark I is "based on OPL engine", so it's sort of inconclusive. In any case, the envelope bug is not replicated by Dexed, while it is by DX7V, so apparently it does seem that envelopes need some work even in Mark I mode.

[Aloysius]

I never said development of Dexed should be dropped, though?


Look at this though:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHycGwuWcn0


Waveforms are damn near identical between HW and DX7V. Arturia nailed it for sure. Nevermind, though.

Big difference having the DX7V in FULL VELOCITY mode.

[fmr]

I never said development of Dexed should be dropped, though?


Look at this though:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHycGwuWcn0


Waveforms are damn near identical between HW and DX7V. Arturia nailed it for sure. Nevermind, though.

Big difference having the DX7V in FULL VELOCITY mode.

Of course, which is what he did in his first review, and therefore took wrong conclusions

After using the correct velocity map, he concluded that DX7 V is VERY VERY close to the original DX7.

[Aloysius]

It certainly is.

[Tilikum]

I'm the Dexed author

Hi asb2m10, I do not know if this is the right place for a feature request. I use Dexed to transfer patches to my KORG Volca FM and it works fine. Great work. Actually it seems that Dexed is the most recommended tool on the internet for working with the Volca FM.

I just have a problem: I would like to use the Volca FM in a live set up and unfortunatly it does not respond to ProgramChange MIDI commands. The follwing feature for Dexed really would be great: If Dexed would react to any kind of MIDI command and then triggers the "send program XY to DX7" with the active program, I could automaticly send programs from my DAW to the Volca FM in real time. I think a lot of other Volca FM users would love that feature, too.