Yamaha DX7 - Programming

Programming

The Yamaha DX7 earned a reputation of being difficult to program, primarily due to players being accustomed to the traditional synthesizer architecture of analog oscillators, filters, LFO generators, etc. While other early digital synths used wavetable synthesis, this required considerable memory, which was simply cost-prohibitive in 1983 when the DX7 was introduced. To get around this issue, the DX7 was built upon entirely different sound engine design, consisting of a combination of "carrier" sine wave oscillators and "modulator" oscillators that can be interconnected in numerous ways, and being organized into 32 most useful "algorithms". This resulted in the DX7 being demonstrably more capable than other devices in its price range. As such, programming the synthesizer was predictably more complicated, especially given the limitations of the instrument's user interface. Those who made effort to become proficient in programming the DX7 however, were rewarded with the full range of the instrument's expansive soundscape. Whereas programming was initially possible only via front panel buttons and sliders, numerous software editors have since become available that allow the user to view and manipulate all parameters in real time.

Voices (sounds) can be stored into the 32-voice RAM internal memory, or accessed via a corresponding 32-voice DX7 RAM cartridge, inserted into a front panel access door/port. All internal voices can be edited and overwritten by the user, as with the Korg M1 and Roland D-50. The DX7 originally shipped with two pre-programmed ROM cartridges, each containing two banks of 32 voices each, which gave the buyer 128 factory voices. Modern software editors make it possible to obtain sound banks from online sources and load them straight into the DX7 via MIDI.