DX7 - Dexed 25th Anniversary_KUJASHI Soundbanks

[Sounddigger]

[color=yellow]Does everbody knows, what he have done in november, 1991?
For me, it was the date of my entry in soundprogramming - in a more spontaneous action.

After my CEI Prestige Organ and a Crumar Multiman S (Orchestrator), the Yamaha DX7 was my first "right"
synthesizer.

Hey Kujaschi, that's a great story For me too it was the TX802 that got to be my first "right" synth. That was back in 1987 when I used it on TV soundtracks I was working on at that time. I actually tried to learn programming it, but that was just too time-consuming with all that was going on, so I stuck to collecting presets.

I still have that same TX802 sitting right here in a rack.  8)

In the next three years, I´ve patched more than 1.500 sounds (most started with the "sound-init" patch)

...  Before I´ve sold the DX with a broken heart, I had to save all the sounds in sysex. But I´ve made them in 1991-1993
and without the lack of a PC. In the User-bank of the DX7 only 32 patches could be saved. So I have written
them down per hand in those data-sheets (copied from the manual) or in/on colleq-blocks. All of the ~1500 sounds.
Who knows, how many parameters are part of a sound of the DX7, knows how much work this must have been.
Yeah, memory was a respectful word at those times - there was no Cubase at all - and everybody must have the
ability to "play" with his hands - not with the mouse.

Though, in 1999 - now with PC, I had to do the same - but vice-versa. All those parameters read from the sheets
and step-by-step type into the DX7 (the Data-Entry-slider was the only way for change the parameters) - sound by sound.
This procedure takes about 3 weeks (every day after work til late evening and the whole weekends, after breakfast
til midnight).
So, the best sounds are saved until today in 36 sysex-folders and I keep them like a treasure.

That sounds like quite an ordeal! But I don't understand why you thought you had to do it in that terribly laborious and painstaking way.

I remember using an editor for my TX802 back in (around) 1988 on the Atari ST1040, that was suitable for the whole DX line, including DX7, DX7II, TX816, etc... I started working with a version of Cubase in 1986, although upon checking my facts with the data online, it must have been called Pro 24 at that time (which I don't really remember calling it, but that must 've been it - well, it's been a while...). I was using it with a SMP 24 SMTP unit (which makes sense, name-wise).

Pro 24 / Cubit / Cubase on Atari ST were all totally capable of receiving/sending system exclusive, and the editor I had (can't remember what it was called) worked terrifically. Managing my library was really easy, and it was possible to do special edits for special DX types like the TX802 and the TX816 (which I occasionally used), and even for creating tunings.

Early 1994 I switched to Mac, and got SoundDiver. This was (and still is) a great editor (free now).

I've since left the Mac to the fashionistas, and moved unto PC. :kiff

Unfortunately, at some stage I lost most of my DX library, which included a fair number of banks I purchased. Happily, I still had a selection of carefully picked presets in my TX802 available, which I now can load in compatible VSTs like Dexed and FM8. I'll see if I can upload them somewhere on this forum (can anyone suggest a topic for it? Shall I post it in this one, or should I start a new one?).

And I have recognised, that against all opinions of everybody else, the free "DEXED", can´t reproduce the sounds
of the DX7 perfectly. Eventually this could be with the factory sounds. But many of "my" patches sounds not the same.
But the NI FM7, which I´ve bought as the successor of the DX7 in software, can reproduce all these sounds
perfectly 1:1!!

Since about a year I got FM8 available, getting the NI Komplete bundle, but I haven't got around to using it much yet, mainly because I had been working on getting a good selection of sounds for Dexed. So this is a good opportunity to compare both of them with my TX802.

My experience is that most DX types sound slightly different from each other. Some people would prefer a sound on DX7 over the same sound on a TX802. And multiplying a sound with the 8 modules of a TX816 (with appropriate detune and spread) can't compare with anything else, but to my taste that would be too fat for some sounds, in that case I'd prefer the TX802.

Some differences can come from output gain variables.

Having said that, most people wouldn't hear the difference between a DX7 and a single module of the other types.

As I wrote earlier on this board, I think the Dexed does a fantastic job emulating the DX7 types. The updates offer the possibility to use 3 different "engine resolution" (among the buttons in the lower left corner, click "parm"). The "OPL series" flavor is magic, and can make a big difference, especially on bright sounds that would otherwise sound harsh.

Strangely, different than what you've experienced, I find that in a "plug & play" situation, in general Dexed gives a more faithful emulation than FM8.

To get FM8 to sound (mostly) the same as both TX802 and Dexed, I found that I had  to increase its velocity (in the DAW) by around 15% (using Studio One). I found this critical for Fender Rhodes type sounds (such as the famous "Fulltines"). Once this is done, FM8 can sound a bit rounder than Dexed, but it's a very close call, sometimes it's the other way around (especially when using "OPL" on Dexed). For most sounds, with these tweaks, the three become indistinguishable.

Still, some sounds will somehow not be 100% right compared to the original on TX802. Sometimes EQ can help out, sometimes it's just not fixable. For what I've been testing, Dexed fits more often than FM8 (which in some cases even badly imports tuning, release, or other parameters).

So, have much fun with these sounds. In the sounddemo I have shown - with the example of the sound "Atmosphere 5",
the difference between "Dexed" and the original "DX7/FM7".

I find that when you load "Atmosph5" in Dexed, when you set the "engine resolution" to "Mark I", and when you lower the velocity by about -15% (in the DAW), it behaves very much the same as the FM8 version (played with higher velocity, or vice versa), and both sound almost indistinguishable from the TX802 that way.

The Dexed "Modern" engine resolution definitely sounds off in this case.

After the first part of the demo, "Die Tänzerin/Edo Zanki" Pianosound-example, you can hear that atmo-sound.
I´ve played the same sound with the "FM7", which comes much closer, at the end of the sounddemo.
But, hear for yourself.

DTaenzerin definitely sounds better on FM8. I can't get it equal or better on Dexed.

But when loading it in Dexed using "Mark I" engine resolution, it sounds more like the TX802 version, which also has that slight aliasing effect.

The DX7 can produce far more as the known 80s legend E-pianos, Bells, Plucks, Percussions, Bass,
Brass, Organs or SFX sounds.
If you going deeper into the FM-synthesis, there are obvious new worlds of sound.
For example, everchanging Textures, Atmos, Vocalchoirs, Otherworldly sounds, Exciting Pads & Leads,
Lively Keys and Percussions, realistic Reeds, SFX´s and FX-Drums.
So this synth will be never-outdated.

100% agree. The DX7 type FM synthesis sounds "timeless" to me. This is due to the beauty of the incredible rigor of how sounds are generated, and the resulting "purity".

Obviously, this depends on which preset is used. I find for example that there are many presets where the (tonal) LFO speed and/or depth is too high. Bringing these down will instantly improve them. In many cases, bringing the velocity down, can smoothen things out.

Also, I would say that extra FX are essential to get the most out of it, such as chorus, delay, reverb, etc...

With these tips, there are still a great many gems to be found online

The only way to go one up are the DX1/DX5. But with careful editing, the DX7 types and emus can go a very long way, since the DX1/DX5 are essentially two DX7s with some extra features, quite similar to the DX7II (I'm presently not sure how the sound quality differs, but the DX1/DX5 always sounds incredible and lush; It appears this could be because top components were used, with DX1 sounding even better than DX5).

Examples of DX5 (same as DX1, different box):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-MZIrJmF7A
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxSTjiE_5V0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQ3qFy7gBHA

And here's a nice example of the TX816
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hzwvd8aZUUU

You can do the same with Dexed or FM8, by adding instances of the same sound, slightly detuned, and panned.

My posted banks are only a little example of how my collection sounds.

Nice stuff man, thanks for all the hard work! If only you'd 've had an Atari ST back in the day

Take care  O0