The Yamaha DX7 is a synthesizer created by Yamaha Corporation in 1983. It was the first widely successful digital synthesizer and one of the most popular synthesizers ever made, with more than 200,000 units sold.
In the early 1980s, most synthesizers were analog. A method called frequency modulation synthesis, which creates sounds by changing frequencies, was developed by John Chowning at Stanford University in California. This method produced bright, clear sounds and could copy the tones of real instruments like brass and bells. Yamaha used this technology to make the DX7, combining it with special computer chips to reduce production costs.
The DX7 had complicated menus and few traditional controls, so not many people learned to program it deeply. However, its pre-set sounds became common in 1980s pop music. In 1986, the DX7 was used in 40% of the top songs on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. Its electric piano sound was especially popular in power ballads. The musician Brian Eno was skilled at creating his own sounds with the DX7, and it helped shape his work in ambient music. Computer chips based on the DX7’s design, such as the YM2612, were later used in devices like the Sega Genesis game console.
The DX7 was followed by other FM synthesizers, including the DX1, DX21, DX27, and DX100. Over time, its sounds became seen as old-fashioned or overused, and its popularity decreased.
Development
By the middle of the 20th century, frequency modulation (FM), a method for carrying sound, had been known for many years and was commonly used for radio broadcasts. In the 1960s, at Stanford University in California, John Chowning created FM synthesis, a technique that used FM to produce sounds different from subtractive synthesis. In 1971, to show its usefulness, Chowning used FM to mimic sounds from real instruments, such as organs and brass. Stanford University patented the technology and tried to license it, but American companies like Hammond and Wurlitzer refused. Chowning believed their engineers did not understand FM.
At that time, the Japanese company Yamaha was the world’s largest maker of musical instruments but had limited success in the United States. One of Yamaha’s main engineers visited Stanford to see the technology. Chowning said, "In ten minutes he understood… I guess Yamaha had already been working in the digital domain, so he knew exactly what I was saying." Yamaha agreed to license the technology for one year to test its usefulness. In 1973, Yamaha’s organ division began creating a prototype FM monophonic synthesizer with help from Chowning. In 1975, Yamaha secured exclusive rights to the technology.
Ikutaro Kakehashi, the founder of the Japanese company Roland, was also interested in the technology but met Chowning six months after Yamaha had signed the agreement. Kakehashi later said Yamaha was the best partner for the project because they had the resources to make FM synthesis commercially successful.
Yamaha built the first physical version of FM synthesis. The first commercial FM synthesizer was the Yamaha GS1, released in 1980. It was expensive to make because of the integrated circuit chips it used. At the same time, Yamaha worked on creating very-large-scale integration chips. These allowed the DX7 to use only two chips, compared to the GS1’s 50. Yamaha also changed the FM algorithms in the DX7 to improve efficiency and speed, resulting in a higher sampling rate than Stanford’s synthesizers. Chowning believed this made the sound "brilliant."
Yamaha showed a prototype of the DX7 in 1982, naming it the CSDX in honor of Yamaha’s CS line of analog synthesizers. In late 1982, experts Dave Bristow and Gary Leuenberger, who knew the Yamaha CS-80 well, traveled to Japan to develop the DX7’s sounds. They had less than four days to create the DX7’s 128 preset patches. The DX7 was released in 1983.
Features
The DX7 produces sounds that are described as "harsh," "glassy," and "chilly," which are different from the "warm" and "fuzzy" sounds of analog synthesizers. It has a brighter and more complex sound. The DX7's preset sounds include "struck" and "plucked" tones with quick, short bursts of sound. Its keyboard has five octaves and includes features that let users control how hard they press the keys (velocity sensitivity) and how the sound changes when a key is held down (aftertouch). The DX7 can play 16 notes at the same time, a feature called 16-note polyphony. It uses 32 different methods to create sounds, each made by arranging six sine wave operators in unique ways. The DX7 was the first synthesizer to include a liquid-crystal display and the first to let users assign names to different sound settings. It also has a cartridge slot that allows users to share these sound settings.
Sales
The DX7 was the first digital synthesizer that sold well in stores. According to Bristow, Yamaha hoped to sell more than 20,000 units. In one year, orders went over 150,000 units, and Yamaha sold 200,000 units in three years. It is still one of the most popular synthesizers ever made.
The DX7 was the first synthesizer to sell more than 100,000 units. Yamaha made units in large numbers that American competitors could not match. For example, the American company Moog sold 12,000 Minimoog synthesizers over 11 years and could not keep up with demand. The FM patent was for many years one of Stanford’s most profitable sources of income. Chowning received money for every FM synthesizer made by Yamaha.
According to Dave Smith, the founder of the American company Sequential, the synthesizer industry was very small in the 1970s. This changed with the DX7. Smith said the DX7 sold well because it was reasonably priced, had keyboard expression and 16 voices, and was better at copying the sounds of real instruments than other products. Chowning said the success came from combining his FM patent with Yamaha’s chip technology.
Impact
At the time it was released, the DX7 was the first digital synthesizer most musicians used. It was very different from the analog synthesizers that were popular before. According to MusicRadar, the DX7's "spiky" and "crystalline" sounds were described as "the perfect opposite of a decade of analog waveforms." It was praised for accurately copying the sounds of tubular bells, metallophones, and the harpsichord. It also became popular for replacing electric pianos in music.
The DX7 had a complex interface with submenus shown on an LCD screen. It had no knobs or sliders for adjusting sound, which made it hard for many people to program. MusicRadar called its interface "nearly impossible to understand," with terms like "operators, algorithms, and unusual envelopes" accessed through complicated menus and a small display. Most users relied on the preset sounds instead of creating their own.
The Japanese musician Ryuichi Sakamoto used the DX7 early on. He included it in Mari Iijima's debut album, Rosé, in 1983, and in his solo album Ongaku Zukan in 1984. The DX7 was widely used in 1980s pop music, appearing in songs like "When Doves Cry" by Prince, "The Best" by Tina Turner, "Smooth Operator" by Sade, and "Smooth Criminal" by Michael Jackson. The "BASS 1" preset was used in songs such as "Take On Me" by A-ha, "Danger Zone" by Kenny Loggins, and "Fresh" by Kool & the Gang. The "E PIANO 1" preset became especially famous, especially in power ballads. It was used by artists like Whitney Houston, Chicago, Phil Collins, Luther Vandross, Billy Ocean, Celine Dion, and George Michael. It also appeared in the theme song of the TV show Twin Peaks. In 1986, the "E PIANO 1" preset was used in 40% of the number-one songs on the US Billboard Hot 100, 40% of country number-one songs, and 60% of R&B number-one songs. The preset imitates the sound of a Rhodes piano, leading some musicians to stop using the Rhodes and switch to the DX7 instead.
A few musicians who learned how to program the DX7 found work creating sounds for other artists. The English musician Brian Eno studied the DX7 thoroughly and used it to make ambient music on his 1983 album Apollo: Atmospheres and Soundtracks. He shared instructions for recreating his sounds in a 1987 issue of Keyboard. Eno also used the DX7 on records he produced for U2 and Coldplay. Later, the DX7's sounds were seen as outdated or overused, and interest in FM synthesis decreased. Second-hand digital synthesizers sold for less than analog ones. The development of software synthesizers, like Native Instruments FM8, helped FM synthesis become popular again.
Successors
In the mid-1980s, Yamaha made many cheaper FM synthesizers. A small desktop version called the TX7 was released in 1985. In 1987, Yamaha introduced the DX7II, but it was not as successful as the DX7. Later models included the TX81Z, DX1, DX11, and DX21. Yamaha also created smaller versions of the DX7 sound chip, like the YM2612, for use in devices such as the Sega Genesis game console. In 2015, Yamaha released a smaller FM synthesizer called the Reface DX.