Who here has a DX-7?

i can't speak to anyone else's tastes, but for me personally, buying a huge antiquated piece of digital hardware for its outdated DACs is mildly mental.

to my ears, the difference it's going to make in a finished, mixed track verges on imperceptible.

and yes, you would likely get a similar result downsampling or using a bitcrusher (much like the one found in logic.)

the DX7 soundbanks in FM7/8, once again, are virtually (excuse the pun) indistinguishable from the real thing.

arguing the merits of a true analogue synth vs. it's VI counterpart, like a minimoog vs. minimonsta for example, has some merit, but this is verging on ridiculous for me.

again, to each their own, but come on, man!

c

Please, tell us more.

  maus said:

i can't speak to anyone else's tastes, but for me personally, buying a huge antiquated piece of digital hardware for its outdated DACs is mildly mental.

 

to my ears, the difference it's going to make in a finished, mixed track verges on imperceptible.

 

and yes, you would likely get a similar result downsampling or using a bitcrusher (much like the one found in logic.)

 

the DX7 soundbanks in FM7/8, once again, are virtually (excuse the pun) indistinguishable from the real thing.

 

arguing the merits of a true analogue synth vs. it's VI counterpart, like a minimoog vs. minimonsta for example, has some merit, but this is verging on ridiculous for me.

 

again, to each their own, but come on, man!

 

c

couldn't have said it better myself, one of the only reasons to get a DX7 is if your gear fetishism overpowers the practical usage you're going to get out of it. OR if you just CANNOT handle 10-20ms latency and you want instantaneous keyboard response to your FM leads.

  Awepittance said:

OR if you just CANNOT handle 10-20ms latency and you want instantaneous keyboard response to your FM leads.

This is a pretty good reason IMO (but it doesn't have to be a DX-7).

whats the latency on a DX7 then?

(if its digital, it must have latency)

  zazen said:

ok, but I'm interested in why Rbrmyofr thinks that this digital synth cannot be simulated in software due to its unique DAC?

 

Couldn't I just take the software version and run it through a 12-bit bitcrusher?

All converters are different. The converter in your Motu 828MKII is different to the converter in an Apogee Rosetta 800 etc. The DAC used in the Yamaha series was part of the many things that gave it its unique sound.

Yes you can get closer to a Yamaha DX7 with software than you can to a Jupiter 8, but it's still not exactly the same. And even if it did sound exactly the same, the fact that you have the old 80s style keyboard will also influence you when using it, even subconsciously. So for that, and a lot of other reasons, using the hardware is different to using the software, and it would be unfair to write either one of them off.

  Rbrmyofr said:

  zazen said:

ok, but I'm interested in why Rbrmyofr thinks that this digital synth cannot be simulated in software due to its unique DAC?

 

Couldn't I just take the software version and run it through a 12-bit bitcrusher?

All converters are different. The converter in your Motu 828MKII is different to the converter in an Apogee Rosetta 800 etc. The DAC used in the Yamaha series was part of the many things that gave it its unique sound.

 

Yes you can get closer to a Yamaha DX7 with software than you can to a Jupiter 8, but it's still not exactly the same. And even if it did sound exactly the same, the fact that you have the old 80s style keyboard will also influence you when using it, even subconsciously. So for that, and a lot of other reasons, using the hardware is different to using the software, and it would be unfair to write either one of them off.

hey Rbrmyofr, i need to return your diamond stylus that you let me borrow as well as your electro static speakers and ac power cleaner

  zazen said:

whats the latency on a DX7 then?

(if its digital, it must have latency)

good question, i would image to the point of being imperceptibly low.

i don't think i was 'misreading' the post to accuse said poster of being fixated on things that are probably not perceptible to the human ear , and plus it was in jest.

I personally think it's rather misguided to want a DX-7 because of its built in DACs , and i have a degree in audio engineering. The original poster seems like he has some professional audio training as well, and in my experience it is very common for people who know 'too much' about audio to become obsessed with things that in the end do not matter and will not be perceived. its almost like a form of aural OCD

maus said it best in his earlier post (i believe maus works for a living doing audio studio work)

  Quote

to my ears, the difference it's going to make in a finished, mixed track verges on imperceptible.

edit: diamond needle comment was intended to be hyperbole but realized needed more embellishment such as a vivid description of the style of princess cut 1 carat diamond protruding out of a golden tone arm ala Scrooge mcduck turntable.

*Farts on thread, then plays the intro to Whitney Houston's "Greatest Love of All" on his DX-7*

To all the non-degree in audio engineering holders and non-audio professionals out there (like myself), if you get a chance borrow a friends DX7 and compare it against FM7. You may notice and audible different, and you'll definitely notice an aesthetic difference when using an 80s keyboard over a piece of software.

Also buying a guitar strap and strapping a copy of FM7 around your shoulder won't be as satisfying as doing the same with the DX7. Just for the record, this isn't another variant of the hardware vs. software argument as I'm a big fan of both, I'm just pointing out the differences.

Speaking of software, does anybody else out there prefer FM7 to FM8? I think NI needlessly overcomplicated things in FM8, giving too many modulation options and effects, which presents the user with too many options.

theres another fucking good reason to use hardware

sometimes you just need a break from staring at the FUCKING computer

I'm fine with the points about how nice it is to use a physical device instead of staring at a screen and twitching a mouse around. and for $50 or whatever, why not get a DX7, as its also a keyboard.

As a software engineer my world view was slightly shaken by the idea that it wasn't possible to accurately model a digital synth in software.

But OK, I take the point about DAC converters.

Although I'm with Maus on the point that once you're putting this all into a mastered track, it not likely to make any appreciable difference whether you used the synth or the software version.

Please continue to enjoy your synth collecting : )

  Rbrmyofr said:

To all the non-degree in audio engineering holders and non-audio professionals out there (like myself), if you get a chance borrow a friends DX7 and compare it against FM7. You may notice and audible different, and you'll definitely notice an aesthetic difference when using an 80s keyboard over a piece of software.

 

Also buying a guitar strap and strapping a copy of FM7 around your shoulder won't be as satisfying as doing the same with the DX7. Just for the record, this isn't another variant of the hardware vs. software argument as I'm a big fan of both, I'm just pointing out the differences.

 

Speaking of software, does anybody else out there prefer FM7 to FM8? I think NI needlessly overcomplicated things in FM8, giving too many modulation options and effects, which presents the user with too many options.

hey Rbrmyofr, i agree with all these points perfectly fine. You threw me off a little bit when you focuses on the DACs.