![]() ![]() The DX7 was sleek with green switches, a small LCD screen, and a slider to scroll through options in place of the plethora of knobs, buttons, and faders typical of analog synths back then. After a few years refining the original algorithm-and a proof-of-concept release (the GS-1 synth in 1980)-Yamaha released the DX7, a synth that would change the way musicians (and the rest of us) thought about synthesizers. But a team of Yamaha staffers visiting Stanford in the early ‘70s understood Chowning’s vision and licensed the technology. Chowning immediately saw FM’s commercial potential, but keyboard manufacturers such as Hammond and Wurlitzer turned him down. ![]() Whereas analog synths of the era used “subtractive synthesis”-requiring users to tweak knobs to filter and shape sound- FM allows a sound wave to rapidly increase or decrease its vibrations, which create entirely new frequencies and harmonically rich overtones that hadn’t really been heard before. ![]() “He was trying to write a program that would put vibrato on a sound and, in doing so, made that vibrato really, really fast-to the point where it changed the original sound into something more complex.” Chowning was a composer writing computer programs to help him compose electronic music and, as I understand it, stumbled upon FM by mistake,” says Yamaha Product Marketing Manager Nate Tschetter. That’s where Stanford University professor John Chowning made his groundbreaking discovery: frequency modulation synthesis (FM, for short). Japanese-based Yamaha birthed the DX7 in 1983, but its roots go back much further - to late ‘60s California. We asked a few insiders to help us understand this revolutionary machine’s unique charms and where and how its distinctive sounds can be heard in pop music today. Additionally, the DX7 introduced technological innovations that changed how electronic music is made. Its punchy bass, breathy flutes, and crystalline bell and piano tones literally soundtracked much of the 1980s, gracing hits by Tina Turner, Kenny Loggins, A-Ha and Hall & Oates as well as the scores of movies like Top Gun and Ghostbusters. You don’t have to be a synthesizer geek to appreciate the Yamaha DX7’s impact on pop culture. ![]() Other notable features include a large color touchscreen, Super Knob control that can control multiple parameters simultaneously, dual insert FX for all 16 parts, powerful pattern sequencer, and an arpeggiator that allows up to 8 arpeggio parts at once.When you think of ’80s music, what are the sounds that come to mind? Maybe drum machines? Guitars drenched in echo? Anguished vocals? Also, Montage is directly compatible with Motif ES/XS/XF voices, allowing you to transfer your favorite presets and get all of your sounds together in one place. The Montage features 16-part multitimbral operation, but it comes with a full range of all-new sounds, like the Yamaha CFX Premium Grand Piano, detailed new strings and woodwinds, and select content from the DX and TX families, all modernized to take advantage of the Motion Control Synthesis Engine. It features 8 operator FM architecture and 128-note polyphony, allowing for a massive array of sound-design options. The FM-X engine is capable of producing everything from classic '80s FM-based basses and bells, to harsh, cutting-edge modern EDM-type sounds. This means that the Montage allows for far more samples per instrument than the XF and thus a far more nuanced sound. Powered by proprietary Yamaha data compression and playback technology, the AWM2 engine provides realistic sound reproduction and features nearly 10 times the waveform capacity of the Motif XF. Employing Motion-Control Synthesis, the Montage combines two sound engines: AWM2 (synthesis- and sample-based sounds) and FM-X (frequency modulation synthesis.) The Yamaha Montage 8 is a 88-key workstation synthesizer that combines elements of the DX- and Motif-series keyboards. ![]()
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