Yamaha DX-series synthesizer technology

E744884

Yamaha DX-series synthesizer technology is a pioneering family of digital FM synthesis methods and architectures that defined much of the sound of 1980s electronic music and influenced countless hardware and software instruments thereafter.

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Statements (51)

Predicate Object
instanceOf digital synthesis technology
frequency modulation synthesis architecture
basedOnResearchBy John Chowning NERFINISHED
commonlyDescribedAs FM synthesis
controlInterface parameter access via membrane buttons and LCD
coreTechnique phase modulation synthesis
developedBy Yamaha Corporation NERFINISHED
eraOfGreatestInfluence 1980s
firstCommercializedIn 1983
firstMassMarketInstrument Yamaha DX7 NERFINISHED
historicalSignificance first widely successful digital synthesizer architecture
implementedWith custom Yamaha LSI digital chips
influencedGenre R&B
film scoring
new age music
pop music
synth-pop
influencedTechnology later Yamaha FM-based synths
software FM synthesizers
virtual analog instruments with FM features
legacy emulated in many modern hardware and software instruments
licensedFrom Stanford University NERFINISHED
marketImpact shifted industry from analog to digital synthesis in the 1980s
modulationType phase modulation between operators
operatorWaveform sine wave
programStorage patch memory presets
soundCharacteristics bell-like sounds
bright timbres
digital basses
electric piano sounds
metallic tones
supports MIDI control in DX-era instruments
aftertouch in some models
complex modulation routings
envelope-controlled modulation indices
keyboard scaling of parameters
velocity sensitivity
synthesisMethod operator-based algorithmic synthesis
typicalOperatorCount 4-operator architecture in budget models GENERATED
6-operator architecture in flagship models GENERATED
usedInInstrumentSeries Yamaha DX1 NERFINISHED
Yamaha DX100 NERFINISHED
Yamaha DX21 NERFINISHED
Yamaha DX27 NERFINISHED
Yamaha DX5 NERFINISHED
Yamaha DX7 NERFINISHED
Yamaha DX9 NERFINISHED
Yamaha TX7 NERFINISHED
Yamaha TX816 NERFINISHED
usesBuildingBlock algorithm
operator

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