The sounds of 1983 | Yamaha DX7 demo | Famous sounds [01]

In this Yamaha DX7 demo we'll take a tour of the famous factory presets/patches and play some great sounds and riffs from the 80's.

[@stevenbauer7576]

Such a nice friendly guy great demo.

[@Gamez4eveR]

generally UK youtubers are easy to watch AUS/NZ too, of course

[@johnd9410]

Beautiful synth absolute classic. Your videos are a joy to watch and therapeutic to my ears.

[@EverettDudgeon138]

I come from a soundtrack background and some of the soundtracks that featured the DX7 (in amongst either a real orchestra or a plethora of other synths) include: Friday The 13th Part 4: The Final Chapter. Killer Klowns From Outer Space Day Of The Dead Rocky IV Demons Phenomena Zombi 3 Ghostbusters Beverly Hills Cop Fletch Thief Of Hearts Top Gun Romancing The Stone (actually 5 DX7 being sequenced) They Live Halloween IV Halloween V Runaway Cat's Eye (Actually a rack of DX7s) Night Of The Creeps Runaway Train (But this may have been a DX-5 or Synclavier doing those FM tones) Chopping Mall Return Of Swamp Thing The Blob And composer Jerry Goldsmith (Who scored Runaway) had a plethora of synths that he used for his scores in the 80 and 90s and that includes the DX7 and a ton of other Yamaha gear and likely Tangerine Dream used the DX7 on some of their stuff in the 80s when they were just hoarding loads of equipment.

[@RonWesterbeek]

Thanks for adding 🥁👍

[@kristopherdetar4346]

Always love Brit musicians, great enthusiasm and happy energy !

[@markfennah4322]

Awesome exposition, playing and enthusiasm - thank you so much for posting 🙂🙂

[@kyju7093]

You’re like the bob ross of synths 👍🏼

[@brysendash8748]

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[@cashmajor7604]

@Brysen Dash instablaster ;)

[@brysendash8748]

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[@brysendash8748]

@Cash Major it worked and I finally got access to my account again. I'm so happy:D Thank you so much, you saved my ass :D

[@cashmajor7604]

@Brysen Dash no problem :)

[@vesatamminen1526]

Best DX7 preset sound video on KZbin. Thank you.

[@WoodyPianoShack]

wow! best feedback, thx! :)

[@blueman7560]

This is the best video showing the sound of the DX7, since you managed to take some good sound for the "acoustic" piano section. Very good job on putting this and kudos for your enthusiasm. I am also married to a DX7 mk1 :) Cheers from Brazil

[@WoodyPianoShack]

hi brazil, and thanks for the comment, congrats on the mk1 :)

[@cabbycabby1770]

It refreshing seeing someone genuinely enjoying themselves. Thanks!

[@HotStrange]

Cabby Cabby You should watch all of his videos then. The D50 video especially.

[@Tacosmix]

Thanks for sharing this extensive impression! My personal favs are 9 (grand piano), 11 (elec piano) and 13. I have a DX7 since 1987 and am trying to pick up playing again. It is pretty indestructible, still works as well as over 30 years ago. The only thing it really needs when you play it is some gain or reverb. And if you manage to use bigger speakers / woofers, a lot of these sounds really come to life.

[@scottcupp8129]

Amongst my collection of synths I also have a DX7 and a DX7S. Love them.

[@scottcupp8129]

And you’re right. They are solidly built synthesizers

[@noelmelanio]

PIANO 2!!! Thanks for showcasing this instrument so nicely with such enthusiasm and love.

[@WoodyPianoShack]

thanks noel, glad you appreciated it

[@dathyr1]

Brings back memories of my DX7 and DX7-II Synth playing during those years when the Synths first came out. Dont have the Synths anymore but still have the SY99 big brother of FM Synthesis. take care.

[@BeatMachine2013]

Well presented and great audio quality. Enjoyed that!

[@AndrewThomas-nd5xw]

2:32 used to watch your videos all the time. Loved that. didn’t realize that was Level 42 until I was listening to running in the family this morning and immediately thought back to this video.

[@pangurechyx3010]

Dude, you're awesome! I have a friend who's super into synths and just got a Roland D-50... I stumbled across your channel when looking for a good sound demo to show someone after that thing blew my mind. Love the energy you put into these videos!

[@WoodyPianoShack]

hey, appreciate the comment, thanks for your contribution!

[@William_sJazzLoft]

No worries, mate. The sound is coming through with plenty of punch. Stellar video

[@DavidBoura]

This thing secretly wants to play Nitzer Ebb basslines!

[@ms20user]

The DX 7 is a real Workhorse. Nice to see that you have big fun with this great synthesizer :)

[@MsClyde57]

I'm 62, I just gave my old DX7 and one of my DX11s to my son. :D he's having a ball.

[@AndrewTSq]

Love these FM-sounds. Great video, and thanks for reminding me of Level 42 ! :)

[@WoodyPianoShack]

haha, anytime! :)

[@Gusrikh1]

Great to listen to the iconic DX7

[@songOmatic]

I just bought a DX-7 last week. Added some stereo reverb with Ableton Live. H U G E .

[@WoodyPianoShack]

that's how I roll too

[@seanmorris4095]

What is stereo reverb used for?

[@songOmatic]

@@seanmorris4095 Makes it sound bigger and more spaced out, because of the 2 slightly different sounds.

[@Claudio-ud3rp]

Queen one vision!!

[@StewartBrand85]

It took me so long to find part 2 because it's been given a different title - was going crazy thinking it wasn't there!

[@TranceJedi]

great review woody ! the DX7 still sounds brilliant ! well done ! 😎👍👍👍👍👍👍

[@WoodyPianoShack]

sure does, love this thing! cheers.

[@dmer-zy3rb]

7:18 i even remember this being used inside a pc kids game from around 2000 haha "rainbow fish"

[@markwalter1050]

Great Woody! Reminds me of somewhere back in my long ago...teenage years :)

[@machiwoomiapoo]

Woody, you're making me want to dust off my DX7. I just purchased the TX816 and I'll need the DX7 to control it. I love the FM Sound. I like how clean and powerful the DX sounds. Great job! I appreciate the upload. Take care and have a wonderful week. :) Your KZbin Friend, Sam.

[@WoodyPianoShack]

congrats on that tx! really hope to see that featured on your channel. cheers sam!

[@HotStrange]

Machiwoomiapoo FM Synthesis is still underrated, imo. You can really do it all with a DX7 and lots of people did.

[@Einnor084]

Machiwoomiapoo Ur TX-816, iz like 8 DX-7z. Correct?

[@foolproof3091]

Great! Thank you for sharing 🎹🎹🎹👍👍👍Greetings from Germany, Matthias

[@TooSlowTube]

There are great demos. I think you should buy another DX7 and demo the rest of the cartridges too :) I've just watched these again. They're helping me get over my craving for the Reface CP. The DX7/TX7 can actually do a lot of very similar EP and clav sounds, surprisingly well.

[@ronsteffans8107]

i just started learning the keys, what would be a good home amp or speaker to get for the dx7?

[@joeschneider67]

7:18, that is the best electric piano sound ever created....

[@nicolasfernandez249]

Joseph Schneider Is a song of The Doobie Brothers - What a fool believes

[@kiko1935]

@@nicolasfernandez249 no. Dx7 was not out when fool believes was written

[@konradhausmann6359]

I'd say Second to the rhodes mk1

[@fordman2698]

@@nicolasfernandez249 Babe by Styx

[@johsiantorres8495]

It's its own instrument not a piano at all

[@krissyrose14]

Brass 2- Wonder if Tony Banks of Genesis used that in Invisible Touch Brass 3- Howard Jones! Strings 2 is my jam! :) One of my favorite sounds. Piano sounds, diabolical indeed, but love E.Piano! Piano 2- Land of Confusion counter melody. Piano 3- Kind of sounds like an RMI piano. I love the E. Piano sound! No shame here! Second guitar patch- Probably Tony Banks used it in the mid 80s.

[@moga1968]

Wonderfull! Great clip Moti il

[@jd49631]

8:37 that guitar sound, and variations of it, were favoured heavily by Jan Hammer in his Miami Vice scores.

[@AngeloSantelliMusic]

Piano 2 is one of the greatest tones I’ve ever heard

[@77LeBon]

Love the Pointer Sisters riff at the beginning

[@BirdYoumans]

I remember getting my DX7 in the early 80's (still have it, tho these days I use DEXED). It was exciting because it had presets which most, if any, others did not, and it played up to 16 notes at a time if I remember correctly. Ground breaking for the time. I had an Arp Odyssey and a Sequential Pro One leading up to the DX7. The Arp was OK, but I just loved the Pro One since I played keyboard bass and it just had a magnificent bass sound. You can imagine it paired up nicely with the DX7. Bass under the left hand on the Pro One and "other sounds" from the DX7 with the right hand. Big time stuff for then lol! Young people now have no idea what they have to work with. I'm just glad I lived long enough to get to enjoy it with you! I always love your enthusiasm Woody when you are discovering "new stuff". Reminds me a bit of myself. Speaking of "new stuff", Have you discovered the LinnStrument yet? Been around for 7 or 8 years, but I just saw one on youtube about a month ago for the first time. Immediately saw it's potential and ordered one. Oh My!! Roger Linn out did himself on this one. After Keyboards and Frets for my first 75 years or so, this will most likely get me to the promised land! The perfect controller for all these synth VST's we have today. Not to mention it affords a completely new approach in looking at things from a musical perspective. It won't of course completely replace my other instruments, but it will most of the time, especially for lead and single note instruments. I'll probably still play E. Piano 1 with my keyboard though lol!

[@midifilescom]

Brillant démo ! Merci ;)

[@gobigparts]

I think I enjoy your DX7 videos the most. I mean like really 1983 the synth is so Iconic. Plus most of the time I think of DX7 I think of Dinorodes or tinepiano. But there are so many other cool sounds.

[@gcoudert]

The DX7 is one of my favourite synth. I have owned a DX7 Mk 1, a DX7S and a TX7. I am considering acquiring a TX802. I sampled my favourite sounds before I let go of the Mk 1; fortunately, most decayed to 0 so I sampled the whole length of every C and F# and looped the others. The beauty of doing that is that I can layer and/or detune the DX7 multisamples on the Roland Fantom and add effects liberally, which makes the sounds come alive. My sampled DX7 is all over some of the videos on my KZbin channel. Great videos, by the way! Keep up the good work!

[@WoodyPianoShack]

you need the real thinbg, why mess around sampling, the originals are cheap and easy to find. but maybe convenient to have everything sampled and in one place, that's how howard jones tours these days (listening to your what is love cover as I type, very nice)

[@gcoudert]

Thanks! I'd love to get another DX7 but I am short of space here. Maybe when both children have moved out! If I can sell my Fantom X8 (I also have an X7), I might get a TX802 (DX7II in a rack) and a JP8080 for analogue sounds. FM synthesis still plays a big part in my music, as you heard in my covers. The guy who bought my £27 DX7 Mk 1 - which may have belonged to Eurythmics - is currently restoring it to its former glory; you can read the story in the comments below my 'What is love' cover!

[@gcoudert]

One of my favourite patches on the DX7 is a modified version of the FullTines patch or whatever it's called. I removed the tine in algorithm 5 or 6, used the tine modulator/carrier 'system' to duplicate 3+4, detuned the carriers (i.e. operators 1+2, 3+4, 5+6 produced the same slightly detuned, chorused sound) and increased the operator feedback, ensuring that velocity was assigned to modulators as well as carriers. It sounds great on a DX7 but I sampled it at four different velocities using a sequencer. You can hear it throughout my covers of 'You came' and 'What is love' (and 'Chain Reaction', which I have yet to post).

[@Tuth33]

Thank You Very Much!!!

[@jeffmejia3556]

The piano sound at 7:18 I believe for a lot of us old timers is thee signature sound of the DX7. That sound is on the Reface which runs about $300. I bought that smallish keyboard just for that sound. It’s a classic no doubt. I run mine through a midi controller so I get the 88 keys but I’ve found the sweet spot for that sound is from middle c up to the c an octave up. Higher than that and it’s just bright chiming sounds.

[@Asmuk]

Hey Woody. Michael McDonald usually played 'What a fool believes' in a CP80.Thank you for the nice demonstration of this great synth, by the way.

[@EzyoMusic]

7:17 I just can't get enough of that sound even though the 80s were over 30 years ago.

[@station2station544]

That wasn't a DX7 in 1979. Come on. It's not even the right sound.

[@hansvonmannschaft9062]

@@station2station544 1979 would've been, in the original message, written in 2019, close to 40 years ago 🙂

[@PunchDrummer]

I played along with my PC version of "Dexed" VSTi with the original cart I downloaded somewhere. Pretty close! That was fun! :)

[@WoodyPianoShack]

fun idea, first time I heard of somebody doing that :)

[@menak542]

I'm playing with my DX7 V vst and sounds very close as well lol

[@FreddieShreddieTV]

when ever i say 'i'm not making any more music' i seem to then get loads of ideas and make better music more then ever. i remember you saying that when you were made redundant or moving (cant remember exactly) that you wouldn't be posting many vids... you've been most prolific in your postings recently ! well its nice to see i'm not the only one who does this :) good stuff. i only wish i could get as many views and subscribers !

[@WoodyPianoShack]

ended up with a bit more time on my hands than expected, and what else to do in Sweden during winter...? :) keep plugging away on your channel it takes time and a lot of work

[@fordman2698]

7:52 is my favorite sound of the DX7, and it was used in 98% of Whitney Houston's songs.

[@EzyoMusic]

I have no shame in admitting I use that same preset loaded into another synth in some of my work.

[@station2station544]

That was NOT a DX7. The song came out in 1979 and the instrument was a Rhodes MkI.

[@Coowallsky]

True. Although she didn't use it on "Saving All My..." she used it alot for songs that followed. and those are the ones that EVERYONE knows how to play on their DX7s

[@mauroquilenan1860]

great video!

[@brianptguitarkeyboardcover9957]

Thanks for the inspiration I recently found a mint DX7

[@oholm09]

I got it on my montage

[@scottcupp8129]

Me too. I bought mine on eBay

[@natebrisbane]

Your channel is awesome!! =)

[@WoodyPianoShack]

appreciate you saying so, thanks!

[@cristianvigueras6560]

You can play the entire 80's music with this toy dude!

[@MultitrackCassetteFans]

Nice vid, very enjoyable

[@parasympatholytic]

Also often overlooked today is the quality and feel of the keyboard. I love my DX7 somewhat for the nostalgic sounds but also for the feel of the keyboard as a midi controller.

[@WoodyPianoShack]

i agree it's a wonderful feeling keyboard, but remember it maxes out at 100 velocity!

[@ringodingo6945]

Really loved the Whitney H EPiano...

[@raamachandran4058]

Hi i am using dx 7 fd ii can some help me restore factory setting by righting instruction

[@JohnnyBear10]

The 3rd preset which is the 3rd Brass preset sounds like a synth in Home - Resonance

[@crenshawblaster3982]

Does anybody know that the chimes heard in Jellybean's "The Real Thing"(before chorus and bridge parts) and Stanley Jordan's "The Lady In My Life" come from DX7?

[@anoniconoclast2030]

What a great channel. Now get a memorymoog!

[@Jasenspeed401]

I was wondering, that if the PG-1000 can be used to program either D50 or D-05, what can be used to program, either via software, or hardware, the Yamaha DX7s. I haven't been able to find anything.

[@michaelbauers8800]

output sounds cleaner that I would have expected from the D2A converters back then

[@user-JM1967]

Was there sustain pedal input and sensitive keyboard in synthesizers before 1983? Or was DX7 the first?

[@strawberryjam3670]

What‘s That Song he Plays during the Piano 1,2&3 demonstrations?

[@jamesmiszczak3989]

What was the name of the song woody played for the piano riff. I can't seem to remember its name. Anyone can help?

[@paulanderson79]

"What A Fool Believes" - Doobie Brothers.

[@ColinMcLeanEMC]

You can't bet the old DX7 Nice one

[@DenverVideoProduction]

Nicely done. I own this synthesizer but sometimes it takes me seeing and hearing someone else play to be re-inspired. Thanks!

[@WoodyPianoShack]

awesome, cheers!

[@tinotrivino]

Jonathan Donley i know exactly what you mean hahahaha

[@legatrix]

The big realization about the DX7 for me was that it sounds so similar to the Sonic the Hedgehog music. I spent ages trying to recreate Sonic sounds with various retro synth plugins, and then when I found out about this I realized it basically had them all ready-made!

[@roilo8560]

Yup. The sonic the hedgehog music was composed on the yamaha ym2612 chip. Which is similar to the DX7

[@masternero5095]

...great! I need one!!!

[@robertomarega6499]

Simply...WOW!

[@RayyMusik]

It‘s most probably a Dyno My Rhodes on ‘Saving All My Love For You’. And it sounds so much better than its DX7 clone.

[@psyolent.]

jeez mate i reckon most of humans lib by hojo used a dx7. thanks for you vid, 80s was a great time to be alive.

[@drbop6951]

Great demo of the sounds Woody. Just a bit of trivia as someone from the BBC. Top of the pops had a props storage of instruments of the day through the 1980s. They had a two DX7, D50, Juno 60, and Prophet 5 amongst other toys. Bands were encouraged to use the provided instruments unless their kit was a main feature - Pet Shoo Boys insisted on using their kit. But that’s why the DX7 seemed so popular amongst bands as it was the go to prop of choice with of course the brand name covered up with black gaffer tape. Aha made good use of this on the DX and got BBC props to cover up only the YAM in the logo. Thanks for all the great content. Gabe.

[@WoodyPianoShack]

nice story gabe, i was not aware of that, and the bbc supposed to be unbiased and all that, they usually would cover up the brand names, shocking stuff!

[@drbop6951]

@@WoodyPianoShack kzbin.info/www/bejne/Y4rNhWCDeKp_qcU check out this vid. Regards

[@savanaviolenta]

I need that in my life.DX7 was used for Queens One Vision and I had to have it.

[@WoodyPianoShack]

good luck, they seem to be quite easy to find, at least where i live.

[@rodger3352]

Me to ahaha :) hope to get it to play it someday IA

[@garys-617]

Wooo ! :-) Sounds a bit daft, but its a long time since I heard the *original* 32 factory presets in the DX7 mk.1 - I've had mine since 1986 and those internal 32 patches have been long since replaced with all my own programs ! :-) Made me remember how... "imaginative" Yamaha were with their naming of some of those sounds - the Electric Pianos and Clavs were good, but I've never heard guitars or orchestras that sound like that !! lol Incidentally, the ROM 1 and ROM 2 cartridges were *supplied with* the keyboard, but ROMs 3 and 4 were seperate purchases (as were the RAM cartridges). ROM 1A contains backups of those original on-board 32 presets. All DX7 sounds benefit from some reverb and I run Chorus on many of them too - its pretty-much essential for making any Strings useable :-) Nice to see someone (you !) getting excited and enthused about "discovering" those DX7 sounds again, some 30 years on ! :-)

[@WoodyPianoShack]

Hi and thx for the post! Yes, I have the two ROMS that came with the keyboard, and the music stand :) I've used the DX7 recently for a couple of compositions and it delivers. The clean and simple sounds fit really well in the mix. I especially like how the strings sound in a track. awesome keyboard, it would still work well today in a gigging keyboard players rig.

[@lewisroberts1899]

Hey Woody do you know what happens when you change patch while playing? can you seamlessly change sounds mid phrase?

[@WoodyPianoShack]

no you cannot do that!

[@goonknox]

i would love for you to do the solo to rush subdivision, your synth come out so clean

[@xp50player]

that first guitar is the basis for Donald Fagen's "Trans-Island Skyway". Love the Level 42 horns, did not appreciate at the time as I became a fan later. That first horn good for Amy Grant's "Emmanuel."

[@byronp24]

It's crystal clear

[@frankietheghost9385]

Thanks mac

[@birrastudio3838]

Great woody piano!you is wiki for dx7 !! the dx7 forever !

[@mandyh86]

The e-piano (number 11 I think) is literally the sound of the 80s. Was that Saving All My Love For You?😍

[@migueldoliveiracomposer]

Loved it. If Alan Partridge had a radio show about synths...

[@VibeXplorer]

When Woody adds aggression to his voice, there is a touch of Tommy Saxondale detectable!

[@ginises83]

Thank you for this demo ....one question please ...i use Dexed Vst with all extansion card sounds .....what is the program name of Whitney houston ? Epiano ? Rhodes ? i can't find ....lot of sounds in my library .....thank a lot

[@WoodyPianoShack]

download the dx7 factory presets from bobby blues, load into dexed, enjoy epiano parch.

[@TheAmerind]

Howdy howdy howdy, great synth

[@jabelsjabels]

Wow, subscribed after the first minute, I love your passion for these instruments!

[@WoodyPianoShack]

well, thanks for the sub jeremy!

[@mikequesada6559]

I love the dx 7 ep I have it programmed to my korg Triton le..

[@marceloribeirosimoes8959]

Please, is that possível to get the Solid Bass .syx file to use it in DEXED ????

[@WillsJazzLoft]

You had expressed some concern over the sound quality of the video. It's excellent. The ' punch ' is coming through 😎

[@WoodyPianoShack]

glad to hear that and thanks for the feedback, I'm not sure what I was worried about here. maybe just that the DX is mono and a bit dry and cold, but I did add a touch of external reverb.

[@WillsJazzLoft]

@@WoodyPianoShack there's another KZbin channel in which the owner is obsessive about the lacking quality of acoustic piano samples on presets for the WK-7600. Among the hacks that he's implemented is using the keyboard's reverb feature

[@brianptguitarkeyboardcover9957]

Might buy one soon

[@edjwise]

Glad level 42 is getting some attention.

[@Modestas]

hello, are these all factory presets? and is there anywhere to get original factory presets? Regards! and how about comparison dx7 with volca fm? :)

[@sarahwaters4448]

the wide-distorted lens!

[@pascalvanelstlande6954]

recently found an mark I version . hev now the hoily trinity . Im happy

[@dearmingsacayanan]

Right before your eyes by America on the 7:45 sound perhaps.

[@MrAlessandrobizzarri]

Beautiful! Although “One Vision” strings had been recorded with an EMU-Emulator synth.

[@thescarletarcanatarot]

Alessandro Bizzarri on the documentary for the making of “ One Vision”, Brian May is playing the riff on the DX7. I could have been mixed with other synths

[@japoople]

@@thescarletarcanatarot I think he was using his DX7 to trigger an Emulator with MIDI

[@musicmanfelipe]

According to Wikipedia, it was a Kurzweil K250.

[@kennethgibson5728]

I always thought the Casio CZ range stood up well to this with the advantages of eight midi channels and easy programming.

[@TransistorBased]

Kenneth Gibson The sound quality is just so difficult to work with, and the lack of real-time 'filter' control is disappointing.

[@sadhvacman7238]

This was a lot of fun. I think Yamaha was already working on that signature dx love song piano sound before the dx line came out. The earliest clavinova models had a sound that was very similar. A bit more Rhodes sounding though. I don’t have a point. Just sharing.

[@backwardsface3046]

The thing about 7:17 is that the patch shown is a recreation of another instrument that came out before the dx7. That’s why it sounds like the dx7 is in songs that came before it.

[@deleteable.]

you mean a rhodes?

[@backwardsface3046]

@@deleteable. yes, forgot to specify

[@AdamTheAd-vanc3d]

Im sure the Dx 7 was used for the opening bass riff on - Mr Mister -Broken wings . Also any idea if it did the bell harp sound on Smalltown Boy - Bronski beat ?.

[@WoodyPianoShack]

hi adamski, yeah i think you nailed the sound for broken wings, nice track btw. woulldn't be surprised about smalltown, the time was right and it sounds like fm.

[@gcoudert]

Adamski Ajull I think Broken Wings was a Synclavier (also an FM synth). The harp sound on Smalltown Boy was indeed a DX7, as was the block sound in the middle-eight (and the pad was a MemoryMoog).

[@AdamTheAd-vanc3d]

The 80s Fan Wow thanks for the info.

[@Putaspellonyou]

That piano sound defined the 80s like the Rhodes/Wurlitzer defined the 70s. But point of order: "Babe" was recorded with an actual Rhodes I believe.

[@jimevenson52]

Yes a Dyno Rhodes