The Yamaha DX7 -- Part 1: RAM Cartridge

This is part 1 of a loose series on the Yamaha DX7 Digital Synthesizer, the instrument that defined the sound of the 80s.
In this episode, I'm building a RAM Cartridge for the cartridge slot of the DX7.
Yamaha DX7 (Wikipedia) --
en.wikipedia.o...
Yamaha DX7 (Vintage Synth Explorer) --
www.vintagesynth.com/yamaha/dx7.php
Dave Benson's DX7 Page -- homepages.abdn.ac.uk/d.j.benson/html/dx7.html
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KiCad Library Builder Web App -- kicad.rohrbache...

[@alansuarezmx]

man you went above and beyond with this cartridge thing, i was looking to buy some of them but as you said the prices are high then I found your video but I do not have the technical skills to build my own so I think I'll have to work more and save money to buy them on ebay.

[@pennywiser9607]

Very impressive! Luckily we also have DX7 patch editors/librarians which store thousands of patches for easy midi loading

[@MisaelVelosoArcos]

hello. With this RAM cartridge I can make a selection of the best sounds and store them in its memory, that is, when I remove the cartridge and put it back on the keyboard, the sounds remain there without erasing?

[@PJFox-lo8pi]

Man, your DX7 looks nearly new. Where did you get that one?

[@musicandblinkenlights8280]

I bought it in 1984 (I've got proof), and cared well for it. :-)

[@OhayashiCatdori]

Emmm…which ROM voice card is “RHODES”on? I couldn't find this voice on many official Yamaha ROM voice cards😢

[@alejandroperaltarenzi6657]

Excellent project, could you give me the plans to make the PCB and the necessary components, so I can make one? Thank you so much

[@PATRIK67KALLBACK]

Fantastic! I will try to do the same with my Yamaha RX11

[@nismo9304]

wonderful I'm very interested! Could you please tell me the pcb data of kicad and the parts you used?

[@fabioderrico9815]

wow!! Amazing! You have released a project for build RAM?

[@fiatpanismusic]

Great, many thanks for the tips

[@ghueller]

Gratuliere 👏

[@bimfood]

Hey, danke, dass Du die Ergebnisse Deiner Arbeit teilst. Passen die Cartridges auch auf den DX7-II Sockel? Alternativ wären sie vermutlich mit dem Adapter ADP-1 nutzbar? Ich habe Interesse an solch einem Ding! :-)

[@musicandblinkenlights8280]

Nein, die Cartridges passen nicht. Die für den DX7-ii haben mehr pins, weil grössere Datenmengen gespeichert werden.

[@warp9988]

awesome

[@hitmusicworldwide]

Nice video ! I have about 70 unused packaged DX 7 ram cartridges made by a third party Music store chain in japan back in the mid 80s They are in perfect condition unopened in original packaging .. I looked for an email address on your profile to contact you but could not find it.

[@musicandblinkenlights8280]

Lucky you! If I were you I'd sell a couple of them on eBay or so and then use the money to buy more gear! I might even buy one myself... ;-)

[@seianj]

Interessante Projekte. kommst du aus der schweiz? :) Grüsse Johannes

[@musicandblinkenlights8280]

Das "Tschüss zäme!" am Ende hat mich wohl verraten… ;-)

[@seianj]

@@musicandblinkenlights8280 das auch. ich kenne aber auch den Akzent all zu gut. :) ich habe gestern ein dx7 gekauft und habe dein Kanal gefunden beim recherchieren. Diese RAM Cartridge selber bauen ist sehr interesant, leider fehlt mir die Begabung dafür. :D Grüsse aus Bern

[@Домашняямастерская-я1к]

Hi! Well done, well done! If it's not a secret, did you make printed circuit boards yourself? Could you share with me at least some information on the manufacture? thank you!

[@brysonmitchell8895]

you all prolly dont give a shit but does anybody know of a trick to get back into an instagram account..? I was dumb forgot the password. I love any help you can give me!

[@tristencorey8279]

@Bryson Mitchell Instablaster ;)

[@brysonmitchell8895]

@Tristen Corey thanks for your reply. I found the site on google and im trying it out atm. I see it takes a while so I will reply here later with my results.

[@brysonmitchell8895]

@Tristen Corey it worked and I now got access to my account again. I am so happy! Thanks so much you really help me out!

[@tristencorey8279]

@Bryson Mitchell glad I could help =)

[@einscreamer2165]

Hallo und vielen Dank für das Video! Ich hab mal ne Frage: Hast du Ahnung davon, die Soundpresets zu bearbeiten? Das ist ja ne Kunst für sich. Viele Grüße Fabian

[@musicandblinkenlights8280]

Manchmal ergeben sich interessante Klänge aus einem Preset, wenn man erstmal verschiedene Algorithmen durchprobiert.

[@einscreamer2165]

@@musicandblinkenlights8280 Ja ich hab mich echt daran abgearbeitet. Ich möchte einen bestimmten Pianoklang erzeugen (nicht den berühmten E Piano Sound)aber es hat leider nicht hingehauen. Auf den Cartridges ist er auch nicht verfügbar. Vielleicht wissen Sie ja Rat. Ich kann Ihnen zwei Soundbeispiele verlinken, auf dem man diesen wunderbaren DX7 Piano-Sound hört.

[@einscreamer2165]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/qIWnm42soK-mq8k

[@einscreamer2165]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/j6TWhZ94mqyIatU

[@danadodua]

Would you like to release the schema or gerber? Please thank you

[@Pan6888]

I get no sound on my Yamaha dx 7 mk2 fd while all other synth works. Any ideas about what i will need to check out ? i have replaced all caps ceramic and electrolytic on the PSU but the problem remains. Also i get some kind of hum.

[@musicandblinkenlights8280]

Ouch, hard one! I'd download and study the service manual of the synth and then probe with a DVM and an oscilloscope (a cheap one's enough) if you get a "signal" at various points of the signal path: keyboard, CPU, amplifier... I'm about to publish a video where I "fix" the mystery synth by poking the DVM probes aimlessly at various components...

[@12invinyl]

Great Job! are you going to offer these for purchase?

[@musicandblinkenlights8280]

Perhaps after having resolved the few issues with the cartridge!

[@12invinyl]

Fantastic!!!

[@musicandblinkenlights8280]

Thanks!