There are important things in life that you cannot short-cut or rush through. Testing the DX7MK1 against those new DX7 Wanna Be's is one of them. It takes time, patience, persistence and commitment to compare as much as possible to really understand key differences. Please join me with this journey of discovering how the DX7 MK1 capable of.
Thank you for this testing. The difference on the bass patches (12:11) is very clear between these emulations. It is obvious that Power DX7 put a lot of hard work into testing these apps for us. Thank you, Power DX7!
It was such a long process. Record each patch for each synth, then slice it up into section and put them together. When the video was almost completed, then Dixie came along, so I decided to delay uploading the video. I decided to try it out and put together into this video. Plus, I've been migrating my video editing to either new iMovie or Final Cut Pro X, so I'm still figuring it out!!! Comparing 7 synths in total is may be insane, but I thought it was worthwhile.
BTW, great listening skills. Some think that small differences don't matter, but when you are recording or even on a live stage, that little difference can make a big difference.
Excellent video. If there were more people making these kinds of in depth comparisons with other videos I'd be a very happy man. Interesting to see the popular FM8 fare lower than it's free counterparts. Although its limitations are apparent I'm just gonna stick to using Dexed at the minute.
I like the list of recommendations at the end, it shows that there's no one answer to meet your needs. If one is interested in exploring the depths of FM synthesis by making one's own patches, it might be useful to reframe the argument in terms of "which has an interface that is best for me to easily explore FM synthesis parameters"? And, of course, there's budget. Dexed is free. Dixie is $4 USD. And no matter what the cost, a VST or an AU can run as multiple instances. If you can work within the confines of your chosen instrument(s), and not worry about strict patch compatibility between other implementations, all of the synths featured offer their own compelling features, interfaces, and character.
YES! I've been waiting for this ever since Arturia DX7 V was released; for you to test your custom patches on it, and to compare it to the hardware. This will surely be a great watch! Thank you!
It was a bad timing, as I was working on the DX7 MK1 and FM player comparison, then DX7 - V came out and I hadn't had a time to work on the next major demo video until last week!!!!! But I had a time to think about making a really good test drive/ comparison video.
Yeah, you have made an excellent and thorough comparision video. But I have to disagree a little with one of your conclusions. I think the Arturia DX7 V is way better than the Korg Volca FM. Even your custom patches sound more like a real hardware DX7 on the DX7 V than on the Volca.
BTW, do you think it would be possible to tweak your custom patches on the Arturia DX7 V to get them to sound better, i.e. closer to the hardware, and without/with less artefacts?
Finally! Tests with more of your amazing Power DX7 patches! You should really show this to the various manufacturers. I'm sure they would find this demonstration absolutely fascinating! In fact, they may even start consulting you when designing updates considering you are so intimate with this machine!
That's an excellent question. FM Player is based on the DX7II. It features DX7II Dual-Engine and Unison sounds that cannot be made in an emulator. Becuase of that, FM Player sounds slightly different than the Mark 1 and sounds identical to the Mark II. Cheers!
I've done the test before my DX7 MKII module (TX802) gone bad!!!! It's been out of action and I need to get it fixed soon. Here is the comparison video of the DX7 MK1 and MK2. The last video on this playlist is the comparison video. th-cam.com/video/WtvI_VvoCgQ/w-d-xo.html. In a nut shell, the MKII can produce far more high end than the MK1. The MK1 has more low end.
Definitely, instead of trying to be the DX7, FM Player capture the essence of the DX7 (MKII). It sounds great and portable, and sometimes, you just don't want to think about FM with algorithms etc. You just want to play some great FM sounds. The FM Player is perfect for that!!!
Power DX7 I meant placing these plug ins next to a Mk.II and seeing how they compare to it. They have a cleaner sound than a Mk.I, so maybe these manufacturers were trying to imitate the Mk.II instead of the Mk.I! It's a shame your Mk.II is broken, though...
It may look stupid, but just wanted to be silly and (trying to be funny) to light up the mood!!! I'm not a good actor, but please forgive me for that!! Enjoy!!!
The interesting thing is that KQ Dixie uses the msfa engine used in Dexed and music synthesizer for Android except for some alterations and improvements.
Thanks Synths Colors!! It took me a while to create this video, as I was a lot of work to be done! As you have a lot of original hardware synths, you can appreciate how good they are. You can go beyond presets and you can make some awesome sounds! Great week to you too!
Yes, I can imagine the amount of work it took to you ! Again, you're right... programming synths allows us to appreciate them fully, far, far, far beyond factory presets, as you with your DX7 Mk1 !!! ;-))
I really love making those patches that push hardware synths to limit. When you know how to do that, then you are like a F-1 racing driver who knows how to push his/her racing car to its limit. The biggest question is whether those clones and wanna be's (apps, VSTs and clone hardware) can keep up with the original hardware synth.
You've said it all ! Far beyond being more or less close to the original, to me they offer complementary harmonics to the setup... the same way, different synths offer a wider "sound palette" to the user ;-))
This was an excellent comparative study. What about Plogue OPS7, which claims to be bit accurate? I feel it is much closer to the real DX7 than the other VSTis. I look forward to your upload of the updated video.Thanks!
Hi all, it's been a while posting a video on my channel, as I have been extremely busy wiht my life (plus Christmas & New Year). It took a lot of time to get this video created (buying and testing those new stuff)
Power DX7 Epic comparison! I'll change from using Dexed to DX7 V. The synth voice sound at 1:05:50 is amazing. Is it programmed on a Dx7? Absolutely pushes the limits! I hope you will teach us how to program it. What an epic video that would be!
Thanks for the positive feedback. I'm glad that, although a small number, there are people that appreciate my hardworking of putting this long but informative and accurate and comprehensive demo and test video of various DX7 wanna be's. I decided to remove the silly intro, so people can watch the important part of this video. In regards to the synth voice that you hear on this video, yes, they are coming from the DX7 MK1. I basically combined a 12 bit sampler like male choir sound with a 'Wah' attack tone, so you get that 'Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah' sound.
BTW, you should really consider getting the actual DX7, TX7 or TX802 if you really love FM synth! You can test some factory patches by yourself as well.
In KQ Dixie, you can't manipulate the velocity with the virtual keyboard. You might want to use a MIDI keyboard or an app that supports velocity like Cubasis.
When I was testing, I realised that I didn't have a way to record iPad on my iMac and have a MIDI keyboard (or my DX7 MK1) to control the iPad at the same time, so I used its virtual keys to play a little (it was very tricky).
Thanks. Not like when I got my DX7 MK1 back in 1986, we now have so many choices which confuse people. I wanted to compare as many DX7 wanna be's as possible once for all, so that we can get a definitive answer to the important question 'has the DX7 MK1 final met its match? Has it been superseded?
Thanks for including FM Player in this comparison. You rock! As Power DX7 wisely mentioned, FM Player is based on the DX7II and sounds directly like the Mark II. Everyone can download FM Player for Free here: itunes.apple.com/us/app/fm-player-classic-dx-synths/id1307785646?mt=8
Thanks for the link, I forgot to put that in the description. I've added that! I think you can have additional sounds based on the DX7 MK1. That will give people options of using either the DX7 MK1 or MKII version of BASS 1 or E.PIANO 1 etc!!!
That's great. If you are happy with whatever you've got, that's good. The main purpose of my demo is to show that there is quite a difference between the DX7 MK1 and those DX7 apps, VSTs etc. And you need more than just the DX7 factory patches that can push FM synthesis to its limit.
I like DX7 for EP , BASS , BRASS. .. I had a DX7IID and I regret it , I have now a SY85 and I wait for diskettes of DX sounds because in the SY85 the EP factory sounds are not close to the DX , bass are very close and brass and strings too. I think that the EP sounds are very close to the DX on the SY77
Yes, for example, that famous stab bass used for Mr Mister Kyrie, uses a sequence at maximum velocity. I used the same for all VSTs and Volca FM (I don't currently have iPad MIDI connector, so I couldn't really test them with the sequence).
No, but I would love too. Trying out and creating demos of new apps, VSTs and hardware can be expensive (using full versions), so I have to be really careful of my spending!!!
Power DX7 Actually FM Essentials is free :D (you can edit everything, but not save patches) Also, you can go to a music store hook your ipad to an MX and it will be full. You can ask to the seller :D
Hey just a heads up as to why your Arturia comparison doesn’t quite sound right. It mostly has too much high harmonic content, which is typical of a higher velocity when playing some patches. Since it appears you were triggering from the actual dx7 keyboard, your velocity setting should be set to “dx7” on the arturia’s settings. On this video it’s set to “full,” which isn’t right if using a real dx7 to trigger it since the velocity range on that keyboard isn’t full like most midi controllers. Think it may only go to 100
When I was testing, I tried different velocity settings for Arturia DX7 V (full and DX7) and found that the DX7 setting artificially lower harmonics so much. As I do MIDI recording on Logic Pro X, it records velocity at full, so the DX7 MK1 and Arturia DX7 V sound very close on some patches. The difference you hear is the actual difference in how Arturia DX7 V emulates the DX7 FM synthesis. DX7 V can sound very close or almost identical in some instances, but when it get pushed, it shows its limitation with the DX7 FM synthesis emulation.
Thanks. Some complained that it's just too long. But when you need to do comprehensive comparison, you have to not just compare different patches, but you have to compare a wide range notes with the same patch. I can compare a patch with just a single note and say, the DX7 and others are the same. But when you actually purchase one of DX7 VST and tried a patch at lower notes or higher notes, they sounds very different, producing artefacts and noises, then I haven't done an accurate and detailed comparison that people can rely on to invest in certain VSTs etc. The last thing that I want is that because I haven't done a great job, pole feel that they are lied or believed into buy something that they didn't need etc. I know you have access to a lots info with cameras etc, but not with synths. So my aim is to create a trusted source for the DX7 and other FM synth apps and plug-ins. So you can try your own patches and compare them with different DX7 wanna be's and you will hear differences when you play lower or higher notes. Then you will see strengths and weaknesses of different DX7 wanna be's.
DX7 DAC is not exactly 12-bit, so that bit of info is not fully correct, and it's not exactly lo-fi either. It's a floating point DAC with 12 bit mantissa and 4 step exponent, giving it a theoretical range matching a linear DAC with 15 bits, which is nearly CD quality. It's not the reason for the grungy sound of mkI - it's the resolution of sine lookup tables. Analog circuitry in DX7 is not the reason for its character.
ya think the average listener would be able to tell the difference between any of those fm generators mixed in a song?" not likely. therefore i just use Dexed. its free, only stupid people pay for vst's and porn
There are important things in life that you cannot short-cut or rush through. Testing the DX7MK1 against those new DX7 Wanna Be's is one of them. It takes time, patience, persistence and commitment to compare as much as possible to really understand key differences. Please join me with this journey of discovering how the DX7 MK1 capable of.
Thank you for this testing. The difference on the bass patches (12:11) is very clear between these emulations. It is obvious that Power DX7 put a lot of hard work into testing these apps for us. Thank you, Power DX7!
It was such a long process. Record each patch for each synth, then slice it up into section and put them together. When the video was almost completed, then Dixie came along, so I decided to delay uploading the video. I decided to try it out and put together into this video. Plus, I've been migrating my video editing to either new iMovie or Final Cut Pro X, so I'm still figuring it out!!! Comparing 7 synths in total is may be insane, but I thought it was worthwhile.
BTW, great listening skills. Some think that small differences don't matter, but when you are recording or even on a live stage, that little difference can make a big difference.
Excellent video. If there were more people making these kinds of in depth comparisons with other videos I'd be a very happy man. Interesting to see the popular FM8 fare lower than it's free counterparts. Although its limitations are apparent I'm just gonna stick to using Dexed at the minute.
I like the list of recommendations at the end, it shows that there's no one answer to meet your needs. If one is interested in exploring the depths of FM synthesis by making one's own patches, it might be useful to reframe the argument in terms of "which has an interface that is best for me to easily explore FM synthesis parameters"? And, of course, there's budget. Dexed is free. Dixie is $4 USD. And no matter what the cost, a VST or an AU can run as multiple instances. If you can work within the confines of your chosen instrument(s), and not worry about strict patch compatibility between other implementations, all of the synths featured offer their own compelling features, interfaces, and character.
YES! I've been waiting for this ever since Arturia DX7 V was released; for you to test your custom patches on it, and to compare it to the hardware. This will surely be a great watch! Thank you!
It was a bad timing, as I was working on the DX7 MK1 and FM player comparison, then DX7 - V came out and I hadn't had a time to work on the next major demo video until last week!!!!! But I had a time to think about making a really good test drive/ comparison video.
Yeah, you have made an excellent and thorough comparision video. But I have to disagree a little with one of your conclusions. I think the Arturia DX7 V is way better than the Korg Volca FM. Even your custom patches sound more like a real hardware DX7 on the DX7 V than on the Volca.
BTW, do you think it would be possible to tweak your custom patches on the Arturia DX7 V to get them to sound better, i.e. closer to the hardware, and without/with less artefacts?
Finally! Tests with more of your amazing Power DX7 patches!
You should really show this to the various manufacturers. I'm sure they would find this demonstration absolutely fascinating! In fact, they may even start consulting you when designing updates considering you are so intimate with this machine!
Now HERE'S a better question!
How do they stack up against the DX7 Mk.II? 🤔
That's an excellent question. FM Player is based on the DX7II. It features DX7II Dual-Engine and Unison sounds that cannot be made in an emulator. Becuase of that, FM Player sounds slightly different than the Mark 1 and sounds identical to the Mark II. Cheers!
I've done the test before my DX7 MKII module (TX802) gone bad!!!! It's been out of action and I need to get it fixed soon. Here is the comparison video of the DX7 MK1 and MK2. The last video on this playlist is the comparison video. th-cam.com/video/WtvI_VvoCgQ/w-d-xo.html. In a nut shell, the MKII can produce far more high end than the MK1. The MK1 has more low end.
Definitely, instead of trying to be the DX7, FM Player capture the essence of the DX7 (MKII). It sounds great and portable, and sometimes, you just don't want to think about FM with algorithms etc. You just want to play some great FM sounds. The FM Player is perfect for that!!!
Power DX7 I meant placing these plug ins next to a Mk.II and seeing how they compare to it. They have a cleaner sound than a Mk.I, so maybe these manufacturers were trying to imitate the Mk.II instead of the Mk.I!
It's a shame your Mk.II is broken, though...
It may look stupid, but just wanted to be silly and (trying to be funny) to light up the mood!!! I'm not a good actor, but please forgive me for that!! Enjoy!!!
The interesting thing is that KQ Dixie uses the msfa engine used in Dexed and music synthesizer for Android except for some alterations and improvements.
Thanks for the background info.
Awesome comparisons between these DX7 emulations & the original one !
Thumbs up & thanks !
Great week to you with new projects ! ;-))
Thanks Synths Colors!! It took me a while to create this video, as I was a lot of work to be done! As you have a lot of original hardware synths, you can appreciate how good they are. You can go beyond presets and you can make some awesome sounds! Great week to you too!
Yes, I can imagine the amount of work it took to you !
Again, you're right... programming synths allows us to appreciate them fully, far, far, far beyond factory presets, as you with your DX7 Mk1 !!! ;-))
I really love making those patches that push hardware synths to limit. When you know how to do that, then you are like a F-1 racing driver who knows how to push his/her racing car to its limit. The biggest question is whether those clones and wanna be's (apps, VSTs and clone hardware) can keep up with the original hardware synth.
You've said it all !
Far beyond being more or less close to the original, to me they offer complementary harmonics to the setup... the same way, different synths offer a wider "sound palette" to the user ;-))
This was an excellent comparative study.
What about Plogue OPS7, which claims to be bit accurate? I feel it is much closer to the real DX7 than the other VSTis.
I look forward to your upload of the updated video.Thanks!
This is SO ninja!
Well done, DX-master! 🙏🏼
Hi all, it's been a while posting a video on my channel, as I have been extremely busy wiht my life (plus Christmas & New Year). It took a lot of time to get this video created (buying and testing those new stuff)
Power DX7 Epic comparison! I'll change from using Dexed to DX7 V. The synth voice sound at 1:05:50 is amazing. Is it programmed on a Dx7? Absolutely pushes the limits! I hope you will teach us how to program it. What an epic video that would be!
Thanks for the positive feedback. I'm glad that, although a small number, there are people that appreciate my hardworking of putting this long but informative and accurate and comprehensive demo and test video of various DX7 wanna be's. I decided to remove the silly intro, so people can watch the important part of this video. In regards to the synth voice that you hear on this video, yes, they are coming from the DX7 MK1. I basically combined a 12 bit sampler like male choir sound with a 'Wah' attack tone, so you get that 'Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah' sound.
BTW, you should really consider getting the actual DX7, TX7 or TX802 if you really love FM synth! You can test some factory patches by yourself as well.
Amazing comparision, thank you!
If you go in to setup preferences you raise KQ Dixie from the default 16 all the way up to 128 note polyphony.
Thanks for the info.
In KQ Dixie, you can't manipulate the velocity with the virtual keyboard. You might want to use a MIDI keyboard or an app that supports velocity like Cubasis.
When I was testing, I realised that I didn't have a way to record iPad on my iMac and have a MIDI keyboard (or my DX7 MK1) to control the iPad at the same time, so I used its virtual keys to play a little (it was very tricky).
I'm gonna take these synths for a test drive and then i'm going to give them a Doug score.
Wonderful video my friend
Great video! Thanks!
Thanks. Not like when I got my DX7 MK1 back in 1986, we now have so many choices which confuse people. I wanted to compare as many DX7 wanna be's as possible once for all, so that we can get a definitive answer to the important question 'has the DX7 MK1 final met its match? Has it been superseded?
Thanks for including FM Player in this comparison. You rock! As Power DX7 wisely mentioned, FM Player is based on the DX7II and sounds directly like the Mark II. Everyone can download FM Player for Free here: itunes.apple.com/us/app/fm-player-classic-dx-synths/id1307785646?mt=8
Thanks for the link, I forgot to put that in the description. I've added that! I think you can have additional sounds based on the DX7 MK1. That will give people options of using either the DX7 MK1 or MKII version of BASS 1 or E.PIANO 1 etc!!!
Great demo . I often use DEXED which (for me) is very close to the DX7. And your opinion about the Yamaha Reface DX ?
That's great. If you are happy with whatever you've got, that's good. The main purpose of my demo is to show that there is quite a difference between the DX7 MK1 and those DX7 apps, VSTs etc. And you need more than just the DX7 factory patches that can push FM synthesis to its limit.
I haven't tried Yamaha Reface DX yet.
I like DX7 for EP , BASS , BRASS. .. I had a DX7IID and I regret it , I have now a SY85
and I wait for diskettes of DX sounds because in the SY85 the EP factory sounds are not close to the DX , bass are very close and brass and strings too.
I think that the EP sounds are very close to the DX on the SY77
The e piano on kq dixie sounds bad as if the filter should be more open. No whitney houston possoble on kq dixie?
yeah I love my dx7 mk1!
Yeah, deep bass, thicker mid ranges and other benefits!!! Give a big hug!!!
nice work. thnx!
BTW, are you using the exact same MIDI data when comparing different patches?
Yes, for example, that famous stab bass used for Mr Mister Kyrie, uses a sequence at maximum velocity. I used the same for all VSTs and Volca FM (I don't currently have iPad MIDI connector, so I couldn't really test them with the sequence).
Ok, thanks for clarifying!
Have you tried Montage? Or the FM app by Yamaha?
No, but I would love too. Trying out and creating demos of new apps, VSTs and hardware can be expensive (using full versions), so I have to be really careful of my spending!!!
Power DX7 Actually FM Essentials is free :D (you can edit everything, but not save patches) Also, you can go to a music store hook your ipad to an MX and it will be full. You can ask to the seller :D
Why does everyone ignore the Propellerheads PX7?
Hey just a heads up as to why your Arturia comparison doesn’t quite sound right. It mostly has too much high harmonic content, which is typical of a higher velocity when playing some patches. Since it appears you were triggering from the actual dx7 keyboard, your velocity setting should be set to “dx7” on the arturia’s settings. On this video it’s set to “full,” which isn’t right if using a real dx7 to trigger it since the velocity range on that keyboard isn’t full like most midi controllers. Think it may only go to 100
When I was testing, I tried different velocity settings for Arturia DX7 V (full and DX7) and found that the DX7 setting artificially lower harmonics so much. As I do MIDI recording on Logic Pro X, it records velocity at full, so the DX7 MK1 and Arturia DX7 V sound very close on some patches. The difference you hear is the actual difference in how Arturia DX7 V emulates the DX7 FM synthesis. DX7 V can sound very close or almost identical in some instances, but when it get pushed, it shows its limitation with the DX7 FM synthesis emulation.
Power DX7 oh ok thx for clarifying! Was just a thought. Thx for putting in the work on this
Thanks. Some complained that it's just too long. But when you need to do comprehensive comparison, you have to not just compare different patches, but you have to compare a wide range notes with the same patch. I can compare a patch with just a single note and say, the DX7 and others are the same. But when you actually purchase one of DX7 VST and tried a patch at lower notes or higher notes, they sounds very different, producing artefacts and noises, then I haven't done an accurate and detailed comparison that people can rely on to invest in certain VSTs etc. The last thing that I want is that because I haven't done a great job, pole feel that they are lied or believed into buy something that they didn't need etc. I know you have access to a lots info with cameras etc, but not with synths. So my aim is to create a trusted source for the DX7 and other FM synth apps and plug-ins. So you can try your own patches and compare them with different DX7 wanna be's and you will hear differences when you play lower or higher notes. Then you will see strengths and weaknesses of different DX7 wanna be's.
DX7 DAC is not exactly 12-bit, so that bit of info is not fully correct, and it's not exactly lo-fi either. It's a floating point DAC with 12 bit mantissa and 4 step exponent, giving it a theoretical range matching a linear DAC with 15 bits, which is nearly CD quality. It's not the reason for the grungy sound of mkI - it's the resolution of sine lookup tables. Analog circuitry in DX7 is not the reason for its character.
ya think the average listener would be able to tell the difference between any of those fm generators mixed in a song?" not likely. therefore i just use Dexed. its free, only stupid people pay for vst's and porn