From Frequency Modulation to Samples: The DX7 and M1 Story.

Synthesizers have been around since the mid 1950's.  Early synths were for the most part only in recording studios.  During the early 1980's a major leap forward took place.  I am going to focus on two iconic synths from this era, which are the Yamaha DX7 and the Korg M1.  The Yamaha DX7, which was produced from 1983 - 1986, was a revolution in the world of synths. The Korg M1 followed up that trend with major refinement.  This lasted well beyond its production run from 1988 to 1995.

 

 

 

The DX7 brought affordability, sound diversity and expandability to the masses.  The DX7 was the first commercially successful synthesizer with over two hundred and fifty thousand units sold in the three years it was produced.  The cost of this synth in today's money is six thousand dollars.  Previous generations of synths were astronomically more expensive.  This meant that a lot of musicians had to rent studio space as apposed to having their own synth.  On top of that earlier synths were comprised of multiple boxes stacked onto each other with a "rats nest" of  cables connecting everything together.

One of the main advancements the DX7 had over earlier synths was in the texture of the sounds.  The sound texture of the DX7 was bright, glassy and metallic.  A good example of this is the song: I Touch Roses by The Book of Love.  The composer made great use of the built in piano and bell presets.  Another feature brought by the DX7 was a punchy baseline which you can also hear in this song.   These sounds were stored on digital memory cartridges.  

 

This was a first for synthesizers.  Previously a user would have to manually adjust knobs and patch cables to achieve a specific sound.  It wasn't all roses for the DX7.  Programming the DX7 was notoriously difficult.  This was partly due to the user interface being hard to navigate.  

 

The Korg M1 solved this problem.  The user interface was more intuitive.  Additionally the M1 featured a dedicated "knob-per-function" design.  

 

The improvements over the DX7 didn't stop there.  The M1's main claim-to-fame is the use of samples.  This meant that a composer could make a song without having to go through the lengthy and difficult process of programming the sounds.  Another feature the M1 had over the DX7 was built in effects.  Some of these effects included reverb and EQ.  An example of the use of M1's built in effects is Rhythm is a Dancer by Snap!.   

 

 

I personally like the sound of the Korg M1 more.  To me it produces a crisper and cleaner sound as whereas the DX7 can sound a bit noisy. 

 

The Yamaha DX7 paved the way for future digital synths.  It brought the size and cost down to a level that could be widely adopted.  The Korg M1 further refined and revolutionized on what the DX7 brought.  The M1 took programming out of the way so that a composer could simply focus on making the music. 

Citations

Vail, Mark. Korg M1 (Retrozone), 1 Mar. 2024, www.soundonsound.com/reviews/korg-m1-retrozone.

Megan. “The Yamaha DX7 in Synthesizer History.” Megan L. Lavengood, 24 Jan. 2023, meganlavengood.com/2022/05/12/the-yamaha-dx7-in-synthesizer-history/.