Yamaha DX7

The Yamaha DX7 is an FM synthesis based digital synthesizer manufactured by the Yamaha Corporation from 1983 to 1989. It was the first commercially successful digital synthesizer. Its distinctive sound can be heard on many recordings, especially pop music from the 1980s. The monotimbral, 16-note polyphonic DX7 was the moderately priced model of the DX series keyboard synthesizers that included the larger and more elaborate DX1 and DX5; the feature-reduced DX9; and the smaller and not directly compatible DX100, DX11, and DX21. Over 200,000 of the original DX7 were made, and it remains one of the best-selling synthesizers of all time.

Synthesis engine

Tone generation in the DX7 is based on frequency modulation synthesis, which was developed based upon research by/licensed from John Chowning at Stanford University. This uses multiple sine wave oscillators, which can modulate each other in various configurations offered as 32 "algorithms", thus generating a wide variety of possible harmonic and inharmonic spectra. Yamaha's implementation used DDS oscillators based on linear phase modulation, allowing improved precision and stability. The DX7 was known for the precision and flexibility of its bright, digital sounds, which could be clearer and less linear than those of the subtractive analog synthesizers that preceded it. The DX7 is well known for its electric piano, bells, and other "struck" and "plucked" sounds which emphasize complex attack transients. Phase modulation as used in this and later synthesisers is capable of generating a wide range of both imitative and purely synthetic sounds.