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- Vintage DX7 Special Edition ROM
- Operation Manual
Yamaha Vintage DX7 Special Edition ROM Operation Manual
Summary of Vintage DX7 Special Edition ROM
Page 1
Yamaha authorized product manual dx7 digital programmable algorithm synthesizer.
Page 2: Yamaha
Yamaha digital programmable algorithm synthesizer operation manual.
Page 3: Precautions
Precautions location avoid placing the dx7 in direct sunlight or close to a source of heat. Also, avoid locations in which the instru- ment is likely to be subjected to vibration, excessive dust, cold, or moisture. Extreme temperatures can ruin the lcd display handling avoid applying excessive force...
Page 4: Introduction
Introduction the dx7 is the world's first fully user programmable and preset fm digital synthesizer. If you're used to con- ventional synthesizers, one look at the dx7 will tell you that something unique has happened. There are no knobs: just two linear controls, one of which is for vol- ume, an led...
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Note for synthesizers sold by the u.S.A. Internally, the dx7 generates signals in the radio frequency spectrum. If the instrument is installed in the immediate proximity of some types of audio or video devices (within ten feet), interference may occur. Federal communications commission (fcc) rule pa...
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Introduction inside front cover precautions inside front cover conventions 3 "quick" basic features 4 setup 12 audio output 12 external foot controller jacks 12 breath controller 12 midi connectors 12 ac power 12 installation of music rack 12 additional technical installation notes 13 playing the fa...
Page 8: Conventions
Conventions nearly every button on the dx7 has several functions. Typically, the editing parameters are labeled in violet, the overall instrument functions are labeled in brown, and yet other functions are labeled in white or by reversing out the color of the button. Since this manual is not printed...
Page 9: "quick" Basic Features
"quick" basic features this section is provided for reference so you can quickly locate a control or access a function. It is meant more for review than as a learning tool. If this is your first time reading the manual, we suggest you either skim this section, or skip it altogether and go on to the ...
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These buttons select the internal or cartridge memory and activate the play mode; they also designate where individual voices may be stored this button selects the edit mode and com- pares edited to original voices this button selects the function mode store this button can be used to store whatever...
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And light brown characters below the buttons for func- tion mode parameters. A brief example for two buttons is shown here, with the specific references for these two buttons noted in parentheses: violet edit mode parameters (pitch and amplitude modulation sensitivity) reverse printed edit mode voic...
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Pitch this lets you set the sensitivity of the voice to lfo pitch modulation from no sensitivity (0) to maximum (7). One setting affects the overall voice. Amplitude this lets you set the sensitivity of the individual operators in a voice to amplitude modulation from no sensitivity (0) to maximum (3...
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Keyboard rate scaling in edit mode, this button activates the [data en- try] section so its controls can be used to program or edit each operator so its envelope rates become faster as you move up the keyboard. The minimum setting (0) produces no scaling, so rates rl, r2, r3 and r4 are the same on a...
Page 14
Poly/mono in function mode, this button activates the [data entry] section so its controls can set the keyboard to play polyphonically (up to 16 notes simultaneously) or monophonically (one note at a time). Pitch bend in function mode, this pair of buttons activate the [data entry] section so its co...
Page 15
Voices into the dx7 internal memory and then format if you like.) you cannot format a rom (factory preset) car- tridge. Battery check in function mode, this button causes the display to show the voltage level of the battery which preserves the dx7 internal voice and programming memories when power i...
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Keyboard this is a 61-key keyboard which has initial (veloc- ity) and after (pressure) sensitivity, although these parameters must be programmed into the voice in order to be useable. The keyboard has 16-note poly- phonic capability or can be switched to monophonic mode. The overall keyboard pitch p...
Page 17: Setup
Setup note: do not turn power on until all other connections have been made. Audio output the dx7 has a built in headphone amplifier, so stereo headphones may be plugged into the front panel jack. However, the instrument does not have a built in power amplifier, and thus requires an exter- nal ampli...
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Additional technical installation notes when connecting the dx7 to an amplifier or mixer, a maximum unbalanced cable length of 20 feet will reduce susceptibility to hum, noise, and high frequency losses; if a longer cable is needed, utilize a "direct box" which uses a transformer or amplifiers to co...
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Playing the factory preset voices playing the internal voices 1. If the dx7 happens to be on, turn it off. Then turn it back on while observing the display window. This will let you see the initial displays we are about to describe. (in the future, you won't have to turn off the instrument just to c...
Page 20: Function Mode:
Function mode: setting overall performance parameters note yamaha reserves the right to continue to refine and update factory preset voices. For this reason, some roms may have this voice in a different loca- tion, or may have a different voice altogether. Refer to the notes which are packaged with ...
Page 21
The keys (after touch). Velocity sensitivity is not set in this mode; it is programmed into individual voices. All the performance parameters affected by function mode are marked in brown on the control panel. The edit recall and voice initialize functions are also marked in brown, as are the cartri...
Page 22
Does not cancel the original note. Leave the instru- ment set to poly mode for the time being. Pitch bend range & step the pitch bend wheel located at the far left side of the keyboard can be used to "bend" notes or chords, provided the pitch bend range is set to some non-zero value. The wheel is sp...
Page 23
Portamento & glissando in poly mode sustain: key pitch retain 1. Press [portamento time] and use the [data entry] controls to set a time of 80, as indicated in the lcd window. (if the time is set at or near zero, there will be no discernable portamento or glissando effect, regardless of what you do ...
Page 24
Glissando (key pitch retain & key pitch follow) glissando is similar to the portamento effects you just explored, with this exception; the pitch glide in porta- mento is continuous, whereas in glissando it moves up or down in 1/2 step increments. Glissando works with cither the "follow" or "retain" ...
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4. You can obtain a "full time glissando" effect in much the same way (with stepped pitch shift instead of a continuous glide); just press [glissando] and then the data entry [on] button. 5. Enough work — take a fun break! Now that you've been exposed to some of the function control features, try us...
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A ram cartridge before submitting the instru- ment for a new battery or repair. See page 49 for cartridge save and load descriptions and directions. Please do not try to change the battery yourself ; expensive damage that is not covered by your warranty may result. Modulation wheel foot control brea...
Page 27
5. Play the keyboard and then move the modulation wheel toward "max". Notice it does not change the sound; that's because you just turned off the wheel's effect. Set this wheel at maximum note you will now be asked to turn on the modu- lation wheel effects and see how they can be used to alter the s...
Page 28
How the dx7 creates sounds breath controller or foot controller) to turn notes up and down within the existing envelopes, provided you are also playing the notes on the keyboard. The more eg bias, the less amplitude is present when you play a note; the level increases when you add eg bias by advanci...
Page 29
Algorithms different arrangements of operators are known as "algorithms." an algorithm is something like a "patch" on a modular synthesizer; it defines the way the opera- tors are interconnected, only instead of using patch cords, the dx synthesizers digitally switch the operators to make up the var...
Page 30
The results of using different frequency ratios, as well as different algorithms, are shown graphically in the accompanying illustration. In the left column, you see the resulting waveforms created by 1:1,2:1 and 3:1 frequency ratios when a modulator is stacked atop a carrier — for example, operator...
Page 31
Envelopes and envelope generators consider what happens when you play a note. The volume goes up to some value, then eventually falls to nothing, with some sort of reasonably well defined pat- tern that is characteristic of the particular instrument. For example, a low note on a pipe organ starts sl...
Page 32
Programming voices: a tutorial ence whether the envelope had reached level 3 and was sustaining, had just reached level 2, or had not yet reached level 1. Whatever the level when you release the key, the sound immediately moves toward level 4 at rate 4. At the slowest setting for rate 4, the sound c...
Page 33
2. Assuming you want to initialize the voice edit mem- ory (buffer), answer affirmative by pressing [yes]. (if you changed your mind and don't want to initialize a voice, press [no]; the display won't change, but the voice will not be initialized and you can select any other function you wish.) 3. T...
Page 34
The "current" operator is that one whose parameters are being displayed, and which is ready to be repro- grammed. You can see which one is current (op1 through op6) by looking at the upper right hand comer of the lcd display a"?" is illustrated here because we don't know which operator is current (t...
Page 35
30 with all levels at the maximum of 99 (except level 4, which is at 0) and with rate 1 at 25 instead of the 99 to which the other rates are set, the note builds up slowly when you press a key and turns off the instant you release the key if you could see the envelope, it would look something like t...
Page 36
Rate] as required so you can use [data entry] to adjust rate 3 to a value of 50. When you play a note, observe how the sound builds to a maximum, then falls to the sustain level at a moderate rate and stays there until you release the key, after which the sound slowly fades. If you could see this ne...
Page 37
Instea d of taking the time to reprogram the envelope , we ask you to again use the voice initialize feature.. . It save s time . 1. To gai n acces s to the "voice initialize " function , press [function], and then [voice init], and answer the displayed prompts . 2. Then press [yes] twice to initial...
Page 38
6. Slide [data entry] all the way down so the fre- quency returns to 1.00, and then press [oscilla- tor-frequency coarse] and use data entry [+1] to set the frequency ratio to 2.00. Then slowly move this slider up and down fully, or use these buttons while continuing to play a note 7. Press [oscilla...
Page 39
Algorithm # i these bracketed numbers show you where the on/off switching is done in the algo- rithm. Operators can be dis- abled (turned off) using the [operator on/off] buttons, but they remain off only while programming. Stored voices have all operators on. The reason you have heard only operator...
Page 40
Press this button (don't confuse it with [eg level], button 22) and repeatedly play notes until the display shows maxi- mum output level if you are familiar with analog synthesizers, you may see a parallel between this sound and that of a saw- tooth wave which is going through a filter that has a lo...
Page 41
And again adjust [data entry] to hear the results of different frequency ratios as you play leave operator 2 set to a frequency ratio of 2.00 the sound you now hear will be simitar to that of a square wave in a conventional synthe- sizer. In this case, it is created by sine wave modulation of the ca...
Page 42
9. To compare what the sound is like with and without the carrier, you don't have to turn down the output level of operator 1; you can simply turn it off. Press [operator on/off 1] to turn off the carrier, and try to play few notes. (don't adjust anything else right now.) and see the display change ...
Page 43
Preset voices, you can do so without "losing" this voice. There are two approaches to this. (a) you can store this voice in its current state on a ram cartridge by following the instructions on page 49, or... (b) you can press the [memory select-in- ternal] or [memory select-cartridge] button and th...
Page 44
When you later try switching algorithms after adding feedback and activating the other 4 operators, you'll hear much more variation. 2. Pull down the [data entry] slider and/or use the [-1] button until you've selected algorithm 1 again. Use either of these controls to return to algorithm 1 3. It yo...
Page 45
In this case scaling operator 2 is not necessary so you can omit the process of setting its break point (which would be done by pressing [operator select] and adjusting the value as desired). Now play some scales and notice that the sound is still reasonably uniform across the keyboard. That's becau...
Page 46
41 lfo section block diagram ments. One modulation sensitivity control is provided for pitch, and another for amplitude. In order for you to hear the result of any lfo pmd or amd settings, the corresponding [mod sensitivity- pitch] or [mod sensitivity-amplitude] param- eter must be greater than zero...
Page 47
3. Press [pmd] (pitch modulation depth), and adjust [data entry] for a value of 50, again, just to begin. Now play a few notes. You probably won't hear any change from when you started... Even with [pmd] set at the maximum of 99! That's because while the lfo is now generating a reasonably fast (spee...
Page 48
The display should look like this. Play several brief notes 10. Now use [data entry] to turn the sync off again, play the same brief note several times, and listen to the pitch each time. You'll hear the initial pitch of each note change slightly as the randomly timed notes interact with the regular...
Page 49
Programming the remaining 4 operator* so far we have used just 2 of the 6 available operators within the algorithm to create the voice you are hearing. The remaining 4 operators can be used to add to the voice and richen it. However, for the purpose of demon- stration, we'll show you how to program ...
Page 50
In this case, we do not want these two segments of the voice (op1-op2 and op3-op6) to combine; we want a "split" keyboard instead. (with another voice, you might want the two voice segments to play to- gether, complementing one another.) since we don't want the piano mixed with the clarinet, let's u...
Page 51
46 press and hold down the [character] button, then press individual buttons which correspond to the letters, numbers, or punctuation you wish to use. You can determine which buttons produce which alphanumeric characters by looking at the small dark brown "reversed" type in the right comer of each b...
Page 52
Any of the preset voices can be edited to change them slightly, or totally in fact, the term "primary voice" might be better than "preset voice," since these voices are not permanent like the presets of most other synthesizers. In fact, all dx7 presets are completely programmable. So, too, are any v...
Page 53
Analyzing and keeping a record of voices you can use the edit mode to examine all the param- eters of each preset... Or of any voice. You don't have to change anything, but the envelope or frequency ratios or touch sensitivity of a voice may be useful to you in creating a new voice. In the event a v...
Page 54
The internal and cartridge memories we have already described how to play voices that are stored in the internal memories or cartridge memories. As part of the tutorial, we have also described how to store a single voice. The following instructions provide additional detail on the use of these memor...
Page 55
Play a live performance and you want memories 1-32 to contain the voices you plan to play in numerical order. This can be done either in the internal memory or in the ram cartridge memory its best to have at least 1 "blank" or unwanted voice which you can erase when doing this. If you need all 32 vo...
Page 56: Advanced Programming Notes
Advanced programming notes playing style and programming of dynamic control by now you should be familiar with some of the ways the dx7's keyboard can be programmed to be touch responsive. If you have read the programming instruc- tions in this manual and tried to create or edit voices, you are prob...
Page 57
Variation of the second category. Another variation simi- lar to category (2) is feedback, which creates frequency modulation through regeneration. If you were to set the 6 operators to any frequency ratios you choose, and set their envelopes and output levels to "typical" values (i.E., values like ...
Page 58
Ent modulator output levels for each combination of frequencies, since this can make a world of difference in the sound. Ensemble voices may differ from solo voices when a musician plays an instrument as part of an ensemble, whether 2 or 70 people are playing, the sound of his instrument will intera...
Page 59
"live" after you exit the function mode by pressing one of the [memory select] buttons (internal or cartridge). The [data entry] controls only change the last used parameter prior to pressing the [mem- ory select] button. This feature can be useful as an additional live performance control. For exam...
Page 60
Midi: a standard interface for remotely playing and/or programming multiple synthesizers midi is an acronym for musical instrument digital interface, a specification which several manufacturers have already agreed to use for designing equipment which is compatible. Midi is a non-proprietary "lan- gu...
Page 61
Transmitting 32 voices from the master to the slave for this discussion, we will assume the simple setup shown with just two dx7 synthesizers. Basically, the same procedure is used when playing more dx7s, or a mixture of other dx synthesizers. 1. Load the 32 voices you wish to transmit into the mas-...
Page 62
Or [memory select-cartridge] and then pressing the appropriate voice selector (1-32). 4. The voice you just selected on the master is now located in the edit buffer within the slave. To save it, press and hold the slave's [store] button, and then press the slave's voice selector corresponding to the...
Page 63
Maintenance and troubleshooting cleaning the dx7 should be cleaned with a soft, moistened cloth. To remove more stubborn dirt, use a mild deter- gent solution on the cloth. Do not allow fluid to run into the instrument, and do not use special cleaners since solvents can mar the finish. Internal memo...
Page 64: Dx Synthesizer Glossary
Dx synthesizer glossary adsr this is an acronym for "attack-decay-sustain-release" which, in turn, refers to the four controls provided on a con- ventional synthesizer's envelope generators. While the dx synlhesizers can simulate adsr-type egs, the dx egs are more complex. Adsr egs have 4 variables,...
Page 65
Fingered porta this is an abbreviation for "fingered portamento." this is a functional mode of the dx7 which is available only when the keyboard is set to mono operation. Provided the unit is set to fingered portamento, and the portamento time is greater than 0 (actually greater than 30 for any sign...
Page 66
Load in the dx7, "load" describes the process of trans- ferring the 32 voices from one bank of a rom cartridge, or from a ram cartridge, into the 32 internal memories. Midi this is an acronym for musical instrument digital interface, a specification which several manufacturers have already agreed to...
Page 67
Save in the dx7, "save" describes the process of simul- taneously placing all 32 internal memory voices into the correspondingly numbered ram cartridge memories. Sawtooth wave a waveform that contains the funda- mental and both odd and even harmonics. In conven- tional synthesizers, a sawtooth wave ...
Page 68: Dx7 Specifications
Dx7 specifications keyboard 61 keys, cl to c6: velocity and pressure sensitive (initial & after touch): 16 note polyphonic, and may be set to monophonic sound source fm digital tone generators: 6 operators and 32 algo- rithms internal memory ram memory with 32-voice capacity; battery back- up preven...
Page 69: Index
Index ac power c*,12-14,20,27,58,59,61,63 after touch c,4,10,16,21,23,42,44,52,58,59,61,63 algorithm 6,9,24-26,28,33,34,38,39,44,46,47,52,55,59,62,63 amd (amplitude modulation depth) 6,40-43,51,59,63 amplitude modulation 4,6,7,10,11,22,23,40,43,53,58,59,63 audio output 4,12-14,23,63 battery (batt ch...
Page 70: Voice Data List
Yamaha voice data list.
Page 71
Dx7 om 5/20/99 19e0112 international corp., box 6600, buena park, calif. 90622.
Page 72: Yamaha
Yamaha yamaha corporation of america 6600 orangethorpe avenue, p.O. Box 6600 buena park, ca 90622-6600 10/11/99 19j0062 dx7 om.