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Post by ninworks on Jan 23, 2023 12:58:00 GMT -5
I got out my old 1984 Yamaha DX7 synthesizer today after it being in its case for 6 years or more. I needed to diagnose a MIDI controller problem I was having and needed a second opinion to see if my main controller was acting up. It wasn't but that's not what this is about. I have had that DX7 since 1985 and have never had to have it worked on. I kind of expected the internal battery to be toast and for the digital display to look like Japanese and all the internal programs to be lost. Much to my amazement it powered right up and everything was as good as the day I bought it. 38 years of battery life is unheard of. Especially since it hasn't been powered up in many years. Good for you Yamaha for building amazing equipment that goes on and on and on and........
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Post by funkykikuchiyo on Jan 24, 2023 18:53:47 GMT -5
For years they were the cheap, flavorless yet sensible option with occasional really cool successes, like Peavey. I really have a different view of them, now.
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Post by Leftee on Jan 24, 2023 21:12:15 GMT -5
The DX7 was the thing back in the day.
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Post by ninworks on Jan 24, 2023 21:17:51 GMT -5
I was well acquainted with analog synthesizer programming by the time I got the DX7. It was a whole new way of creating sounds that took me quite awhile to figure out. That was my first encounter with additive synthesis. Everything before that was subtracive in nature. The DX was a milestone in synthesizer technology. It sounds very dated these days. Everyone was using the electric piano, bass synth, and harmonica sounds the DX made on all the hit records of the 80's.
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Post by reverendrob on Feb 3, 2023 3:24:14 GMT -5
Sometimes the old batteries last forever in those units.
My Quadraverb battery lasted 30 years.
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Post by Peegoo 🏁 on Feb 12, 2023 14:40:05 GMT -5
I have an Alesis HR16 drum machine I bought new in 1985, and I've never replaced the battery. These little coin batteries are the lithium type that don't leak like carbons and alkalines do. And since they supply microvolts to maintain the BIOS settings, they last virtually forever--longer than the device's expected life span. It's pretty amazing.
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Post by markfromhawaii on Feb 14, 2023 3:27:13 GMT -5
We recently got a MODX7+ for our church. I played with it for a couple days. Many of the keyboard preset patches are DX7 based, some with layered pads. I guess the name suggests Montage-DX-plus.
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Post by Taildragger on Feb 26, 2023 15:25:02 GMT -5
Yamaha recently acquired Guild.
Hoping that turns out to be a good thing.
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Davywhizz
Wholenote
"Still Alive and Well"
Posts: 444
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Post by Davywhizz on Mar 30, 2023 7:39:47 GMT -5
Some of their acoustic guitars have been remarkably good. I bought a FG140 for £25 in a junk shop in 1977 or so and a week later read an interview with Justin Hayward, who said he had one. He's mentioned recording with it many times since.
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Post by Leftee on Mar 30, 2023 7:59:25 GMT -5
Yamaha recently acquired Guild. Hoping that turns out to be a good thing. I’d wager it will be good. |
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Post by Seldom Seen on Apr 28, 2023 18:41:36 GMT -5
Some of their acoustic guitars have been remarkably good. I bought a FG140 for £25 in a junk shop in 1977 or so and a week later read an interview with Justin Hayward, who said he had one. He's mentioned recording with it many times since. When someone asks my advice on a good basic acoustic guitar I tell them to find an old tan/green label Yamaha FG 140, pay for a setup and fret work, and never look back. |
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Davywhizz
Wholenote
"Still Alive and Well"
Posts: 444
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Post by Davywhizz on Apr 29, 2023 0:55:06 GMT -5
Unfortunately they are not cheap now; I've seen them in bad shape for £400 (or$). There's another story about Country Joe using a borrowed FG150 at Woodstock for an impromptu extra set, filling a gap after Richie Havens. www.countryjoe.com/woodxxx.htm |
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