1 2 3 = DX7 synths (8 voices shared) · 4 = drums (6 voices of their own). Every track has its own pattern.
| ALGORITHM | select the track (on every page) |
| PRESETS | sound: 01–20 factory, 21–52 your bank, then user presets · drums: the kit |
| SELECT | tempo |
| KNOB 1–4 | HOME: swing · level · steps · pan |
| PLAY | start / stop all tracks |
| REC | playing: record now · stopped: armed, the first note starts · empty project: play freely, REC on the “1” closes the loop |
| hold REC | clear the track (a ring fills, ~2 s) |
| OCT− / OCT+ | octave (both = 0) · drums, held: ghost / hard hits |
| HOME | TRACKS · hold: menu (colour, low cut, lights, USB audio, about) |
| EDIT + OCT−/+ | undo / redo |
| Hold | White keys | KNOB 1 · 2 · 3 · 4 |
|---|---|---|
| FX | punch-in effect | filter · dust · duck |
| EDIT | erase that sound / note | shift · length ×2/½ · transp. |
| ARP | note repeat (roll) | rate |
| SEQ | steps · OCT−/+ pages 1–8 · step held: K4 tune, PRESETS decay lock | sound/note · div · swing · length |
| SCL | the key of the song | chord · scale · keys · transp. |
| GLO | 1–4 mute · 5–8 solo · 16 tap | level of tracks 1–4 |
| SAVE | 1–4 play section A–D · 5–8 store · 13 loop/song · 14 song rec |
Lock a layer: hold its button + tap HOME. Tap instead of hold: its pages.
OMNI (ARP page, MODE OMNI): black keys = chords F C G · Dm Am · Em G7 E7 · D7 Bb · A7, white keys = strings, swipe. MODE FLW: a track's pattern follows the chord.
| SELECT | choose the row |
| ALGORITHM | change the value (the first turn on “Algorithm” only draws it) |
| EDIT | open a group / run an action (tap twice) |
| HOME | one level back |
| PRESETS | straight to the next / previous operator |
| KNOB 1–4 | CUT · RESO (the low-pass) · REL · FDBK; value at the bottom, dials top right |
| SAVE | store the bank (a dot at the bottom = not stored) |
List: Voice · Bank 1–8 · Algorithm 1–32 · Feedback · Osc Sync · Transpose · OP1–OP6 › · Pitch Env › · LFO › · Name › · Copy To · Init Voice · Store · More Pages ›
Operator: On · Solo · Output Level · Coarse (ratio) · Fine · Detune · Osc Mode · Rate 1–4 · Level 1–4 · Key Velocity · Amp Mod Sens · Break Point · Left/Right Depth · Left/Right Curve · Rate Scaling
Changing a factory voice copies it into the first free user slot first (“COPIED TO U01”). In the algorithm drawing: carriers cyan, modulators light blue.
| EDIT pages | KNOB 1–4: VOICE · BRITE · ATK · DEC, then REL · FDBK · CUT · RESO |
| BRITE | the modulators’ level: dull ↔ bright |
| ATK · DEC · REL | slower / longer (0 = as programmed) |
| FDBK | feedback: sine → saw |
| CUT · RESO | a low-pass behind the voice (CUT 127 = open, out of the way) |
| ENV page | ATK · DEC · REL of the carriers, SUS lowers the sustain (127 = as programmed) |
| ENV/LFO DEST | FLT = the cutoff, SHP = brightness, PIT = pitch, AMP = volume |
| FX pages | SENDS (the four as dials: DIST · CHO · DLY · REV), then one per effect, the send first: DIST drive · tone · type · mix — CHORUS send · rate · depth · mix — DELAY send · time · fdbk · mix — REVERB send · size · damp · pre |
| F3Kick | G3Kick 2 | A3Snare | B3Clap | C4Hat | D4Open | E4Pedal | F4Rim |
| G4Snare 2 | A4Tom L | B4Tom H | C5Crash | D5Ride | E5Shaker | F5Conga | G5Cowbell |
Kits (PRESETS): 1 DX KIT · 2 808 FM · 3 ELECTRO · 4 METAL · 5 MY KIT. A black key plays the sound left of it. SEQ: grid ↔ kit. Kit page KNOB 1–4: kit · level · drive · comp. EDIT: the lane (the sound last played): TUNE · DECAY · SWEEP · BRIGHT, PRESETS: NOISE · LEVEL · PAN · CHOKE, then REV · dice kit / sound (turn twice). SAVE 2×: MY KIT.
8 banks × 32 = 256 voices in memory. Original DX7 ROMs: yamahablackboxes.com · collections: bobbyblues.recup.ch
| Project | tap SAVE → PROJECT: slot, turn twice = save / load (4 slots, autosave) |
| Sound | SAVE → USER: 32 user presets |
| Backup | editor → Projects → Backup (projects, presets, DX7 bank) |
| Update | dx7.designburgapps.com → Install (USB straight in, no hub) |
| Go back | M-UPGRADE + the original firmware · emergency: FM-1-transporter |
A DX7 voice is made of six operators. Each is a sine oscillator with its own envelope and level. An operator is either a carrier (you hear it) or a modulator (it bends the wave of the operator below it: the more level, the more harmonics). That is FM: the brightness comes from the modulators. sloopDX adds a low-pass behind each voice (CUT, RESO) for the classic synth sweep.
Operator 2 modulates operator 1. Light blue = modulator, cyan = carrier, the pink loop = feedback (an operator modulating itself: from sine to saw to noise).
The algorithm says how the six are wired: stacks (2 → 1, deep and bright), pairs (5: three electric-piano-like pairs), one modulator on several carriers (22), or all six as carriers (32: an organ of sines). On the FM-1: EDIT → Algorithm, the first turn draws it, the next ones change it.
In the web editor (tab Voice) all six are on one page, with their envelopes drawn.
| Coarse | the ratio to the note: 0.50, 1, 2, 3 … 31. Whole ratios on a modulator = harmonic (organ, brass, bass); 1.41, 3.5 … = inharmonic (bells, metal) |
| Fine | between the ratios (1.00 → 1.99) |
| Detune | −7…+7: two carriers slightly apart beat (chorus, e-piano shimmer) |
| Osc Mode | FIXED: a frequency regardless of the key (1, 10, 100, 1000 Hz ranges): noises, drums, clicks |
Rates are speeds (99 = instant, low = slow), levels are targets. R1→L1 attack, R2→L2 and R3→L3 decay to the sustain L3 (held while the key is down), R4→L4 release. A carrier's envelope = volume, a modulator's = brightness over time.
| Key Velocity | 0–7: harder = louder (carrier) or brighter (modulator) |
| Rate Scaling | 0–7: high notes decay faster, as a piano |
| Break Point, Depth, Curve | level up or down the keyboard from a key: thinner bass, softer treble |
| Amp Mod Sens | how much the LFO's AMD reaches this operator (tremolo) |
Pitch Env: 4 rates, 4 levels for the pitch of all operators (level 50 = no shift): a blip on the attack, a slow drop. LFO: wave (triangle, saw, square, sine, S&H), speed, delay, PMD (vibrato) with Pitch Mod Sens, AMD (tremolo) with Amp Mod Sens, key sync.
Each drum is a DX7 voice too: a body (a carrier, swept down at the hit), modulators for tone, and noise operators (drums only: noise instead of a sine, its frequency the colour). On the kit page tap EDIT for the sound you last played: TUNE the note, DECAY every falling rate, SWEEP the pitch drop, BRIGHT the modulators, NOISE the noise, then LEVEL, PAN, CHOKE and the REV send. Locks put a TUNE / DECAY on one hit.
| Bass | Alg 1 or 5 · OP2 Coarse 1, Level 70–85, fast decay (R2 ~70, L2 0) · OP1 carrier · Feedback 4–6 for growl |
| Sub / 808 | OP1 alone at Coarse 0.50: a pure sine an octave down · 808: Pitch Env L4 66, R1 72 (it drops into the note), L3 0 (it dies away) |
| E-piano | Alg 5 · carriers Coarse 1 with Detune ±2 · one modulator Coarse 14 with a short decay (the tine), Key Velocity 5–7 |
| Bell | Alg 5 · modulator Coarse 3.5 (Fine) Level 70 · carrier long R3/R4 · L3 0 (it rings out) |
| Brass | Alg 22 · modulator envelope with a slower R1 than the carriers (the tone opens), Feedback 7, a little Pitch Env attack |
| Organ | Alg 32 · six carriers at Coarse 0.5, 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 (the drawbars), Levels set the mix |
| Pad | slow R1 (30–45) on the carriers, long R4, two carriers detuned ±3, LFO PMD a little |
Then: Copy To a slot, Name it, SAVE. Factory voices are copied into a user slot automatically on the first change.