Note/Edit to the Mods/Admins: This should probably be moved to perhaps the hardware sub but it does kind of tie in with my synth needs many of which I think will be met tonally with the included synths I've acquired so far with the X1 Producer Production Suite, X2 Pro and now X3 Pro. So maybe it will meander into being on topic after all. I will not be offended if it is moved though.
 
Totally off topic but since there are so many old school keyboard dudes up here maybe you guys can help me figure out what's wrong with it or what I should do.
 
So I've talked about this thing in the past. It's an original DX-7 (the very first model). Despite it's limitations due to it being released before MIDI was fully standardized (it has a shorter velocity range... 110 instead of 127 I believe) I was going to use it as my controller. I also liked the idea of having such a historic piece of equipment with all those wacky 80's sounds and because I'm a dork I was going to learn how to create my own patches.
 
So this morning I was feeling curious so I started watching some vids and pulled up a pdf manual for it and started going through it all. I decided to plug it in with some headphones to start trying out some functions. Well I hadn't plugged it in for at least a couple years (and I've moved at least twice since the last time). I had the volume turned all the way down but there was a very noticeable hum/buzz. I went to fiddle with the volume fader and nearly blew my eardrums/reference headphones out! Extremely LOUD crackling. Then I looked at the display and it was half normal words and half garbledygook. I could cycle through the patches which would display different names... with a bunch of garbledygook mixed in and no sounds would play when I hit the keys.
 
I just poked around a bit on the internet and saw some vids of guys (awkwardly) replacing the little memory battery (which was apparently soldered in during manufacturing) which MIGHT explain the garbledygook/no sounds issue but doesn't seem like it would cause that horrendous hum/fader crackling.
 
My question(s) to you guys is/are...
 
Any DX-7 owners here who know whether this could be a known issue (like the battery thing)?
 
Any idea of what kind of trade in I could get on this thing? I see they have seriously gone up in resale price over the past 5 years (like from $80 when I first bought it to apparently $300+ today). I'm thinking maybe I could offer it to a music shop for parts or they could repair resell it and maybe get a modern 61-88 key controller which is what I really need anyway. Oxygen's only sell for about $100 and my Oxygen 25 has been working well so although I'd rather have nicer key action I do seriously need/want a longer scale keyboard but don't have the cash for a piano action or fancier stuff like an Axiom. This trade may be my only option.
 
Or maybe I should see if I can get it repaired but that is a huge pain and as a controller it certainly isn't ideal BUT the thing is so friggen cool (in a totally dorky kind of way) that I hate to part with it.
 
Anyway... sorry to be weird/OT. Just a little bummed/stressed about this and could use some more educated/informed advice.
 
Cheers.

Don't do anything rash until you've replaced the battery...and hope that it hasn't leaked.

Anderton
Don't do anything rash until you've replaced the battery...and hope that it hasn't leaked.

Hi, Craig. I watched that seminar you did on MIDI with the OG MIDI guys so I'm assuming you used this thing when it was still brand new. I really respect your opinion on this... so do you think this piece of gear is worth hanging onto even if it has to sit in a corner until I can afford to get it repaired?
 
I've done that before when amps and stuff blew out on me because they were rare/unique/just plain cool but I know NOTHING about keyboards and I've had a lot of guys tell me to just dump it even when it was working in favor of a modern controller.
 
It's also not in the greatest cosmetic shape (cigarette burns, little beat up in general) so I'd probably get lowballed but it did work. I think the idiot mover guys might have dropped it last time (pricks) so maybe there is a cracked board or something. I also have two ROM cartridge and one RAM cartridge (none of which I can test now that it's screwing up).
 
IDK... so frustrating because I REALLY wanted to play around with it today. As far as the leaking battery I'll crack it open and see what's going on. Maybe I'll be able to see if there is a cracked board or something too.
 
I have a vintage Traynor solid state amp that didn't work but I could use as a speaker cab. I tossed fifty bucks at the repair dudes and they replaced a cracked board. Now it sounds AWESOME.
 
Yeah... I need to think on this. Thanks for popping in. Cheers.

The very best DX7 is Native Instruments' FM8

Anderton
The very best DX7 is Native Instruments' FM8

How's the key action on that? ;-p
 
Joking aside... I've got it open. The battery looks fine, none of the fuses look like they're blown (and if they were I'm assuming there would be no power at all) and as far as I can tell all the boards looked to be in good condition (but I'm not about to remove them).
 
However the transformer (I think it's a transformer... I'm not an electronics engineer... yet) looks like it's corroding (rust looking spots on it) and the next board in the chain (which has a heat sink thingie on it) has a bunch of medium-largish capacitors that have some residue around the bottom of them. It looks like glue which might be what it is but it looks rather messy/sloppy so maybe they are leaking something (I have no idea whether capacitors leak). Also the ribbon cable above that, while intact, looks to have taken a LOT of heat at some point. It looks like somebody blew cigarette smoke directly on it for a few years so maybe someone replaced one of the fuses with an incorrect type and it was overheating or something.
 
It also looks like there may have been a couple of insects living in there at one point. GROSS! It's not really bad but definitely some kind of organic/biological interference at some point. Considering the term "bug" when referring to software problems came from insects literally gunking up things on the first computers maybe I have some critter corpses under the boards screwing things up.
 
The volume fader causing that horrendous noise is probably just corrosion and a separate matter altogether which MAY be easily fixed by replacing the fader but it's soldered to the board and there is other crap there so maybe it would need the whole board replaced.
 
Ugh... my old local shop would most likely be able to do this easily but I am now a couple hundred miles away and I sure as heck ain't shipping this behemoth. Guess it's time to get acquainted with the shops in town. Oddly enough there seems to be a place who specializes in Digital Audio. Maybe I'll make some new friends. lulz...
 
Anyone reading this with advice or opinions please do chime in. I'd love to get a better handle on what the heck is going on with this thing.
 
I will probably keep it... I guess... whatevs... meh.

I concur with Craig's assertion on Native Instrument's FM8 being the best DX anything.
 
FURTHER, someone had compiled a gigantic collection of pretty much every DX patch ever released by Yamaha, all nicely converted for use in FM7/FM8.
 
I have this collection, and if memory serves, there were THOUSANDS of patches, all able to be played in FM7/FM8, plus you get the access to all of the effects and such of FM7/FM8, which you did NOT have with the original DX7.
 
I have emailed these patches to a few folks in the past, so let me know if you end up picking up FM8.
 
Hope the fixes to your real DX7 are quick and cheap.
 
Bob Bone
 

I had a "Brown" DX7 years ago - one of the first and it was a blast at that time.  I am now using what "I" consider to be the best VSTi/Stand-Alone DX7 that was created/Programmed by Jamal Hartwell who is the owner of Gospel Musicians web site   gospelmusicians.com  The home page for this site will feature the DX7 Electric Piano Library VSTi.
 
A few things to know before you take the time to check it out if you are so inclined:  It is written for the UVI Workstation.  This is the FREE little brother of MOTU's MachFive 3 and is included in the download of DX7 Electric Piano Library VSTi.  However; it is the exact same engine and has enough options/setting that only the "hard core" programmers would want/need more control.  If you do, buy the MachFive 3 programming software.  Also, you need to have a iLOK Key to run it.  However, you can use a FREE Key and assign it to your computer so there is no additional cost unless you want/need to place it on multiple units.
 
It is VERY reasonably price and a snap to install - I would encourage you to watch Jamal's videos and decide for yourselves if this is worth having for your FM tones.  It sure is to me!
 
Good luck on getting your DX7 fixed - to me it would be worth it but everything has a limit as to how much repair costs can be justified.  I think once you hear the sounds coming from the above VSTi you may decide to store your DX for a few more years - never know how much they may appreciate moving forward!
 
Blessings,  Bo 

robert_e_bone
I concur with Craig's assertion on Native Instrument's FM8 being the best DX anything.
 
FURTHER, someone had compiled a gigantic collection of pretty much every DX patch ever released by Yamaha, all nicely converted for use in FM7/FM8.
 
I have this collection, and if memory serves, there were THOUSANDS of patches, all able to be played in FM7/FM8, plus you get the access to all of the effects and such of FM7/FM8, which you did NOT have with the original DX7.
 
I have emailed these patches to a few folks in the past, so let me know if you end up picking up FM8.
 
Hope the fixes to your real DX7 are quick and cheap.
 
Bob Bone
 

Hi, Bob. Glad you stopped in too. I'm assuming you are another fellow who is quite familiar with this piece of gear. It may sound like I'm being fiddly, contrary or weird with the next statement but I'm actually not THAT interested in the actual sounds or capabilities of the synth... but kind of am.
 
Basically they aren't the types of sounds SPECIFICALLY I would drop coin on to snag in VST format or sound banks or whatever. I've only really scratched the surface of what some of the synths that I've gotten with Sonar can do and I think (and I may be totally off base with this) that the Zeta+ 2 I got with the X1 Production Suite, although not the same, is capable of the type of sounds I would actually use in my music from the DX-7. I've messed around with Zeta more than the other synths and it tweaks my dork curiosity in the same way the DX does and obviously it's a million times easier to use/more flexible.
 
Still I've been planning on screwing around with the DX for years now for the sheer challenge of it and as a newcomer to MIDI and keyboards in general having something like that and forcing myself to learn it... well I think it will help me understand how its modern software counterparts work and why. I keep reading stuff about how impossible the thing was to program which is why we had so much music in the eighties using the presets but I think I could figure the thing out after perusing the manual this morning. No graphs or multiple virtual knobs to fiddle with or anything but mentally visualizing what's up, listening and tweaking. I wasn't around when all this stuff was originally going on so I didn't get to grunt my way through these types of things and I think that is to my (and my generation's) detriment.
 
So the sounds are important... but not... but are. My thought process on this confuses even me but I would like to be able to access those original banks for my own brainspace and learn the process for my own education (even if it is just a history lesson).
 
The MOST important thing to me though is having a slick playing keyboard to practice on and control my softsynths. On my budget and considering what's out there it is a real disappointment that this thing is borking out. Maybe it'll be fine as a MIDI controller but considering the horrendous noise I'm afraid to hook up the DIN output to my interface. I know it is just data (not audio signal) but damn... I don't know what could happen.
 
After opening it up I see everything is modular. I may be able to just replace some of this crap myself if I can find the parts but I am pretty bummed. I've decided it will stay with me though. I think I would be foolish to let it go now that I've seen how rapidly they've gone up in price. Might be a good home project for me if I ever get around to taken an electrical engineering course like I've been wanting to for years now.
 
Cheers.

Bo Baker
I had a "Brown" DX7 years ago - one of the first and it was a blast at that time.  I am now using what "I" consider to be the best VSTi/Stand-Alone DX7 that was created/Programmed by Jamal Hartwell who is the owner of Gospel Musicians web site   gospelmusicians.com  The home page for this site will feature the DX7 Electric Piano Library VSTi.
 
A few things to know before you take the time to check it out if you are so inclined:  It is written for the UVI Workstation.  This is the FREE little brother of MOTU's MachFive 3 and is included in the download of DX7 Electric Piano Library VSTi.  However; it is the exact same engine and has enough options/setting that only the "hard core" programmers would want/need more control.  If you do, buy the MachFive 3 programming software.  Also, you need to have a iLOK Key to run it.  However, you can use a FREE Key and assign it to your computer so there is no additional cost unless you want/need to place it on multiple units.
 
It is VERY reasonably price and a snap to install - I would encourage you to watch Jamal's videos and decide for yourselves if this is worth having for your FM tones.  It sure is to me!
 
Good luck on getting your DX7 fixed - to me it would be worth it but everything has a limit as to how much repair costs can be justified.  I think once you hear the sounds coming from the above VSTi you may decide to store your DX for a few more years - never know how much they may appreciate moving forward!
 
Blessings,  Bo 

I was actually watching one of that fellow's vids this morning when I was looking for tutorials on how to program the keyboard. I will keep this in mind if I get too antsy and can't wait for my DX to be repaired.
 
Ever since I got it I can almost immediately pick it out of a soundtrack or song from the era. A lot of it is rather hokey but some people really got creative with that thing... especially in the film soundtrack department.
 
Cheers and thanks.
 

Beepster
However the transformer (I think it's a transformer... I'm not an electronics engineer... yet) looks like it's corroding (rust looking spots on it) and the next board in the chain (which has a heat sink thingie on it) has a bunch of medium-largish capacitors that have some residue around the bottom of them. It looks like glue which might be what it is but it looks rather messy/sloppy so maybe they are leaking something (I have no idea whether capacitors leak).

 
Electrolytic capacitors can in fact leak, and IIRC there was one company that pumped out a really bad production run...sort of like Ampex with the production run of nasty tapes.
 

The volume fader causing that horrendous noise is probably just corrosion and a separate matter altogether which MAY be easily fixed by replacing the fader but it's soldered to the board and there is other crap there so maybe it would need the whole board replaced.

 
Contact cleaner does miracles with scratchy pots, and sometimes you can find a suitable replacement. Companies try to order a zillion pots and use them in everything to get prices down, I suspect there are still a few of those suckers hanging around at Yamaha.
 

I'd love to get a better handle on what the heck is going on with this thing.

 
Fix one thing at a time, starting with the easiest stuff. Replace the battery, use contact cleaner on the fader, test the capacitors and replace if necessary. One very important tip is to pull out all connectors and push them back in a few times to clean their contacts. If ICs are socketed, do this to them as well (but be careful, those things are fragile and finding replacements for custom chips will be daunting). I have an OB-8 with dissimilar metals for the socket and IC, and crystals started growing between the pins and shorted things out. I removed the IC, brushed off the crystals, and now it should last until after I'm dead.