PX 7 thoughts

[dvdrtldg]

I trialled PX7 ages ago and didn't like it much, it left me scratching my head a bit. Since then I've come to appreciate FM synthesis a lot more, and I really like Zero & FM4. Wish I could go back to Px7 now and give it another try

So my question: what are your thoughts on this synth - best uses, and what it can do that Zero and FM4 can't do?

[bpmorton]

Read DX-7 patches. There are other differences but that is the big one. If you want classic DX-7 patches this is the one you want. FM4 is a pretty good second for basic FM. Zero is just nuts and too much stuff for me, and seems to be too much for some of the pre-set programmers as there was a lot of basic sawtooth stuff there in the pre-sets.

[dvdrtldg]

Yeah I'm not too keen on the Zero presets either, but for making sounds from scratch it's been blowing my mind

I played keys in a band in the late 90s for about 6 months, used someone else's DX7 and I never liked the presets on that thing. Everything just sounded too cheesy and plasticky and 80s, which I guess is what a lot of people are after these days (i.e. "classic" 80s sounds) but I'm more interested in drones, pads with complex evolving textures, noise etc. So I like a synth that covers a really wide spectrum of sounds with lots of capability for automation, CV modulation etc. I seem to remember that I could only get a fairly limited range of sounds out of PX7, but I don't think I spent very much time with it (this was pre-update)

[bpmorton]

Vecto does some limited FM as well. I was able to get a decent FM electric piano patch out of it (cheese and all.)

[gak]

I HATE the PX7 (hyperbole, but I really do)

All I like it for are the "faux" rhodes sounds.

Got mine for free when I bought reason, would never buy it on it's own even on sale.

(wait, gak, you are usually gushing over reason stuff? ) That's how I feel. FM7? Even though it's difficult to get the hang of, it's a good usable synth. If this is "authentic" then it just reinforces the "plastic" comments about the original.

[InavigableHeart]

I've got PX7, and although it was good way to be introduced to the workings of FM, I now find it a bit limiting, boring, or well it takes too long to get an interesting patch out of. These days I almost always pick up FM4 for its immediacy and more colourful sound.

Likewise, I like drones and find the 80s cheese stuff a bit grating!

[boobytrap]

I trialled PX7 ages ago and didn't like it much,

Yes, me too. But it's looks like 80s vintage device. Good for my antique collection.That is the only reason i bought it.

[Pinkbox]

I've got PX7, and although it was good way to be introduced to the workings of FM, I now find it a bit limiting, boring, or well it takes too long to get an interesting patch out of. These days I almost always pick up FM4 for its immediacy and more colourful sound.

Same here.

[stega]

Check out the Neo DX refill - it might give you some idea of what can be done with a bit of work. The video demos some of the patches, lots of which go into pad and drone territory.

http://nucleus-soundlab.com/products/re ... nsion.html

Personally I am quite fond of the PX7 for specific sounds/atmospheres - definitely doesn't suit everything, but for my shoegazy tastes it works well. I haven't tried the Zero or FM4 though, so they might well blow it out of the water!

[Carly(Poohbear)]

One of the big pluses for the PX7 is the amount of patches out there, there is a free refill kicking around with over 30000 unique patches (there is one called 200K but that 30000 patches was made from that one).

FM4 I thought was very high on the CPU usage but is easy to create sounds on.

Zero is an interesting beast, PX7 has (off the top of my head) 32 algorithms where has Zero has thousands (too late to work things out). PX7 based on Sine wave, several types with zero.

So if you want to create sounds from scratch go for the zero, if you want to tweak a patch to get to where you to then PX7..

[joeyluck]

I am a huge fan of Navi Retlav's PX7 ReFill
https://shop.propellerheads.se/product/ ... efill-px7/

My favorite patch from that ReFill is 'Powerful Capture'

Aside from that ReFill, I really enjoy sounds like the preset 'FM-Growth' that you can find in the 200k ReFill.

It really does offer something different that you don't hear in FM4 or Zero.

[Spryx]

px7 is ok... its is very representative of what a dx7 sounds like. I bought a DX7IID E! back in 2002 and thought "man this sounds boring".

I kind of wish they designed it more like FM7...to go beyond traditional fm sounds. It is good as a DX7 emulation though.

[Rook]

I think PX7 is awesome. I mainly use it for presets (of which there are THOUSANDS) to get ideas going. It's so playable and responsive. But, before I got it I compared it with a Yamaha TX81z I owned at the time and thought the PX7 sounded just as good if not better than the hardware. I sold the Yamaha and got PX7 shortly after. No regrets at all.

So, if you like classic Yamaha fm sounds, it's fantastic. Even if you don't program it, it's worth it. There's a whole world of DX patches to explore.

[challism]

I would love it if Props would put CV inputs for each of the operators, so you could input your own waveforms. Imagine that for a second. 6 different LFOs from 6 different AMMO100s (128 different waveforms to chose from). That would blow my mind! Seems like it would be easy enough for Props to do, but I would be very surprised to see it happen.\\

Anyway, I have PX7 and love it. It's pretty boring totally dry, but add some reverb, unison and delay... or what have you, and it sounds great!. Also, it has a ton of presets. You can tweak those just a bit using the sliders at the top of the device, and you can get some really different sounds from one preset. I love those sliders.

I haven't been using PX7 much lately, mostly because I have a ton of other great synths in my rack that I am excited about. But I loaded it up yesterday after reading this thread, and had a blast with it.

[dvdrtldg]

I would love it if Props would put CV inputs for each of the operators, so you could input your own waveforms. Imagine that for a second. 6 different LFOs from 6 different AMMO100s (128 different waveforms to chose from). That would blow my mind! Seems like it would be easy enough for Props to do, but I would be very surprised to see it happen.

That's what I was thinking - if PX7 was more fuckable-with, I might be more interested. I'll pass on it for now.

Have spent a stinkingly hot day today getting some magnificent face-melting droning noise out of a combination of FM4, WBL5515, Thor, Parsec and... ReTron

[eXode]

In my humble opinion, there isn't much that speaks for the PX7 after Zero hit the shop. I prefer the programming in Zero, even if I stick to DX7 style patches, then of course there's the various waveforms, the partial editing that allows you to come up with pretty much any waveform you can think of, and the FX, to name a few things.

[satyr32]

I prefer PX7 to Zero, at least in regards to FM. I find it hard with Zero to tune in the right amount of FM, just turn a tiny bit FM in and it is often already too harsh. My only complaint with PX7 is the lack of CV, e.g. for the envelopes or feedback.

[eXode]

I prefer PX7 to Zero, at least in regards to FM. I find it hard with Zero to tune in the right amount of FM, just turn a tiny bit FM in and it is often already too harsh. My only complaint with PX7 is the lack of CV, e.g. for the envelopes or feedback.

A tip is to use the operator's VOL or MOD envelope as you can set the strength of each point.

[mcatalao]

Love PX7, but havent been used much over here now.

I think the best option at this time would be Zero. FM4 is too CPU hungry and only has 4 operators (various wavesets though).

But another interesting synth that also does FM, is Revival, and its suth an insteresting synth that seems to be forgotten when talking about FM Synthesis.

All in all, i didn't invest either on FM 4 or Zero. With so many other stuff i already have i'm staying away from synths, and trying to cash in for Softube TubeTech...

[dana]

I love the PX7, and Zero..

PX7 has the brightness control and the ease of use (all controls are visible) that the Zero doesn't have. I learned it inside out, i've got a youtube video somewhere that i made that shows you how to create dubstep wobbles using the mod wheel lfo assignment which is built-in.

Zero is something else, and takes a lot more thought to get to the interesting sounds, i'm still learning how to use it fully but the ability to change the waveform and modify the envelope curves for anything is pretty cool, as is the unison feature. Built-in effects is just the cherry on the top.

FM4. I didn't buy it, i missed out when it was cheaper, i was going to buy it but the price went up and i thought anyway i don't really need it.

But Zero, can do things that PX7 can't do.. Sounds that are more reminiscent of serum wavetable scanning.

I would go for Zero over PX7 but i really am happy i've got both.