And who knows, I may happen upon a patch I think plays and sounds better on Dexed. What I do like about Dexed is it's free, a small footprint, and simple installation. Overall I prefer PX7 for creating and editing. And the macro controls on PX7 are very handy.
Dexed is so much jumping around and getting lost when trying to adjust similar parameters on different operators. The layout of Dexed is certainly no where near as straight-forward as PX7, which is organized very nicely, including the algorithm display. I'm also getting stuck notes occasionally on Dexed Same goes I suppose between emulations.and probably really depends on what patches people are comparing and how they are being used and played. FM sounds can be tricky, they can quickly become too harsh or lose liveliness with the slightest adjustments. But again, that could also be what I am used to hearing with them via the PX7. Of my favorite patches I've tried, I like PX7 better. And right now the best DX7 emulation is free. Someone in that other thread mentioned something about being nitpicky and all, and yeah, sorry I am being nitpicky - but Dexed sounds better without having to mess with any parameters, and it may not matter to YOU, but it does to me, and whether it makes any difference in a song, well, who the hell cares, I just want to use the *best* instrument. I think it has something to do with the touch parameter on PX7, where you might have to decrease it to around -25 and raise the overall volume to get somewhat close to Dexed, which is probably the same thing as switching Arturia's velocity to "full", but there's still *something* that sounds a little off. Load the same patches into both Dexed and PX7 and hear the difference. Funny how A/B-ing things opens your eyes and ears, huh? Like I said, try it for yourself. I just know NOW that Dexed sounds best to me. But PX7 - not sure what's going on there and I don't have the desire to investigate any further. You have to switch Arturia's velocity to the "Full" setting and then raise the volume a bit to match Dexed. I just found Dexed's default sound the most punchy. I used patches from the DX7's factory bank for all. Can you do that with Dexed or Arturia's DX7?Īlso, are you sure you are comparing the exact same patches? One thing I noticed, if you browse the 200k ReFill / the numerous libraries out there, there are a ton of E.Piano 1 patches, and they can vary slightly. Although the opinions you point out in another thread does have me wanting key tracking for pan. As well as the operator pan, which I think is unique to PX7. I'm not sure how it compares to the original DX7, but one of the things I like about PX7 as compared to Dexed are the macro controls, and how I can quickly adjust a sound.
But anyway, that made me drop PX7 from my rack and switch to Dexed for all FM duties. Of course that was just one patch so who knows if the others are similar. I had to tweak the PX7 to match the other two and I still couldn't get it to sound "right". Loading the same EPIANO 1 patch into Arturia's DX, Dexed, and PX7 I notice that PX7's sounds duller and less lively than the others. I actually just tested this a few days ago. It’s been nearly 40 years since the DX7 became a studio staple, but this tool could bring new life to an aged synth.Is the PX7 the best virtual DX7 right now? How faithful is it to the hardware? I have seen zero 1:1 DX7/PX7 on YT. Hopefully it will enable musicians to move beyond the admittedly iconic electric piano and huge bass sounds of the synth, while still retaining its quirky hallmarks. The site claims that it’s highly unlikely that any two patches will sound exactly the same. While the programming does mean that the generated patches will be randomized to an extent, the fact that they have a sample set to be modeled after should help in providing sounds that are actually usable. This DX7 Cartridge Does Not Exist uses machine learning to generate new patches based on a sample pool of hand-crafted ones, and creates a file that can be loaded either onto a genuine unit or the popular Dexed emulator. A new AI tool could help DX7 fans move beyond those basic sounds, though. ( Modern FM synths are substantially more manageable.) This led most users to simply stick with the presets. Its digital sound engine was unlike the analog synths that came before it, and created a unique timbre, but the thing was a beast to program. Musicians in the 1980s had a love-hate relationship with Yamaha’s DX7 synthesizer.