Chipsynth OPS7

[LPF83]

The DX7 MKI has a special place in my heart... it was the first synthesizer that entered my home as a teenager.  A family member who was a professional touring musician brought home a MKI one day, and it was the first prolonged exposure to a synthesizer I had up to that point.  Like most buyers back then, we didn't understand FM synthesis or how to program it really, other than to mostly play presets and experiment without any real plan or method of learning.  For younger folks who have grown up surrounded by softsynths or affordable hardware synths, it might be hard to relate to just how cool it was having that DX7 sitting there, available to me to play whenever I wanted, as long as it wasn't on touring duty.

I never actually owned one, although for a while I did own a TX81Z module.  Since those times, the closest I've come has been software emulations like DX7V from Arturia and Dexed (I always gravitated toward the former, but it comes with the annoyance of resetting the velocity level every time you change a patch, which I consider a fairly major usability flaw.  They defaulted to "DX7" to emulate the velocity range of an actual DX7, but it just results in a darker sound, so I have to change it to "FULL" every time I try a different sound.  DX7V is quite faithful to the original on many patches based on my own recollection of those sounds).  These are decent emulations but I believe Chipsynth OPS7 is better.

Chipsynth OPS7 (which pitches itself as a "bit-accurate emulation") does in fact seem to capture the original magic of the DX7 just a bit more than others I've tried.  Not only do I prefer the preset manager (you can get all the original ROMs .syx as well as tons of DX7 patches with simple web searches), but certain sounds in the original ROMs seem to recreate the original DX7 sound better (I don't know if that's because the DAC has been emulated better or not).

But if you are a vintage Yamaha FM fan, this one is worth a look and IMHO worth what they're asking.

If you're opposed to softsynths, I relate completely when it comes to analog.  None of them seem to capture true analog magic, IMO.  But I am one who feels digital synths are being pretty well represented in software these days and are competitive with hardware counterpart.

https://plogue.com/products/chipsynth-ops7.html

Pros:   Sounds better than Arturias *
Cons:  Uses slightly more CPU than Arturias

* when I say "better", I mean on certain patches.  On many patches in the original ROM, the two sound indistinguishable

[chysn]

I loved my DX7 Mk 1s. I’ve owned maybe three over the years. It was fantastic in a rock band, with excellent Hammond- and Rhodes-like sounds. I painstakingly crafted an amazing acoustic piano patch, which was quite credible in a live mix.

I like the idea of a “bit-accurate” emulation, and I plan to give this a try. Thanks!

[Pym]

Yeah the dev is quite talented, I highly recommend picking this one up! The amount of effort he put into it is WAY above what is needed for a successful product. This was a labor of love and it shows in all sorts of ways almost nobody will pick out. Really surpassed my expectations

[LoboLives]

Yeah the dev is quite talented, I highly recommend picking this one up! The amount of effort he put into it is WAY above what is needed for a successful product. This was a labor of love and it shows in all sorts of ways almost nobody will pick out. Really surpassed my expectations

Would Sequential ever consider doing an FM based synth? I know linear FM was implemented in the Prophet 12 but something like an eight operator FM engine with adjustable algorithms going through analog filters would sound wonderful.

[chysn]

I just added the Chipsynth OPS7 to my small collection (PianoTeq, Serum, Wavestation) of softsynths. It's pretty impressive. More later, I'm getting to know the interface this evening...

[LPF83]

Would Sequential ever consider doing an FM based synth? I know linear FM was implemented in the Prophet 12 but something like an eight operator FM engine with adjustable algorithms going through analog filters would sound wonderful.

For what its worth, the Prophet 12 module is 4 osc/op but since you get 2 layers it might as well be 8.  With all the crazy modulation possibilities, delay lines and different wavetables, there's a lot of unexplored territory (not to mention the analog filters).  Programming it is better than old school Yamaha FM.  Dave used to say it was one of his favorite creations, so who knows, their might be a successor.  Used you can get the module for around $1300 on Reverb and I think new ones are still around.  Personally I think it captures more PPG Wave vibe than DX7, but it can definitely do DX7 like sounds.

OPS7 is a great option for those really looking for authenticity in DX7 recreations.  I was taken aback when I loaded up some of the original ROMS.  This $50 synth will get some use from me!   Maybe with the easily consumed interface I may actually get good at making FM sounds (not counting making good sounds with the P12 which is so easy it feels like cheating).

An FM synth from Dave would be amazing -- I think it would be expensive with all the knobs and sliders required to create the usability Dave is known for.   But imagine if he combined that with something like an FM/wavetable/vector synthesis hybrid...  I bet there's something great there.  But nobody does analog like Sequential these days so I'm sort of hoping they keep the focus.

[LPF83]

I just added the Chipsynth OPS7 to my small collection (PianoTeq, Serum, Wavestation) of softsynths. It's pretty impressive. More later, I'm getting to know the interface this evening...

I think its the sign of exciting times for softsynths, that someone finally and truly nailed the original with a plugin at such a level of attention to detail.  I recently read an interview from Anders Hagström, the guy behind Ashbury Heights.... I would not have guessed prior to reading it, all of his work has been done completely inside the box... he specifically mentioned the Oberheim Matrix 12 VST from Arturia as being one he used a lot..  I already had it along and never messed with it much... opened it up recently and thought, yeah, this is really good

[LPF83]

Yeah the dev is quite talented, I highly recommend picking this one up! The amount of effort he put into it is WAY above what is needed for a successful product. This was a labor of love and it shows in all sorts of ways almost nobody will pick out. Really surpassed my expectations

Agreed... I think the fact that he's making sure it matches the harmonic profile perfectly is the key.  Anyone can make two synths sound the same on some sounds... but to make a synth load the old patches and look identical on the spectrum is real dedication.

[composerjk]

Yeah, David does great work. It can be worth watching his videos to see a snippet of the effort that goes into that work of creating emulations of old hardware. Here's a that includes his Emulating the DX7 the HARD way. Part 1 video. Some of the others covering work on chipsynth MD (Sega MegaDrive/Genesis) and SFC (Super FamiCom) are on David's chipresearch playlist.

All of Plogue's chipsynth software synths are fantastic.