The Mellotron Group

There are a few instruments that predate the DX-7 that have the one
knob/parameter list method of programming.  I believe the first was
the Moog Source, My Rhodes Chroma has this method and I think the Korg
Poly-61 predated the DX-7, and that certainly had (coughs) "parameter
access control".

It was excusable in the case of the DX-7 at least, due to the huge
number of controls - a couple of hundred altogether?  I don't think I
ever counted.  I really dug mine, I must admit.  I got some good
sounds out of it, though I always used an editor on the Atari.  I
don't have the DX-7 anymore, but I replaced it with an SY77, which has
a fairly capable FM synthesis section, coupled together with some
pretty crappy samples.  I almost never use the samples, but the
instrument still sees a fair bit of use.

For bad keyboard instruments, the main thing that comes to mind was
that period after Yamaha floored everyone with the DX7, and every
other manufacturer seemed to produce a load of crappy keyboards.  The
Alpha Juno1 from Roland was a piece I owned for a while that was
particularly uninspiring from then, and there were lots of others that
were similarly bleh.  Who remembers the Korg DS-8 and 707, for
example?.

On Nov 30, 2007 4:49 PM,  <jeffc@netaxs.com> wrote:

> pretty much agreed on, but i don't think the key to
> this monster's teeth have been specified, thought it
> was touched on by gino: if i recall [and i could be
> quite wrong], this was the first synth to have the
> "one slider [or knob or whatever] to control all of
> the dozens/hundreds of parameters" syndrome. it's
> the first one i recall coming across this design
> aberation on... unfortunately, it's been around
> ever since... not that this was the only problem
> with the dx-7, but it's the one that haunted us
> all for so long...
>
>