Who knows what this music is?

Hi all!

Since a long time, I'm trying to identify some synth tracks from the mid to late 1980s. They were used as background music in a TV program, but the music was not specially composed for it. No one of the then production crew members seems to know anymore the artist or title of these tracks. It can probably be library music (I

Don't know any of the tracks. Very 80's.

These snippets confirm that I made a wise decision when I sold my DX7

Well, not exactly criticise... I used my trusted DX7IIFD for many years, and it was a lot of fun to play with. Plenty of great sounds, and I agree with you that it really stands out in a mix, but I was never able to get a good bass from it. Sure there were bass sounds in it, but they all sounded rather hollow, and without bottom-end. In the 80's, when the DX7 was the synth-of-choice for 90% of the pop bands, it dictated the way people expected a "modern" synth to sound.

The mysterious sound snippets in this thread have that typical 80's DX bass that I never appreciated. I traded it in for an Alesis Quadrasynth (the first version with the "handle" on the back - brilliant machine), and never lost a minute of sleep over that.

For "penetrating" sounds I use a Clavia Nord Lead nowadays, and for warm sounds I have a AN1x (another good Yamaha synth). In my attic, I have a CS40-M, but it doesn't work anymore. It can be fixed (by a guy called Saint Eric or something, I must have his email address somewhere), but lack of funds (or, to be more precise: another set of priorities) keeps me from investigating that possibility. All I know is that the "custom chip" (which acts like a memory to save presets) is broken. That is really the Achilles-heel of the entire CS series, so I was told.

The DX7 was a groundbreaking synth, and I am proud to have owned one, but soundwise I have moved on.

Actually, it hasn't, afaIc. That "instant recognition" you mention is a problem for any mass produced synth from the past. Even the DX7. In my book, Japanese synths suffer more from IRS (Instant Recognition Syndrome) than American (or European) synths. That may explain your fondness of the Prophet 5 and the ARP in particular, and analogs in general. Mass produced synths often sounded the same 'as the other brand' because they all wanted a piece of the same cake. Roland, Korg and Yamaha are the only brands that come to mind if you talk about real mass-production. Alesis (in particular the Quadrasynth mkI) has always tried (but not always succeeded, I agree) to sound different from Japanese synths. The effect is that a QS is recognizable because it sounds different. It all depends on the sounds you use. A lot of musicians don't explore a synth beyond the presets. That's where IRS comes from, and that's why a DX7 can be as relevant or as irrelevant as a QS.


In terms of uniqueness (and the way it influenced electronic music), the DX7 may be mentioned in the same league as those legendary analogs, but soundwise...hm, I'm not sure.


True! And by all means, let's not agree on everything!