Yamaha REFACE DX Portable FM Synthesizer,Black

If you're a serious synths person, you already know the significance of the impact that Yamaha's original DX7 made on the music of the early 80s. Full controll over 4 oscillators with 8 flow algorithms, effects, attack, decay, sustain, release, the possibilities are ENDLESS!!! It comes with 4 banks of 8 sounds; keep them, move them, alter them, create your own sounds... stores 32 sounds, and connections to Soundmondo let you save or even restore an original sound. Get ALL FOUR of the Reface Series while you still can... the first 4 that I got in 2020 were $199 at Swetwater; NOW, they cost twice or more!!! They all sound incredible. The ORGAN (YC Reface) is INCREDIBLE. Free membership at Yamaha's Soundmondo Community lets you share, privately store, or download other people's sounds, no strings attached. I bought all four AGAIN, tested them and put them back in their boxes; someday soon, they'll be worth their weight in gold... but I still want to play the first set that I got; I keep them all hooked up to my soundboard in my studio... they're the perfect "fill in" instruments for recording. Recommend also a Sustain pedal for them, and a swell (expression) pedal for the organ... Yamaha or your favourite brand will work. I don't use MIDI, but all 4 have MIDI capabilities, as well. Try it. Don't like it? Return it, blame me in the return comments!!! You will never find another set of incredible keyboards like the Yamaha Reface Series!!! Also perfectly portable... compact size, built-in speakers and L/R/PHONES make it great for the road and gigs. Can't say enough good about them!!!

I've only had this synth (Reface DX FM synthesizer) for a few days, and I am stoked with it! I've not had much FM synthesis exposure in terms of use, my only experience being on Ableton Live's Operator software. I'm finding that going "hands on" with this hardware synth is teaching me so much more in comparison to a soft synth!Heck, even some of the preset tones sound awesome to me (especially the wobble bass patch)! I agree with a review I watched on Youtube though, the presets don't really do justice to this synth's capabilities. It did take a bit of getting used to for me; Not only do I have little experience in FM synthesis, but this synth's workflow is very unique.There's no knobs to turn here, all parameters are used via button presses and/or the touch sensitive encoders. While you do have to do a bit of menu surfing for some parameters, it's a simple as one to three button presses. In comparison to the Novation Super Nova and MicroKorg I used to own, this unit is far more true to the hands on approach. I'm still getting used to the touch sensitive encoders, but I'm certainly not unhappy about them.All it took was some reading and a couple of Youtube videos (I watched the videos for ideas and inspiration), and I started making some very unique tones, tones that I could never hope to make on a subtractive synth. I'm currently experimenting with running this in tandem with my Novation Circuit. This synth automatically switches to a External MIDI Clock setting when you connect a MIDI cable to it. Some gripe about this, but it's what I want from it, so I can't complain here. The looper is simple, yet effective, and it's quantization function works. Even with my terrible timing, I was able to sync some notes on this synth to drum patterns on the Circuit.So I'm really enjoying this synthesizer, and am waiting for the Reface YC organ I ordered to come in, I may even splurge later on for the Reface CS. I just really hope these units prove to be reliable. My previous two musical instrument purchases have both become defective within a week of receiving them. I'll be extremely sad and disappointed if this synth becomes a third to that list.

I own quite a few very expensive analog synthesizers and since analog Moog synthesizers sound amazing and are endlessly customizable... I have been reluctant to try digital synthesizers. This digital synthesizer is very good at many things. It cost me less than my cheapest Moog analog synthesizer and is somehow more capable and intuitive. While yes the moog can make some sounds this can't. I already find myself playing this more than my very expensive Moog analog synthesizers. This is a very good synthesizer especially considering the price. If you have ever spent money on an analog synthesizer, you cannot even pretend this Yamaha Digital synthesizer is not a spectacular deal for the money. It is a spectacular deal. Excellent instrument!

You get what you paid for, and this synth is truly amazing, Buying an actual DX7 is pretty much the only other option if you want to get any closer to it's sound. My justification behind this is that the raw sound from the reface has a bit less warmth than the OG, but that can be changed in post.There are no knobs, only sliders, buttons, and the pitch mod, which would be a welcome replacement for the 4 touch sensitive inputs, other than that, the build quality is excellent. I thought the plastic case it had was black, but it turns out that it's actually a deep maroonish brown color, so it depends of you're into that or not. A notable detail is that under the keys(which are awesome and pressure sensitive) is a textured metal frame for integrity which is really nice. The UI is intuitive for what it is and the backlit screen is easy to read. I've had no problems with recording and using a sustain pedal is decent. What's also neat is that it has a Audio Interface Usb port to use as a functional midi controller. All buttons and inputs function as far as I'm concerned.Overall, a nice affordable compact synth that's very portable. Great Job, Yamaha.