Video
Story
Yamaha managed to give FM a shot in the arm with the 1U TX81Z and, to lesser success, its keyboard-equipped cousin, the DX11. These units were cheap yet powerful alternatives to the company’s second-gen flagship FM synths. They had better sound quality, and though they provided only four operators per patch, those operators differed from the big boys in that they offered a full eight waveforms rather than the lone sinusoidal of the eight-operator synths. This added sonic flexibility gave the TX81Z the power to produce far more complex patches than the previous four-operator Yamaha synths.
Yet another FM synthesizer from Yamaha, this one comes in a compact, multitimbral, 1-unit rackmount module and is basically a key-less version of the DX-11. It has far more professional features than its relative, the FB-01. The TX81Z features great FM-type synth sounds similar also to the DX-21 and DX-27. Eight voice polyphony, 128 preset sounds, 32 user and lots of functions hidden behind 11 push buttons.
The TX81Z features a new ability to use waveforms other than just a sine wave. There are eight voices that can be split, layered and detuned. Also onboard are pseudo-effects including delay and reverb. These features can be stored as performance setups. The effects are simply envelope and re-triggering effects. The TX81Z works great as a sound module for any live or studio production. It's got a wider range of sounds than the DX-7, may not be quite as warm or 'classic' sounding, but at its low price and with the excellent MIDI implementation it makes a great alternative or backup synth for percussive, punchy FM synth sounds. It's used by Fluke, Roni Size, Astral Projection, Squarepusher, Jimmy Edgar, Future Sound of London, and Josh Wink.
Specifications
Polyphony: 8 notes
Oscillators: 4-Operator Digital FM synthesizer
# Instruments: 8 parts
Filter: None
Effects: Built-In Pseudo-Effects: Reverb by envelope modulation, Delay by re-triggering on free voices
Keyboard: None
Memory: 128 patches, 32 user, 24 performance setups
Control: MIDI (w/ Velocity and Aftertouch)
Manual
Download Manual
