[OT] More info on the TX81z than anyone could need...

[Nick Thompson]

> At 10:02 AM 4/9/1999 -0500, you wrote:
>>On Thu, 8 Apr 1999, christo wrote:
>>>
>>> that'd be the TX-816 if i'm not mistaken...!
>>>
>>The Tx-16 is actually the equivelant of four DX 7's in one box. OR was
>>that a TX-81? I forget sometimes.
>
> TX-81Z is the 1U rack, with some FM capability.  maybe more operators,
> maybe less operators than a DX7 (anyone know??).
>
>

I have a TX81z for sale - it's a great module, you can pick them up for
around $120 usually.  However the purpose of this posting is the following
from xlr8r magazine (i'd post a link, but http://www.xlr8r.com/ seems to
have removed the original for the time being) :

> Electronic Sound Creation
> The Yamaha TX81Z Tone Generator: Not So Bad For A Digital Synth
> by Saul Stokes
>
> ... [other stuff about music stores in NYC deleted]
>
> First, as I promised, YAMAHA's TX81Z Tone Generator.
> The TX81Z is a rack mount synth that can be programmed manually through
> front controls or via different computer programs. You need a pretty good
> MIDI controller (keyboard) to use the TX81Z, for it has no keys of its own.
> The TX81Z is set up into two so-called modes. The first one is the SINGLE
> MODE. This is where all the synthesis and editing occurs. All the sounds
> you make can be stored in 32 user programmable memories.
> OSCILLATORS
> Ever synthesizer has some sort of oscillator which is just a waveform
> generator. Oscillators produce the waves that create sound. Older analogs
> use voltage controlled oscillators to manipulate energy into sound waves.
> Digital FM synthesizers like the TX81Z use oscillators that digitally
> produce waveforms to create sound waves.
> Yamaha's TX81Z produces sound from digital oscillators through a form of
> synthesis called Frequency Modulation. FM needs two oscillators to work.
> One oscillator produces the waveform while the second modulates the first
> into a new and sometimes quite bizarre waveform. The TX81Z has four
> oscillators that can be set up in different ways. Each oscillator can
> either produce sound (called a modulator) or can be mixed with another to
> produce a more complex sound (called a carrier). This is the basic idea of
> the DX-7 which was to take sine waves and mix them together to create other
> waves. The DX-7 only has one waveform, the sine wave. A TX81Z on the other
> hand, has four oscillators that produce eight different waveforms each.
> These wave forms can then be mixed together to produce some very wild and
> wicked sounds. Confusing? Just think of all this as Electro-Binary Sound
> Transformation or EBST.
> OUTPUT
> This parameter sets the volume of each oscillator. Keep in mind that if one
> waveform from one oscillator is being affected by another waveform, this
> parameter allows you to set how much the affecting waveform will affect the
> effected waveform. For example, let's say you have two sine waves being
> mixed together. Mixing sine one (a modulator) with sine two (a carrier) at
> 0% will give you a sine wave. Mixing sine one (a modulator) with sine two
> (a carrier) at 50% will give you a unique wave.
> FREQUENCY
> The frequency (pitch) of each oscillator can be set to even or odd as well
> as irregular harmonics to intensify the waveform's sound. Setting the
> frequency irregularly will produce some incredibly high-tech percussion
> type effects that can be excellently sampled.
> ENVELOPE GENERATORS
> Similar to an analog's filter parameter, the EG controls the waveform's
> output level over time instead of controlling the waveform's timbre over
> time. Each oscillator has its own EG and all can be edited differently.
> This "mixing" of different waveforms over time can create twisting,
> reshaping sounds that are very unusual and unheard of because you're
> actually changing a waveforms structure over time. This is something that
> was never possible on most older analog machines.
> The second mode is called the PERFORMANCE MODE. In this mode, all eight of
> the synthesizers' voices can be set up individually, giving you up to eight
> different sounds to play at once. All of these sounds can have their own
> midi channels, tunings, maximum number of notes and output assignments. All
> of this data and a little more can be stored in trains and up to 24 of
> these trains can also be stored internally.
> TWEAKABILITY
> Digital machines are harder to manipulate in real time than our old knob
> covered friends of the past. You can easily set the TX81Z to receive touch
> sensitivity and even aftertouch (aftertouch affects parameters of the sound
> according to how hard you push on the keys). One excellent way to tweak the
> TX81Z is through setting up the sound's Envelope Generator to be affected
> by the modwheel. This will give you some great real-time control over the
> synth's filter. Also, the LFO can be set to affect the EG or other
> parameters with a saw up, square, triangle, or sample and hold wave.
> SOUNDS
> As complex and confusing as all this sounds, this little piece of hardware
> puts out. Sounds are super clean but can be very computerized sounding. It
> will take some time to learn how to program but the ability to play with
> actual waveforms is really worth it. The most noted feature of the TX81Z is
> its ability to generate king bass. Super clean, digital sine waves can be
> mildly altered to create the smoothest and most usable dance floor bass
> lines you've ever heard. Go a little further and you've got the most
> incredible 808 bass to thump. You will never to go back to sampled bass again.
> FM is an incredibly complex form of synthesis, too complex for me to cover
> completely. Anyone with patience and a little synthesizer knowledge
> shouldn't have a problem making this synth sing. To be honest, I've just
> recently become interested in digital machines. Like most other flaming
> analog lovers, I found digital synths cold and uneffervescent. I think this
> had a lot more to do with not understanding how these synthesizers work and
> a general negativity toward newer instruments. The greatest thing about the
> TX81Z is that you never cover all the sound possibilities.
> One other reason I decided to review the TX81Z is to bring up some
> awareness on the fact that analog instruments are disappearing. Not only is
> it becoming harder and harder to find analogs, but their price ranges are
> going way above most of our puny pocket books. Younger generations of
> musicians are going to have to look to other sources for sound production
> that are not so expensive. These are the pigments of electronic music as we
> know it and they are drying up.
>
> ... [other stuff about music stores in NYC deleted]
>

I think this is a cool little box and for the money it's a steal.

Regards

Nick