Back in 1985, this little desktop module brought the revolutionary FM sound engine of the DX7 to players who wanted pure tone generation without the keyboard, perfect for stacking layers or expanding a rig on a budget.
At its core, it's a 16-voice polyphonic digital FM synth with six sine wave operators configurable across 32 algorithms, each with dedicated four-stage envelopes for amplitude, pitch, and modulation, plus a versatile LFO offering saw up/down, sine, square, triangle, and random waveforms. Controls are streamlined around a 16-character LCD and 12 turquoise buttons for quick access to volume presets (with visual bar graph feedback), memory storage, and advanced MIDI options like Omni mode, separate receive toggles for data, control changes, and volume entry. It packs 32 editable voice patches and another 32 performance memories that store MIDI channel, note limits, portamento, pitch bend range, and more—ideal for tailoring sounds on the fly or layering with a DX7. Output is a single stereo pair with headphone jack, driven by 12-bit DACs, and it includes a tape interface for backups alongside full MIDI I/O.
Over the years, players have cherished its metallic bells, glassy pads, and percussive hits that defined 80s pop and beyond, though many note the editing challenge without a controller—pair it with a DX7 or programmer for the full magic.
