- Nov 27, 2003
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- Disclosures
- Rogue luthier employed at Knooren Handcrafted bass guitars
Ah the DX-7, that's the sound of my childhood, it was just so versatile.
You can boil down eighties pop production to four instruments and the Yamaha DX-7 is one of them.
The other three were:
The Simmons synth drums with their typical "TOOOVE" sound
The Roland Jazz Chorus with its ultra lush clean sound.
and last but far from least, the old warhorse.
The Fender Stratocaster, the selection of the middle and bridge pickups created that "Quack" sound which when married to the Roland amp turned out to be a winning formula. Although purists now call it "Bad quack"
So what was it with that combination of Simmons drums, DX-7 and Strat through Roland amp?
Well for one it was a time saver:
- No need to mike up a Simmons drum kit, nor does it have to be placed in a sweet spot in a room to get the best sound from it.
- The DX-7 is so flexible you can use it for ANYTHING and you don't need to pay extra expenses for hiring extra studio musicians, one keyboard player would be enough.
- The "Bad Quack" of a Fender Strat through a Roland amp, cuts clean through the mix, the Roland being solid state also means that it doesn't need to warm up or needs to be serviced, it's as solid as a rock.
And if you know where to look you will find that combination EVERYWHERE.
Billy Ocean "Loverboy"
- Simmons drums with their "TOOOVE" sound
- Strat through Roland amp
- DX-7 for everything else.
Madonna "Crazy for you"
- Simmons drums with their "TOOOVE" sound
- Strat through Roland amp
- DX-7 for everything else.
Miami Sound Machine "Falling in love again"
- Simmons drums with their "TOOOVE" sound
- Strat through Roland amp
- DX-7 for everything else.
But let's be honest, that combination of Simmons drums, strat through Roland amp and DX-7 would have meant NOTHING if the songs weren't good and holy crap, I named only three but were they EVER good.
You can boil down eighties pop production to four instruments and the Yamaha DX-7 is one of them.
The other three were:
The Simmons synth drums with their typical "TOOOVE" sound
The Roland Jazz Chorus with its ultra lush clean sound.
and last but far from least, the old warhorse.
The Fender Stratocaster, the selection of the middle and bridge pickups created that "Quack" sound which when married to the Roland amp turned out to be a winning formula. Although purists now call it "Bad quack"
So what was it with that combination of Simmons drums, DX-7 and Strat through Roland amp?
Well for one it was a time saver:
- No need to mike up a Simmons drum kit, nor does it have to be placed in a sweet spot in a room to get the best sound from it.
- The DX-7 is so flexible you can use it for ANYTHING and you don't need to pay extra expenses for hiring extra studio musicians, one keyboard player would be enough.
- The "Bad Quack" of a Fender Strat through a Roland amp, cuts clean through the mix, the Roland being solid state also means that it doesn't need to warm up or needs to be serviced, it's as solid as a rock.
And if you know where to look you will find that combination EVERYWHERE.
Billy Ocean "Loverboy"
- Simmons drums with their "TOOOVE" sound
- Strat through Roland amp
- DX-7 for everything else.
Madonna "Crazy for you"
- Simmons drums with their "TOOOVE" sound
- Strat through Roland amp
- DX-7 for everything else.
Miami Sound Machine "Falling in love again"
- Simmons drums with their "TOOOVE" sound
- Strat through Roland amp
- DX-7 for everything else.
But let's be honest, that combination of Simmons drums, strat through Roland amp and DX-7 would have meant NOTHING if the songs weren't good and holy crap, I named only three but were they EVER good.
