[ksk]

Are there any reasons to use a full synth these days? I'm not a musician but I've been dabbling in digital audio on and off and I really like the sound quality of sampled instruments especially for Piano. I haven't used the original DX7 only a VST (Dexed) for it.

[ratww]

Physical synths are great because they have knobs and are great for real time tweaking along with playing. Also, some people enjoy some of the "special sauce" that analog synths have due to their imperfect nature.

...with that said: the DX7 is digital, and its UI/UX sucks. It has only buttons and menus, so no realtime control, and it's a bit unpleasant to use IMO. There used to be an external programmer unit with knobs but I never saw one in the flesh.

So, your VST is light-years better in terms of both UI/UX and sound due to better anti-aliasing filters and probably new features. Another good option if you enjoy the DX7 sound is the Native Instruments FM7.

If you want to experiment with a real analog synth may I suggest something in the subtractive synthesis family? Something Moog-ish is a great start! Behringer makes some very affordable ones!

[carry_bit]

The main advantage of a hardware synth is the user experience. Its controls are tailored specifically for that synth.

If it has a built-in keyboard, it also has the benefit of being a self-contained unit, and can feel (psychologically) more like a real instrument.

[noizejoy]

I much prefer using the Dexed VST software based synth for recording over a DX7. The sound is hard to tell apart, the DX 7 doesn’t have a good surface for programming, has a crappy midi implementation, and doesn’t integrate into a DAW as well as a plugin. Since the DX7 is digital anyway, you also don’t loose much real or perceived “analog warmth”.

Source: I have both.

[raphlinus]

Thanks, appreciate the kind words!

Disclosure/shameless self-brag: I wrote the original synthesizer engine that became Dexed, though the team has moved it forward in lots of important ways. I did careful reverse engineering of an actual DX7 II, including disassembling its ROM, so the fact that it matches well should not be surprising.

[ssalazar]

Amazing work! Would love to read/learn more if you ever have the time/motivation for a blog post about it.

[noizejoy]

You deserve a lot of praise for your engine! And the reverse engineering leading to full patch compatibility is one of the real gems about Dexed. And therefore it becoming arguably the unofficial official editor and librarian software for the DX7.

I hope you got some satisfaction out of the fact that 2020 seemed to be a real renaissance year for Dexed. It’s been at or near the top of every list of free plugins I’ve seen or watched, so your work from a long time ago keeps bearing lots of musical fruit!

Thanks for making it and giving it to the world!

[sounds]

It's not a science, so objectively it could be argued either way.

The "No synth" argument - as you say, a good DAW with the right plugins completely covers the space. No one will ever need a physical synth again.

I guess we could both imagine a "Yes synth" argument for the counter.

[woah]

Computers still can’t handle the style of complex analog FM synthesis that people do with “eurorack” style modular synthesizers. You can approach it with software like https://vcvrack.com, but it will start to stutter out quickly even on a fast computer, and introduces artifacts if you are modulating with high frequencies.

[klodolph]

Well, VCV rack is far from the definitive solution here. There are commercial alternatives like Reaktor which are much more powerful. Reaktor is powerful to a fault, you might say, but if you are running into limitations with VCV Rack then something like Reaktor is the obvious upgrade.

As an analogy, if VCV Rack is like a Unix shell that lets you pipe programs, then Reaktor is like a C compiler.

[scns]

Or Bitwig where you can integrate your physical Eurorack modules or other voltage controlled analog synths and build any synth or effects unit you want from small building blocks with Grid.

Bitwig Sound Design And Hardware Integration Workshop: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=125sfyebk1o

FM v PM: TRUE Frequency Modulation (linear) in Bitwig’s Grid: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nIwwgM3m3uc

Disclaimer: not affiliated

(edit: add disclaimer)