Yamaha TX81Z FM Tone
Generator
Sound:
4
Features: 4
Versatility: 5
Simplicity: 3
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Playability: 5
Reliability: 9
Control: 5
Class: 2 |
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Review
by; Xangis |
The
Yamaha TX81Z is a one-unit rackmount 4-operator
4-part multitimbral 8-note polyphonic 12-bit
FM synthesizer produced in 1987. It has
been described as a keyless DX11, but has
greater capabilities due to the introduction
of additional oscillator waveform types.
Sound (4) or (8) if programmed
by an expert
At first, especially upon hearing the
stock patches, this unit sounds like a
children’s toy. It excels at all
of the sounds that FM synthesis excels
at – bells, basses, electric pianos,
and anything associated with “cheesy
1980s music”. Despite the fact that
some would contend it sounds like a Nintendo
(for better or worse), the stock sounds
do not do an adequate job of exposing
this unit’s capabilities and really
give little or no indication of what it
truly excels at – CHAOS and NOISE.
If used for chaos, noise,
weirdly-modulated sound effects, or freaky
aftertouch-based sound warping this unit
has amazing potential. The downside is
that unleashing this powerful weirdness
requires knowledge of FM programming,
or a good patch randomizer program.
The TX81Z is not the type
of synth that can create convincing recreations
of acoustic instruments, although the
sound designers at Yamaha certainly tried.
Presets that are absolutely awful include
"Grand Piano", "AtackBrass",
"Flute", "Oboe", "Trumpet81Z",
"Guitar #1", and "Old Banjo".
There are also quite a
few irritating noises, the most heinous
of which are "Birds", "Helicopter",
"Flight Sim", "MalibuNite",
and "AlarmCall". It's obvious
that some of these are a part of the ROM
because the machine could create them,
not because they were at all useful. Even
so, some of them may be good starting
points for creating strange effects.
Presets
that sound good to my ears include "Fuzz
Piano", "DoubleBass", "HeavyMetal",
"SpcMidiot", and "Brthbells".
| If
used for chaos, noise, weirdly-modulated
sound effects, or freaky aftertouch-based
sound warping this unit has amazing
potential. |
|
Versatility
(5)
It’s only as versatile as the programmer
is skilled. It has its limitations with
only 4 operators and minimal features,
but the broad range of electronic sounds
that it is capable of creating make it
pretty good for the price and size. You
won't even come close to producing orchestral
and realistic sounds, even though the
stock patches contain some cheesy imitations
of violins and flutes. Stick to non-acoustic
instruments.
Playability (5)
How playable is a rack unit, really? This
thing will respond well enough to a good
controller, but your toy Casio keyboard
will be perfectly adequate if it has a
MIDI out. It supports aftertouch, and
an aftertouch-enabled controller will
give you some additional modulation options.
Control (5)
You really do have control over a vast
array of parameters in this machine. The
real trick is actually understanding what
they do. The microtonal scale tuning option
is nice for those looking to get some
uncommon sounds or produce non-western
music, and its note alternation is a neat
feature. There are no knobs, sliders,
joysticks, buttons, dials, switches, or
anything other than the dozen front-panel
buttons, so forget about any realtime
tweaking. This is strictly a set-and-forget
machine.
Features (4)
Although it had a decent feature set for
1987, this unit is quite lame by today’s
standards. It has just enough features
to make it useful. One feature of note
is the ability to “stack”
two TX81Zs and have them handle alternate
MIDI notes.
Simplicity (3)
If you want simplicity, go elsewhere.
It’s simple compared to an FS1R.
Front panel editing is a nuisance but
not altogether unbearable, but there so
many parameters to fiddle with that it
becomes a hassle at times. Editing this
machine from your computer makes total
sense. For the PC I highly recommend an
old program called Yamedit which allows
you to randomize patches and get a quick
start on coaxing some of that beautiful
NOISE and CHAOS from this machine, although
Yamedit is quite old and may not run on
all machines. The points it does get from
simplicity are from the small number of
buttons on the panel -- you'll have to
wait until you're inside the menus to
start your confusion.
Reliability (9)
It has no moving parts, is solid metal,
and has fairly durable buttons. Most of
these are still functional after 20 years
and will probably last 20 more. Just don't
drive a truck over it.
Class (2)
What’s classy about it? Approximately
nothing. It’s black and doesn’t
have a bunch of bright and annoying blinking
lights. It’s as sexy as a brick.
It gets one point for the programmable
greeting message.
| It
has its limitations with only 4
operators and minimal features,
but the broad range of electronic
sounds that it is capable of creating
make it pretty good for the price
and size. |
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I
would recommend this unit to a beginner
interested in getting into FM synthesis.
It’s generally inexpensive and a
good set of training wheels for working
your way up to an FS1R. Be careful, though,
your head my explode in trying to understand
the thing. Don't feel too bad when you
realize there's no possible way you're
going to understand FM programming. Just
mash the buttons until you hear something
you like and you'll do OK.
The
fairly low rating on this synthesizer
might scare some people away, but for
those interested in creating digital noises,
aggressive leads, lo-fi digital sounds,
and rumbling basses it really can be a
goldmine. It is ideally suited to industrial
music, but also has its place in electronica
in general.
-Xangis
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