The Value of Yamaha DX7 as a Real Instrument

Electric keyboards were introduced about half-a-century ago as equivalents to their guitar and bass siblings, which had undergone a similar electrification. After Fender Rhodes and Wurlitzer electric pianos, there were the Moog and the Oberheim synthesizers, not to forget several brands of string machines.

When the Yamaha DX7, the first digital FM synthesizer hit the market in 1983, some musicians in the pop scene went as far as saying that acoustic instrumentalists would go unemployed and the craft of playing violin, trumpet, saxophone etc. except in classical music, "could be extinct soon". The power of DX7 being an omnipotent solution to all musical needs, catering with its trademark-to-be electric piano on "Saving All My Love For You" and "Moonlighting", to every synth brass there would ever be. The impact was so big that the question was whether there would ever be a need for any other keyboard.

True, Yamaha had made history with DX7 and the revolutionary MIDI-port. This 61-key, 50-pound piece was seen as a lightweight, portable gig enabler next to the Hammond organ. However, by the end of the 1980s, the Korg M1 was established as the new, deep and true keyboard sound solution, and the DX7 quickly sounded shallow and obsolete. The value was declining steeply, and any update models couldn't help the pavemaker from looking old.

However, any instrument with character, originality and innovation will survive. The Fender Rhodes - in the late 80s viewed as a piece of junk which "couldn't be given away" - has become a true treasure among musicians and studios. Similarly, the Wurlitzer has found its identity, having originally been a substitute for acoustic upright pianos. But could an FM synthesizer which includes even a "train" sound ever receive similar status? Well, yes. Remember the shallow FM sound, and the limitations of this mono-timbral pioneer? As with artists and composers, it is the limitations, not the features of the instrument, which forms the originality and character. The famous DX7 Rhodes is now known as the DX7 electric piano, and the omnipotent qualities simply labeled as the "true DX7 sound".

Conclusion: The DX7 is not for every application, and it could never substitute any other instrument, or even other synthesizers, and vice versa. This is exactly what makes it a unique and valuable piece, as the working units (from the originally 160,000 manufactured ones) are rapidly declining. No question, today the DX7 is a true treasure and a mint condition instrument will soon be sold as a rarity, and at a far higher than the list price in 1983.