Yamaha DX27 Owner's Manual
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Yamaha DX27 Owner's Manual

Yamaha digital programmable algorithm synthesizer owner's manual
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YAMAHA
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PRODUCT MANUAL

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  • Page 1 YAMAHA ® AUTHORIZED PRODUCT MANUAL...
  • Page 2 YAMAHA DIGITAL PROGRAMMABLE ALGORITHM SYNTHESIZER OWNER’S MANUAL...

  • Page 3: Table Of Contents

    FM voices. Of course, the DX27 is fully programmable, allowing you to create your own FM voices or sound effects. Broad MIDI compatibility is also provided so the DX27 can control or be controlled via other MIDI-compatible music equipment.
  • Page 4 The DX27 is ruggedly constructed using reliable solid-state circuitry, nonetheless it is a fine instrument that should be treated with care. Digital circuitry such as that used in the DX27 is sensitive to voltage spikes and 6. Electrical Storms surges.

  • Page 5: Chapter 1: Settlng Up

    CHAPTER I: The DX27 has a single mono audio output for its tone generator channel. This is 1. Audio Outputs labelled OUTPUT. It permits sending a mono signal to either a mono or stereo sound system, or a mixing console for recording or PA applications.

  • Page 6: Music Stand Installation

    BEFORE turning the main amplifier system on. This will prevent the initial power-on shock surge from possibly damaging your amplifier and speaker system. The music stand supplied with the DX27 fits into the two sockets on the rear panel 8. Music Stand (see diagram).
  • Page 7 DX27 CONNECTIONS...

  • Page 8: Chapter Ii: Playing The Dx27

    CHAPTER The DX27 has three different voice memories which serve different purposes. They 1. DX27 Voice are: Memory The 24-voice INTERNAL memory Configuration This voice memory is used for quick selection of voices for performance, and it is in this memory that original voices you have edited or programmed are initially stored.

  • Page 9: The Internal Play Mode

    INTERNAL memories as desired. They can also be directly accessed and played using the PRESET SEARCH function. The chart below shows the overall DX27 voice memory configuration. The VOICE EDIT BUFFER is a special memory into which a voice is called when selected.

  • Page 10: The Bank Play Mode

    In this mode, you can play any of the voices currently in the DX27’s 24-voice INTERNAL memory individually. The BANK PLAY mode enables you to access the 96 BANK memory locations. 3. The BANK PLAY These initially contain the first group of 96 voices from the 192-voice PRESET ROM.

  • Page 11: The 192-Voice Preset Memory

    The DX27 comes with 192 different pre-programmed voices in an internal ROM 4. The 192-Voice (Read Only Memory). These voices can be loaded singly into the DX27’s selectable 24-voice memory, or into any location in the DX27 BANK memory. PRESET Memory...

  • Page 12: Preset Search

    PRESET SEARCH This function allows you to directly access the voices in the PRESET memory, in the order they appear in the PRESET memory. PRESET SEARCH is accessed in the FUNCTION mode. To enter the FUNCTION mode press the FUNCTION button. Then press any of the PRESET SEARCH se- lectors to access the corresponding voices (these are the same as the BANK A-D selectors used in the BANK PLAY mode).

  • Page 13: Chapter Iii: The Function Mode

    CHAPTER III: The FUNCTION mode permits access to four groups of functions: tuning functions, MIDI functions, memory management functions, and performance functions. In this chapter we’ll describe each of these functions; what they do and how they are programmed. The FUNCTION mode is called by pressing the FUNCTION button. Individual 1.
  • Page 14 (toward the player) to lower the pitch by the specified amount. The Pitch Bend direction can also be reversed: Hold down the PB MODE SET button whileswitching the DX27 power ON. This provides the same depth of effect, but in the opposite direction of wheel movement, which can be useful in performance situations.
  • Page 15 This mode is useful in re- creating the effect of guitar string bending techniques, acoustic bass or bass guitar slide effects, etc. If you lift your hand off the DX27 keyboard between notes, there will be no portamento effect.
  • Page 16 The optional Yamaha BC-1 breath controller is a unique way of adding musical expression as you play the DX27 keyboard. The BC-1 is held in the mouth just like the mouthpiece of a wind instrument. Blowing harder or softer into the BC-1 mouthpiece produces a corresponding effect.
  • Page 17 The four BREATH parameters listed below determine just how the breath controller will affect the DX27’s sound. These parameters may be set individually, or combined for more complex effects. : BREATH RANGE, PITCH This function is used to set the maximum depth of LFO pitch modulation that can be applied using the breath controller.
  • Page 18 During either of the normal DX27 play modes, pressing the KEY SHIFT button instantly transposes the pitch of the entire DX27 keyboard up or down to a key programmed using this function. When KEY SHIFT is engaged, the letter “K” will appear at the left side of the LCD display until the KEY SHIFT button is pressed again, returning the keyboard to normal pitch.

  • Page 19: Tuning Functions

    ON and OFF. 6: RECALL EDIT In addition to the voice edit buffer, the DX27 has a special edit recall buffer memory which maintains the last edited voice data. If, after editing or creating a new voice, you inadvertently call new data into the voice edit buffer by pressing one of the voice selector buttons before storing the edited voice data, the voice you had spent so much time editing will be erased from the edit buffer.
  • Page 20 When this function is called, the LCD will read “Init. Voice?” Confirm your intention to initialize the voice edit buffer by pressing the +1 button. The DX27 will then ask you to reconfirm your intention to initialize the voice with “Are you sure ?”...
  • Page 21 9 button alternate between the SAVE and VERIFY sub-functions. Normally, however, you will start with the SAVE function, which saves the entire contents of the DX27’s INTERNAL voice memory onto cassette tape. The VERIFY function is then used to check the saved data against the data still in INTERNAL memory, to ensure that no errors occured in the SAVE process.
  • Page 22 To begin the actual save operation, press the +1 button. Pressing the -1 button prior to the final step in the above process will abort the CASSETTE SAVE function. As the DX27 saves each voice to tape, the LCD display will indicate the voice number being saved.
  • Page 23 11: LOAD SINGLE This function allows you to load a single voice from a previously saved 24-voice cassette file into the DX27’s voice edit buffer, after which it can be stored in any voice location using the STORE function. When this function is initially called, the LCD will read “Load Single ?” Press the +1 button to go on to the next step.

  • Page 24: Midi Functions

    MIDI ON-OFF This function turns transmission and reception via the DX27’s MIDI terminals on or off. When on, the DX27 can transmit or receive MIDI data to or from external MIDI equipment. When off, no MIDI data interchange is possible.
  • Page 25 3: CHANNEL The DX27 is capable of receiving or transmitting data on any of the 16 available MIDI channels, or receiving in the OMNI mode which enables reception on all channels simultaneously. This function is used to set the desired MIDI receive or transmit channel or activate the OMNI receive mode.
  • Page 26 If the SYS INFO button is pressed again, the “Midi Transmit?” display will appear. If the YES button is then pressed, then the DX27 will perform a bulk dump of all voice data—INTERNAL voices 1 through 24. Voices 25—32 will be dumped as INIT...

  • Page 27: Chapter Iv: Voice Programming

    CARRIERS AND MODULATORS The DX27 voice generator has 4 operators. When the output of one operator is fed to the modulation input of a second operator, i.e. the first operator modulates the second, a whole spectrum of harmonics is created that can form an incredibly diverse range of complex waveforms (including the more conventional triangle, sawtooth, and square waveforms).
  • Page 28 “algorithms,” and the DX27 offers 8 algorithm choices, These are all printed on top of the DX27 panel. In the algorithm diagrams on the panel, the small boxes numbered 1 through 4 are the operators.
  • Page 29 The algorithm alone, however, does not determine the actual sound of the voice. The vital characteristics of the voice you create depend mostly on the frequencies and levels you program into each operator. The 8 algorithms provided in the DX27 were specially selected because they offer the broadest range of voice programming possibilities.
  • Page 30 In effect, a feedback loop means that the operator is modulating itself. While every algorithm has one feedback loop, feedback is not necessarily used in every voice. One of the DX27 editing functions permits the feedback level to be set between 0 (no feedback) and 7 (maximum feedback).
  • Page 31 (the timbre changes) from the time the note is initiated to the time it decays. Each of the 4 operators available in DX27 can be programmed with its own envelope. The envelope applied to a carrier will, generally, contribute to the overall volume envelope of the note, while an envelope applied to a modulator will contribute to the timbre envelope of the note.

  • Page 32: The Edit And Compare Modes

    VOICE PROGRAMMING. If you do make a mistake and lose the edited data, the DX27 has been provided with a special temporary buffer memory from which the lost data can be recalled (assuming only one error has been made) using the RECALL EDIT function.

  • Page 33: The Voice Parameters

    3. The Voice programmed, and its effect. These parameters are selected by pressing the appro- Parameters priately labelled (purple labels indicate voice parameters) button while the DX27 is in the EDIT mode. PB MODE: OPERATOR SELECT This switch (located immediately above the -1 DATA ENTRY button) selects the operator to he worked on.
  • Page 34 “LFO” stands for Low Frequency Oscillator. This oscillator is used to apply mod- ulation effects such as tremolo or vibrato to the DX27 voices. By setting the LFO WAVE, SPEED, and SYNC parameters, you determine the effect that will be applied to the currently selected voice when the modulation wheel or breath controller is operated.
  • Page 35 5: LFO DELAY Permits setting a delay of between 0 LFO modulation effect begins after a key is played. This is particularly useful for simulating brass instruments, human voice, etc., in which a vibrato effect is gradually applied after the note has been initiated. The data range is from 0 to 99.

  • Page 36: Eg Bias Sensitivity

    The beginning of the LFO cycle is normally synchronized with key-on timing. This parameter permits turning this synchronization on or off. All operators are simultaneously. When this parameter is on, the LFO cycle always begins from the peak of a positive half-cycle (90 degrees phase angle) when a key is played.

  • Page 37: Frequency Ratio

    12: KEY VELOCITY While the DX27 has no key velocity sensitivity of its own, its voice generators will accept key velocity data from an external MIDI controller keyboard which does have this feature. This function determines the sensitivity of each operator to...
  • Page 38 The standard DX27 keyboard pitch is 8’; therefore, in terms of footage: 0.50 = 16’, 1.00 = 8’, and 2.00 = 4’.
  • Page 39 The following EG curves show the parameters for some common instruments. 20: OPERATOR OUT LEVEL Permits setting the output level of the selected operator. The data range is from 0 to 99. At 0, the operator is OFF. A setting of 99 produces maximum output level from the selected operator.
  • Page 40 While in the EDIT mode, select a Source operator via the OPERATOR SELECT button at the far left of the DX27 panel. Next, press the EG COPY function button (this is the same as the STORE button). The LCD will respond with “EG Copy OP1 ±...

  • Page 41: Storing Voice Data

    There are two basic approaches that can be taken when programming voices on 5. Two Approaches to the DX27. First, you can run through all the existing voices, choose one that is close to the sound you wish to create, and then edit that voice to create your own.
  • Page 42 If you choose to program a voice from scratch, you’ll need to have a clear memory location (or one containing a voice that you either don’t want or have already backed up on cassette tape, so that when you’ve completed programming the voice, you can save it).

  • Page 43: Chapter V: Voice Programming Example

    CHAPTER V: VOICE PROGRAMMING EXAMPLE In this section we’ll go through the steps in creating a fairly percussive electric piano voice from scratch. This simple example should help you understand the programming process. Initialize a Voice STEP 1: Enter the FUNCTION mode (press FUNCTION button) and call the MEMORY PROTECT function.
  • Page 44 Since the voice has been initialized, the output level of operator 1 will be set at 90 and that of operator 2 will be 0, so at the moment we only hear the sound from operator 1. Set the OP1 (carrier) EG STEP 4: Select the ENVELOPE GENERATOR AR parameter, and select operator 1 by pressing the OPERATOR SELECT button.
  • Page 45 Set OP3 (carrier) EG STEP 8: Before we actually set the OP3 EG parameters, select OP3 using the OPERATOR SELECT button, call the OPERATOR OUTPUT LEVEL parameter and set it to 99. Now enter the following EG parameters: AR = 31 DIR = 13 D1L = 0 D2R = 0...
  • Page 46 Set Keyboard Level Scaling STEP 14: Play a few notes or chords across the range of the keyboard. At this point the upper-range notes are a little to loud and tinny for proper overall keyboard balance. Select the KEYBOARD LEVEL SCALING PARAMETER, select OP1 and set to 20. Next, select OP2 and set to 30.

  • Page 47: General Specifications

    GENERAL SPECIFICATIONS Keyboard ... Sound Source ... Simultaneous Note Output ... 8 notes, reverse priority Internal Memory ... Effects ... Controls ... External Control Terminals... Connecting Terminals ... Power Supply ... Dimensions (WxHxD) ... 909(W) x 82(H) x 270(D)mm (35.8” x 3.2” x 10.6”) Weight ...

  • Page 48: Midi Data Format

    1. Transmission Conditions ACTIVE SENSING NOTE ON/OFF SUSTAIN SWlTCH PITCH BENDER POLY MODE MONO MODE MODULATION WHEEL BREATH CONTROLER DATA ENTRY SLIDER VOLUME (DATA ENTRY SLIDER: PLAY MODE) PORTAMENTO SWITCH PROGRAM CHANGE PARAMETER CHANGE I VOICE BULK 32 VOICE BULK MIDI DATA FORMAT...

  • Page 49: Transmission Data

    All MIDI data is transmitted when the MIDI ON/OFF function is ON, The MIDI 2. Transmission Data transmission channel is determined by the setting of the MIDI T CH function. 2-1. Channel Information 2-1-1 Channel Voice Message (1) Key On/Off (2) Control Change a) Transmitted whether MIDI CH INFO is ON or OFF b) Transmitted when MIDI CH INFO is ON...
  • Page 50 2-2 System lnformafion 2-2-1 System Real-Time Message Active sensing Status 11111110(FE) Transmitted once approximately every 200 milliseconds System Exclusive Message 2-2-2 Transmitted only when MIDI SYS INFO is ON (1) Parameter Change 11110000(F0) Status 01000011(43) ID no. 0001nnnn(1n) Substatus/ch. no. 00010010(12) Parameter group no.
  • Page 51 Byte count 00000000(00) Data 0ddddddd 0ddddddd 0eeeeeee Checksum 11110111(F7) The data of 32 voices, including the 24 voices in RAM memory, will be transmitted if the YES key is pressed in response to the “MIDI Transmit?” display which appears when the SYS INFO key is pressed twice in the FUNCTION mode. The data for all 32 voices will also be transmitted when a format no.

  • Page 52: Reception Conditions

    Reception Conditions...

  • Page 53: Reception Data

    All MIDI 4. Reception Data MIDI receive channel has been selected using the MIDI R CH function, and the OMNI mode is OFF, MIDI data will be received only on the specified channel. MIDI data will be received on all channels when the OMNI mode is ON. 4-1.
  • Page 54 Functions only on MSB data: Lowest value 00000000 Center value 01000000 01111111 Highest value 4-1-2 Channel Mode Message 1011nnnn Status 0 c c c c c c c 0 v v v v v v v Received whether MIDI CH INFO is ON or OFF V = 0 C=123 V = 1...
  • Page 55 (3) 1 Voice Bulk Data Received only when MIDI SYS INFO is ON. The format is the same as for the transmitted 1 voice bulk data. The 93 voice data bytes are read into the voice edit buffer, replacing the current voice data. The 93 received data bytes are shown in voice parameter table 5-2.

  • Page 56: System Exclusive Data

    5-1. VOICE DATA (VMEM format) 5. System Exclusive Data Parameter no. ATTACK RATE DECAY 1 RATE DECAY 2 RATE RELEASE RATE DECAY 1 LEVEL KEYBOARD SCALING LEVEL AMPLITUDE MODULATION ENABLE/EG BIAS SENSITIVITY/KEY VELOCITY OUTPUT LEVEL OSCILLATOR FREQUENCY KEYBOARD SCALING RATE/DETUNE SAME AS FOR OP4 SAME AS FOR OP4 SAME AS FOR OP4...
  • Page 57 5-2. VOICE PARAMETERS (VCED format) parameter no. ATTACK RATE DECAY 1 RATE DECAY 2 RATE RELEASE RATE DECAY 1 LEVEL KEYBOARD SCALING LEVEL KEYBOARD SCALING RATE EG BIAS SENSITIVITY AMPLITUDE MODULATION ENABLE KEY VELOCITY OUTPUT LEVEL OSCILLATOR FREQUENCY DETUNE SAME AS FOR OP4 SAME AS FOR OP4 SAME AS FOR OP4 ALGORITHM...
  • Page 58 5-3. FUNCTION PARAMETERS Parameter no. OPERATOR ENABLE/DISABLE OPETATOR SELECT EDIT MODE 1 = ON FUNCTION MODE 1 = ON STORE MODE 1 = ON PLAY MODE 1 = ON MASTER TUNE 64 = CENTER MIDI SWITCH 1 = ON MIDI CH INFO OMNI 0=OFF 1=ON MIDI TRANS CH MIDI RECV CH...
  • Page 59 [ Digital Programmable Algorithm Synthesizer ] Model DX27 Function ... Basic Default Channel Changed Default Mode Messages Altered ************** Note 36 - 96 Number : True voice Velocity Note ON Note OFF After Key's Touch Ch's Pitch Bender Contro1 Change...

  • Page 60: Voice/Function Data

    YAMAHA DATA NAME : DATE : NUMBER : PROGRAMMER : WAVE SPEED ALGORITHM FEEDBACK FREQ RATIO DETUNE OSCILLATOR ENVELOPE GENERATOR PORTAMENTO PITCH BEND POLY/MONO RANGE MODE TIME DELAY SYNC OUT LEVEL RATE OPERATOR WHEEL RANGE FOOT SW ASSIGN PITCH AMPLITUDE...
  • Page 61 DATE : PROGRAMMER : V O I C E N A M E R E M A R K S...
  • Page 62 DATE: V O I C E N A M E PROGRAMMER : R E M A R K S N o . V O I C E N A M E R E M A R K S...
  • Page 63 VOICE NAME REMARKS VOICE NAME R E M A R K S...
  • Page 64 (within three meters), interference may occur. This series of Yamaha professional music equipment has been type tested and found the comply with the specifications set for a class B computing device in accordance with those specifica- tions listed in subpart J of part 15 of the FCC rules.
  • Page 65 YAMAHA SINCE 1887 NIPPON GAKKI CO., LTD. HAMAMATSU. JAPAN 85 09 0.2 CR Printed in Japan...
  • Page 66 YAMAHA DX27 OM DX27 OM Yamaha Corporation of America 9/20/98 198001 6600 Orangethorpe Avenue, P.O. Box 6600, Buena Park, CA 90622-6600...

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