Sound designer and synthesist Benjamin Dehli shared this video demo of his Blade Runner inspired sound design for the Yamaha DX7.
Here’s what he has to say about it:
“The Yamaha CS-80 and Yamaha DX7 are probably polar opposites in both operation and sound. The CS-80 is an analog subtractive synthesizer, whereas the DX7 is a digital synthesizer that uses frequency modulation (FM) synthesis. The only thing they really have in common is the Yamaha brand name.
This experiment was an attempt to see if I could make the DX7 sound somewhat close to the iconic CS-80 sound famously used by Vangelis in the Blade Runner soundtrack.”
Dehli’s DX7 take isn’t an exact match for the original, but it’s surprising how good it sounds, recreated on a synth best known for its digital FM sounds.
The video is a preview of an upcoming DX7 sound library, which Dehli plans to make available via his store.
*lol* What a luck, that Vangelis didn’t have a DX7, so that we now have an iconic sounding soundtrack, not this harsch and clinking music. Also, half of the sound of this epic piece came from the expensive studio effects. And Vangelis’ masterful playing.
Waauw, impressive. It does show the playing style (and the post effects) are often more relevant than the exact sound recreation to bring up a certain emotion. But then again, still nothing beats the original:-)
Can you imagine how long it must have taken to program these sounds?
Brass sounds are something that FM can do quite well.
There’s a point where the modulation index is just right, but if you go a few more values higher on the modulator amplitude, it smashes the illusion and your ear picks up that it’s an unnatural sound. What makes FM sound like, well, Digital FM is when you start adding harmonic content that goes in higher harmonics than an subtractive synthesizer would make, above the “cutoff” point of a lowpass.
Further proof that with only a few limitations, almost any decent synth can emulate any other. Here’s the proof of concept. Its about the driver more than the car. I love me some big Vangelis reverb, too. Very good work, Benjamin.
I disagree as for general statement. I mean: for bread and butter – sure. But many synths have sonic grounds that are quite unique, which I almost always explore. Do some complex analog cross modulation and, what first is just minor flavour of a synth, becomes major difference. That is more true in VCO x-mod than in VCF x-mod, from my experience where minor differences explode sonically.
Cordially!
Now imagine this patch initiated on a Yamaha TX816 duplicated on all 8 modules with a small detune of each….
Bladerunner 2.0?
Get me the sysex for this patch and I’ll make it, haha!
It’s not that the CS80 is overrated as a synth (gets to pleasing sounds fast), but the Lexicon 224 surely is underrated when it comes to this (done to death) sound.
So, you mean that I spent 60K for nothing??
Nice touch that we get to hear the sounds dry as well as effected. Great work.