Very solid FM synth

Amazing Synth for its weight and size. Very hard to program, but very warmth sound. As someone who comes from Operator (Ableton) it was challenging to program in that tiny screen with so many tabs and buttons, I suposse its better to have everthing on the board like a CS, but by the other hand you have 4 banks with 8 sounds each.

Can receive Expression cc and it affects some sounds (tried it from Roland A800pro).

Polyphony is low, but is part of the charm

Speakers can get distorted if not used correctly

Made for a 2 year old - not even close to a DX7

The keys and size are the same injection mold used on the fisher price keyboards for preschool kids. Sound cannot match a dx7, not enough presets or patches. Is easily outclassed by other Dx7 VSTs. In all, i wont buy Yamaha again after getting this and knowing the profit margin yamaha made on this junk for $500. Its value is about$60.compared to my Korgs, Midi ArDX7 Vst, it is a toy. Maybe they could make it half the size and sell chopsticks, then make it a midi so it actually can cover 80s songs.

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The best thing this side of a DX7

The Reface DX is:

1) The best way to get into hardware FM synthesis on the market. 2) The easiest to edit hardware FM synth there is, by a long shot. 3) The best 4-operator FM synth ever made. 4) An amazing ultra-portable tool, like all Refaces.

I can't speak enough praises about this synth. As a complete package it might be my favorite synth I've ever owned. If you're at all interested in hardware FM, get one ASAP.

Makes programming FM sooooo easy

Yamaha have truly tried their best making FM easy to programme this synth, I do not own any other FM synths but from what other FM synths I've seen such as the original DX7 or volca FM the tiny screen and single data entry slider is not enough and seems a nightmare for programming FM but the incredibly useful proper screen and 4 data entry 'sliders' (which being honest needs a bit of getting use to) makes programming FM much easier than it normally is. 8 voices is more than enough normally but as it has mini keys sometimes whilst playing really big chords your fingers can slip and steal voices and to be honest I would of liked a larger keyboard and full sized keys would be preferable but I don't mind the mini keys too much and quickly got used to them. The inbuilt looper is really useful and great fun and the in built effects are surprisingly useful and good quality too. Some people complain about only having 4 operators but as my first FM synth its a great starting point and you can still get deep FM sounds with 4 operators.

Not as powerful as DX7 but more intuitive

Like the summary says, I miss the extra two operators that a real DX7 offers. That said, its way easier to program patches into this thing and its more convenient all around. It runs off of batteries (though it dies quickly), has good I/O, acts as a MIDI controller, and the speakers are actually pretty nice. I wish the keys weren't so dang tiny and that they were full depth. I also wish that it had a programmable mod wheel. It does allow for sustain pedals to be used which is nice. Definitely well-priced

Awesome synth

Amazing synth !! Great for learning about FM synthesis. Sounds great, is built well, and is a ton of fun !! Get one of these as your first synth, and you will be hooked for life !!

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From Gear Setup

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pretty decent synth on the cheap

I want one

I want buy one, sounds nothing like a original Dx7. Its more like a Tx81z, Ys200 or even a TQ5.

Almost

Just wish it was a 6 operator reface its nearly fulfilled my gap for an fm synthesiser.

Little great synth

Great for eighties musicsets, when FM synthesis dominated the world