DX7 Famous Examples (FM Bass)

F A M O U S E X A M P L E S

Yamaha DX7 was one of the most used synth during the mid 80's. Trying to make a complete list would be fastidious and nearly impossible.
So, here are only a few examples. Keep in mind that thousands of others are ignored here...

FM BASSES
DX7 was also used a lot during the 80's for his digital metallic, punchy or slappy bass sounds. Here are a few examples.

Artists (alphabetical order):

A-Ha	Rick Astley	Baltimora	Barclay James Harvest	Berlin
Philippe Cataldo	Commodores	The Communards	Dead Or Alive	Depeche Mode
Desireless	Samantha Fox	Serge Gainsbourg	Jean-Jacques Goldman	Daryl Hall & John Oates
Janet Jackson	Michael Jackson	Jacksons	Howard Jones	Mory Kante
Kool & The Gang	Cyndi Lauper	Kenny Loggins	George Michael	Mr. Mister
New Order	Lionel Richie	The S.O.S. Band	Sandra	Starship
Tangerine Dream	Tears For Fears	Stevie Wonder

A-Ha "Hunting High And Low" (Warner Bros ©1985 / 9 25300-2)

Magne Furuholmen - who played keyboards in this norvegian pop group - largely used the DX7 (jointly with a Prophet 5 if I remember well) on this album. One of the most known example is the ROM#1A 15 "BASS 1" that appears during the introduction of "Take On Me" (Track 1) top hit. A slight chorus FX seems to have been added:

Magne Furuholmen kept his DX7 (perhaps did he swap it against a DX7II) and used it on their second album. You can recognize it (bassline) during the "Touchy!" (Track 3) song:

Many thanks to the Internaute who kindly mentioned this album to me!!

Howard Jones "Human's Lib" (WEA,Elektra ©1984 / 240335-2)

Another use of the ROM#1A 15 "BASS 1" patch is on the Howard Jones british top hit "What Is Love" (Track 2). Both bells sounds from the introduction (0'04'' and 00'14") are also played with a DX7 (ROM#1A 26 "TUB BELLS" patch) :

Sandra "The Long Play" (Virgin ©1985 - 610 627)

Always about this ROM#1A 15 "BASS 1" patch, Sandra's composer and producer Michael Cretu used it on the european top hit "Maria Magdalena" (Track 5):

Michael Jackson "Bad" (Epic ©1987 - EK 40600)

I already mentioned this Michael's album on Roland D-50 examples page. They also used a DX7. Here is an example with the groovy punchy digital bass used during the whole "Another Part Of Me" song (Track 6):

Tears For Fears "Songs From The Big Chair" (Mercury ©1984 / 824 300-2)

Another example of DX7 digital bass is in the TFF new wave/pop top hit "Shout" (Track 1):

First DM international top hit "People Are People" (Track 3) contains a DX7 bass line. I may suppose that the metallic sound used for the melodic response during the introduction is an FM synthesis sound too:

The Billboard top hit "Broken Wings" (Track 8) from this american Pop group includes the ROM#3A 12 "E.BASS 1" patch during the whole song:

Another example extracted from the "Nothing's Gonna Stop Me Now" (Track 6) top dance hit from Samantha Fox and combining two different DX7 bass sounds:

This "one top hit only" french singer used the DX7 slappy bass sound as an interesting rythmic comping line:

The S.O.S. Band "Sands Of Time" (Tabu Records ©1984 - CDTBU 26863)
SOS Band

The "Even When You Sleep" (Track 1) song from this american Urban Funk group includes a typical DX7 bass patch:

Many thanks to the Internaute who kindly mentioned this album to me!!

Berlin "Count Three And Pray" (Mercury ©1986 / 830 586-2)
Berlin

The "Take My Breath Away" (Track 5 - from the "Top Gun" soundtrack) bass sound is a DX7 Fretless patch:

The "Nightshift" (Track 2 - dedicated to Marvin Gaye and Jackie Wilson) bass sound is also a DX7 Fretless patch:

The "Torture" (Track 1) bass sound is a typical DX7 bass sound:

Another song extracted from "Top Gun" film which includes the ROM#3A 12 "E.BASS 1" patch:

The ROM#1A 15 "BASS 1" sound can be clearly heard at the end of the "I Never Can Say Goodbye" (Track 6) Jackson 5's cover song introduction:

This french 80's top hit includes a DX7 bass sound during the whole song:

A very popular DX7 sounds "mix" in the 1980's pop hits was to use an FM electric bass and electric piano patches as in the Rick Astley song "Never Gonna Give You Up" (Track 1):

The "Change Of Heart" (Track 1) Cyndi's top hit begins with a DX7 bass sound:

New Order "Brotherhood" (Factory ©1986 / 830 527-2 )

Another great use of the ROM#3A 12 "E.BASS 1" patch is on this New Order song named "Bizarre Love Triangle" (Track 6):

By the way, they also used DX7 bells during the chorus.
Many thanks to the internaute who kindly mentioned it to me !

Kool & The Gang
Funk/Disco top hit "Fresh" (Track 2) uses the DX7 ROM#3A 12 "E.BASS 1" patch for the whole song bassline (combined with an Oberheim DMX drum machine):

Many thanks to the internaute who kindly mentioned it to me!

Stevie Wonder "In Square Circle" (Motown ©1985 - ZD72005)

The "Part-Time Lover" (Track 1) top hit used a punchy DX7 electric bass sound (clearly recognizable during the introduction). You can also hear an FM electric piano as comping chords. And I may suppose that the squarey lead voice is a DX7 patch too:

AND THERE ARE STILL DOZENS OF OTHER EXAMPLES...!

DX7 Synthesis Description

DX7 Soundbanks Listing

DX7 All The Web Patches

DX7 Video Demos