Great comment. This really gets to the core of why the DX7 and Yamaha's FM synthesis patent was important.
At the time the DX7 came out, sample-based synths were still too expensive for the average musician. Affordable analog synths had less polyphony and mediocre piano sounds, plus they were heavy! The DX7 was cheap and light and did an alright piano sound, which is just what musicians wanted.
But having a cheap and light alternative to sample-based synthesis wasn't just useful to musicians. Cut-down versions of the chips also went into Sega consoles, Neo Geo arcade games, AdLib sound cards for PC, and even the early Sound Blasters.
I think Yamaha's FM synthesis had a huge impact on the sorts of music a whole generation of gamers grew up with, as well as being ubiquitous in pop music through much of the 80s. This is what makes the DX7 important, in my opinion. It's more significant as part of the story of consumer electronics becoming affordable than just as a pop music phenomenon.
At the time the DX7 came out, sample-based synths were still too expensive for the average musician. Affordable analog synths had less polyphony and mediocre piano sounds, plus they were heavy! The DX7 was cheap and light and did an alright piano sound, which is just what musicians wanted.
But having a cheap and light alternative to sample-based synthesis wasn't just useful to musicians. Cut-down versions of the chips also went into Sega consoles, Neo Geo arcade games, AdLib sound cards for PC, and even the early Sound Blasters.
I think Yamaha's FM synthesis had a huge impact on the sorts of music a whole generation of gamers grew up with, as well as being ubiquitous in pop music through much of the 80s. This is what makes the DX7 important, in my opinion. It's more significant as part of the story of consumer electronics becoming affordable than just as a pop music phenomenon.