Yamaha DX7

James Brady was front and center during the MIDI boom, working within the keyboard department at Rushworth’s Music House in Liverpool. The year was 1986 and the synthesizer was at its peak in popularity. As a musician, who was already using electric keyboards and analog synths to create his own music, James was the perfect person to help the famous music store’s clients. It was a very exciting time, but challenging. James recalls working hard to stay on top of the every advancing technology so he could be as helpful as possible to his customers. He also recalls the day the first s

Avery Burdette, the product manager for Yamaha Corporation of America, began his long love of music pushing down the pedals of his mother's organ as a small child while his mother played. Avery played trombone in school bands before forming a Southern-Rock style group in high school. He also worked in music retail before joining Yamaha in 1987. During his years with Yamaha he took part in the launching of several innovative products and witnessed first hand the company’s growth and development into newer product fields. Avery was able to provide our collection with first hand insi

Phil Burk has had a passion for electronics since he was a kid growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area. He built radio circuits before he was a teen and combined that interest with his love of music. He later developed his skills at Mills College Center for Contemporary Music and worked in the video game industry in the early days of DSP (digital signal processors). In 2013 Phil joined the Android Audio Framework team at Google, a job fitting for his skills and background.

Dr. John Chowning is known throughout the world for his discovery of FM sound synthesis, which, when used in the context of electronic musical instruments, provided an alternative to the way synthesized music was being created. The technology was first used with great success in the Yamaha DX7, which not only sold extremely well and was a success in the marketplace, but it changed the way the world thought of and used electronic keyboards. As a professor at Stanford University, Dr. Chowning also designed a number of other applications for FM sound synthesis and similar electronic

Ed Cornett was hired by Yamaha to head the team in charge of creating the DX7.  His story of the long hours, creative and innovative team members and the support of the company uncover the key elements that came together to create one of the most successful musical instruments of its time.  Ed grew to know the strengths of the engineers and the limits of the technology of the time, which helped determine what the DX7 would do and what it could not.  Among the most impressive additions to the instrument was it was the first manufactured keyboard with MIDI technology.

Karl Hirano was an electronic engineer for Yamaha in Japan during the great MIDI boom of the early 1980s. In fact, Karl was a member of the team that gathered at the 1983 NAMM Show to discuss the MIDI spec and agree on the protocol and how MIDI would be engineered into the vast number of new electronic keyboards and synthesizers that were in high demand at the time. Karl later played an important role in several MIDI organizations, presentations and focus groups, marking an important part of the music product industry’s history.  

Akio Hiyoshi was on the engineering team at Yamaha in 1959 that designed the Electone Organ, which brought the small piano manufacturer into the electronic musical instrument market, where they would become dominant for decades.  The team also worked on the Clavinova, the CS 80 (Yamaha's last analog product) and developed the digital division for Yamaha. Akio recalls the special day that Stevie Wonder came in the factory to help review the early prototypes of the DX7.

Hirokazu Kato took part in the innovative engineering team at Yamaha in Japan who utilized FM Synthesis to create an electronic musical instrument, first the TRX prototype and then the revolutionary DX7.  Kato-san began his career with Yamaha in 1965 when he helped design the company's first clarinet while working in the wind instrument division.  After becoming Systems Engineer and studying at Columbia University, he returned to Japan where he worked on sound processing chips and the LSI technology required when John Chowning's discoveries of FM Synthesis became the framework for

Yoshi Kobayashi began working for Yamaha Corporation of America in 1958.  In the early days of his career he was tasked with supervising the import and export of the motorcycle division.  As the musical instrument side of the company grew and expanded into the United States, Yoshi-san was placed in charge and soon created the foundation for the Yamaha distribution plan.  He and his team worked hard to manage the customs rules as well as ensure the products arrived safe and on time.  He retired from the company in 1995 having enjoyed his career in the music industry!  

Mike Lang is the well-respected keyboardist who can be heard on over 2,000 movie scores and countless studio recordings over his long and successful career.  He has worked with composers such as John Williams, Henry Mancini and Jerry Goldsmith to jazz and pop performers such as Ella Fitzgerald and Frank Zappa.  Interestingly enough, Mike was there in the studios when the boom of electronic instruments hit the market.  He was asked to play the latest Moog or APR products and remembers with a smile the first time he played a Yamaha DX7 in the early days of MIDI.  Mike is also a note

Mike Lang was a well-respected keyboardist who can be heard on over 2,000 movie scores and countless studio recordings over his long and successful career.  He worked with composers such as John Williams, Henry Mancini and Jerry Goldsmith to jazz and pop performers such as Ella Fitzgerald and Frank Zappa.  Interestingly enough, Mike was there in the studios when the boom of electronic instruments hit the market.  He was asked to play the latest Moog or APR products and remembered with a smile the first time he played a Yamaha DX7 in the early days of MIDI.  Mike was also a noted s

John Lehmkuhl started playing music at the age of four, beginning with piano lessons in the music store his parents had opened in 1977. By his teenage years, he owned a Minimoog and, in 1983, he attended Yamaha’s three-day conference to teach music store employees how to program the Yamaha DX7. John earned a music performance degree, then began working in a music store selling synthesizers, teaching classes on how to play them, and programming patches for his customers.

Gary Leunberger opened a music store in San Francisco during the 1980s that soon specialized in electronic keyboards and synthesizers. Being a top seller of Yamaha instruments led the company to hire Gary to help program their products. Gary created the voice presets for the DX7, among others, which was first demonstrated by Gary at the NAMM Show in June 1983.  The following year the instrument was released at the NAMM Show, a moment in history Gary will never forget.

John Maier had parents that were both singers and would often hang out at the theater where his parents would perform. He used to get in trouble for tapping his pencil during tests and would have to take his test outside of the classroom – early signs of a promising drummer! After developing a love for the drums, John started working at Jeff’s Drum Shop in Illinois where he would teach and sell drum kits. He was intrigued by the music products industry and pursued that interest in Chicago, where he worked for Gand Music & Sound and eventually took a job as a road rep.

Max Mathews was working as an engineer at the famed Bell Laboratory in 1954 when he was asked to determine if the computer Bell was designing could create music. The landmark Music 2 and later Music 4 projects put the two concepts together as early as 1957-–the computer and music had a future and Max was there for the birth. Max had moved on to musical programming when Don Buchla and Robert Moog created similar electronic music in the form of the synthesizer. As a Stanford University professor, Max worked with his close friend John Chowning for several decades on a number of progr

Greg Mathieson spoke passionately about his career in music during his NAMM Oral History interview. He brought up some very interesting points, such as his views on working on the road vs in the recording studio, and his experiences of developing a true musical connection with the vocalists he plays for. He cited examples such as Olivia Newton Johns’ show at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City when she sang her hit “I Honestly Love You” while Greg played solo piano and held on to her every note.

Takuya Nakata is the Director and Executive Officer for Yamaha in Japan. During his NAMM Oral History interview he provided details about the development of Yamaha’s electronic musical products beginning with the D-1 organ in 1959. Mr. Nakata also related the stories of the GS-1 digital keyboard in 1981 and how that technology lead to the revolutionary DX-7, which was introduced in 1983 and forever changed the way MIDI and electronic keyboards were designed. These successes lead to the creation of PCM sound source, the VL1 synthesizer (1993) and Yamaha’s own LSI’s.  

Richard O’Donnell was vice president of Yamaha Corporation of America at a very historic time in the company’s growth and development, the 1970s. Richard worked on several projects including managing the operations for the Everett Piano Plant in Michigan, which Yamaha purchased to expand its piano manufacturing. Richard later oversaw the Georgia manufacturing plants for Yamaha and witnessed first-hand the growth of the company within the American market.

Ken Oda was hired by Yamaha in 1967 to run their retail store in San Francisco, California.  He continued to work for the company until his retirement at which point he joined Fender Musical Instruments.  While at Yamaha he met and worked with Bill Schultz who later hired Ken to help grow the Asian market for Fender.  Ken worked for Fender for ten years when the company enjoyed strong growth in many Asian countries where Ken was involved.

AR Rahman can be thought of as the Quincy Jones of Indian Music!  His love and passion for music began when he was exposed to electronic keyboards thanks to his father.  He was proud to be among the first in India to purchase many early synthesizers including the Yamaha DX-7.  As he grew as an artist he began composing music as well as producing.  Among his most noted contributions to film and recordings is his gifted ability to compose and perform equally in a variety of musical styles including Qawwali, Carnatic and Hindustani classical as well as American electronic music.

David Sancious always had records playing in his home growing up and his dad would take him to jazz clubs when he was just a child to sit by the stage so he could see the piano player. As an early member of the E Street Band, David toured with Bruce Springsteen as synthesizers and MIDI were introduced, which led to innovative ways to include these instruments in his playing. He formed his own band Tone in the mid-1970s and has played with several other iconic artists including Sting, Stanley Clarke and Eric Clapton.

Peter Schwartz is a pianist, composer, and synthesist who has worked for KORG on such projects as the M1, Wavestation, Prophecy and OASYS. After a wonderful experience with his classical music education and growing up alongside the explosion of synthesizer technology, Peter landed his first job in the music industry at Sam Ash in New York. While working for the retail store as a salesman he met Jack Hotop of KORG USA. Jack became a mentor to Peter (and several other key contributors to the industry) and encouraged him to consult for KORG. Peter’s first project was to program sound

Titus Tost studied computer programming in the mid-1980s in East Germany. He enrolled in a newly established study program called the Studio for Electronic Sound Generation (SEKD) in Dresden. Titus found the perfect outlet for his programming genius and passion for music. The Commodore 64 (later an Amiga computer and a Yamaha DX7), a rarity in East Germany at the time, were literally used around the clock to create programs and to manipulate sound. In 1989, after the fall of the Berlin wall, Titus and two other students were made assistants at the SEKD.

Cosmo Watts is a multi-talented musician and songwriter who played an important role in the music products industry as a sound designer, synthesizer programmer and music teacher. Growing up in a home surrounded by music, his father was close friends with big band vibraphonist Red Norvo. Cosmo began working at a local music store at 15 years old and later formed his own band, The Farm, which had a hit with “Rockin’ Chair.” He worked for several music stores as his professional career developed and attended his first NAMM Show in 1968.

Friedbert Wissmann pursued studies in information technology at the Technical University of Dresden and composition at the Carl Maria von Weber University of Music in Dresden earning diplomas in both fields in 1982. During his academic years, he was an active member of Schicht Theater, a song and theater group known for its politically charged performances, where he played the keyboard. After graduating, Friedbert began his career as a lecturer in composition, specializing in electronic sound generation. In 1984, he founded the Studio for Electronic Sound Generation as part of a c

Craig Yarbrough worked alongside his brother Tony and sister Phyllis (his younger sister joined them later) in running the music store they established in Memphis to serve the working musician.  The all-in-the-family store soon developed a special role in the industry, which focused on audio and pro audio installations.  Craig served both Yarbrough Music as well as Memphis Audio, which Tony started as a division of the store.  Craig likes to say that their commitment to service and attention to details has been the cornerstone of the company.

Tony Yarbrough’s love of music led to buying a music store in Memphis that was closing and renaming it Yarbrough Music, which soon became a hub for musicians in and around town.  He took an interest in audio and pro audio installations and created a division of the store called Memphis Audio.  Memphis Audio has earned a strong reputation for innovative solutions and quality service, a fact for which Tony is very proud.