About the project:
The Yamaha Reface DX is a great little synth and I love it. But
before I continue I want to make a few things clear. Don't believe
everything the ads and salesmen try to tell you! I know what I am
talking about:
- The Reface DX is NOT a remake of the legendary
DX7
- The Reface DX is NOT compatible with 4-operator FM
synths from the past like the TX81Z, DX100, or DX9
- Therefore it is NOT possible to load patches from those
vintage Yamaha FM synths in a Reface DX
Did I say "NOT possible"? I wanted to give it a try anyway. Some
years ago I started a Python project called DXconvert. The original
goal was to be able to convert between the many different file
formats that people have used and use to save Yamaha DX7 System
Exclusive voicedata. Not much time later I started developing
TXconvert to support 4-operator FM synths. Over time this project
has grown to support hundreds of file formats and a whole family of
vintage FM synths.
When the Yamaha Reface DX arrived I immediately hoped to be able
to (re-)use my huge library of SysEx patches for 4-operator FM
synths that I had collected since I bought my first Yamaha synth
somewhere in the late 1980's. But because of the major differences
I had to put a lot of time and effort in expanding the conversion
power of my TXconvert software.
This website is the result of these efforts. I have (tried to)
re-create the original patches from several vintage Yamaha (and
Korg!) FM synths to System Exclusive files that can be loaded in
the Yamaha Reface DX.
How to load the patches in my Reface DX ?
I am getting a lot of questions about this. It seems working with
SysEx dumps and files is less common in these days than it was in
the old days. For example Yamaha's Soundmondo website doesn't work
with SysEx files that you can save/load to/from your local harddisk
but is based on cloudstorage. And the soundmondo App for iOS
devices uses QR code images that you can scan to send the data to
your Reface DX.
To handle SysEx files (*.syx) you use a universal SysEx dump
utility. Universal meaning you can use it for any MIDI device that
can send/receive SysEx data, not just the Reface.
If you need an offline editor/librarian for your Reface DX you can
download the Reface DX Editor Panel that I created for Ctrlr.
I have collected some links
to SysEx Dump Utilities for several
platforms.
Give it a try!
The patches are also provided as plain text files (*.txt)
The text files show a list of all parameter values. You can enter the values by hand in your Reface DX
for the best educational experience :-)
More more more patches!
Some people can never have enough patches.
The
Yamaha Soundmondo website offers thousands of free patches, created and uploaded by the user commmunity.
For people preferring directly downloadable SysEx files I have created a pseudo-mirror site where all these
patches are available as SYX or TXT files. To make things easier for you I have removed many of the
duplicate patches. Get
Free SysEx patches from Soundmondo now!
Reface DX Factory Presets
It's always possible to switch back to the original 32 Factory Presets using Factory Reset or Voice Recall.
They are in ROM and you will not lose them.
You can download SYX and TXT versions of the Factory Presets
here.
Yamaha DX7 support
You own a Yamaha DX7 or compatible 6-operator FM synth and you want to enjoy this collection of patches too?
Then visit my
Yamaha 4OP to DX7 Conversion Project
Donations:
Please donate to support and to encourage me to continue these
projects, to improve the quality of the conversions, and to maintain
this website. On request I can also provide patches as QR code
images for people using the Yamaha Reface Soundmondo App
(iPad/iPhone)
e-mail: m.tarenskeen@kpnmail.nl
Copyright ©2024 Martin Tarenskeen
This website was last updated April 2024