Yamaha reface DX Mobile Mini Keyboard

I obsessively watched videos and read comments about this keyboard before buying it, and tried out a few FM synth iOS apps first to see if that would be enough for me. FM has a reputation for being hard to get the hang of, but the interface of this does make it easier, even compared to the touch screen on my iPad. I did need to learn the fundamentals from videos, but have already made half a dozen of my own presets after only a week or so. The build quality is fantastic and much less like a toy than I was expecting. While storing patches online is a bit cumbersome, there are still plenty of onboard presets for me to keep favorite sounds for a project and still have access to the others I have designed or found. Even with only four operators, I thoroughly enjoy it for designing sounds, which I enjoy more than sifting through countless pages of DX7 presets. I haven't used a lot of mini keys before, and a lot of reviews commented on how these were very comfortable for mini keys, and I have no issue with them even switching between them an full size keys.

The key size

There wasn't enough of low end for the music I make and when I came across the reface DX I was hooked! It was basically what my music needed. I'm also making plans to purchase the reface CS as well.

I was searching for a modular or compact size polyphonic synth to use for recording and eventually settled on the Yamaha DX Reface. Most of the smaller synths in this price range are monophonic (one note at a time) and I want the ability to play chords as well as bass lines. I immediately found this synth to be very intuitive in its controls, contrary to what many reviews say about the DX7 being complicated. Watching a few tutorial videos beforehand definitely helped in understanding the parameters, the manual doesn't really tell you much. There are basically four operators or voices that have controls for oscillator shape, level and frequency/tuning, and in edit mode, you have controls for filter and LFO on all four voices individually. I like that the four voices essentially start as a sine wave at the center point and can be blended with a saw or square wave. It's more about adding/blending the wave forms to make subtle changes rather than simply having two wave forms which tends to make more dramatic changes to the sound with every subsequent adjustment. Yes, it is small, but I'm using a Korg X50 as a controller via MIDI, which also has arpeggiator presets to trigger the DX. The other features I like is velocity sensitivity and onboard effects. You can have two effects at a time and are very useful, particularly chorus for pads for thickening the sound. I'd definitely recommend this synth, and at the price it can't be beat for everything it can do.

This keyboard has amazing sound quality, portability and, great design. It is great for working on songs and playing along with music from devices connected via the aux in.

Great unit. Immediately recognized in Pro Tools. Sturdy build. Characteristic of Yamaha quality.