Yamaha TX802

Hmmm... For the lover of classic synths, I happened to see two Yamaha
TX802 on e-Bay right now, with the high bid currently at $113, and another
one for $89.

Rick

This still has one of the nicest microtonal implementations around, not
counting software synthesizers. Try to get one with a cartridge though,
as that lets you store 63 more tuning tables.

John Loffink
The Microtonal Synthesis Web Site
http://www.microtonal-synthesis.com
The Wavemakers Synthesizer Web Site
http://www.wavemakers-synth.com

> -----Original Message-----
>
> Hmmm... For the lover of classic synths, I happened to see two Yamaha
> TX802 on e-Bay right now, with the high bid currently at $113, and
another
> one for $89.
>
> Rick
>

John,

{you wrote...}
>This still has one of the nicest microtonal implementations around, not >counting software synthesizers.

True enough. If you leave out softies, and the sounds are acceptable, then it is a good thing.

>Try to get one with a cartridge though, as that lets you store 63 more >tuning tables.

Does anyone know if there are 3rd-party / aftermarket cartridges available, or is this truly a hardware item that is history, and can only be purchased used?

Cheers,
Jon

> Does anyone know if there are 3rd-party / aftermarket cartridges
> available,
> or is this truly a hardware item that is history, and can only be purchased
> used?

Yeah, cartridges are worth their weight in gold! (I have 3 TX802s and 3
cartridges, but one of the boxes has a broken cartridge bay, so one
cartridge is idle.) I have *NEVER* found a cartridge for sale, and have
never seen a TX802 for sale with a cartridge. I got all of mine when they
were new circa 1988/89.

If you have a TX802 and don't have a cartridge, the next-best-thing is to
get a patch/library program like MidiQuest. It will run on even older
computers, can load/store tunings as well as patches, so at least you can
use Scala to set tunings, then store your tunings on the computer.

Rick

Rick,

{you wrote...}
>If you have a TX802 and don't have a cartridge, the next-best-thing is to >get a patch/library program like MidiQuest. It will run on even older >computers, can load/store tunings as well as patches, so at least you can >use Scala to set tunings, then store your tunings on the computer.

Yep. The one thing *that* won't do is be able to select different tunings by sending midi commands, allowing one to sequence music that changed different tunings. But since we live today, there are other options, like rendering tracks to audio and mixing. There are always ways to get things done, it just seems like there isn't (yet) the ultimate way!

Cheers,
Jon

Does anyone use Yamaha TX802s any more?

Just curious. I have a pair of them sitting around that I haven't used for a while, and I'm thinking of trying to find a good home for them with a Microtonally oriented family who would know how to care for them properly and make use of the microtonal capabilities.

Cheers,
Rick

Hi, Rick,

I had two of them, later sold one of them and regretted a lot - as I really love FM synthesis and especially this machine because it's multitimbral and 8 microtunings can be used together (I have also DX7 II, TX81z, and with some tricks I can use also my TX816 and TX416 for microtonal music). I've been making microtonal music with it since 1990. As electronic repairs are my hobby, recently I have recapped PSU in my unit so it will work reliably for next 20 years. I do this with all my equipment older than 20 years...

I can be interested in yours, but I'm in Japan, and shipping could be expensive, so probably I'm out of the game... Just from curiosity - how much will you ask for them?

Best regards!

Daniel Forro

On 17 Jun, 2013, at 10:09 AM, Rick McGowan wrote:

> Does anyone use Yamaha TX802s any more?
>
> Just curious. I have a pair of them sitting around that I haven't used
> for a while, and I'm thinking of trying to find a good home for them
> with a Microtonally oriented family who would know how to care for > them
> properly and make use of the microtonal capabilities.
>
> Cheers,
> Rick