If you’re ever in need of some shuttered, whispering leads or barely audible brass synths, this will be the one for you. For 40 odd years Brian Eno has been changing the game in the worlds of ambient, pop and generative music, a true-born virtuoso of the synthesiser.
Back in 1987 he was interviewed by Keyboard Magazine and agreed to send them a few Yamaha DX7 patches of his own creation. For owners of the famously difficult to program keyboard, it was a godsend.
Want to sound like Brian Eno? Bust out your Yamaha DX7 and prepare to wrangle a few menus, you’ll be busting out ambient masterworks in no time.
As 1987 pre-dated the age of the cover-mounted CD, Eno’s patches were published as a set of instructions, allowing anyone to go beyond the factory presets, regardless of their DX7 programming ability.
While the DX7 was noted for its difficulty, Eno was something of an expert in the synth, using it extensively in albums such as 1983’s Apollo: Atmospheres and Soundtracks.
An image of these patches has been floating around the internet for a few years now, but Encyclotronic is offering downloads of the patches in Sysex format, which are compatible with a variety of more modern synths.
Find the patches at Encyclotronic. – FACT Mag.
