The Best Keyboards Of The 80s and 90s | From the DX7 to the Mirage: Our Favorite Vintage Keyboards

The Best Keyboards Of The 80s and 90s | From the DX7 to the Mirage: Our Favorite Vintage Keyboards

In today’s video, keyboard enthusiasts Roland and Ted dive into some of their favorite classic synthesizers from the past — including legends like the Yamaha DX7, SY77, and Ensoniq Mirage. Join them as they share stories, memories, and insights about the instruments that shaped their musical journeys.

The Yamaha DX7 is a groundbreaking 61-key digital synthesizer introduced in 1983 that helped define 1980s pop and electronic music. It uses six-operator FM (frequency modulation) synthesis, offering up to 16-voice polyphony and a wide range of complex, metallic, and bell-like tones. Built with a velocity- and aftertouch-sensitive keyboard, an LCD screen, and membrane switches, it supports MIDI and allows for storing and recalling sounds via cartridges. Despite having no built-in effects, its innovative sound engine and programmability made it wildly popular, and it remains a legendary instrument in music history.

The Yamaha SY77 is a powerful 61-key synthesizer workstation from the early 1990s that blends FM synthesis with sample-based AWM2 sounds for deep sonic versatility. Its AFM engine offers extensive modulation options, while RCM technology lets users combine FM and samples in unique ways. With 32-voice polyphony, multitimbrality, a built-in sequencer, and onboard effects, it functions as a full production instrument. The SY77 is known for its rich sound-design capabilities and its role as an evolution of the iconic DX-series synthesis.

The Ensoniq Mirage is an early, affordable 8-bit sampler keyboard from the mid-1980s, featuring 8-voice polyphony and a 61-note, velocity-sensitive keyboard. It combines digital sampling with analog subtractive synthesis—its voices go through resonant Curtis analog filters. It offers multi-sampling (up to 16 samples across the keyboard), a built-in 333-event sequencer, and MIDI support. With its variable sample rate (10 kHz–33 kHz), 128 KB of memory, and floppy-disk storage, it was groundbreaking in bringing sampling to a more accessible price point.