ROG's question is legitimate and so far nobody has addressed it.

My opinion has a few different facets:

1. The DX7 classic electric piano sound is tied to the era of heavily gated snare drum sounds in the same songs in which the DX7 EP sound was featured, which also for whatever reason is not considered 'cool'. DX7=Paula Abdul tart-pop songs, Rhodes=long list of classic rock, soul, R&B, funk hits. Recall however, that during the Paula Abdul era, the Rhodes and Wurlys were NOT cool during those 5 years or so. Moog synths could be had for pennies on the dollar at the same time in the used market due to their instabilities, etc. All the big synth manufacturers seemed to abandon their analogishness for whatever they could muster up with digital and they all strove for that clangy digital EP sound. I recall a Korg DW-x000 (can't remember the x digit) series of keyboards that had a good knock-off of the DX7 sound.
2. Rhodes and Wurlys have much more tonal variety depending on the long list of factors; age, electromechanical weirdness, how well the tines are suspended, where the pickups are and in what condition, etc.
3. Rhodes and Wurlys sound cool when overdriven by various amounts, DX7 does not. That is my opinion.
4. The DX-7 sound is to the 80's what the Farfisa organ and other electronic organ sounds were to the 60's and early 70's. Yes there are emulations, but they are more novelties do their generally unpleasant 'stasis' sound - what I mean by that is that there almost too 'pure', with very little of the sonic surprises that happen with instruments that have a bit of a mind of their own.

So, I guess all of that could be summed up into saying that the sound is in fact 'naff' - which I understood to mean 'kitschy' or 'not serious', but I only know the word through forum participation.

Last edited by rockstar_not; 09/29/12 10:29 AM.
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