Got my wife this as a late Christmas present because she's been wanting to learn an instrument and she loves 80s synth pop and 90s EDM. This thing is a perfect little tool to replicate all of those sounds and so much more. I was surprised at how small and compact this thing is, but don't let that fool you. Not only does it come with dozens of fully customizable sound settings for the keyboard, but you can change octaves to get much more range despite the small size of keyboard. We haven't explored all of the features yet, but you can plug it directly into an amp or speaker to get much more volume out of it. Can't wait to see what else this thing can do.

My son really wants a DX7 because he's super into Tears For Fears and I asked my rep, Nate, if he could recommend anything and this is what he suggested. I don't know much about synths. I grew up playing piano and mostly do guitar, but my son likes his and uses it a lot for recording stuff. I will also say I have had to borrow it for a few recordings I did as well. From the times I've used it, I really dig it. Honestly, I never knew I needed a synth in my life until I started playing with this. I told my son if he ever decides he no longer wants it to give it back to me hahaha.

Excelente Client Service. Reface dx,I loved.

The little Reface DX sounds great, even on the tiny speakers, plays well even with the tiny keys, and is simple to control, despite the FM Synthesis. It's short two operators compared to its big brother the Yamaha DX-7, but it gets the sounds with the help of on board effects that help complete the programming. The SoundMondo web page is a wonderful addition, letting me sample and use voicings created by others, and the MIDI interface allows me to connect to a DAW or a controller. I real "must have" in my opinion.

Great little kb with preprogrammed banks. Very sturdy and affordable. I just started my test-drive and am looking forward to using it with the app and downloading lots of new sounds. Thanks to Bob Mondok for all his help as always!!!

I am amazed with the effects and sound , I hooked my Behinger mini synthesizer into it and having a blast with it.

I bought this to be used as a controller for the Dreadbox Nymphes, as well as learning about FM synthesis. This is a very well built synth! It includes a wide range of present patches, and the ability to adjust or build from scratch is not too difficult either. Could the keybed be bigger? Sure, I got massive hands. Does it need to be? Definitely not! I brought it to a recent rehearsal and had both of my keys players really intrigued by it. The built in speakers can get loud. Which is silly with how small they are. It also succeeds at being a midi controller, ha! Give it a shot.

Played over a hundred concerts with my always totally Free Jamming Sonic Soul Band having had as many as 10 pieces can cut through all of it very easily and also create musical landscapes while others Jam. I midi it up to my JV 1080, nothing like hardware keeps it real for me, but there are a major draw backs, just keeping it real, if using batteries and they run out the keyboard goes back automatically to factory settings? Fk and getting your sounds back impossible no System Exclusive dump to computer it happened a few times inadvertently not seeing plugged into DC I saw factory pre set gone! So started writing down all the parameters etc but that was crazy because I might have started with a different sound before editing and lastly now some keys not responding with no sound when you hit them. So no doubt will probably buy another because it is a little monster.
Woodstocks N.Y. Sultan Of Sonic Soul ... Gus Mancini

Very nice little keyboard synth. Going from a hammer action full size keyboard to these smaller touch sensitive keys turned out to actually be very easy. I have the DX hooked up to SoundMondo which is also very nice with the added sounds to choose from.

Don't be fooled by the small size and cute factor: this isn't some toy keyboard. This is a fully-fledged FM synth with a ton of options for tone, a very responsive key action, and a surprisingly great set of onboard speakers for casual practice.

The built-in presets are nice. A few of them are adaptations of original DX7 presets. These are iconic, tried-and-true sounds that evoke the 80s aesthetic, but still hold up today. But this little instrument contains a wide variety of other built-in tones ranging from soft bells to aggressive growls.

Of course, you can also program your own patches, and the huge screen and touch panel make it much easier than the original DX7. Programming is very visual, with many convenient buttons and graphics in lieu of menu diving and impersonal numbers.

While there are only 4 operators instead of 6, all of them have feedback, so it's almost like having an 8-operator synth. Feedback essentially allows the synth to turn its simple sine waves into saw or square waves, which can even allow you to create convincing analog textures. The last algorithm will turn the synth into an additive synth, allowing one to create convincing organ sounds.

Of course, bells are this instrument's specialty.

My only complaints:
- Battery life is limited.
- There should be more sound slots; 32 is inexcusable nowadays, especially for a machine that doesn't use sampling.
- Some iconic instruments (including the E. Bass) are missing. The closest thing there is to the E. Bass is the Attack Bass.
- Ironically, the aggressive dubstep growls have aged worse than the classic 80s sounds.

Speaking of that, I wouldn't recommend this keyboard to someone who doesn't care for 80s music. But if you're an 80s person like myself, this is a nice little portable keyboard with nice professional sounds out of the boz!

Back in the 80's I LUSTED for a DX7, this little board is niiiice. Its only 4 operators vs the DX7's 6 but it doesn't seem to hinder the sound at all. The SoundMondo app lets you browse tons of premade Patches if you don't want to make your own. The mini keys feel pretty good, nothing like my Fatar keybed obviously but fine for this. Negatives , the strap clamps should have come with the reface. There's no mod wheel and last minor gripe no input for an Expression pedal but it's still WELL worth the LOW PRICE!

I own all 4 of the Yamaha Reface series. I like them all. This review is about the Reface DX - so let's get started...

The Reface DX is an 8-voice 4-Operator FM synth. It retains the small form factor as the rest of the Reface line and can be powered by batteries, if needed. It is lightweight and has built in speakers. The built-in speakers are for personal practice and will not work in a band situation, so keep that in mind. The keys are very small and there are 37 of them. I would recommend playing this unit via MIDI, from another keyboard. They keys are playable, but there are not enough of them to really be productive.

With regard to the FM sound on this unit, it is very good, even though it is the 4-Operator version. This differs from the 6-Operator FM of the original DX1/5/7/TX*16 and TX802 series, but it still sounds great. You will get more variety out of this than the original 4-Operator variants from the 80's (DX9/11/21/etc...) because of how Yamaha has arranged the way you can program this.

It is no secret that programming FM can be a VERY tedious task, and Yamaha has designed the Reface DX in such a way that it is a bit easier to do. It still takes a bit to program deep sounds, but you can achieve pretty good results. The dual EFX processors also help with this, so you really do have what you need 'in the box' to make things happen. If you are new to FM or do not want to program FM, youcan certainly go to SoundMondo and get sounds made by different owners in the Yamaha community. I am sure that you can find just about whatever you need (within the limitations of FM, of course).

The EPs sparkle, just like we remember. The lead sounds can be soft and go into screaming noise with just a few adjustments. The pads can be pretty good as well, and sound effects can also be achieved. Realistic instruments are a bit of a mixed bag, but it is safe to say that anything percussive (bells, mallets, etc...) are pretty easy to program with a great deal of believability.

The programming controls on this unit are really limited to swipes on a tactile pad. There is also a small backlit LCD screen and it provides all the information you need to get around the unit. There is an octave slider to help with playing across the entire keyboard range of a full-size keyboard with more keys. There is also a joystick which allows for pitch bends.

It comes with a wall-wart power supply, has 1/4" stereo outputs, has a sustain pedal input, has an 1/8" input, and also has MIDI. The problem I have with the MIDI jack is that it is a proprietary connector that comes from Yamaha that is basically a breakout cable on the rear of the unit. Each Reface unit comes with one (along with the power supply), but they are fiddly and can be easily lost. I would recommend getting a couple of these breakout cables as a backup, but make sure that they are compatible with the Yamaha Reface series. These can be found on online auction sites and other places. It is always good to have spares :)

There is very little I dislike about the unit, and look forward to getting much deeper into it as time goes on. I have a specific use for mine, and that is basically for the well-known EP sounds and some pad sounds. I may even use it for leads and will almost always use it with another MIDI keyboard. It will basically be a sound module. I like the look of the unit, as it seems to have the same original case color as the original DX7 from the early-80's. I find that attention to detail pretty nice.

If I could change anything on it, I would add more polyphony. 8 notes of poly is just not really enough when doing keyboard runs and of course, you will run out of notes when doing do. Maybe it is a limitation of 4-operator FM, but I would think that at least 16 notes of poly should be available.

One other thing that I dislike about the Reface series is how to get these on a keyboard stand for a live show. They are small and do not natively fit on a regular keyboard stand. Since I have all 4 in the series, I have had to fashion a custom setup that will fit on a single columnar stand (Apex, Stay, or Spider type stand). I bought a couple pieces of 1/4" polycarbonate plastic 'shelves' that are 36"w X 12"d in order to fit on the stand. Then I bought a couple pair of two tier desktop 3-D printed stands and put rubber bumpers on the top 'tier' so that the two Reface keyboards I would use as a module (DX and CP) could be stationary. The bottom tier has the other two Reface units (CS and YC) to help hold the stands in place on the shelf that I had made. I believe that it will work well and I will have a 'Reface Shelf' of sound taking up one tier in my live rig. Refer to the picture I included to see how they are arranged on the custom 'stands' I bought online that sit on the 'shelf' on the keyboard stand. The total price of this custom configuration, with the polycarbonate shelves and 3-D printed stands was about $150, so keep that in mind. I had to go to a plastics company online for the 'shelves' and to eBay for the 3-D printed stands.

Another thing to consider when using these is that if you are running in stereo (why would you not...) is that you can 'daisy-chain' these units together via the Aux inputs. You could go from the output of one unit (regular 1/4" outputs, into the AUX input of the other, and so-on). You will need a stereo 'Y-cable' consisting of two 1/4" connections on one side and an 1/8" connection on the other side. You could chain all of these together, but keep in mind that the master volume control of the main unit that all are plugged into will control the overall volume of ALL of them. You can control them individually, but the master volume for ALL are dependent upon the volume level of the last unit in the chain (the Reface unit that goes into your mixer). This is loosely called 'submixing' and can be problematic if not done correctly.

Again, there is little to argue about or dislike about the Reface series, including the Reface DX.

I was not really thinking of getting all of the units in the Reface series, but ended up doing so. I am glad that I did. There are other options out there for FM, including the original DX/TX/FB series from Yamaha from the 80's. You can also look at Korg's OPSix as an option. The problem with the original FM synths from Yamaha from the 80's are obviously the age of the units now. They are old and not nearly as portable as the Reface DX. They are also expensive and may require a lot of maintenance in order to get working again. The Korg OPSix is a solid offering, offers 6-operators of FM, but is more expensive and much deeper than the Reface DX.

For a quick entry into FM, the Reface DX is a great choice, and one that you will not regret making.

They certainly aren't toys - even though they look like keyboards you would pass by at the Goodwill. I bought the DX and the CS as a pair to augment my DAW setup and dip my feet into the world of hardware and both have delivered on what they offered.

I was absolutely blown away by how good the onboard speakers sounded. FM is a chore to manage in a soft synth environment, but the DX makes it very straight forward.

I am definitely not in love with the touch screen panel controls, however. I don't know if this was a cost saving measure or if Yamaha was trying to keep the same profile as the original DX, but the touch panel is a real hang up. I have to use an external controller to modify the CCs. They are so close together, you end up eventually tapping or sliding parameters you didn't mean to modify. The slides are too dramatic of a change and tapping 25 times to get from 1.0 to 1.25 ratio is unnerving.

The sonic capabilities of the device shine thru.

Honestly, I bought the DX Reface to sample a few DX7 like voices to go into my Casio MZ-X500. Once the voices were built into tones, I was just going to use it as a pricey MIDI control. Sure, I could have used Dexed but justified the DX face to play with afterwards

Once I sampled the voices into the MZ-X500, I started to experiment with new sounds and was impressed with what it could. Sure, it doesn't have all the operators of a DX7 and polyphony is limited to 8 notes but programming is easier. It will take some time before I can fully exploit it's abilities.

Sweetwater got it here fast and it's been a blast.

I bought one of these because my band was going to tour Mexico in 2018 and I didn't want to deal with a full size keyboard in airports/planes. It fits in a standard-size carry-on bag, which is beyond convenient. I just wrapped it in some extra merch t-shirts to pad it a bit extra.

It sounds fantastic, totally pro through a PA, and it has adequate on-the-fly adjustment options with solid build quality.

It's fairly easy to customize preset sounds and store them, especially in comparison to old DX's. That said, the 32 preset limit is pretty weak. It comes loaded with factory presets, so if you like any of those you have to deduct them from the available slots. I needed 12 custom presets, and it's a bit of a process to deal with if you want them in order starting at the first preset since those are already loaded with factory sounds. First you decide which factory presets you can live without, then you have to copy the factory presets from slots you want to use into preset slots where you are cool with deleting the voice. Seems like they could have easily set this up with 32 factory presets and an additional 32 user presets to save the user some hassle.

This keyboard is small, cheaply made, and only has a few sounds. The FM functions are cool but overall I think it would be better to spend the money on a bigger synth with more sounds and a better keybed. I've never had an original DX-7 keyboard, so I can't compare to that.

This is a great little synth for the classic sounds of the original DX7. and more. The speakers are nice for on the go practice but it is best when used through an amp. My other suggestion would be to hook up the midi to a larger keyboard
and man you can create some really good sounds and I like the built in looper, It's not the best but it works. Overall for
it's size and the Price, It's well worth buying if you don't own an FM synth and is a must to add to your collection. I think
Yamaha really came through with this one.

I have never loved an item like I do this synth.

I was a sample-based producer who recently got tired of dealing with DMCA and copyright battles, so I took the plunge into becoming a fully compositional, owned-license musician and wanted to get a few basics. After securing a digital practice piano and a USB-MIDI controller for production ease, I decided I wanted to get a proper synthesizer. Asking around and receiving input based on my musical taste, I was heavily advised to look into the Yamaha DX series, and was told about this amazing Reface that is compatible with modern setups and has a much beginner-friendly interface for FM synthesis.

This thing is powerful. Plug it in and get right to work on experimenting with FM synthesis with the beefy speakers that make the neighbors' dogs bark if you have any windows open. Beautiful sound, incredible 32 presets to start your synth sculpting sound journey on but with Voice Initiation you can easily create sounds from scratch (they even gave a few purposefully nonsensical presets like a Chopper so that you'd have slots in your banks that you actually want to overwrite! Thank you for that Yamaha). Octave slider, volume slider, pitch-bend (which is a sound I greatly wanted to play with), and as a beginner a tremendous amount of features I'm still learning all about. 4 operators with an impressive amount of control and command over. You wouldn't think such a simple digital touch interface (one that resembles turn of the century '00s style products) would be this effective but it very much is. I am relieved that this synth has such professional sound capability while still being amateur friendly.

Easy to couple with a larger controller if you don't want to bother with your octave slider. I recommend this synth to any and every lover of music. I now want the YC and CP for a chance to play with some more classic sounds; I trust Yamaha very much after this purchase. Thanks for a great time!

This is my first hardware synth! For some reason, I was under the impression that FM synthesis was somehow easier to start with and understand than normal subtractive synthesis. Even though I'm now realizing that FM is actually notoriously complicated, I am finding this synth super easy to learn on. This is fun to play right out of the box, and it's pretty easy to get some awesome sounds out of it. This feels very powerful for what it is, and I'm only just scratching the surface of what it can do. This will be a great synthesizer for me to grow into and learn FM synthesis. I've been able to create a few patches already ranging from some nasty distorted noise to soft and beautiful evolving pads. The touch pad adjustments are a little awkward and I would have maybe preferred something physical to adjust, but that's my only complaint. 5 stars for a great product and 5 stars for excellent service and fast shipping from Sweetwater. Will definitely be a loyal customer from here on out.

Absolutely love this synth. Fantastic for any lover of the DX7 and some of those iconic 80s sounds. Easy to share and download patches online from Yamahas site. Only downside is that you cant load .sysex presets, which would just make this almost too good to be true.

Just got my reface DX, to much fun, ez to use, plays nice, can't go wrong with the yamaha reface DX.

This FM synthesizer sounds absolutely beautiful. This is perfect for my keyboard synthesizer rig. The mini keys is easy to play and the device is built solid. It can be used as a sound module if you want to midi it to a full sized keyboard. Thanks again Sweetwater for the blazing fast delivery.

for such a small size, this thing is a beast!! The amount of sounds you can create are endless. I have recreated a few DX7 patches that I made using 4 operators no problem! People often compare the Reface to the DX7, but the two are quite different. It should be compared to the DX11 or TX81Z. The most amazing new features are the built in effects and the individual feedback options per operator. You can imitate analog sounds a lot easier now. Speaking of easier, programming is such a breeze on the Reface! There's a small learning curve, but the quick menus allow you to change settings on the spot. If your looking to get the nice DX7 era sounds at your fingers without having to get a used DX from the 1980's in questionable quality and pricing from eBay, then this profuct is for you!

I've never delved into FM synthesis before, but this little keyboard makes what I've heard is complex undertaking, a delightfully fun experience! The DX has incredible build quality! Even though it's tiny, this machine feels solid. There were a couple of things that this synth has going for it that were a must for me...polyphony-check- 8 notes is plenty. Presets and on-board patch memory-check- something that's lacking from the Reface CS.
There's really just one gripe I have with the Reface DX and that's the keys... not the size, the mini keys are fine, but the number of 'em. With the great electric piano sounds that you can get out of this thing, 37 keys is just too few. I know that it's a portability thing so I can live with it, but for this synth to really shine... plug in your own larger midi keyboard. Bottom line... get it now!

I was looking for a battery powered portable keyboard with outputs (not just a headphone jack). It is a bonus that I can use a strap with the attachment and walk around the house and serenade my wife and cats. I also love that it doubles as a midi controller. I have found that there are a lot of features that never get mentioned like a transposition function which helps when I am using with my high school pep band (I'm the director). The kids love this thing too! I was torn between this and the CP and figured I try this and I'm glad I did; not only is it cheaper, but you can make sounds very similar (especially the Wurlitzer and Rodes sounds). This thing also takes me back to the 90's playing my uncles keyboard. Overall it's perfect for all the roles I needed it for.

I love this little synth. The keys play very nicely, and better than other mini keyboards I've tested. The small keys are quite playable. While on board you can hold 32 patches, there is also an almost limitless supply of extra voices (aka patches) you can find on Yamaha's Soundmondo, plus an amazing, free controller app called Ctrlr that can load 100s of additional legacy patches that you can control via midi. These patches are available at the The Reface DX Legacy Project, which is free and accepts donations. The DX is a complex instrument that you can go deep with and take the time to learn if you want. With a little practice and experimentation, this synth can do a lot. It's no toy. Enjoy!

Despite the mini keyboard and low price this is a serious synthesizer. The ease at which you can actually manipulate sounds and come up with new ones is surprising. FM is notorious for being complicated and defying immediate gratification when editing. But this little synth goes a long way toward taking the work out of coming up with satisfying and useful sounds. Build quality is as good as the official reviews say it is. Again, this is a serious synth and will do serious work despite its innocent and unassuming appearance.

If you never played it, you'll never get the feeling how awesome this machine is from reading the specs on paper. You need to play it. And everyone who I gave this machine to play around with loved it.
The keyboard is amazing, the range of sounds and pliability of the tones is fantastic.
But most important - it's a real syntheiszer that can be with you everywhere. And I mean EVERYWHERE.
I've played it in the TSA lines. On an airplane. In the desert. On a mountain. In the streets. In a club, dancing, and jamming with the club music at the same time. In a car.
You can't compare this to DX-7. Sure, DX-7 is great, now when you're on a roadtrip and Eurythmics comes up on the radio, where is your DX-7? Can you pull it out of the backseat and jam along? I don't think so either.
The built-in speakers are good enough for acoustic jams, and for everything else, a portable speaker will get you a long way when you're traveling. The aux-in port is handy for drum machines, like Pocket Operator, if you are into that -- or just run one off your phone.
I never felt I could get FM synthesis before I got this. Do I get it now? Maybe not, but at least I can bang out a sound that I like after fiddling around with the controls for a bit.
The built-in patches are mostly bad, make your own! But the instrument is worth its money for the ePiano patch alone.
I've made friends with this machine, in the music and non-music worlds. I absolutely love it. And I think you will, too.

The Reface DX is one synth I will absolutely never sell. It is:

1) The easiest and most fun way to get into hardware synthesis, period;
2) A powerful FM synth in its own right that proudly sat next to my DX7, SY77, and SY22...and outlasted all of them in my studio, mainly due to the fact that it has...
3) The best form factor I've ever seen. With good built-in speakers, battery power, and a really nice compact and lightweight case, it is the ultimate in portability. (This is true of all the Refaces of course.)

It doesn't surprise me that Flume has one in his keyboard tower, next to a Prophet X, Prophet 12, and OB-XA. Just buy one, you won't regret it!

My first synth was a little toy Yamaha sampler keyboard called the VSS-30. I had unending hours of fun with it as a young kid sampling and playing with the patches. Fast forward 30 years and now I have a RefaceDX and can easily say it's the most fun I've had with a keyboard since those days. It may be small but this thing is no toy. It has a very powerful sound engine just shy of the full glory of a DX-7 from the 80s. Not only that, it has an internal looper with quantization which integrates nicely into my live setup. Then when you add to the fact that you can save patches online or through an app and share them with the Yamaha sound community, well it makes this thing well worth the money. The mini keys are a lot longer than most smaller keyboards and they're in no way difficult to play. If you want FM sounds from a piece of hardware this thing will deliver.

Great synth. Most fun I"ve had with FM ....ever!
I"m getting the most insane sounds imaginable out of this thing. Just the pitch envelope alone will take you to some far out places. I"m so used to subtractive synthesis. This is a whole different world.

Amazing little machine that is surprisingly powerful. It is easy to access the patch sounds, alter them to your liking, or even create your own FM sounds from scratch. There are four operators, but many effects which are all fully adjustable. The Data Entry touchpad is very easy to use and responsive. This FM synth does bell, chime, mallet and synthetic brass sounds especially well.

Best bang-for-the-buck mini-synth. If you are into FM synth sound, GET IT!

If you gravitate towards small synths, you"ll find that even though the DX is in a comparable price range to other synths its size, it is in a league of its own in terms of build quality. The keys feel absolutely incredible; you"ll quickly realize how poor other mini keys are. Not only that, the keys on the DX are slightly longer than standard mini keys, making them a lot more playable. The body is also very solid; you won"t hear any creaking of shifting or bending plastic. With that said, I"m going to cover what I absolutely love about the DX, aspects of the DX that I"ve discovered during my time playing it which wasn"t common knowledge when I purchased it, as well as highlight some aspects I wish were different about it.

What I love:
-Feedback on every operator. It may be easy to dismiss the significance of this feature, but it gives you more flexibility than you would imagine. Plus it allows the DX to sound rich, despite having only four operators.
-The looper. I"m a sucker for synths with internal sequencing capabilities.
-The graphic display. Having visual feedback of envelopes in particular speeds up some decision making.
-The Data Entry strips. You can edit four parameters simultaneously, speeding up the sound design process.
-Audio input/ Mono output on L channel. Allows for flexibility on the mixer end of things.
-Quick & easy navigation through the various menus and parameters

What I"ve discovered:
-Two of the same effect can be loaded into the two effects slots.
-The looper has 10 minutes at 120bpm of record time (when I purchased the DX, I was under the impression that you could only record up to 4 bars).
-The DX can sound astonishingly warm... Seriously.
-The LFO has key sync (retriggered on each key press).
-The looper can be used to sequence other synths.
-As far as I know, there is no way to specify the level scale breakpoint.

What I wish were different :
-Pitch bend lever. I wish that either a tiny mod wheel existed there instead, or that there was a way to convert it to control LFO pitch modulation in the functions menu. Sure, you could use the data entry strip to apply this modulation, but little time editing sounds will reveal that the strips are far too sensitive to make doing so practical.
-Sound of the Chorus effect. There"s something about the way it sounds that I"m not a huge fan of. (Yes, I know I can run it through an external a chorus).
-Erasing patterns in the looper. I wish you could erase only the last recorded phrase. So if you record a chord pattern, then either a bass or lead part after the fact, the chord part would remain.

All in all, I couldn"t be more happy with the Reface DX. Within the first hour of playing it, my expectations were surpassed. Even with my little list of things I wish were different about it, I absolutely love it. With all of the features the Reface DX has that aren"t found on any preceding DX synth, it almost completely rids my insatiable want for the original DX7. Without a doubt, the Reface DX deserves to share the legacy of the DX name.

This keyboard is everything Yamaha and reviewers said it would be, no flaws. The interface, though not a subtractive/knob/slider hands on, is far improved over the original DX. I really don't feel like I am menu diving when using this interface...and believe after the purchase of the Casio XW-P1, I am not buying another menu driven synth. Because there is very few button pushes and dedicated buttons to go straight to the function you desire, I find this synth a pleasure to program, and that is why anyone should buy a synthesizer..sound design (buy a Yamaha MX49 if you don't program synths). The fact you cannot download old vintage patches, I could care less, I don't like presets because they are not original, get in the way of my patches and are tired used/overused sounds. This DX allows me to overwrite presets, Yea! I have been wishing to add FM programing/sound design to my skills, this is one very exciting instrument to begin a study. I have been watching the Korg Volca FM, but the programing looks like a nightmare, buy the Korg if wish to add those vintage DX sounds without programing. The keybed (mini) is very good feeling, can't think of any improvements, and if you want full size keys to play, just plug in a MIDI cable and you are good to go. MIDI control from the interface is fantastically simple. I use this DX as a keyboard input to my Korg Electribe making the Electribe with a keyboard so much easier for a musician to use. As an added benefit it is mobile, battery operated and on my next air flight I will be bringing this keyboard and leaving the pad at home. Yamaha makes rock solid products, I don't expect this keyboard to fail, I have a 6 year old NPv80 with great action bed, used heavy and still like new (the NPv80 is a cheapo keyboard at $400). It is so wonderful that today I can have hardware FM sound design in this perfect package. There are soft synth FM out there, but personally I hate programing on a computer, so this is the only product on the market that will work for me.

Very nice keys, better than any MIDI keyboard I've used, with the added benefit of being an FM synth!

Pros:
+ Keys feel amazing
+ Excellent build quality: sturdy and refined
+ Looks amazing
+ Sounds great

Cons:
- Only 32 preset locations which is ridiculous
- No mod stick
- MIDI out transpose cannot be adjusted using the front panel buttons (although it can be inconveniently adjusted by means of MIDI commands if you dig into the Reface DX MIDI implementation documentation but it's rather technical and quite frankly semitone transpose should be as easy as pushing a couple of +/- buttons)
- Octave transpose stick instead of +/- buttons is too fiddly
- Would hava been nice to have dedicated +/- semitone transpose buttons
- Loop recorder is hard to operate due to touch-sensitive button interface, you will usually end up stopping recording either too late or too early
- Separate touch-buttons & screen is not as intuitive as a touchscreen
- Touch buttons on the left of the LCD and physical buttons on the right means your hand is constantly flying left and right over the LCD, gets tiring after a while. It's ok if you use two hands to program your patches but you still need a hand on the keyboard to check your tweaks so sorry Yamaha but the buttons and touch buttons should all have been on the same side of the LCD.
- 8 buttons and 1 bank button for navigating through a mere 32 presets is overkill: a pair of +/- buttons would have worked just fine and would eliminate the need to look at the buttons while browsing through presets (e.g. try going from preset 4 to preset 5 without looking, you'll be groping the keyboard and mentally counting, duh)
- No way to stop it from spitting out MIDI clock...
- Unbalanced TRS outputs
- No aftertouch
- No user-selectable velocity curves
- Polyphony inadequately low when playing chords with a long decay
- It is a very cut-down version of the DX7-IIFD, a functionally identical "mini" version of the classic would have been a very hot product, and frankly in 2016 this should have been possible.

I bought this keyboard for its keys which are amazing. I use it as a small-factor master MIDI keyboard because all the MIDI controllers on offer at the moment have cheap keybeds. But in my opinion the Reface DX has not been well though out and there's plenty of room for improvement.

As with the CP, CS and YC, the Reface DX makes a fine portable workstation keyboard. But Yamaha should develop and produce a new variant of the Reface, something more like the Teenage Engineering OP-1:

A portable, all-around synthesizer workstation the size of the old TYU-30 Yamaha made in the past. These Reface models already are very close to that mark in dimensions. The idea is to combine all four Reface keyboards into one single model under the grand old "PortaSound" name, a new-generation PSS portable keyboard line!

Very similar in many different ways to the OP-1 from Teenage Engineering but yet still all Yamaha as a product. An example of model name would be "PSS-920."

Love everything about this synth, except that I can't store my loops.

The two others reviewers here seemed to have missed the point.

1. Difficult to program? This is 100 times easier to program than any of the clssic DX synths. Excellent OLED display too!
2. Only 32 memories? So what? I barely use 5 slots on any synth I've ever owned.
3. Much less noise than the classic DX models.

A win win here folks!

This keyboard has some great DX sounds, but it's not a very user friendly keyboard. You can only save 32 presets, and they are rather difficult to access, This keyboard may be great for a home studio, but it's definitely not designed for live performance.

This is a great sounding keyboard, and it makes you not miss a dx 100. but you can only save 32 presets. Yamaha, come on, really ? In 2015 ?

Thats a complete turnoff regarding this synthesizer

I've had this for a week now, and I really enjoy it. VST's for FM weren't doing it for me, and I've missed my old DX7 for many years. This has 4 Ops instead of 6, and it is really quite small, smaller than the Mininova by a considerable amount. Only 4 Operators means it's not a full DX7, but it is close enough.

However, unlike both VST and my old DX7, I can sit on my sofa in the living room or outside on the patio, and jam on this thing in my lap, tweaking the FM parameters, and it's actually a lot of fun. The speakers and bass reflex port actually sound really good, and it is amazing to play the keys and feel the whole thing vibrate. Seriously, you FEEL the bass notes, the mids and trembles frequencies, and you can feel the sound wave wash across the surface from side to side. I don't think I have every played a synthesizer that vibrates like this, and it's wonderful because it brings the notes to life in a way that I have not encountered with any other electronic instrument.

The mini keys are incredibly expressive and responsive, and the addition of feeling the sound wave as you play just makes the key interface a delight. I think this is why so many piano and keyboard players have responded well to the interface. It makes playing my trusty Karma or Mininova a little, well, boring.

The FM programming is actually a lot of fun, and it is easy to do basic editing, or to go to extremes in the FM settings and create the stuff of sonic nightmares. Unlike the DX7, or some of the VST's, getting your head around what FM synthesis does is easier to do on the Reface DX. This means, my 6 year old daughter can hold and play in her lap an advanced Frequency Modulation synthesizer, and learn how to program it, without the need for a computer interface. If you think about it, that's pretty amazing in and of itself.

The factory patches are okay. There are many sounds that instantly boring you back to the '80's. The Electric Piano brings back memories of Doogie Howser. The Tubular Bell brings back the Top Gun Anthem, and the old Taco Bell sound, and Enya. Oh, Enya... many patches bring me back to that Celtic ethereal electronic wonderland, the reason why I loved FM synthesis in the first place.

MIDI is fast and responsive. I ran a MIDI out from the DX to the MIDI IN of a Volca Keys, and ran the 1/8" TRS audio out from the Volca back into the 1/8" TRS audio input of the DX, and was able to mix and layer analog circuitry with the FM sounds for absolutely stunning results (again, with the whole thing vibrating under my fingertips). My next step will be to connect MIDI from the the DX to a Microbrute, and run the audio from the DX into the Microbrute to filter, distort, and gate with full analog circuitry... stuff that just isn't fun to set up with a VST, but takes seconds now with hardware.

The MIDI Looper is easy to set up, and it transmits MIDI. This is a HUGE bonus for me, as it makes instant sequencing and layering with analog synths a breeze.

For $500, it still seems steep when you first look at it, but I can't say it wasn't worth it. I think many will think of this as an overpriced toy, but they will be overlooking the depth and potential hiding under the hood.

4.5 Stars instead of 5 for having 4 operators instead of 6