The Yamaha TX81Z is a rack mount sound module based on Yamaha's famous FM synthesis. It's much like the FB-01 that I have, but at little more advanced in some ways, particularly around which wave shapes can go into the FM modulator/carrier tree: the FB-01 is limited to just sine waves (like the DX7), but the TX81Z can use 8 different wave shapes. Interestingly, both modules are most well known for a bass patch, SolBass on the FB-01 and LatelyBass on the TX81Z, which sound fairly similar to each other, though the LatelyBass patch is generally considered superior if the two are being directly compared.
As per usual this one arrived on my doorstep in inoperable condition, and as per usual it didn't take much work to get it back up and running at 100% capacity.
The TX81Z represents the pinnacle of Yamaha's 4-operator FM synths, and it's only really bested by the SY99/SY77/TG77 which expand upon the TX81Z's capabilities by going back to 6 operators (like the original DX7), adding even more waveforms, and introducing the ability to use a sampled waveform in the operators. I think this module will be a great addition to my pile-o-synths.
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