In 1983, the DX7 changed everything. It had a sleek new look and a whole new sound. The DX7 was everywhere for much of the 80s, and it was a big part of countless hit songs.

In 2021, DX Dreams captured the essence of the DX series in a virtual version that gives you many of the most iconic sounds of the 80s.

In 2023, DX Dreams II expands on the original with a fresh new set of sounds sourced from the second generation DX instruments: the DX7II, TX802, and FS1R.

With a focus on quality over quantity, DX Dreams II meticulously captures 28 new source sounds through British mic preamps for the ultimate reproduction of these legendary instruments. Most sounds were sampled across all 88 keys with as many velocity layers as necessary to make them indistinguishable from the original hardware. As with all BackStage Pass instruments, the level of detail and quality is off the charts.

Some highlights of DX Dreams II are 8 new electric pianos you can only get from the DX7II, TX802, and FS1R; sparkly, crystalline, and textural. There are also several pads, synth bells, arpeggios, basses, effects, and 10 combo patches that layer the EPs with acoustic pianos for those iconic 80s ballads. Finally, DX Dreams II comes with custom AMS reverb samples for complete 80s authenticity.

• Over 7 GB of new, meticulously deep-sampled content sourced from a DX7IIFD, two TX802s layered together, and the FS1R.

• Stunning production-ready sounds captured through the hit-making hardware of the DX era: British preamps, various analog tape models, Dimension D chorus, and AMS RMX16 reverb

• Built from the ground up for uncompromising performance without the CPU/RAM penalties, authorization issues, and other hassles of 3rd party plugins

• Built-in EQ, chorus, compression, and custom AMS “Nonlin” reverb samples for shaping your sounds right at the source - including that classic nonlinear reverb of the 80s

• Kontakt 6.7.1 or later (full version, not the free “Player” version), Mac or Windows

• 15 GB free space on your system drive during download and installation; 7.3 GB post-installation

DX Dreams II is $69 for either MainStage/Logic or Kontakt, and includes:

• 28 original source sounds (7.3 GB WAV data), deep-sampled from various combinations

• Kontakt instruments built from scratch from the original source samples

• Custom “Nonlin” reverb impulse sample from the AMS RMX16 reverb

For a video answer to this question, click HERE

The MainStage versions were designed and built specifically for live performance, and as such, they have an elaborate interface with corresponding iPad controls using TouchOSC. They also come with a fully loaded MainStage “Concert” file where all sounds are loaded and ready to play, with onscreen controls that let you dial in effects and other settings as you play.

The Kontakt versions are much simpler: they give you the core sounds themselves, but since they are designed to use within a DAW, they have more basic controls for built-in EQ, chorus, compression, and the AMS “Nonlin” reverb. They are meant to be used as part of a larger production, where you add your own effects as needed from your DAW or other plugins.

It’s important to understand that there’s no way to exactly match some of the sounds between the MainStage/Logic and Kontakt versions; you can only approximate certain aspects since they use different filters, envelopes, and effects. I spent hundreds of hours obsessively tweaking the Kontakt versions to get as close as possible, but there will always be some differences on certain types of sounds.

However, this does NOT mean the sounds are compromised in any way: the Kontakt versions still maintain the world-class sound of any BackStage Pass instrument, and you simply won’t find any other way to get these iconic, massive sounds that DX Dreams delivers.

For a video answer to this question, click HERE

All modeled DX7 plugins give you just a single DX7 at a time. And like the hardware, those sounds are, frankly, pretty boring!

That’s where DX Dreams has a huge advantage: you would need 8 or more instances of a DX7 plugin to equal just ONE instance of DX Dreams - and even then, it wouldn’t sound nearly as good. DX Dreams was obsessively captured using stacks of DX hardware through top-notch processing.

For accuracy, DX Dreams was also deep-sampled to capture the full expressive range of each sound. DX7 “Rhodes” sounds, for example, are notoriously difficult to capture with sampling. In those cases, enough velocity layers were captured chromatically to make a truly accurate model that’s indistinguishable from the hardware - except DX Dreams sounds much better than the raw hardware!

Absolutely, when done right! See this video for more on this topic!

Absolutely! There is a $29 crossgrade for those who need to switch between the MainStage/Logic and Kontakt versions. Inquire HERE.

See the videos below. Those were made with the MainStage/Logic version, but all sounds are included in the Kontakt version as well. What you hear is what you get!

Yes! Simply send a message at www.multitracks.com and they will get you set up!