Pretty much every synthesiser for 15 years had the same two-row LCD interface as the DX7. My first job out of university in 1995 was as assistant editor of Keyboard Review magazine (UK), and the vast majority of synths I reviewed - wonderful beasts from Ensoniq, Roland, Korg, technologically way ahead of the DX7 - had exactly the same bloody awful UI. Akai's S-series samplers, which everyone was using back then, did provide a decent display... but at a price. When someone finally made a sampler affordable by the home market (Ensoniq's ESI-32) it too had a greatly compromised display, though at least four rows rather than two.
I've always suspected this actually influenced the electronic music styles of the time. The 90s were the start of the analogue resurgence. Sure, an 808 or a 303 is a fabulous-sounding beast in itself. But twiddling knobs is just so much more rewarding and responsive than spending hours squinting at a two-line LCD.
I've always suspected this actually influenced the electronic music styles of the time. The 90s were the start of the analogue resurgence. Sure, an 808 or a 303 is a fabulous-sounding beast in itself. But twiddling knobs is just so much more rewarding and responsive than spending hours squinting at a two-line LCD.