GEM DEX20
<< VINTAGE KEYS / BEATBOXES << HOLLOW SUN CONTRIBUTORS

If you like obscure and rare kit, then this is definitely one for you!

Little, if anything, is known about this module from Italian manufacturer GEM. It appears to be some derivation of Yamaha's little known TX-1P and was a preset module offering a handful of FM piano and other sounds. Maybe it was released by GEM under licence from Yamaha (who owned the copyright on FM)? Who knows? GEM don't seem to!

I have no idea of the release date or the original price but whatever....

The DEX20 offered a variety of FM preset sounds - electric pianos, vibes, chimes, marimba, etc. - which were selected from dedicated front panel switches. Some rudimentary effects could be added and MIDI channels could be assigned to play this mono-timbral module. But that (as far as I know) was about it.

Given its obscurity, it is obvious that the DEX20 was not even a minor success for GEM but it has some interesting sounds nonetheless which might have a place in your music, even today.

I am (as always) grateful to regular Hollow Sun contributor (and 'the king of obscurity'), Louis van Dompselaar, for this unique donation.