[sdiy] Yam A4000 Sampler / Weltrend WT62P1 - Clues

[Dave Magnuson]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Batz Goodfortune" <batzman-nr at all-electric.com>
To: <synth-diy at dropmix.xs4all.nl>
Sent: Thursday, December 07, 2006 10:49 AM
Subject: [sdiy] Yam A4000 Sampler / Weltrend WT62P1 - Clues


> Y-ellow All. (Wow he's Alive!)
>         Does anyone here have intimate knowledge of either of the above? I 
> have just acquired an A4K sampler with a view to actually making some 
> noise again. I shoved a 4.3 gig IBM drive in it but when I try to 
> partition it, I just get that little metronome icon on the display 
> forever. Maybe Yamaha don't like IBM? If someone here knows what is 
> supposed to happen and would care to email me I'd be most grateful.
>


Hi Batz,

I have a Yamaha A4000, and could probably answer many of your questions.
As far as mounting an internal IDE drive:

1.  Max size is 8GB.  You can put in a larger drive, but it will only 
recognize 8.
2.  It's picky about drive manufacturer.  IIRC Maxtor or Western Digital 
were the best choices for compatibility
3.  Expect the knobs on the front to become flaky... this is a known problem 
with the A4000.

Once upon a time there was a great mailing list that had drive compatibility 
charts, but it appears to have disappeared.  Too bad, because they also had 
A3disky... software that could access the A3k, A4K and A5K via SCSI for bulk 
sample dumps, etc.  Otherwise you're stuck importing WAV samples one at a 
time from floppy or SCSI ZIP drive / CD-ROM.  Yamaha's native format CDs 
cannot be read on a computer (stupid move!)

Concerning the front knobs:  There is a power supply fan in the back pushing 
air out of the case.... which sucks crud into every orifice in the A4000... 
including the disk drive and the holes around the knobs.    I've  been 
tempted to try flipping the fan around and monitoring internal temps to make 
sure everything is still happy... that way you could filter the incoming air 
with a washable filter on the back.  Eddie Ciletti does a similar mod to 
tascam DA-38 / DA-88 machines with great success.   I just haven't had the 
time to try it on the A4000 yet.

Otherwise, this is a great sampler.   I find the matrix-style controls on 
the front very easy to understand... makes the multitude of menus easier to 
navigate IMO.   I think it sounds great... filters and effects are pretty 
good...  and you can use it as a synth with the built-in saw/pulse/tri/sine 
waves, EGs, Filters and VCAs.

Dave Magnuson