The Yamaha AN1x Synthesizer mailing list

Peter Korsten wrote:
 
 
> Roland, for instance, doesn't really innovate: they just improve on what
> others do, and sell it for an appropiate price. 

Actually they're tying to capitalize (though not in the best way) on their
earlier successes, hence this "Groove Approved" mumbo jumbo. They like to tout,
"Yeah, we made the 808 and the 909 and the 303. Are we ever gonna re-release em
or make updated versions of them? No. Just buy this lame Groovebox instead.
After all, it's 'Groove Approved.'"
 
>Korg is pretty innovative (the spin-offs of their OASYS keyboard, like the
Prophecy, Trinity and Z1)

Not innovative in the true sense; the Z1 is just another VA synth, the Trinity
is just a late '90s version of the M1 and the Triton is just another sampling
workstation. Oh but wait! They're all in silver casings!

But they ARE making products that the public wants and likes, for example the
Electribes and the MS2000 (which currently is sold out in most stores, and won't
get new shipments until October!) 

>Yamaha is even more innovative.
 
True, though not with the best results, popularitywise. For example the FS1r,
really is a good piece of equipment, but has lame presets and it never caught on.
Hey but something has to be said for a company that takes risks. Though they're
huge anyway and have been around for 113 years, so it's not like they're gonna
go bankrupt anyway. 

Same with the EX series synths, which are some of the best sample-based synths
you can find. Though apparently the CS1/2/6x models are apparently popular. I
also like the 
QY-70, which is an amazing product that got very little publicity. Everyone I
know who bought one, including me, learned of it word-of-mouth.

> Kurzweil, which is American despite the German sounding name, does little to
> innovate. Their VAST engine is quite old by now, even though their stuff is
> top-end, and even more expensive than Roland.

The WERE innovative; after all they came out with the first sample-based synth
back in 1984 (The grand old Kurzweil 250) but for the past 8-9 years they've
essentially came out with the same product (various versions of the K2000 <yawn>).

 
> But really new and exciting stuff seems to come mainly from the UK
> (Novation), Germany (Access, the late Quasimidi, Creamware), and Sweden
> (Clavia, Elektron). Most of it seems to focus on analogue modelling, though.

Well Clavia's NordLead started the whole virtual analog craze in the first place!

They're sort of like cutting-edge independent record labels up against the majors...

						 - 30 -

 :. elson trinidad, los angeles, california, usa
 :. elson@...
 :. www.westworld.com/~elson
 
   "music is a form of rapid tranportation" - john cage

 [ the futurethnic beats of e:trinity - www.e-trinity.org ]