The Yamaha AN1x Synthesizer mailing list

Yesterday I stopped at the musical instruments department of a Best Buy (who ever thought they see THAT?!?) in Reston, VA and had opportunity to try out the new Roland Gaia SH-101. I was impressed - clearly they've taken the JP-8000 experience to a new level. The interface is so immediate, no menu's - no cryptic LED. The layout is remarkably similar to an old Juno or original SH-101. The sound was good, perhaps a little too good - but the presets we ho-hum. The price point was $700 USD (and I had a 10% coupon in my pocket... ) It felt very solid and even the funky Roland Mod/Pitch bender felt above average. Color me impressed.

Korg has recently reintroduced the Electribe series and has churning out mini-synths for what seems like years now. Even Akai is in on that act - as Novation has been for years -with mini-synth/controller combination units. 

So where's Yamaha? Are they going to follow suite? They had a period of engaging synthesizers at one point (CS1x, AN1x, CS6x, AN200/DX200, RM1x, A3000, EX5, etc.) but have since been successfully riding the workstation bandwagons. Is there any cause to believe they've something up their sleeve? 

Regards,

Jon

I used to be an enthusiasm geek for Yamaha gears since 1991, I noticed they just change their mind very quickly & their mood is not stable. There were good synths already like CS-80, SY-99 (mighty monster), QS300, FS1R (the ultimate FM synth), AN1x etc. Why not then keep those big names alive? Why not trying to make new models?
I tried & hoped a lot to see such thing, but then realized that Yamaha will not satisfy us with impressive product like before. After they acquire Steinberg, they only make controllers to Cubases. Face it!

Roland... I salute them for what they did & still doing, they never let their fans down. Korg also trying to offer good solutions from time to another. Actually all the brands are good in productivity, only Yamaha, they think about big sales & benefit.
Too bad, really too bad :(

Phreaque





________________________________

From: jondl_2000 <jondl_2000@yahoo.com>
To: AN1x-list@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Sat, June 12, 2010 6:04:58 PM
Subject: [AN1x] Where's Waldo? (er, um, Yamaha... )

  
Yesterday I stopped at the musical instruments department of a Best Buy (who ever thought they see THAT?!?) in Reston, VA and had opportunity to try out the new Roland Gaia SH-101. I was impressed - clearly they've taken the JP-8000 experience to a new level. The interface is so immediate, no menu's - no cryptic LED. The layout is remarkably similar to an old Juno or original SH-101. The sound was good, perhaps a little too good - but the presets we ho-hum. The price point was $700 USD (and I had a 10% coupon in my pocket... ) It felt very solid and even the funky Roland Mod/Pitch bender felt above average. Color me impressed.

Korg has recently reintroduced the Electribe series and has churning out mini-synths for what seems like years now. Even Akai is in on that act - as Novation has been for years -with mini-synth/controller combination units. 

So where's Yamaha? Are they going to follow suite? They had a period of engaging synthesizers at one point (CS1x, AN1x, CS6x, AN200/DX200, RM1x, A3000, EX5, etc.) but have since been successfully riding the workstation bandwagons. Is there any cause to believe they've something up their sleeve? 

Regards,

Jon


 


      

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Op 12-6-2010 17:04, jondl_2000 schreef:

> So where's Yamaha? Are they going to follow suite? They had a period of engaging synthesizers at one point (CS1x, AN1x, CS6x, AN200/DX200, RM1x, A3000, EX5, etc.) but have since been successfully riding the workstation bandwagons. Is there any cause to believe they've something up their sleeve?

Well, you said it: 'successfully'. I've got an AN1x and a (silver) EX5, 
but I don't think they were resounding successes. The AN1x had a rather 
unattractive looking case (to avoid the word 'cheap'), and the EX5 has 
some serious implementation issues (taking 40 minutes to load 64 MB from 
SCSI is not a lot of fun). Both are super-synths, but a lot of people 
want an instrument that just works, does a lot of everything, and does 
all these things well enough.

Still, I believe that Yamaha has made the most interesting synths: DX7, 
SY99, VL1, FS1r... not the mention the GX-1 and FX-1.

- Peter

When I got my jd 800. I wanted to find some sound cards for it. SO I called pro rec.  I was so happy about my jd 800. and the tech guy said. "You like that" he goes on to say. he didn't like roland cuz they just use the same sounds from older gear. where yamaha is always shooting for something new. even the updates sound different than the first.(thats was his opinion) Since then Ive noticed he was right.they never repeat.
 
But with them now moving toward working with the computer,(usb etc) I dont want it cuz it my not work if your cpu isnt fast enuff or to fast drivers etc. 
so point being get the gear you want and run with it cuz it wont be nothing like it again.



Check me out!

--- On Sat, 6/12/10, Trancer M <phreaque.modi@...> wrote:

From: Trancer M <phreaque.modi@...>
Subject: Re: [AN1x] Where's Waldo? (er, um, Yamaha... )
To: AN1x-list@...m
Date: Saturday, June 12, 2010, 10:48 AM


  



I used to be an enthusiasm geek for Yamaha gears since 1991, I noticed they just change their mind very quickly & their mood is not stable. There were good synths already like CS-80, SY-99 (mighty monster), QS300, FS1R (the ultimate FM synth), AN1x etc. Why not then keep those big names alive? Why not trying to make new models?
I tried & hoped a lot to see such thing, but then realized that Yamaha will not satisfy us with impressive product like before. After they acquire Steinberg, they only make controllers to Cubases. Face it!

Roland... I salute them for what they did & still doing, they never let their fans down. Korg also trying to offer good solutions from time to another. Actually all the brands are good in productivity, only Yamaha, they think about big sales & benefit.
Too bad, really too bad :(

Phreaque

________________________________
From: jondl_2000 <jondl_2000@...>
To: AN1x-list@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Sat, June 12, 2010 6:04:58 PM
Subject: [AN1x] Where's Waldo? (er, um, Yamaha... )

Yesterday I stopped at the musical instruments department of a Best Buy (who ever thought they see THAT?!?) in Reston, VA and had opportunity to try out the new Roland Gaia SH-101. I was impressed - clearly they've taken the JP-8000 experience to a new level. The interface is so immediate, no menu's - no cryptic LED. The layout is remarkably similar to an old Juno or original SH-101. The sound was good, perhaps a little too good - but the presets we ho-hum. The price point was $700 USD (and I had a 10% coupon in my pocket... ) It felt very solid and even the funky Roland Mod/Pitch bender felt above average. Color me impressed.

Korg has recently reintroduced the Electribe series and has churning out mini-synths for what seems like years now. Even Akai is in on that act - as Novation has been for years -with mini-synth/controller combination units. 

So where's Yamaha? Are they going to follow suite? They had a period of engaging synthesizers at one point (CS1x, AN1x, CS6x, AN200/DX200, RM1x, A3000, EX5, etc.) but have since been successfully riding the workstation bandwagons. Is there any cause to believe they've something up their sleeve? 

Regards,

Jon

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]









      

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Hi,

I have said on many forums (fora?) that whilst the Motif synths sound good, they simply do not have the depth, power and expressiveness of what has gone before. Probably because (as somebody has already said) Yamaha have been chasing the goal of a workstation for the mass market.

Personally, I would be without my EX5, AN1x, SY77 and FS1R!

Cheers
Derek

> ________________________________
> From: jondl_2000 <jondl_2000@...>
> To: AN1x-list@yahoogroups.com
> Sent: Sat, June 12, 2010 6:04:58 PM
> Subject: [AN1x] Where's Waldo? (er, um, Yamaha... )
> 
> Yesterday I stopped at the musical instruments department of a Best Buy (who ever thought they see THAT?!?) in Reston, VA and had opportunity to try out the new Roland Gaia SH-101. I was impressed - clearly they've taken the JP-8000 experience to a new level. The interface is so immediate, no menu's - no cryptic LED. The layout is remarkably similar to an old Juno or original SH-101. The sound was good, perhaps a little too good - but the presets we ho-hum. The price point was $700 USD (and I had a 10% coupon in my pocket... ) It felt very solid and even the funky Roland Mod/Pitch bender felt above average. Color me impressed.
> 
> Korg has recently reintroduced the Electribe series and has churning out mini-synths for what seems like years now. Even Akai is in on that act - as Novation has been for years -with mini-synth/controller combination units. 
> 
> So where's Yamaha? Are they going to follow suite? They had a period of engaging synthesizers at one point (CS1x, AN1x, CS6x, AN200/DX200, RM1x, A3000, EX5, etc.) but have since been successfully riding the workstation bandwagons. Is there any cause to believe they've something up their sleeve? 
> 
> Regards,
> 
> Jon
> 
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
>       
> 
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>

Hello!
the Roland SH101 looks like a variation on the previous SH201 theme, 
with 3 oscillators and not only 2 etc... And some curious features : why 
put only 37 keys with 64 voices available and only one part ? Maybe they 
will sell an optional "real" keyboard in the future, and it is more 
likely an expander with a basic keyboard embedded, something like my 30 
years old Casio CZ101 ? If it sounds well and is not expensive, why not ...
Yamaha is a huge company, selling quite anything from pianos to 
motorcycles and pocket radios, Korg or Roland are smaller and more 
specialized in musical electronics, leading to some differences in 
strategy...
Cheers.
J.F.

jondl_2000 a \ufffdcrit :

>
> Yesterday I stopped at the musical instruments department of a Best 
> Buy (who ever thought they see THAT?!?) in Reston, VA and had 
> opportunity to try out the new Roland Gaia SH-101. I was impressed - 
> clearly they've taken the JP-8000 experience to a new level. The 
> interface is so immediate, no menu's - no cryptic LED. The layout is 
> remarkably similar to an old Juno or original SH-101. The sound was 
> good, perhaps a little too good - but the presets we ho-hum. The price 
> point was $700 USD (and I had a 10% coupon in my pocket... ) It felt 
> very solid and even the funky Roland Mod/Pitch bender felt above 
> average. Color me impressed.
>
> Korg has recently reintroduced the Electribe series and has churning 
> out mini-synths for what seems like years now. Even Akai is in on that 
> act - as Novation has been for years -with mini-synth/controller 
> combination units.
>
> So where's Yamaha? Are they going to follow suite? They had a period 
> of engaging synthesizers at one point (CS1x, AN1x, CS6x, AN200/DX200, 
> RM1x, A3000, EX5, etc.) but have since been successfully riding the 
> workstation bandwagons. Is there any cause to believe they've 
> something up their sleeve?
>
> Regards,
>
> Jon
>
>

Op 13-6-2010 10:59, derek192603 schreef:

> I have said on many forums (fora?) that whilst the Motif synths sound good, they simply do not have the depth, power and expressiveness of what has gone before. Probably because (as somebody has already said) Yamaha have been chasing the goal of a workstation for the mass market.

Probably, they need to make a profit like everybody else. The EX5 has 
great sounds, but also serious flaws, and I doubt they made much of a 
profit on it, if any.

- Peter

FWIW, the new roland gaia may seem exciting but early reports (outside of the sites/magazines that need to help sell stuff) are that it's a bit lame in the sound dept. This is ONE thing you can never say about Yamaha. When it comes down to it, flawed or not, dodgy interfaces or not, cheap build (very occasionally - i.e AN1X which I love) you can not get around how good they sound, on there own and in a mix.
And I'm a roland fan too (have 2 JX's and a D-50 here, had a Juno 6) and they are a very exciting company (moreso than the more traditional 'corporate' Yamaha) and both generally had good build quality back in the 80s, unlike korg imo who cut corners once they moved to full digital. 
So, yes I'm more than happy with my AN1x and SY77, 2 great synths that work together well with sounds that beat the competition in most ways (at that price). However I agree with the original poster, it would be great for Yamaha to reintroduce a passion for synthesis and innovation because after the DX7, it was obvious Roland were trying to catch up/copy at every opportunity (Which brought us the analog JX series and D-50) and if Yammy did it, then maybe roland would stop releasing toys with 'classic' names (juno, SH, JX have all been 'abused' in the last decade with sub standard toys/non synths using the names). Korg certainly seem to me the most on the 'edge of fashion, trying new things all the time but most of their modern synths leave me cold for some reason.
I hate workstations, they are not for me. I like discrete synths dotted around my 'studio' to call on when I need, to get different sources into the mix, an 'all in one' was fine in the 90s when just starting out (TG-500/SY85 for me) but with soft synths etc I guess Yamroland see workstations as the one thing computers can't replace 'elegantly' and can put a huge mark up on the price.... they are in business after all. Who knows how the soft synth revolution will end up, I got into it 100% for quite a few years, then ended up sick of it and went back to hardware which I adore, not just for sound or different sources in a mix (compared to all in one box) but the inspiration and hands on... maybe a lot more people will return to hardware and look for REAL synths that need to produce their own unique sound, look good and feel great. Then software won't be such a threat.
Computers have changed the game in so many industries, it's only 'natural' that synth makers would follow, but with new 'exciting' looking products like the Roland SH, I would hope they concentrate on SOUND quality first rather than mimicking soft synths + fashion led presets, give us deep synths with hands on control and character. 
If only more of them could make true analogs again, there would be a huge market for new reliable innovative analog synths with character, and made cheaper by giants like Yamaha instead of left to smaller companies.


To: AN1x-list@yahoogroups.com

From: peter@...
Date: Sun, 13 Jun 2010 14:38:59 +0200
Subject: Re: [AN1x] Where's Waldo? (er, um, Yamaha... )


















 



  


    
      
      
      Op 13-6-2010 10:59, derek192603 schreef:



> I have said on many forums (fora?) that whilst the Motif synths sound good, they simply do not have the depth, power and expressiveness of what has gone before. Probably because (as somebody has already said) Yamaha have been chasing the goal of a workstation for the mass market.



Probably, they need to make a profit like everybody else. The EX5 has 

great sounds, but also serious flaws, and I doubt they made much of a 

profit on it, if any.



- Peter




    
     

    
    






   		 	   		  
_________________________________________________________________
http://clk.atdmt.com/UKM/go/195013117/direct/01/
We want to hear all your funny, exciting and crazy Hotmail stories. Tell us now

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Op 13-6-2010 15:21, Paul T schreef:

> If only more of them could make true analogs again, there would be a huge market for new reliable innovative analog synths with character, and made cheaper by giants like Yamaha instead of left to smaller companies.

You can always go modular, or build a DIY analogue kit.

- Peter

yes indeed. I'm not talking about 'me' though, I'm talking about the mass market synthesizer 'scene' which was the topic, it's about what yamaha does next not about what we can do now (I've got enough synths for now anyway in some analog). :)
thanksp

To: AN1x-list@yahoogroups.com

From: peter@severity-one.com
Date: Sun, 13 Jun 2010 15:27:00 +0200
Subject: Re: [AN1x] Where's Waldo? (er, um, Yamaha... )


















 



  


    
      
      
      Op 13-6-2010 15:21, Paul T schreef:



> If only more of them could make true analogs again, there would be a huge market for new reliable innovative analog synths with character, and made cheaper by giants like Yamaha instead of left to smaller companies.



You can always go modular, or build a DIY analogue kit.



- Peter




    
     

    
    






   		 	   		  
_________________________________________________________________
http://clk.atdmt.com/UKM/go/197222280/direct/01/
Do you have a story that started on Hotmail? Tell us now

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Op 13-6-2010 15:48, Paul T schreef:

> yes indeed. I'm not talking about 'me' though, I'm talking about the mass market synthesizer 'scene' which was the topic, it's about what yamaha does next not about what we can do now (I've got enough synths for now anyway in some analog). :)

Sure, but the issue there is that making pure analogue synths is 
expensive, even when mass-produced, when compared to digital (virtual 
analogue) synthesis. So that's why the DIY route probably offers the 
most prospects, if you insist on going 'true' analogue.

- Peter

I agree with Peter : you can build a decent analog mono synthesizer with 
"off the shelf" inexpensive ICs, there are some projects available on 
the net. Take a look at the Paia "Fatman" and all the possible mods . 
But you need a rather good electronic background to understand how these 
humble devices work if you want to try more than the basic Fatman. 
Others such as Doepfer sell modular kits : all you need is a basic 
hobbyist knowledge (how to make solders, read a schematic diagram).
A polysynth is something possible but would be difficult for a hobbyist 
because of the micro controller programming (for the keyboard interface) 
and the huge amount of ICs necessary (one voice = VCO + VCA + VCF + LFO 
+ at least one ADSR). The dedicated ICs such as the famous Curtis are no 
longer available or at an excessive price. Only for very skilled and 
wealthy hobbyists !
IMHO the "real analog sound" is somewhere a myth. OK, if you listen to a 
big Moog or a Pro 5 or other famous monsters of the past, it sounds 
good, but not without some additional effects (spring reverb, tape 
delay, analog phasing and other vintage stuff...). And not all the 
analog synths sound like a modular Moog or an ARP.... but all of them 
were unreliable !
Cheers
J.F.

Peter Korsten a �crit :

>
> Op 13-6-2010 15:48, Paul T schreef:
>
> > yes indeed. I'm not talking about 'me' though, I'm talking about the 
> mass market synthesizer 'scene' which was the topic, it's about what 
> yamaha does next not about what we can do now (I've got enough synths 
> for now anyway in some analog). :)
>
> Sure, but the issue there is that making pure analogue synths is
> expensive, even when mass-produced, when compared to digital (virtual
> analogue) synthesis. So that's why the DIY route probably offers the
> most prospects, if you insist on going 'true' analogue.
>
> - Peter
>
>

I think that Yamaha has lost it. Since they dropped their Plg-range, they
have had nothing new to offer the VA-crowd. AFAIK, they believe that people
don't want to tweak their own sounds anymore (which is a shame), and have
started to concentrate on main-stream instruments instead. I have owned (and
still own) the EX5, S30, plg-150dx, plg-150an, CS2x and AN200 (have
A3000/A5000 still) and deeply miss their "tweakable" instruments deeply. To
bad that they leave the field open to Roland and others.

//Daniel

On Sun, Jun 13, 2010 at 9:33 PM, Jeff <jf.serviere@...> wrote:

>
>
> I agree with Peter : you can build a decent analog mono synthesizer with
> "off the shelf" inexpensive ICs, there are some projects available on
> the net. Take a look at the Paia "Fatman" and all the possible mods .
> But you need a rather good electronic background to understand how these
> humble devices work if you want to try more than the basic Fatman.
> Others such as Doepfer sell modular kits : all you need is a basic
> hobbyist knowledge (how to make solders, read a schematic diagram).
> A polysynth is something possible but would be difficult for a hobbyist
> because of the micro controller programming (for the keyboard interface)
> and the huge amount of ICs necessary (one voice = VCO + VCA + VCF + LFO
> + at least one ADSR). The dedicated ICs such as the famous Curtis are no
> longer available or at an excessive price. Only for very skilled and
> wealthy hobbyists !
> IMHO the "real analog sound" is somewhere a myth. OK, if you listen to a
> big Moog or a Pro 5 or other famous monsters of the past, it sounds
> good, but not without some additional effects (spring reverb, tape
> delay, analog phasing and other vintage stuff...). And not all the
> analog synths sound like a modular Moog or an ARP.... but all of them
> were unreliable !
> Cheers
> J.F.
>
> Peter Korsten a �crit :
>
> >
> > Op 13-6-2010 15:48, Paul T schreef:
> >
> > > yes indeed. I'm not talking about 'me' though, I'm talking about the
> > mass market synthesizer 'scene' which was the topic, it's about what
> > yamaha does next not about what we can do now (I've got enough synths
> > for now anyway in some analog). :)
> >
> > Sure, but the issue there is that making pure analogue synths is
> > expensive, even when mass-produced, when compared to digital (virtual
> > analogue) synthesis. So that's why the DIY route probably offers the
> > most prospects, if you insist on going 'true' analogue.
> >
> > - Peter
> >
> >
>
>  
>


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]