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MGR/sinna « Yamaha AN200 Desktop Control Synthesizer »
Published on 10/01/02 at 15:00I recently bought this unit from Zzounds.com for $200.00. I felt this was an excellent deal as it retails for $600.00. Don't take their advice and buy the optional power supply though, as I did, only to find out the unit was shipped with it's own adapter.
This would be an excellent introductory unit for anyone looking to add a groovebox-style instrument to their sound (DJ's, a band, whatever). I thought about buying a Korg EA-1 until I saw this box, the analog modeling is as good or better than the EA-1 and it includes it's own drum and bass sounds, plus three tracks per pattern to sequence them! The synthezer voices are fully programmable and remind me of the Korg PolySix I used to have. Each pattern has a "scene" function, where each scene consist of 2 different sets of stored synth voice parameters; you can then "morph" between the two with the scene knob. You can dramatically alter the synth voice with the different waveform settings, tweak it with the LFO, or boost it with "Distort" button (useful for lead synth sounds). Also included is an effects unit assignable to the synth and each rythm track (delay, flange, phaser and overdrive/amplifier). The Voltage Control Filter is another really nice feature, also assignable to each rythm track. The sequencer is intuitive, easy to use, and provides a wide range of swing time. The unit comes with software that gives you full MIDI control of all parameters, but I've been having so much fun tweaking the box manually I haven't gotten around to that yet.
A drawback is when you are playing patterns in real time, and you switch from one pattern to another, the first note of the synth voice is cut off. I've noticed that if the synth voice is kind of low it's not as noticeable. I don't think this happens in song mode, but I haven't written any songs yet (the demo songs don't cut notes whent they switch patterns, so I'm assuming it'll work the same when I write some songs). It'd be nice if the synth and the rythm tracks had seperate outputs, but having fewer outputs seems to be the trend (I've got an ES-1 and it's the same way: a headphone out and a left/right line out).
In my experience, Yamaha has always made quality products; I had a DX-27S that flipped over on it's face from a height of 3 feet, and continued to work after that with no problems. The box is plastic and looks sort of toy-like, but the knobs are solid and made with grippy rubber. I don't think I'd want to experiment with a three foot drop but I anticipate no problems if it's transported in a case. Nice big display too.
I'm really satisfied with this unit, I got a sequencer, drum machine, and an analog synth in one, for half the cost of comparable units. What else is there to say?
This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com
This would be an excellent introductory unit for anyone looking to add a groovebox-style instrument to their sound (DJ's, a band, whatever). I thought about buying a Korg EA-1 until I saw this box, the analog modeling is as good or better than the EA-1 and it includes it's own drum and bass sounds, plus three tracks per pattern to sequence them! The synthezer voices are fully programmable and remind me of the Korg PolySix I used to have. Each pattern has a "scene" function, where each scene consist of 2 different sets of stored synth voice parameters; you can then "morph" between the two with the scene knob. You can dramatically alter the synth voice with the different waveform settings, tweak it with the LFO, or boost it with "Distort" button (useful for lead synth sounds). Also included is an effects unit assignable to the synth and each rythm track (delay, flange, phaser and overdrive/amplifier). The Voltage Control Filter is another really nice feature, also assignable to each rythm track. The sequencer is intuitive, easy to use, and provides a wide range of swing time. The unit comes with software that gives you full MIDI control of all parameters, but I've been having so much fun tweaking the box manually I haven't gotten around to that yet.
A drawback is when you are playing patterns in real time, and you switch from one pattern to another, the first note of the synth voice is cut off. I've noticed that if the synth voice is kind of low it's not as noticeable. I don't think this happens in song mode, but I haven't written any songs yet (the demo songs don't cut notes whent they switch patterns, so I'm assuming it'll work the same when I write some songs). It'd be nice if the synth and the rythm tracks had seperate outputs, but having fewer outputs seems to be the trend (I've got an ES-1 and it's the same way: a headphone out and a left/right line out).
In my experience, Yamaha has always made quality products; I had a DX-27S that flipped over on it's face from a height of 3 feet, and continued to work after that with no problems. The box is plastic and looks sort of toy-like, but the knobs are solid and made with grippy rubber. I don't think I'd want to experiment with a three foot drop but I anticipate no problems if it's transported in a case. Nice big display too.
I'm really satisfied with this unit, I got a sequencer, drum machine, and an analog synth in one, for half the cost of comparable units. What else is there to say?
This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com