YAMAHA AN-200 & DX-200 TEST DRIVE

[Max Ventura]

Having taken delivery the other day of four of these new units from Yamaha, here are my first impressions.

Being a desktop synth/sequencer/drum machine type of units, these sub-grooveboxes are a TOTAL ripoff of the Korg Electribe series, with the Korg being WAY easier to use and to create sounbd and sequences on, though. The Korgs do exactly what they're told, whereas the Yamahas have switches, knobs and pushbuttons who, 90% of the cases, will not operate as you expect them to do, because you need to arm that function beforehand, and you NEED to read the manual for that (I never cracked open the Electribe manual!).

That is a common problem with ALL of Yamaha gear since the middle '90s: great sounds, great concepts, great features, amazing value for money, but infuriating user interfaces and impossibly complex OS (check out the aborted EX series for a taste).

The AN 200 is a virtual-analog machine, similar in scope to the retired AN1-X, with 5-note polyphony (gee, too generous!) for the synth engine, which takes one sequencer track and one multitimbral part, and 32-note polyphony for the PCM drum engine, which is laid on 3 sequencer tracks and 3 parts.

The DX-200 is similarly designed but the virtual-analog engine is substituted by a virtual-DX7 engine, with 16-note polyphony, aimed to recreate the famed FM sounds, only pumped by a larger operator/algorithm structure (and remember, the damn DX didn't have realtime controls!). The PCM drum sounds are analog-flavoured in the AN, and FM-flavoured, obviously, in the other.

It escapes me why Yamaha markets a virtual-analog and a virtual-DX machine, but what we get is one-fourth of the same, and the remaining three-quarters are taken by a drum machine which we probably don't need and/or already have.

It should have been the other way around, with the synth engine taking 3 sequencer parts and one for drums. Or even better, none for drums.

Having said that, I need to hear the demos now.

Yamaha programmers pushed the preset sounds and partterns well into the hardcore techno and rave world, circa 1994. Harsh and overly-distorted. In my opinion, those sounds are as dated as George Bush Senior presidency. 'nuff said.

We obviously can re-program our sounds and patterns, but it would be nice to find some readily usable ones already onboard. By comparison, the Electribe presets are as sweet as honey, and it's honey that sells, not poison.ed to take a break.

[Max Ventura]

Hi, it's me again, i needed to take a break.

Back to the Yamahas:

the sequencer is a step-type, but again, it's not as obvious as the Electribes.

The sounds are fine. What can I say? In the case of virtual-analog, it's already a well-beaten track, and sincerely, I am kind of bored with this type of synthesis, but the AN-200, while not being extremely powerful as, say, the Virus or Supernova, does what it's asked to. In the case of FM synthesis, the DX-200 is the only synth that provides it in such a package, and for that alone is commendable, but it could be laid out much better, i must say.

I did not use the provided editor for PC or Mac, because, in my opinion, a machine HAS to be readily editable from its front panel, period; remote editing should be considered as a plus, and not as an asset.

Therefore, in this regard, the two units are confusing. The layout is messy and excessively overlapped; too many functions piggybacked upon each other.

The display, being LED only, does not help. The patterns are good, end the sounds are professional, hands-down; the feel is that of a well-built unit, with good-quality parts (the Electribe always felt really flimsy and plasticky by comparison, which led to the general public opinion wrongly regarding them as "toys").

As always in the last 5 or 6 years, Yamaha has given birth to an unfinished product, with great ideas and great features not developed enough, with less-than-satisfying polyphony and elbow-room, and a user interface that needs a serious overhauling.

 

BOTTOM LINE:

 

A good all-in-one product for patient programmers and raving technoheads, but just a surplus for most of us.

 

Max,

Italy.