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Average rating:
4.7 out of 5
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A top notch VA for a bargin price, surpassed (in my ears) only by the virus, totally awesome.
Hehe, that's why you should buy both. I have the Virus A with the AN1X directly next to it. And let me tell you, they are an AWSOME team. No overlap what-so-ever. Both have a very distinct great sound that compliment each other beautifully. The AN1X is my secret weapon for production. The thing can sound so good, people won't believe it is the AN1X.
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I've had my AN1X for about 2 months now and I'm very pleased with it. I bought it to replace my borrowed Korg MS20 for use in my postpunk/prog band and also for use in my own acoustic/electronic, postrock/IDM projects. We've played shows in abandoned warehouses, street corners, and subzero whether among others. Defiantly not ideal conditions for a synthesizer, so I decided that my budget would be around $500, this way, if anything does happen to it, it's not the end of my world. My choices were basically this, the korg MS2000, or an older board like the ensoniq esq1. I chose the AN1X because of it's real-time controls (important when at band practice or in the studio, when time and patience is limited), 61 keys with aftertouch (I use a lot of keyboard splits and fast scales, so any less than 61 just wouldn't work), external controls options (i.e. footpedal), ribbon controller, sequencer and built in effects. I know it's common knowledge that it's always better to use external effects, but in a band with 5 other people, stage and van space is limited, the less equipment the better, so I'm thankfull for built in effects like rotary speaker and auto wah, they make my job a lot easier. Of course though, the main deciding factor is the sound. The AN1X is long out of stores but luckily Yamaha has kept the sound engine alive in the AN200. So when comparing the yamaha and korg in stores, I would simply use that as a reference point. I know there are slight differences in the sound of the an1x and an200, but I think that from a demo standpoint the similarities are more than adequate. I found the AN1X to be more upfront, which is important when you're competing with 5 other tones, I prefer the an1x's filter, with stepping and all (my music is pretty devoid of filter sweeps though, always has been.) I also like the more flexible osc sync and ring modulation on the an1x, as well as the inclusion of fm and the free eg. I havn't been able to recreate *every* sound from my ms20, the ms20 will of course win every time for analog balls and warmth, but I feel I've gotten close enough, and certainly outshined the juno 60 and SCI six trak I was using in between the korg and the yamaha. I've also found that my yamaha does surprisingly good Hammond and wurlie imitations for a subtractive synth, which is another bonus. Mellotron imitations are weak, but hopefully a QS6 is on it's way to take care of that aspect. I�ve made a wide assortment of Bernie Worrell inspired basses, Yes�style leads, theremins, insane filtered patches (thanks to it�s duotrimbrality and built in auto-wah), and just weird sound effects ala brainiac. Pads I don�t do too often as we�re quite a fast band, but I�ll use the occasional string patch in my own pieces and it always pleases. I�ve also been able to duplicate a few boards of Canada style lofi leads, which is always a sign that I�ve found a special synth. Finally, I like the way it looks. It gets a lot of shit for looking like a toy, which had my worried as a cool looking keyboard is (in my mind) relatively essential to good stage presence. I had never seen one in person until I bought mine, but it looks great, I love the sloping half triangle, looks very future-retro in an early 80�s sort of way. Also the blue color is totally awesome. I agree with the statements that it looks like a blue nord lead. I�ve found editing to be totally painless, and actually more fun than certain analogs I�ve owned in the past. I also love the sequencer, I wish I could enter the notes in with the keyboard, but �drawing� the notes in with the knobs is fun as well, reminds me of the arp-modeled sequencer inside VAZ modular.<br> Things I don�t like about it; in very high registers, it sounds pretty digital. I guess that�s aliasing, but this is my first digital synth so I can�t really say. Also, although there are two LFOs, they are both linked to the same waveform, only their speed can be differentiated, although the free eg can easily be used as a 2nd LFO, as well as much, much more. Also a full fledged pitch envelope would be nice instead of simply attack or decay (depending on the depth.) But again, this can be rectified with the free eg. This synth has elminated my lust for an access virus, or any other VA. The only synths I want now are the Z1 for the physically modeling, alesis qs6 w/ vintage keys for live mellotrons and such, a sampler, and an ATC1 for analog warmth. Yes, I think this is the perfect board for my band, good sound, feature packed, lightweight, and lots of controls. The MS2000 just couldn�t stack up, plus, every indie rocker, if they can�t afford a nord lead, plays an MS2000, I dunno, maybe it�s all those knobs that attracts them to it, but I�m glad to have something somewhat unique. A top notch VA for a bargin price, surpassed (in my ears) only by the virus, totally awesome.
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I had an NordLead2 when I first bought a new An1x but need of money I sold it after a year. Suddenly I noticed I missed the An1x and bought one second hand and I have never regret that, this synth is totally wonderful. It can create a wide range of sounds, not like the NordLead2 which is pretty boring. I have even owned a Waldorf Micro-Q and the An1x is very close to that synth. Today I have even sold the Nord. Just one thing is bad with An1x... AFTERTOUCH!!! It can't be turned off or be adjusted, An1x can hardy be connected as master keyboard becuase of that. The AT is so sensitive so I think it only has 2 values: No AT & max AT!!! But the sound is lovely!!! Don't hesitate to buy it, you won't regret.
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Powerful, fat, clean, dirty... A monster for the price. The "alternatives" (Virus, etc.) do not have the free envelope generator which provides 4 unique time based freely drawn (no ASDF, fully variable) envelopes which can be applied to many useful parameters. The results can vary from the outright spooky to trancelike to musical to rhythmic.
The "alternatives" are overpriced and limited in function.
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Well, I bought the AN1X 3 years ago now. When I went to the store I was going for the JP8000. Just aside the JP there was an AN1X and I did some comparison and decided to buy the Yamaha (was also cheaper).
Until now I've never regretted my decision. It is very, very easy to use (even for a novice synth user) and there's is even a fabulous editor for this machine, in fact the editor alone is worth an oscar. There's even a tutorial from Yamaha that actually guides you through the steps to create your own sounds.
The only downside I've found is the weak walwart power supply.
With todays very low prices for a new/used AN1X, I'm looking for a second AN1X to have more voices.
If you're just starting or don't have on or two VA's in your studio yet, you can't go wrong with this one.
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