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In terms of bang per buck, this has to be the best home keyboard out there. You get a GM synth, some analogue-style features, accompaniments that sound like real dance music, a sampler and a sequencer and an effects processor all for under �250. What more could you want?
Sounds: There's some excellent lead synth and bass stuff in there. Loads of drumkits from the refined jazz and rock stuff to tacky electronica, along with a bunch of samples and drum loops that'll be handy for dance music fans. On the downside, the GM sounds are the usual tacky Yamaha stuff and there's no XG midi. Still, you're not getting it to play MIDI files back on, are you?
Effects: It's got lots of them: Chorus, reverb, modulation, resonance, cutoff and a DSP with stuff like distortion, wah-wah and delay. A lot of them are a bit on the weedy side though, so you'll constantly find yourself trying to crank the knobs around past their maximum settings. Contrary to what it says in the manual the knobs *do* send MIDI info, so you can use them with a sequencer too.
Sampler: It's a toy basically. If you're new to sampling and want to play around it'll be fun, but if you want a serious sampler, you're going to have to go out and buy one as it's not upgradeable and worst of all you lose it all when the power goes off.
Sequencer: Again, it's a toy. Useful for composing on the fly, but if you're a serious musician, you'll want to invest in a proper sequencer. As a home keyboard plugged into your PC, this is no great disadvantage though.
Gripes: - No portamento/glissando! - Only one assignable knob, plus the ribbon controller can make setting up a sound rather time consuming. - Only one footswich and no analogue foot-controllers.
Summary: The tacky speakers, sequencer and sampler are all going to be dead weight to most serious users, and even as a home keyboard, their novelty value won't be long lasting. However, the sounds, grooves, good MIDI features, and above all the low price will make this a winner.
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