Yamaha EX-5 user reviews and comments @ Synth Site

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Average rating: 4.5 out of 5

Jamie a hobbyist user from PA writes:

The EX5 has one of the most difficult user interfaces I've ever dealt with, even though the display is large, it's still cryptic. However, the synth itself is the most rewarding. What an amazing sound! Rivals the Triton, and even the Motifs, which replaced the EX5. Unfortunately, the EX5 didn't sell too well. It lacks some features the competition has. Only a 3.5" floppy for storage, but it does have an option for an external hard drive. A slight shortcoming for a synth going up against the Triton. Also, the cryptic interface is also a shortcoming in the same sense. It's only "flaw" is a MIDI timing flaw that makes it a poor choice for tight sequencing.

Rating: 5 out of 5 posted Tuesday-Jan-20-2004 at 17:32

Midi a part-time user from USA writes:

I like the module version the best, the EX5r. For some reason i can do things w this that i cant w the Motif.

Rating: 5 out of 5 posted Saturday-Dec-20-2003 at 00:39

Dean T. Davis a professional user from U.S.A. writes:

The EX-5 is a truly unique synth. I like it because nothing else I have sounds like it. I was going to buy the Roland XP-80 at first and then played the EX-5 and heard the trumpet sounds using the VL technology and had to have it. But why Yamaha didn't support it I don't know. I tried to contact them to ask them what the problem was and got the run around. But even though the dickhead I talked to was a waste of life I still wouldn't sell it for the world. Now I'm looking to get the Motif and I better not have any timing problems, system crashes or any of that shit or right back to the store it goes. I hate when synth companies bring out a synth and then don't support it. Don't get me wrong it's a great synth Yamaha just dropped the ball again!!!

Rating: 3 out of 5 posted Thursday-Aug-21-2003 at 01:05

Mark A Hydock a part-time user from USA writes:

I bought my Ex5 on Ebay about 3 weeks ago.I currently own a Korg Triton classic,a Emu Proteus 2000 with 4 ROM cards and have played hundreds of other keyboards.The EX5 is without a doubt the BEST sounding keyboard I've played period.I'm not talking about sequencing or sampling or timing ect..ect..I'm talking bread and butter sounds.Great Grand piano,wurli,rock organ,big fat synth sounds.I play in a small classic rock band and for me,it makes Deep Purple come alive again!!The sounds are so good I'm selling my Proteus 2000 with 4 ROM cards,,composer..vintage..ZR..Protozoa123,,Any takers???

Rating: 5 out of 5 posted Thursday-Aug-14-2003 at 15:34

Dave from usa writes:

the best souding synth out period. the worst synth for sequencing because it wont stay in sync. must play live or one channel at a time into sequencer. Bad support. sync problem never fixed by yamaha because the processor inside is underpowered. after almost 7 years no one has commercial banks on disk available except for a wind controller bank by www.patchmanmusic.com.

it has the slowest scsi speed in history much slower then usb if you can find the scsi card we are talking as much as an hour to load 64Megabytes unreal. usb can do that in 60 seconds thats 6000 percent slower then usb. there are no commercial voice bank samples avail (i am not talking akai or yamaha 300) in ex5 format.

to sum up the best sounding synth out the best 76 key controller. the worst sync and sequencer, the worst voice collection there is none commercially. 5 sound 5 keyboard,/0 voice expansion 0sequencer and sync 0 scsi spped, 0 voices avil.

Rating: 2 out of 5 posted Saturday-Jun-14-2003 at 02:15

midi a part-time user from USA writes:

Hes right, the EX5 series can do things the Triton and Motif can't, i got the Motif rack and its great for some sounds but the EX5r I have is also a wonderful sounding unit, its a keeper! btw...did i mention I have an AN200 for sale?

Rating: 4 out of 5 posted Tuesday-May-20-2003 at 06:51

elmo a part-time user from USA writes:

The EX5 is a wonderful sunth. The sampling is a plus, of course, but even just used as a pure synthesizer, it is quite outstanding. Well-equipped with superb controllers (Infintely better than the Motif, by the way, and containing four types of synthesis, this is a very versatile synth with a sweet tone and a nice synthy keyboard. If you get one for 500-700 dollars, you have made a deal!

Rating: 5 out of 5 posted Monday-Apr-28-2003 at 20:07

a part-time user writes:

Hey douschebag,it's collecting dust because you've never really used it- you've never heard it because you are too lazy to download patches for it - lest program anything original of your own. If you've ever bothered to sample anything you would know that if you sample garbage, that's exactly what you get on the other end- in real 16 bit 44khz, cd-quality fidelity. Just like everyone else.

Come on, fess up- you've never gotten beyond the factory presets. And despite the hype you will find the new gear you mention has not lived up to expectations, is not more reliable and has a whole boatload of new problems.I already know EX has a relatively slow scsi and a scaled- down sequencer, despite this the sonic power and sequencing capabilities are still very intuitive and powerful compared to what's out there.

Anybody who uses midi in a sequencing environment is aware of it's numerous glitches and shortcomings and workarounds- those, like you- who don't know how to program midi will be forced to buy boatloads of new crapola to get the gear to do what you want. One day they will create a keyboard that can read your brainwave state- but until then I'm keeping my EX5. Not a classic synth,true, but a real- blue-collar, workingman's kit.

Now go fiddle with your mc909, you groove approved idiot.

Rating: 5 out of 5 posted Friday-Mar-14-2003 at 21:33

Uncle Vic a hobbyist user from Blighty writes:

Ahoy

I have made a review already, but when i made the review i was but just a boy having got his first synth

I've had the blue beast for a good 4 years now? it has become the backbone of my 'studio', it may not have the best choirs and pianos..but theres always something new to be found in it. There is a fantastic online community for this synth which realy expands what is possible. You get a sense that the synth is alive and organic, definatly not a piece of machinary..this thing lives and breaths, it has off days and on days.

You'll grow to love it! And you'll never be able to get rid off it!

:-) Uncle Vic

Rating: 5 out of 5 posted Sunday-Feb-23-2003 at 18:37

Osvaldo a professional user from Brasil writes:

Good machine. Good pianos. Very good trumpet . The sampler work fine. What do u expect. A Nasa spaceship ? I dont know how to create new sounds into it. But the presets working so fine for my atual music. Bests !

Rating: 4 out of 5 posted Wednesday-Dec-11-2002 at 22:13

Sven Godijn a professional user from Belgium writes:

The Ex 5 can be a real pain in the ass, at first look. But trust me, and all those other users, it is a bomb ! (one with a short fuse) ;-)

This means: It has wonderful voice architecture. It contains 5 different types: AWM, AN, VL, sampling, FDSP. Sure it's a bit short on processor power. But what would you expect with such a capabilities? It can create any voice you'd imagine. More than other synths ! Yamaha learned from this and created the Motif, but... without all the voicetypes. You'll pay big bucks to get 1 type (e.g. DX7 card, AN card, VL,...)So the motif is a small EX5 for a bigger price.

Because it has some bugs, there's a big community wich is unique in it's kind. No synth ever had so many people sharing idea's and helping eachother out. (www.ex5tech.com)

If you can get over the low DSP power, and understand it's true power, this is the best synth on this level. Hell, there isn't even a higher level !

Rating: 4 out of 5 posted Tuesday-Nov-12-2002 at 15:26

John a hobbyist user from USA writes:

The EX5 is an outstanding keyboard. Although it was released in 1998, it can still compete with Motif and Triton. Those two (Motif and Triton) might be better workstations, but the EX5 is a better synth. Yes, the EX5 has received a lot of bad press in relation to slow SCSI and sluggish midi timing, yet the latest OS upgrade fixed all but the SCSI problem. Okay, the Korg Studio is currently the king of the hill, and Motif is wonderful, yet the EX5 is second to none sonically. Think of the EX as a sound design monster. It comes with more sonic power than any other synth. For instance, it has AWM2, FDSP, AN, VL, and sampling standard. Yes I know that FSDP can use a lot of resources, but when used properly it's great. Hey I love the K2600, the Tritons (the complete line),and the Motif, but an EX5 can be had for much less money. Also the EX5 comes with AN and VL--they must be added to Motif by plg boards--more money. Do yourself a favor and check out the EX5. Once you get to know it, it will serve you well for a long time.

Rating: 5 out of 5 posted Wednesday-Aug-07-2002 at 16:23

chuckiev a hobbyist user writes:

This thing's better than yamaha's newer stuff.. hands down, and for the price you get a sound powerhouse. Yamaha's new gear is absolute garbage-I think it's possible they replaced all their engineers with trained monkeys. I'm seeking a second one, if anyone has one just laying around they dont need... =)

Rating: 5 out of 5 posted Wednesday-Jul-24-2002 at 04:53

elmokeys a part-time user from USA writes:

It's time that the truth be told. The EX5 is a classic keyboard and in time will be said to be better than the Motif in many ways. If the ability to make great sounds is the bottom line, the EX is awesome in its versatility and sheer programming depth. Yes, it is flawed and it HAS limitations, but what doesn't. The keyboard is recommended here very, very enthusiastically.

Rating: 4 out of 5 posted Tuesday-Jul-23-2002 at 16:27

Jan kuipers a hobbyist user from Holland writes:

I Love this Synth!

I notice a lot of people saying it's timing is bad and stuff like that. I play in bands, and I must say, the EX-5 is the best one of the 3 I use and I love using it! It is a really good stage-piano :-)

I also use it for Cubase, making songs and stuff. I must say, I don't encounter all the problems. I must say there's a lot of DSP Recourse full error's in performance mode, but if you just keep recording the audio tracks 1 by 1, you can use all the effects of this amazing board!

I can recommend it to everyone!

Rating: 5 out of 5 posted Wednesday-Jun-05-2002 at 16:34

charlie a hobbyist user from US of A writes:

Well I must say when I purchased the rackmount version of this synthesizer I got much more than bargained for... I thought my Nord Lead 3 was the best sounding thing out there till I fired this thing up. It's like having an AN1x A5000 CS6x VL-1 and all sorts of wild shit all in one unit. Despite what some say the interface is very straightforward as is with most every Yamaha, try negotiating your way around a Kurzweil without first reading the manual-not gonna happen. Anyway I just got this thing and pretty much shit myself when I heard it, run through the TC Fireworx it becomes even more amazing. If you come across one of these cheap BUY IT.. simply fantastic. The newer Yamaha's arent even this good.

Rating: 5 out of 5 posted Saturday-Feb-02-2002 at 16:59

Montee a hobbyist user writes:

I got one of these of Ebay for $700. At first I thought something had to be wrong with it or that the instrument would looked like it had been to hell and back; I decided to take my chances. I won the high bid, paid the seller and waited about a week and a half for the him to ship it; Boy that was a long week and a half. Then one day I heard that beautiful of the UPS truck pulling into my yard. He brought out this huge box! I could barely get it inside; I finally got it in opened it and to my suprise.......... A almost brand new EX5, perfect codition. Well thats that. I've been working with this PHATTTTT production groove maker etc... and I hafto say it is the bomb. I wanna say if you're into RAP, HIP HOP, CONTEMP GOSPEL, You might wanna consider buying it inspite of some of the negative reveiws you may see here. You see hip hop and rap production is in a world of it's on; so an instrument that sucks to someone producing other styles of music maybe perfect for someone producing hip hop or rap music. People complain about the sequencer and thy are probally right; but if you're into hip hop what do you care? You're working mainly with 4 to 8 measure loops. So all you're going to be doing is loop sequencing or recording. You don't even hafto worry about long song patterns or other stuff that people have had probs with. Looping avoids alot of the sequencer bugs on a lot of instruments. The sounds are on another level. Even though this keyboard came out 4 years ago it's still on the same level if not higher than the new ones; all the same features and maybe even more, "Just read the specs on this thing". The support is on another level also. They have web sites that can literally answer every question you got. Yeah the scsi is slow and other stuff; but it is nothing you can't work around. If you're into hip hop, rap and you're looking for an awesome production weapon, get it. You can make your own sounds just the way you want them. The key board may be a little complicated at first but it all starts making sense in about a less than a month. It all depends on you. If I can learn it so can you. If you want to save some money without comprimising production power and sound begin your search for a used on of these today. Remember in the end you make the instrument- the instrument doesn't make you. This is a good weapon!

Rating: 5 out of 5 posted Friday-Jan-25-2002 at 10:54

Byron IV a professional user from US writes:

I love this keyboard, and I hate it just as much...I sold my decked K2000Sv3 to buy it, seeing that it can do most of what the K2000's can, plus more. It's sounds are great, it's live controllability is superb, and it's potential as being a classic was very very good. What I hate about it is it's SUPER slow SCSI, it's many little glitches hear and there (I have an older OS, 1.0A), and most importantly, it's lack of DSP resources. It has tons of abilities...TONS, but seriously lacks the raw processing power to back more than 1 or 2 of it's unique capabilities up at once. For every GOOD thing about, there's always a string attached, I swear that the manual is mostly there in order to tell you that you CAN'T do with it most of the things you would expect to be able to do! I'm still trying to find ways around many of it's quantum blemishes, and Yamaha isn't being as kind to me about getting an OS upgrade as they have been to so many others, so I can't say that this guy has won a permanent place in my studio OR my heart yet...if it weren't for all the glitches I would definately give it a 5 out of 5....

Rating: 3 out of 5 posted Thursday-Oct-18-2001 at 09:26

Xabi from Spain writes:

I'm using 1.0D OS - 1.13 TG (the last one). It seems that there is a 1.0E OS coming up, but with minor improvements. The 1.0D OS solves all the big drawbacks of the EX5 apart from low SCSI transfer. The presets are really good in a first overview; it's loaded with cool pianos-electric pianos and organs; you will also hear some of the best VL patches ever programmed. Pads are state-of-the-art, and pay special attention to the wild AN synthesis and the new FDSP processing -no other synth has it-. Anyway, amazingly, a lot of ROM waves are unused, so the full power of AWM synthesis remain hidden in this machine. Editing patches is very comfortable for me using the big screen, numeric keyboard and knobs. The manual is big & good. I rate it with a 8 because of the extreme depth of this machine; you could get lost looking for what you want. But believe me, it's there. Poliphony is 128; enough for any purpose. MIDI timing problems have been solved with the latest OS. You will only experience some timing issues with really hard sequencing, but there are workarounds to avoid them. Built it FX are really excellent; you can use 4 at a time in a performance with AWM synthesis or 1 at a time if you use AN-VL-FDSP parts. Now pay attention to the famous DSP power issue; some people will tell you that this is an underpowered machine (you'll get "DSP full" messages if you try to use, for example, several AN voices in a performance), but that's not true: simply, you have to learn the way it works and how to get the most of it. Is the Minimoog an underpowered machine because it's monophonic? See all the things that the EX5 can do for you as it is and not what it could do with a bigger DSP. What did you expect, 16 AN parts with 128 poliphony...? These are the real numbers: You get an amazing 128 voice AWM synthesis engine with 4 insert FX, arpeggiators, etc... and more: you can add the fine AN synthesis (up to 2 voices), VL synthesis (1 voice, well... VL is monophonic anyway) and the new and powerful FDSP processing (uo to 8 voices). Simply, you can't use more than 1 "DSP part" (AN-VL-FDSP types) at the same time in a performance. So, combine them with intelligence and remember that no other machine can do all this. Even using only the AWM synthesis, the EX5R beats all the JV-XV saga in terms of features, so consider the extra synthesis as it is: EXTRA synthesis. Expansion capabilities are: SCSI port, Flash RAM, Individual outputs, Digital output and conventional RAM. Ok, there are not sound expansion cards, but who needs them? Get the Flash RAM and build your own "expansion cards". Up to 16 Mb can be loaded in this type of RAM, doubling the internal ROM capacity. The EX5R is unusable as a sampler because of the obscene SCSI speed (more than 30 min. to load 65 Mb). So BUY the flash ram to get all the best of this unit. Consider this machine as a monster synth with sequencer and arpeggiators, not as a sampler. The internal sequencer is nice: 16 tracks, up to 30.000 events, a lot of functions, including quantization in real time. Enough for a complete arrangement -ok, it can not load several songs at the same time, but it can read & play directly from a diskette or ZIP, so this "drawback" is not a problem-. The only important thing on a music machine, the sounds... well, the EX5R is a high quality instrument that covers all the music styles, specially if you have the flash ram to load your favourite sounds. I can't express it with words, but it sounds amazing in all genres and in all types of instruments and sounds. Excellent top end, deep basses, clarity and quality.... Try it and hear by yourself. If it were lost I will replace it with another EX5R, for sure! The only question to remember: don't buy it as a sampler. This is the best all-round synth ever built

Rating: 4 out of 5 posted Friday-Aug-31-2001 at 14:47

Ski a hobbyist user from USA writes:

I mark the EX5 as a 5/5, but then I'm biased! ;)

Come visit our rejuvenated EX5Tech website at www.ex5tech.com and join in the discussion forums. We have the best group of helpful people to be found anywhere online, and they're a lot of fun!

Rating: 4 out of 5 posted Saturday-Jul-14-2001 at 15:28

Antonio Madia a professional user from US writes:

So many years I've looked for Digital synth. I'm working in Real professional condition, so I decided - Ex5.

When I met Stevie wonder at Santamonica beach, He mentioned about this machine.

It's really cool. Here is my opinion; Ex5 > Trinity > Trinity rack(TR rack) > Karma

You know Triton's filter is terrible.

Thanks a'lot

Rating: 5 out of 5 posted Saturday-Jun-23-2001 at 04:58

Buttanuts a hobbyist user from USA writes:

This a GREAT synth. I was looking for something to compose with when i'm away from home so i bought the ex5r. The sequencer has to be one of the best hardware sequencers that i've used and i'm a die hard cubase fan. THese can be found really cheap i paid $1049 brand new. Get one!

Rating: 5 out of 5 posted Friday-Jun-15-2001 at 16:50

www.mp3.com/melon a part-time user from Sweden writes:

I traded my Korg Trinity for the EX5, even got $200 in between. And I feel sorry for the guy who got my Trinity. The EX5 sounds are amazing, the only thing I miss sound-wise is a great grand piano.

It's a great master/controller keyboard. I don't use the sampler/sequencer as I have computer for sequencing and an external sampler.

Rating: 4 out of 5 posted Saturday-Mar-24-2001 at 10:16

Jonny a hobbyist user from uk writes:

I bought my EX5 for 540 quid. It took about a month to really get into the depths of it and you find that its very powerfull in the FX section and is great for dance music. The only thing is that it has an annoying timing problem with layed instruments that use a lot of polyphony. This cant be avioded. Also the SCSI is so god damn slow that there is no point in loading any samples bigger than about 2mb cos its boring waiting for them to load and you forget any ideas that you have to tweak them. I'm thinking about getting a standalone sampler and sound module but I'll miss it dearly.

Rating: 3 out of 5 posted Saturday-Mar-10-2001 at 06:56

Uncle Vic a hobbyist user from Good old england writes:

Well now, this was my first synth, it does take a bit to get into, it is very deep, 4 types of synthesis, you probably know this already.

Personly I find the FDSP stuff no use, apart from the water filter, the AN stuff is very nice and warm, VL can achieve some great sounding wind instruments, and good old AWM.

If you get this synth you will get sick of seing the words 'DSP RESCOURCE FULL' (oh if only i could spell) In a performance you can only have 1 of either AL,VL,or FDSP. If you use any of these in a performance you can only use one insert effect (i think)

I would say this synth is more suited to dance, techie stuff rather than the traditional sounds (such as piano, harps, chiors etc)

If I was to wake up an find my EX5 had be burned, quite frankly i would be quite curious how, and then would rush out and get another- It does every things, I have a love hate relationship with it, if you have the patience it can do anything.

(n.b. if you would like this synth to do everything you will have to buy the SCSI board (£150) and 64mb of funny RAM (£120) a zip drive (£124) and coffee (£2.99)and the synth (£900ish)

Rating: 4 out of 5 posted Monday-Feb-26-2001 at 08:09

inagaki a hobbyist user from japan writes:

GREATEST SYNTH. YOU WANNA GET UNLIMITED SYNTHESIS.

Rating: 5 out of 5 posted Sunday-Jan-28-2001 at 22:01

Dahwoud a part-time user from France writes:

For people interested by what ex5 can produce ... check http://www.multimania.com/dahwoud ....

Rating: 5 out of 5 posted Wednesday-Nov-08-2000 at 12:48

Nathan Belomy a professional user from Usa writes:

Yamaha ex5 is a very nice tool. For one, once you learn the interface you just fall in love with it, I have tried everything that competes with it.... the roland jp 8000, the korg trinity, those synths suck ass. I feel sorry for the people that own them. Roland just now sucks, maybe they made good stuff in the past but now thier stuff is a joke from a musical standpoint, korg's older stuff is better then the trinity, I mean that thing seems easier to use then the ex5, but I am sorry, Yamaha knows what the hell is going on. They just made the keyboard with everything working together, down to how the buttons for choosing the sound, can turn off elements and be used for like everything, now that is one crazy engineer.

I don't get what is bad about the timing, I have made tons of different songs on the thing and I can't notice a probelm and I am like a rythum head

The price, and what it can do is insane. Get the scsi, make samples and edit on computer and load them into that sucker.... you will shit in your pants.

Its really funny, people say this synth isn't a beginers synth.... which is funny because this is my first keyboard, my mom noticed that I really liked techno music and she got me one when I was 16.... at first I would just turn it on and play the sounds... I mean I played piano as a kid and had to freshin up, It honestly took me to 18 to learn then thing, maybe because when I was 16 and 17 I smoked way to much weed.

Now I know the thing like 80% still working on sound programing.... that goes really complex....

If someone was to steal my ex5.... they would be dead!

Rating: 5 out of 5 posted Monday-Oct-30-2000 at 02:37

Brian Smith a hobbyist user from Dallas, TX, USA writes:

I've had this thing for only a few days, but I'm more than satisfied. From what I understand, it's not all that huge in the US, but if you head east, you'll find that it's really popular (and they even seem to have a silver version).

In my various synthesis and MIDI classes, we used this synth (along with a K2500, MemoryMoog, DX7, and others), so I'm not a newbie to the machine. It's very, very deep, with a wider range of functionality (IMHO) than any other synth I've ever known.

I won't get all gushy over it, since Aaron has covered it quite well - I'll just mention a few things. While I don't have the breath controller I have to agree that the VL engine is AMAZING. Even just playing with the mod wheels, you can find a far eastern flute sound and create subtle trills and other effects with it. It's jaw dropping as well as inspiring.

No, it's not simple to program this synth (not overly obtuse either), but once you get over the learning curve, you'll find the OS is easy to navigate, and that you can create damned near any sound you can imagine. Bottom line is this: if you've got any background in programming synths, you'll find that the EX5 has boundaries that you'll never be likely to reach; if not, then you'll have to have a little patience in learning, but you'll be well rewarded.

I haven't used the sampler or sequencer much, so I can't comment on those. Others have mentioned faults in these, but you have to remember that no synths are "awesome" in this area... in each and every synth review, someone will comment that they would rather use a dedicated sampler or sequencer. WELL DUH. :-) No synth is going to get significantly better (the Triton being a case-in-point). If you had the capabilities of a full-fledged sampler and sequencer, you'd be paying 5x times as much as you did anyways. Besides, I would have to recommend your PC as a sampler/sequencer - it'll outperform anything. Pick up Gigasampler and you'll find a sampled Piano that has every key sampled at various velocities - not just transposed/whatever samples of a few different keys. Pick up Logic/Cubase/whatever, and you'll find a much more versatile sequencer than any piece of hardware.

Rating: 5 out of 5 posted Saturday-Oct-21-2000 at 22:36

Aaron a professional user from Nashville writes:

The EX5R is a loaded machine. I like to think of it as a 747. It can take you far, but there sure are a lot of dials and switches on the dash.

This is not a beginner's synth. I say that because I am a beginner when it comes to actually using a board/module that has extensive sound design capabilities, much less sampling and sequencing. That said, I have been able to do quite a bit with this machine in a relatively short amount of time.

I am currently running OS Version 1.03, but was able to request the latest OS version (1.13) by contacting Yamaha on their website. The chips are supposed to arrive any day. They are free courtesy of Yamaha.

This synth is EXTREMELY deep. Therefore, editing the Patches (Voices in Yamaha's vocabulary) is as easy or as complex as you want it to be. Each Voice has up to Four layers of Waves which have their own Filters, Zones, Velocity settings, Effects settings, Envelopes, LFO settings, etc. Obviously, this leaves you with a mind numbing set of possibilities for sound design. On the other hand, you could create a simpler Voice with just one wave out of over 1000 in the built in ROM, or with a Sampled wave form. Fortunately, the six knobs plus the data dial make moving through the parameters and pages a cinch. Also, the screen size is unusually large for a rack module which makes edting easier as far as having visual readouts of the envelopes, filters, zones, and loop points in Sample mode.

As far as manuals go, I suppose the Yamaha manual isn't going to make the NY Times best seller's list, but I could understand most of it and I'm not an expert at this stuff. The problem with this manual (and most other manuals for that matter) is that they are organized by feature rather than by what you want to do with it. In order to use the manual to help you, you have to know which part of the machine will help you accomplish your goal. If you don't know that, you're stuck flipping pages. Fortunately, this synth has a large contigent of loyal users all over the web and there are folks at Yamaha that have put out tutorials that help tremendously. I was able to download 'The Joy of EX', 'EX Power Users Guide', and 'tEXtures' tutorials off of the net at http://www.samplelibrary.net. These are much more fun to read and they tell you how to use the EX using examples. Also, the EX5 Tech website is a great place to pose questions to other users who usually provide an ingenius answer within a few hours. Here's the link http://www.wbmedia.com/ex5/. Check it out.

Features: 10 Here are the standout features:

4 differnt synthesis methods--AWM, AN, VL, FDSP (SY's don't have last three synth engines) 126 note polyphony in AWM (SY's don't have this) 79 high quality, very cool effects (SY's don't have this) 8 track pattern sequencer 16 track song sequencer Sampling

The total list of features is long, so rather than duplicate it, here's the link to Yamaha's site which lists them out:

http://yamaha.com/ycaservice/group010/fgrop010.htm

If you've researched this synth at all, you've probably heard a ton of disgruntled comments about the DSP limitations in Performance mode as well as the slow SCSI interface. If you haven't, then I'll fill you in. First off, here's the deal on DSP limitations in performance mode:

In addition to traditional PCM (Yamaha calls it AWM) synthesis, Yamaha provides 3 additional very cool and very unique synth engines--AN (analog modeling), VL (accoustic modeling made famous on the VL1), and FDSP (a per note effect modeling algorithm). Voices using these synth methods are not playing back waves from ROM, they're complex algorithms calculated in real time using the DSP in the EX. This is the same DSP that the EX uses for the Insert Effects. This isn't a issue in Voice mode, but when you want to creat a Multi-Timbral Performance you can only use one of these DSP Voices, and your use of effects is limited. Because of this, as you're scrolling through the Voices in your banks while setting up a Performance, you will run into a message that says 'DSP Resources Full. A differenct Voice has been selected.' This message can be headache, but it doesn't have to be. The simple workaround to avoiding this message popping up all the time is to separate the AWM voices from the 'Hot' DSP voices by using one Internal user bank for AWM and the other for the DSP Voices. That way you can freely select from your AWM bank without seeing the message. Then you can go to the other Internal bank to get a DSP Voice. Also, the EX has a built in Sampler. So you can Re-Sample DSP Voices or AWM Voices that use tons of effects and then use the resampled voice in the performance to cut down on your DSP usage.

The problem with Sampling is that you need to back up your Samples to external storage devices (either the built in floppy, or SCSI) since the RAM (expandable up to 72MB is volatile and clears out when you power down. Also, the SCSI is slow. This is not a "bug" as others have called it. It is just plain slow. It is due to a design in the motherboard and won't change with new OS releases. This could create severe inconveniences for players who use samples live since they would have to account for the slow SCSI time before their gigs.

The solution is in Flash RAM. You can get it in 16, 32 and 64 MB pieces. The 16 Meg is around $250.00 and you should really build that into the cost of the EX. Flash RAM is non-volatile memory so your Samples stay loaded even when you power off. So if you're using a lot of samples, just load them in at home and get everything the way you want. When you turn on the EX at your gig the samples will be ready and waiting for you--well worth the cost.

With the Flash Ram, the EX goes from a machine with tons of potential and some unfortunate shortcomings to a sound design/music production monster. There are some great EX format samples out there too, so having the Flash RAM in effect gives you a new bank of sounds with unlimited resources since you can constantly change the waves you are using.

The sequencer functions are great for laying down ideas. Sure, PC based sequencers are way better than hardware based ones, but this one still holds it's own and you can use it live. You can record patterns in the 8 track pattern sequencer, and then map them to a key and play them back in real time. You can also insert a pattern into a song sequence. It also has groove templates that will tweak your beats to fit a groove and make them sound more organic. Another cool thing about the sequencer is that you can overdub controller movements that are controlling parameters like filter frequency, panning, effect depth, etc in real time.

I haven't been through all the effects, but they are really ingenius. It has your standard reverbs, choruses, and delays, but it also comes with some great effects like jump wave, which cuts up the wave and plays it back in a different order, amp simulator, auto synth, compression, exciter, and vinyl record, which make your Voice sound like it's being played off an old record player (great for Motown songs).

It has plenty of MIDI capabilities that are way over my head, but the guy I bought this from used it in his studio with Pro Tools, Cubase, and about 5 other rack synths and it fit right in.

Expressiveness/Sounds: 10 The sounds are the real star of this machine. If you are buying this as a workstation, you will be moderately pleased with it and very pleased if you get the Flash RAM. But if you are buying this because you want to have unique sounds that you won't hear in every Pop song on the radio, then the EX will be thrilling you for a very long time.

The pads are constantly evolving. The organs are full of grit. The vintage keys like Rhodes, Wurli, Clav are great.

Sure, it can hold its own with Korg's Siver Beasts when it comes to generating the pristine sample based sounds that you find on quite a few of today's records, but it really shines when it comes to delivering sounds at the cutting edge. And heck, if there's a sound on the Trinity/Triton that you just have to have, find a friend with one and sample it. :-)

The guitar presets are pretty amazing for a synth. Especially using the FDSP guitar pickup algorithm and the Amp Modeling algorithm. With some clever playing techniques and appropriate mixing in a performance, you can fool your guitar player buddies into thinking you recorded someone playing a Telecastor running through a Fender Amp and somehow got that into your sequence.

The VL sounds are unbelievable in their realism, especially when you pick up a BC3 breath controller and plug it right into the front of the rack. You can edit parameters like embouchure, pressure, growl, scream, and other physical attributes of instruments and then control them in real time with BC, aftertouch, mod wheels, or the 6 Knobs on the rack itself.

I'm not a analog freak, but the AN section of the EX is turning me into one in a hurry. There are some pretty freaky sounds that can come out of this section. If you don't know where to start in programming them, just go to samplelibrary.com and download some. You'll learn what others have done and then take the sounds in other directions.

With so much control of the sounds, you can program in a great deal of randomness that makes your sounds come alive as opposed to just looping over and over again. They really do help spur your creativity.

Reliability: 9 I haven't used it live yet, but with the new OS, I wouldn't hesitate. The early OS versions had some hitches in them apparently, but the new ones are free and easy to install. I've heard others report that as soon as they upgraded the OS, the bugs went away, so I'm not worried.

Customer Support: 10 Yamaha works on a call back system. You call and give them your problem and they call you back within 12-24 hours with an answer. I had a problem getting the arpegiattor to work and they called me back within 4 hours with an answer. I'm sure that people's experiences will vary depending on who they get on the other end of the line.

Also, you can contact them at their service website and submit questions that way. They will respond via email with your answer within a day. That's how I ordered my OS chips.

Overall Rating: 10 My only wish is that it had additional DSP to handle the 'Hot' Voices, but at the price they are going at, I could buy another one just to give me the extra DSP and still come out under 2 Grand!

There are always new pieces of gear coming out that look so tempting. The Triton is very powerful and comes with Korg's patented touch screen and very intuitive user interface. It also happens to come with a heftier price tag. I just keep thinking about all of the potential in this box that I haven't even tapped into yet. It will keep me busy creating music for a long time. For the price I paid ($800.00 used, near mint from the Harmony Central classifieds) I got 4 synth engines, a sequencer, arpegiattor, studio effects unit, and a halfway decent sampler all in one box. You could have a better set up if you went out a bought each of these things separate, but you'd also be out about 3-4 Grand more. If you can afford that, more power to ya, but you'll still be hard pressed to find a more powerful, usable harware based synthesis tool anywhere.

Rating: 5 out of 5 posted Wednesday-Sep-27-2000 at 14:04

DTC a part-time user from UK writes:

This is a great synth, if you can overcome the performance mode limitations (my main gripe!) it's capable of some excellent sounds.

For instance, we've got a track that we'd recorded a lot of audio parts for from the EX5. We need to play it live so I've had to overcome the fact that the track uses 4 AN voices (only 1 allowed in perf. mode), and several insert effects (only 1 allowed when using AN voices). I put three of the AN voices on one channel with the insert turned on and simply sent program changes when the voice changed. The other AN voice I used a SuperNova for a substitute sound. It can often be a case of man vs machine, but you can get what you want if you make the effort.

The AN voices are excellent (I'm buying an AN1X s/h to give me more of them!), the sampler is fine if you use a PC for editing and buy the Flash Ram and the FDSP voices can produce even stranger sounds or spice up lifeless voices. Not used VL much, not being a natural voices type of band, but they sound fine and realistic to my ears.

If anyone fancies a listen to tracks made using an EX5, have a listem at:

http://www.mp3.com/BassDevils

The tracks are around 50% EX5 (the other 50% from the Novation SuperNova)

-DTC

Rating: 4 out of 5 posted Thursday-Jun-15-2000 at 08:25

Yong jin , Kim a professional user from South Korea writes:

Previous i played TR-rack,JV880/1080/2080,TS-10....etc many PCM instrument, BUT THIS BOARD's sound is VERY HIGH COLORED-QUALITY!!!

SCSI problem is NOT big black-hole. Instead of original FDD ,SCSI ZIP/JAZ drive will give you nice solution.

Let's see the EX-5's extraordinary sounds.

1.guitar BEAT TRITON!! FUCK THE JV-BOARDS! EX guitar and 18 string will electric shock in your pituitary grand. 2.E.P NON-discusion part. It's BEST in world.(In my opinion, better than SY-99's FM E.P)

3.DRUM Did you hear JAZZ kit? PERPECTION. and DRUM FX is fantastic!!!

4.VL YAMAHA WINS ALL-WORLD ELEC INSTRUMENTS(ENSONIQ,ALESIS,KORG,ROLAND,KURSWEIL...)by THIS NUCLEAR BOMB!! ULTIMATE EXPRESIVE MECHANISM toward 100% realism!!!!!!

5.AN IT is most stable $ thick analogue sound. DO you know? AN is coated by FDSP/AWM. FANTASTIC SOUNDS generated by your finger tip!!

6.FDSP Formulated Digital Sound Processor(FDSP) is like VL characterastic. IT'S EXPRESSION TOP-HIGH QUALITY!!!

7.BASS TOP.(do you remember? DX-7's bass? Traditoinally, yamaha's bass is top-quality.)

8.STRING LIKE ROLAND JV STRING. GOOD. and do you know? VL makes very REAL-STRING SOUND. TRI IT!!(preset NOT contain VL based string.)

9.A.P(acoustic piano) some weak, some great. JAZZ grand is great, but grand is weak in bottom line. but DO YOU KNOW? Taditionally YAMAHA'S acoustic grand is thin but fresh and clear.

10.BELL GREAT than TRINITY BELL sounds. -------------------------------------------------- EX-5 will be best choice and long-lifetime instrument like previous SY-99.

Rating: 5 out of 5 posted Thursday-Apr-27-2000 at 15:06

sean starkenburg a professional user from fort lauderdale, USA writes:

WazZzappPpp!!! I havent had my ex5-r for very long but it's almost made my jp8080 obsolete already... the jp8080 is great for some things but the ex5r seems much more well rounded and of course has far more voices and very high quality multi-effects.I actually bought a tr-rack (trinity)first and the sounds were so weak and faggoty that i couldn't wait to take it back for something better... I mean maybe alot of the limp-wristed liberace-impersonators that visit this site might like the trinity (puke)but if you have any taste/talent at all and wanna write kickin' dance trax or any kind of music with substance the ex-5 is the mutha' of all synths at this point in time. I traded my kurzweil k2500s in for the ex5r and a roland a33 controller kboard and am far happier now... the kurzweil was a dinosaur and it's sounds were so dull sounding in comparison (partly due to horrible effects)and only good for strings and piano... THAT'S IT!!! if you want a kurzweil... buy a new blue k2600 or nothing. (comes with kdfx.. much better) ohhh-- and dont listen to the outdated shit on the homepage for these reviews about midi timing coz it's all fixed with the latest operating system... the ex-5 is a masterpiece.

Rating: 5 out of 5 posted Saturday-Apr-01-2000 at 11:59

Jimmy a professional user from Nashville, TN writes:

I hope this will get in your list (my first did not)...

The Ex-5, while a little complex to get around, is an extreme sound design machine, although the sampling storage is kind of a pain. The scsi speed is very slow and you must store samples in bulk (not individually). The synthesis structure is beautiful. The board does an incredible job of incorporating the various forms of synthesis. Yes, as mentioned by many others, the sequencing problems have been there, but in other areas the synth is quite extraordinary. Beautiful sounds...Get passed the presets....Extraordinary SOUNDS!!!! Look at the total features of the board and honestly I see more creative flux available in the yamaha than in the Triton...Up front (user interface) yes the triton wins, but the yamaha just has the sound! An incredible palette of opportunity. I can't give it a perfect score overall, because of the storage and sequence issues, but in the sound design realm this is an beautiful board!!

Rating: 4 out of 5 posted Tuesday-Feb-08-2000 at 03:08

JD a part-time user from USA writes:

Got an EX5 for Xmas (wife bought it for me...cool wife, eh?). Thought I'd throw my two cents in, even though I don't know much about this beast.

What lovely, lucious, buttery sounds! I own some good axes (K2500, Prophecy, QS-8, O1/W, M3R, JV880) and have owned a pile of others. For some reason, this board sounds "warmer" and "thicker" than the JV and Triton class cruisers. (Although I do like the shimmery-quality of the JV sounds).

If you crank out anything "jazz" or "jazzy" you could buy this board alone for the "EX Guitar" and "Benson" patches....I've heard a lot of great guitar fakes on synths, from lovely crystal 12-strings to roaring power guitars and jangly Strats, but I've never heard, until know, a board capable of a medium-hollowbody sort of sound that is absolutely organic and alive.

Other high points: Yup, the modeled saxes are wild, but they will take a hell of a lot of practice to really make sound good (I got the "breathalyzer" as a stocking stuffer). The B3 patches are really cool, too. No, I mean it! Really alive! Different than a sampler's B3 patches, particularly the low-key sort of Jimmy Smith patches. The basses are really good, too, but no better than what some other instruments I have can do. I agree that the Rhodes patches are top-notch. They even have this wierd psycho-acoustic tendency to sound slightly out of tune. I dig the harmonicas too.

One more high point: this thing can make some wonderful, dripping, ambient pad stuff. The programmers made a nice and devlishly clever use of making pads that sound neat when sustained on a single note or chord, but are actually playable as moving lines as well. Holds up quite well to my 2500 and Prophecy for this type of sound.

Low points: Pianos have a nice delicate sound, but are weak (particularly in the bottom) if you are counting on this as a piano-substitute. I'm not too impressed with the drums. The general layout/user interface/ logic is not as intuitive as a Kurzweil, a Korg or an Alesis, but no worse than a Roland. I am not offended by, but not overwhelmed by, the strings and orchestral stuff...My K2500 blow it away in this area. The self-looped patches are foreign to me, and I don't use them. I am not into much "analogish/vintage synth" stuff so I can't really comment on whether it rocks or not in those areas.

The thing responds fine to MIDI timing (at least mine does), but I have not used it's sequencing or sampling capabilities. I have not heavily taxed it's DSP.

The keyboard is a joy to play - it was wierd at first, it has sort of a short vertical throw (from top of key to "bottom out" position). If you play with it awhile, you realize you can move *seriously* fast on this board - a plus if you are a "player" type, not much of a plus if you are a "programmer/loop" type. I wish all synth keyboards had this exact same action.

I should offer up that I am a terrible synth programmer and freely admit to using presets, other people's patches, and paying for patches. I am an athletic-fingered player, though, and as a sound enhancing tool this axe is really neat.

For sound: 5/5

For interface: 3/5 (at best)

For sequencing stuff ?/5

PS: For sound, this thing is a five out of five.

--JD

posted Thursday-Jan-13-2000 at 18:10

Bjørn Ivar Larsen a part-time user from Norway writes:

I just have to agree with the two latest reviewers. It's good to finally spot some happy owners of this great synthesizer from Yamaha. The EX-5 looks, feels and sounds great compared to many of its plastic competitors. This machine got soul and personality, especially if You take time to explore and program it. I've owned and still have many pro analog and digital synthesizers, but the EX-5 still impresses me. I have also tried the KORG Triton a few times without getting the kick I had expected out from the fuzz and rumors on the net(ok it's pretty good but the E-5 is better). I also own a Roland JV-2080(well, without the piano expansion) and when I bought it I had hoped to find at least 1 decent Fender Rhodes elpiano sound out from the 20-30 preset ep variations, but they're all useless( ex: bellpiano, sticky-rhodes and so on. Where the hell is the great sounds from their old MKS-20 ). Well back to the EX-5. On the EX-5 I immidately found the best Rhodes imitation I've ever heard on a synth. Not to mention the high quality insert effets which sounds awesome. I could go on and on because I'm in love. The EX-5 is not a entry-level synthesizer, and You should use some time to figure out its potensial. I know there are things that could have been better, but after all what synth is perfect? Go out there and decide for yourself. P.S. On the zynth Zone pages You can read maybe the most stupid synth review to date. It's a guy who have done a sort of head to head test between the EX-5 and the Trinity and concludes with that the Trinity is the best because it has the purest sound. O Lord give me strenght.

Rating: 5 out of 5 posted Friday-Dec-10-1999 at 10:51

Mraz a professional user from UK writes:

Yes EX5 is combination of siths Yamaha has done in the past plus sampler and you know what it sounds fantastic. You can have Two EFX, Reverb and Chourus (of pro quality),in up to 16 part multitimbral + some fantastic filters, LFo´s etc. on each channel. Awesome sounding sinth. All the problems are gone with latest OS. I have tried Korg Triton and it is not done for me as EX5 has. EX5 can make some wasome noise.

Rating: 5 out of 5 posted Sunday-Dec-05-1999 at 11:43

Zed a professional user from Spain writes:

This is just awesome sinth who does not require and effects at all to be added. DSP is full only when you use two voices using same EFX so you just switch EFX off for the voice and there you go. EX5 just sounds so good that filters are enough to tweak. Sampling editing can be done with TWE PC software and uploaded with SCSI. Much more that you need. If that is not enough for you then you need sampler. Go and get A3000. But all those features can be found in Sound Forge as well. Midi timing is fixed, SCSI is the same and it will always be the same. I don't mind that. I use EX5 with Rm1x and I don't have anything bad to say about them.

Rating: 5 out of 5 posted Sunday-Dec-05-1999 at 11:20

Mark a professional user from England writes:

Previously I bought an SY85 (which i still use), which has some stunning filters. Then I looked at the EX5 and Trinity and the Z1. Eventually i decided on the EX5.

Aside from the MIDI timing problems, and the slow SCSI this is a phonomenal synth. The sounds are amazing, altohugh the first thing I did when getting it into the studio was listen to the presets, save the best ones, then clear out the whole synth. Isn't that the idea with a synth. Anyone who slates the internal sounds try programming your own, or do you lack the creativity.

As for the poor timing on the sequencer, um, who actually uses any built-in sequencer, fair play to Yamaha, the display is good for sound editing, and generally getting around, but for sequencer, dont bother, and that goes for any synth, set the MIDI timing to external and use Cubase or Cakewalk. Didn't Yamaha, fix the timing problems with the new OS.

And SCSI, yeah that is crap, its way too slow, almost as bad as a floppy disk on a PC, unless Yamaha have sorted it out, anyone know?

The built in sampler is good, although the lack of pitchshift and timestretch are a pain, combine with the other methods of synthesis it works well.

Where this baby comes into its own is as a live performance synth.

As for the Triton, well i played with and wasn't impressed. Dont get me wrong its good, just didn't jump out at me. And Korg, what happened to your styling, the Z1 and Trinity looked sexy, this Triton looks like an ugly block.

Rating: 4 out of 5 posted Thursday-Sep-23-1999 at 07:35

John Westwood a professional user from Canada writes:

The EX5 has a large brite screen and large bank select buttons, which is welcomed after 'chicklet' type buttons of previous models. The screen layout of many pages could've been improved upon somewhat, but for the most part is understandable to work with. The Bank Select buttons are a disappiontment in relation to the Sequencer. SY's doubled this area as 'track representors', and allowed for singular muting, or all with 1 button touch. The EX5 relies on holding down the SHIFT key and the respective 'bank/track' button (tracks aren't illuminated either active or off on the EX5!) The sound is very good, offering many 'hands on' controls, and Scene storage should you maul the sound to something just right! Drawback is programming a sound with alot of controllers is laborous, and a Drumkit with any real-time control is limited to 16 'elements', and if you 'double up' a drum sound on a key, the control for certain kit parts diminishes by 1 too! Sounds changed via Knob Mode aren't editable or saveable (ala Korg's Polysix or Mono/Poly), just mutations of the original stored sound. Knobs do aid certain editing processes for numerical adjustments. But for ability to create and combine samples with AN, or VL, or FDSP, or even just AWM - this thing is a Mad Scientists dream come true! Now, my big gripe is using and accessing these sounds! The sequencer, although nice to change from a selection of quantize options 'on the fly', is maybe more than Yamaha could dream of - and isn't reliable! Even with basic AWM sounds and minimal arrangements, the sequencer is prone to 'hic-cup' occasionally and/or affect ADSR's of certain voices! The SCSI is SLOW! So best not to rely on long stereo loops and multilayered pianos always loading up! There is a Flash ROM optional storage - but is pretty useless as you can't edit samples in this, and will eventually have to get ported back to RAM to be saved! So unless you ALWAYS will use that bongo loop, and or JX-3p string, that's all that Flash is really good for!

I used to be a pretty big fan of Yamaha's, but this has left me with a funny 'blue' taste in my mouth. Sometimes it's sweet, sometimes it's really sour! As a Synthesizer, Aces! As a 'workstation' , Yamaha put years of ingenuity to shame! My carefully programmed Keith Emerson/William Orbit/ Brian Eno riff will always make me sound half as good thanks to the stinky sequencer! (Oh, maybe I should put PFX to 16 Beat Rock, no wait... 12 Battacuda? No, no, Dun-Dun! How about Drunk? It already sounded 'Drunk'! Is this PFX a PSR?) I'd rather tweek a SY's sequencer any day!

Rating: 3 out of 5 posted Tuesday-Jul-27-1999 at 17:13

Jeff a part-timer user from USA writes:

I have played the EX-5 extensively now. For live use, it rules! (who cares about midi timing problems live....if you actually PLAY your keyboard live?!!!) It has the best analog pads, organs, and brass patchs. They cut through and don't peter out if you sustain a note for a few bars. It also has the best dynamics of any keyboard I played before selecting the EX-5. As far as sampling....take your raw sample on the EX-5 - dump it to the PC and use SoundForge or similar to manipulate it - dump it back - kicks the snot outta any "sampler" I have owned. Only complaint - slow SCSI I did play the Korg Trinty - although I thought its piano was better, I didn't buy it because it does not have the polyphony if you layer and split on "performance" patches for live use. btw - Yamaha owns Korg

Rating: 4 out of 5 posted Monday-May-31-1999 at 23:46

Bob Tousley a part-timer user from Rowlett, TX USA writes:

I am not sure what the "craze" with the EX5 (EX7) is all about. I personally own several Yamaha products (including a TG77 & a TG500), and I just cannot figure out why so many people love this synth. It has one of the poorest sampling sections known to man. It has excellent DSP, but using any part of it comes at the cost of major polyphony reduction. The sounds are very good, but many other synths can claim this. The user interface is decent, but won't win any major awards. As a "do-all" workstation, it is much more inexpensive than a Kurzweil K2500, but cannot even get close to it in a feature by feature comparison. What's all the fuss about ?

Rating: 2 out of 5 posted Thursday-May-27-1999 at 20:01

Lindahl a professional user from Sweden writes:

God....nothing less....now when the timing trouble are fixed.....it´s the best synth ever, and that´s it!

Rating: 5 out of 5 posted Saturday-Feb-13-1999 at 15:59

Rook a hobbyist user from Finland writes:

Being an old tracker musician I don't know too much about MIDI issues. The only thing I bought my EX5 for is the rich, full sound. This is the ultimate all-in-one synthesizer, which is simply an excellent tool for stage play and sound exploration. I simply love it.

Rating: 5 out of 5 posted Tuesday-Nov-10-1998 at 13:33

John Gray a part-timer user from CANADA writes:

This is the first major synth that I have bought, but I must tell you, it is sure a lot of fun! I have spent the last two weeks just finding which presets I like the best. I get so mesmerized by all the sounds that I lose time, what seems like 5 minutes turns into two hours! I haven't experimented much with the synthesis aspect of it yet, but that will be comming! I have heard a great deal about the SCSI problem, and have heard (from this site) that it will be fixed. I haven't bought the SCSI option yet. Does anyone know if the fix will be a software fix, or a hardware fix? I was also wondering if the beast can play general midi files, when I try to play them, they always use only one instrument. Is there a bank of general midi instruments available somewhere?

Anyway, I highly recommend this instrument, it is absolutely phenomenal!

Rating: 5 out of 5 posted Thursday-Sep-24-1998 at 13:19

DuTchie a hobbyist user from UK writes:

Dont let the scaremongers frighten you off. This synth is awesome. DSP Limitations can be worked around. Especially as u can internall sample AN VL or FSDP sounds into memory. OK, it would be nice to have more AN voices, but hey, for the money this is a great package...

And once the slow SCSI is fixed I'll be totally happy.

Rating: 5 out of 5 posted Friday-Aug-28-1998 at 10:12

Kav! a professional user from The Netherlands writes:

The slow scsi-problem is solved, there's gonna be an update. Th timing problem is also solved. Yamaha really listened to us users. My dealer is getting the updates in a few weeks from now. For all the other problems, it will be solved. But how about the price?? you won't buy a Trinity for that. If you're only looking for a sequence synth. consider the XP-90. The EX-5 is a performance synth. so it's made for stage, not for studio. It will do in the studio, but you'll have many other instruments there. On stage it's really cool, I use it with the Yamaha DX-11 and a Roland RD-600. It's really very versatile, from Classical to Gabber. If you don't like the piano, sample a piano yourself, or buy a piano-sample-cd. You can get all the sounds that you want. GRTZ

Rating: 5 out of 5 posted Thursday-Aug-27-1998 at 10:18

mike a professional user from Canada writes:

I love this unit. If you have timing problems, don't worry...so did I. You have to disable the internal sequencer when working with computer. Simple set midi clock to external. Solves all timing problems.

Rating: 5 out of 5 posted Thursday-Aug-06-1998 at 00:20

Dazz a part time user from NZ writes:

Only reason this machine only gets a 4 instwead of a five is because of the few probs with the operating sys. Have spent six days with it and it got better. Sound is always personal so I won't say it's better or worse...etc but it is VERY playable and once you start using the performance features then the sound takes off! I found a number of sounds that I could take straight away onto the stage. Heaps of editing possibilities cept for the VL voices( which sound fab). Only thing that annoyed me was the DSP Full message!!

Rating: 4 out of 5 posted Thursday-Aug-06-1998 at 00:20

Mike Cover a professional user from U.S.A. writes:

"NOTHIN BUT NET"!! Yep, if you are into the complete gambit of jazz, fusion, new age and experimental...nothing beats the the capabilities of the EX-5...now or in the forseeable future. I have used it alone, and with my EPS 16+ and two rack-mounted M3R's. Buy one if you you can...they are very scarce. Also the problems with this initial version 1.0, will definately be addressed by Yamaha before too long.

Rating: 5 out of 5 posted Thursday-Aug-06-1998 at 00:20

Mike Cover a part time user from Chicago writes:

Be still my beating heart...even as a midi guitar player, I can forsee a fabulous future in store...and speaking of "stores", I head back to Guitar Center today to upgrade from the module to the full keyboard...I want all this groovy stuff right in front of me. The keyboard and synth sounds are fantastic...havn't tried the other stuff yet, as I want to return this module in "unmolested" condition!

Rating: 5 out of 5 posted Thursday-Aug-06-1998 at 00:20

johan hagglund a professional user from Sweden writes:

IT´s a killermachine !!! if you want a pro sampler and only that chose k2000 or somthing with lower price but if you are looking for a heavy tool and a monster tone generator for the studio EX5 is the coice ... 5/5

Rating: 5 out of 5 posted Thursday-Aug-06-1998 at 00:20

Marty a professional user from Washington state/USA writes:

Great Board.You will like it!

Rating: 5 out of 5 posted Thursday-Aug-06-1998 at 00:20

Dave Smith a professional user from UK writes:

The timing on the EX5 is absolutely appaulling - the worst I've heard ever. The sounds are nothing short of superb, but in multi mode the timing is just terrible. I can't believe it. Sadly this is going back to the store...... Dave (very unhappy)

Rating: 2 out of 5 posted Thursday-Aug-06-1998 at 00:20

Gary a professional user from USA writes:

Best synth on the planet!

Rating: 5 out of 5 posted Thursday-Aug-06-1998 at 00:19

Steve a professional user from USA writes:

I'd give it a 5 of 5 except that the EX5 SCSI is terribly slow. My timing shows 6:45 to load a 10MB sample. Thats over 40 minutes to load the whole memory!!! Another problem I found is that when sequencing many tracks, a 4 voice pad caused the timing to go off a bit. Other than these two problems, the EX5 is the best yet! Visit my new EX5 website at: www.wbmedia.com/ex5

Rating: 4 out of 5 posted Thursday-Aug-06-1998 at 00:19

Michael a professional user from U.S, writes:

Fantastic!! It does not get alot better than this.

Rating: 4 out of 5 posted Thursday-Aug-06-1998 at 00:19

nhil a part time user from NYC, USA writes:

OK, OK, so I gave it a 5/5...I've seen 'em all, and even though I couldn't afford it, I b-lined it to the cashier to get my hands on this machine. I haven't had any trouble with the sequencer. I find that I get lost in the sound. I still need to learn a bit more about the EX5, but I'm confident that it's possible to get about any sound out of this machine. Completely impressed...

Rating: 5 out of 5 posted Thursday-Aug-06-1998 at 00:19

pete a hobbyist user from canada writes:

I must admit that IAM not a Yamaha fan. But today I went to a music store and tried this beast and I couden't believe how Yamaha had been able to make such a powerful synth at only $3,125 Canadian dls . I was a little bit disappointed with some of the factory sound. But let me tell you that after twitling and resample some of the patches it is incredible what you can do . The sampler is very user friendly. To bad I just bought a Trinity 4 months ago. I wonder what Korg, Roland, kurzweil are doing to maintain their market share. Last time that YAMAHA made a revolutionary keyboard ,the DX7 now they did it again with the EX5

Rating: 5 out of 5 posted Thursday-Aug-06-1998 at 00:19

Rob Ainscough a hobbyist user from USA writes:

A professional musician -- isn't that a contradiction of terms, open your mind. Anyway, the EX5 is far better than my old Korg, AN1X, and Roland. For a list of $2749 and a go home price of less than $2000 you can't beat the quality of sound, options, and it is a sampler too. The SCSI and memory options are big plus and the quality of sound is what really makes this a superior unit, if you don't like the sounds you can always get a better sample and make the sound suit your needs. I don't know who Korg Boy is, but he is definitely a boy and needs to figure out how to read the manual (which is also very good) to make the EX5 sound the way you want it to sound. No problems with sequencer nor drop outs as reported by Tj Marbois -- perhaps a flawed unit??

Rating: 5 out of 5 posted Thursday-Aug-06-1998 at 00:19

Tj Marbois a professional user from USDA writes:

Ive had my EX5 for a week now...and have had a little time to get into it... Overall I am impressed with its capabilities, though there are a few hitches here and there: Pattern Sequencer - cuts out long notes (ie. pad sounds) when switching tracks to do muting and/or playeffects (real time quantizing)... Pattern Sequencer2 - changing patterns while playing is a problem because the sequencer changes every bar instead of at the END of the currently playing pattern....so you have to wait till the last bar THEN change the pattern or else the next pattern may come in at the wrong time...there seems to be no adjustment for this feature... Both of these problems may be easily fixed by an OS rev....but who knows if they will do this...the cut off notes in the pattern sequencer could easily be the CPU not having enough juice to keep playing while you switch tracks...so this could be a permanent flaw...:( Also, I could have a bunk machine....this is all yet to be confirmed due to a lack of reply from Yamaha...The tech support guy I got at Yamaha seemed to have NO information for me at all... As for the GOOD stuff... The REVERBs are amazing...and the AWM sounds are really good... some of the AWM sounds rival the AN in warmth and fatness... The operating system is very very easy to use... as is the Pattern Sequencer (I had it working in 5 minutes)... Its too bad that it cuts out notes while playing otherwise this sequencer would be the ULTIMATE performance tool (it seems that it was designed to be a great performance tool, I really hope they fix it.) Ill be putting up a web-site soon : For the "Real World review of the EX5" But Im waiting to compile more accurate info...and I havent used all the features yet...(sampling, hooked up to external sequencer, etc...)

Tj Marbois

Rating: 4 out of 5 posted Thursday-Aug-06-1998 at 00:19

Timothy Lukian a part time user from Toronto, Canada writes:

I checked it out for under an hour today, but am all but sold on this beautiful beast thus far. How could anyone be mad enough to expand on the AN1-X's arpeggiator??? They have, and essentially delimited the usability of that glorious tool. Wonderful! The synthesis, upon quick inspection seems to be everything they claim it's supposed to be, the only complaint being that the VL modelling can be a tad thin in parts. Having never before tweaked a VL synth, it could simply be my lack of prowess. In all other respects, however, it's vvvvvunnnnnderful! I wasn't able to get specs on the sampler, but aparrently it rocks. It's expandable to 64mb, at any rate. If you have the same control over your samples as you do with something like the Kurzweil K2000 or 2500, then this thing will be the juggernaut that buries that whole particular series unless Kurz wakes up. I really do need to have a closer look at this thing, as it seems too good to possibly be true, but I break into a cold sweat in anticipation of the one board that could potentially end my trepidation about buying a new workstation. The score below is a reflection of one afternoon's sheer bliss. I will amend (or simply append) later.

Rating: 5 out of 5 posted Thursday-Aug-06-1998 at 00:19

Janus a professional user from USA writes:

Great sounds: Analog (FAT!), VA realistic instruments, cool drums(big booms), FDSP what can I say, it has a lot of ingenuity, Control capabilities: Excellent Ribbon, 2 Mod wheels!!, 2 scene controls for enhancing sound "swirl," great arpeggiators, WIND controller, OVERALL a peek at the next generation of new powered synthesizers to come, THE NEXT DX7??? (What's next: FX,GX,HX powered synths??)

Rating: 5 out of 5 posted Thursday-Aug-06-1998 at 00:19

mike a professional user from Canada writes:

I've used the Ex-5 extensively and it has never had timing problems. Sounds to me like these people are using Cubase VST on a PC or perhaps even incorrectly syncing up the EX5 to a sequencer.

Rating: 5 out of 5 posted Thursday-Aug-06-1998 at 00:19

Andy a hobbyist user from Holland writes:

Jim and Scott are a pair of sad asses - EX5 is not in no determined way, a SY99. I sold my SY99 1.5 years ago, because you needed to be an anorak to program it, and also it only goes upto 4 megs of sample memory, which is mega bucks per 512k unit, cos its proprietory. Getting the full 4 megs was the cost of a decent synth. Does a SY99 do VL - NO !! Does a SY99 do analogue modelling - NO !! Does a SY99 do FDSP - NO !! Does a SY99 do 4 inserts at once - NO !! Does a SY99 have a lot of cheap sample capacity -NO !! APPEG - NO, Cool Master functions - NO, Dig outs - NO, SCSI -NO NO NO NO NO NO. Scott says he is a pro, I doubt this statement, when he appears no know so little about synth architecture and technology. SY99 is an FM with wave playback synth, and RCM modulation of FM via wave source. The EX5 is in no way FM, and I tell you all not to listen to these FM anoraks or you could regret it. The SY99 is still cool, if you want advanced FM features. But why in hell are Yamaha not making an FM synth these days (with the exception of the new DX7 PC card). Overall 4 out of 5, cos the poly is limited with advanced sound techniques.

Rating: 4 out of 5 posted Thursday-Aug-06-1998 at 00:19

Thomas L. a part time user from USA writes:

This keyboard is outstanding both as a controller and a workstation. I was going to buy the EX-5R but when I saw the controller features, I knew it was time to upgrade. Between the pitch wheel, 2 mod controllers and the ribbon controller, it's amazing what kind of control you can get. The keys are unweighted which I needed for speed playing, and have a nice touch. EX-5 emulates older synths flawlessly and produces very realistic piano, traditional organ and unbelievable brass sounds. The effects are cool except for the distortion. I have yet to find a keyboard which can emulate a real guitar on a preset. The other lead sounds make up for it though. Yamaha should hire Greg Howe or A. Holdsworth to show them how distortion is supposed to sound. The best feature is the new stuff you can do with real time control, the sampler and the arpeggiator. The Yamaha inspires you to play and create because it's so easy to use. I didn't even look at the manual and I was rockin' in 10 minutes. Bottom line: Outstanding. I don't think anything else out there can touch this keyboard right now... especially at it's price. Check it out.

Rating: 5 out of 5 posted Thursday-Aug-06-1998 at 00:19

new dawn rising a hobbyist user from UNITED STATES OF CHAOS! writes:

Hello fellow YAHMAHA EX- 5 USERS... I have been searching for 2 things : 1.) a totally incredible synth/workstation 2.) a very high quality and flexible sampler When the EX 5 SERIES hit the market I was stunned!!!!!! I actually have not purchased one yet but the E X 5 seems to be at the top of my wish list....I have read more than a few reviews about this synth and for the most part they are good...the only other synth even close to the E X5 in my opinion is the KURZWEIL series, but of course, you also have to PAY$$$$ for them, too. Many of the musical projects I enjoy listening to /creating are in the heavy elektronique/ experimental vein...SOME bands include: :WUMPSCUT:, NUMB, CUBANATE, C TEC,ETC... Recently, I have had the opportunity to converse w/ someone in the band NUMB..who uses, KURWEIL and KORG for live gigs... He explained to me that the FAMILAR STORY I KEEP HEARING FROM ALL Kurzweil users, "THEY KICK ASS, BUT THEY ARE A PAIN IN THE ASS TO PROGRAM; DIFFICULT TO USE FOR COMPLEX SEQS, ETC... and so too they are very expensive, I am not against Kurweil by any means, but Iam wondering if any one reading may be able to give me advice on the Kurweil VS. the Yahmaha EX 5 Series...and why which one is better for using them to create harsh experimental music which has lots of sequencing changes and heavy sampling usage during live performance.... OTHER WISE...I AM STILL NEW TO THE EX5 SERIES AND AS FAR AS I CAN OBSERVE, THEY ARE INCREDIBLE MACHINES WITH ROOM TO EXPAND.... PLEASE FEEL FREE TO CORRESPOND

Rating: 5 out of 5 posted Thursday-Aug-06-1998 at 00:19

Jared a professional user from USA writes:

Taking into consideration the fact that the attempt to find an end-all synth is futile(even the $6,000 K2500xs would not be the last synth you will ever own), the EX5 is a solid synth with great sounds. The manual, surprisingly enough, is very useful. And, Yamaha has seemed to be truly responsive to user suggestions and complaints(new OS coming soon!). But, I find it odd that a company that makes it's bread and butter from piano sales still puts sucky piano sounds on their boards(see sy77, sy99, etc....).

Rating: 4 out of 5 posted Thursday-Aug-06-1998 at 00:19

ANQ a hobbyist user from Italy writes:

I buy now this new powered keyboard from Yamaha. It's very good for many tips but I find a problem: in performance mode DSP2 is a problem because cause many sound substitutions. For use the best sounds in a song the better way is to record anything separately. For the other tips, I think that it is excellent! Bye

Rating: 5 out of 5 posted Thursday-Aug-06-1998 at 00:19

Thedog a hobbyist user from Florida, USA writes:

Being a TRUE beginner to the synth/sampler scene, I scaped through reviews and opinions on several machines. I made a decision to buy, and then the shop was out of K2000's. One cell-phone call to the wife, and I bring home the EX-5. I have been tinkering (when I have free time) to learn how to layer, filter, sample, loop, sequence, blah, blah.... The EX-5 has made my day, giving me all the functions I need in one box. I don't have to learn how to use two or three different machines to get the sounds I want. The sounds are mean, the sampler easy to use and a blast to work with. And hell, for less than $50, the machine is maxxed out on memory! I am pleased to evolve into eletronic music, and the EX has allowed me.

Rating: 5 out of 5 posted Thursday-Aug-06-1998 at 00:19

Tassilo v.Parseval a professional user from Germany writes:

In my opinion the EX5 is Yahama's attempt to build the ultimate Synth. As a matter of fact it won´t be possible to create a synthie with VL, analogue modelling, ROM-player and sampling option. Such a machine cannot match a studio setup, such as A3000, AN-1X, SY99 and a good tone generator such as the Roland JV-2080. I admit that all this stuff will cost more than one EX5 but you don't have any limitations in using them. I am refering to the fact that using VL or analogue modelling takes away a lot of EX5's performance. Let's regard this example of an ordinary techno song: 1) You need a drum-loop! (Best way is still the sampler) 2) You need to have access to the basic sound parameters such as cutoff, resonance, pitch (of each drum-instrument), attack, decay. 3) One needs a good and powerfull bassline which can be wunderfully generated by a SY99 or the AN1-X (for those who like the tough sounds. 4) A pad sound can be made by the sampler as well. Since the A3000 has got excellent filters a great sweep should be no problem. 5) At least one sequence is obligatory. The AN1-X has enough power for bassline and sequence. So does the SY99. That means that two sequences are easily possibly. 6) Now we must care for a lead sound. Standard leads (e.g. in Eurodance) are found in the JV-2080. More interesting ones can be produced by our A3000. The best sounds (and the most expensive ones, I guess) are done by the Clavia Nord Modular. A bit cheaper is the Access Virus. I'm quite sure that EX5, at least in parts, can generate these sounds at one time. On the other hand you might get problems with the onboard audio outputs of the EX5. The drum sounds should come seperately into the Mixer and then put together in one sub-group. The standard drumkit consists of at least for elements: bassdrum,snaredrum, open and closed hihat, high, low and perhaps mid toms. That makes four mono outputs. Then one bassline, one or two sequences, one pad-sound and one lead make another four outputs (five respectively). In addition there is still the question of using stereo outputs for each sound in order to create a panning delay (very good for the snares) or anything else related with panorama. Anyway, although the EX5 was meant to be as comprehensive as possible (AN,VL,ROM, sampler, complex effect-routings) the EX5-user won't be able to avoid buying additional stuff, especially as the sampler-unit of the EX5 is incomplete. So in my opinion: Leave the EX5 alone and get for about twice as mutch proper single machines.

Rating: 2 out of 5 posted Thursday-Aug-06-1998 at 00:19

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