BAD - Disk Format. this uses a propriatory yamaha disk format that neither windows nor OSX can read. which means that backing up samples & archinving to a computer really is a pain in the arse. The Knobs - yamaha chose some really weak knobs for this machine, they are fragile & dont last very long. after about 3-5 years you'll need to replace them. Wave form readout - this only shows (for some silly reasoning) the top half of a waveform. I dont know why yamaha chose to do it this way, but is anouying as your missing half the infomation. HDD capacity - you can only have upto 8gb of formated disk space on any HDD's installed. & when this is the case, you also have to partition the drive into 8 sections of maximum 1gb. this is anouying heh. which it could see a larger HDD space. Sample loading times - this does take a while. I've clocked a full 131mb of data loading to just under 7 minutes (flat from power up). CD Burning – you can back up to an external CDR, but this takes ages to burn, can be upto 2 hours per disk. 131mb MEMORY – this is the MAX memory available within the machine. For most this will be fine, but some uses (Stoltz live) just wasn’t enough � would love it if you could max it out to 256, or even 512. but you cant. Lame.

GOOD - has 126 notes of polyphony, which is great for massive sample loads. FX - this has 6 FX blocks (as oppossed to 3 on the A3K), with each block having a choice of 96 FX algerithems. the FX are AWSOME! regardless to what some people state, they do sound great, & theres so many of them! some of the algerithems are also dual & even triple stacked version. like distortion>compressor, Dist>comp>delay etc. download the FX list from a PDF & take a look. also the FX can all be routed in various ways, so stacking actual processors is easy & flexible. SCREEN - not a big plus compared to other samplers, but against the A3K its much better & shows alot more infomation at once. FILTERS - this has a whopping 16 filter variations, & they range from smooth low pass to gritty overdriven Hi pass, & some dual combinations. they're great & add loads to teh charecter & sound of a sampler. MIDI - has 2 sets of ins, thrus, & 1 out. 32 parts multitimbral. CONTROL – this is the 1 aspect that this sampler in particular really excels. Pretty much EVERYTHING can be routed to a midi controller of some kind & modulated. A single sample for instance can be mapped to a single key, & then the aftertouch of that key control the samples filter or pitch. Different parameters of a FX blocks can be controlled also, for example the timestretch & pitchshift algerithem, can have the time & pitch assigned to knobs (we do this live for instant sample mangling) SAMPLE ARCHITECURE – unlike most samplers, all the synthesis for the samples is done on an a single sample level. In reality this means that EACH SAMPLE has its own filter, single band of variable EQ, FX routing, 6 controller modulation routings, filer ADSR, amp ADSR, pitch AD, LFO. AMP STRUCTURE – in addition to the sample architecture. Each sample has 2 amplifier routings. Allowing extra flexible mixing opportunities within the actual mix of the sampler. So you can have a sample routed to the main mix, & then into a FX which is assigned to a separate output, allowing you to mute that as & when needed. LOOPING – this has the usual looping configurations expected, but also a mode that allows you to move through a sample back & forth like scratching. So you can grab a sample & jump forwards & backwards, faster or slower with a controller like the pitch wheel (think the effect radiohead use on everything in its right place by the korg kaoss pad 1) LOOP REMIX / DEVIDE – these are great tools for mashing up samples & chopping beats etc quickly. IDE – the A4K/A5K can now use standard IDE devices, which is A LOT cheaper & easier to come by than anouying old SCSI drives. You can also replace the front panel floppy drive with a ZIP disk (or other 3.5 inch media drives). SAMPLE FORMATS – the propratory Yamaha format is pants, but this machine can read dam near every other (hardware) sample format ever created. SOUND – this machine sounds very slick. PASS THOUGH SOUND MODE – this allows you to pass whatever signal is present at the AD stage though the sampler & out to the main outs, a sub out, or even both! (or even 2 splits of mono) this allows the machine to route signals through the internal FX to be sampled, & just as cool, sent externally. I have a special FX volume on my machine that loads up 128 program presets of this kind, which I then use as an external FX box in my studio. Allowing me to process stuff sent from my Mackie with upto all 6 of the FX blocks. Makes for a MASSIVELY expressive & flexible signal processor. A great tool.

I think that’s it for now. I’ve used my A5K for about 18 months now, & have 2 in my band (which we have gigged with) on the while it’s a religable machine. The sound is VERY nice. Adds a shine to sounds & is smooth on the ears. But can be pressed HARD when needed, which we defiantly do ;) my fav parts are the controllers & each sampler having its own filters. We map loads of different shit to keys which I play out & then manipulate with midi controllers. Is a REALLY expressive & immediate tool to perform with. We’ve toyed with replacing the 2x A5000s with a laptop of some kind, but so far I’m not convinced that we’d have the same degree of flexibuility & performance from it. Also the A5000s are very stable, they don’t crash very often at all.

All in all, I love my A5000s. it has its faults & a few silly ideas, but then has some AMAZING opportunities afforded by it which I cant resist. & nowadays they’re REALLY cheap.