first off, the sampler is not the a3000 in a box. this is really too bad as the a3000 is a monster. the most noticable change to me is in the filters - you only get low-pass, hi-pass, band-pass and one other which i couldn't decipher from the onscreen info. the still sound great but just not the breadth that the a3000 offers.

on the other hand, all of the a3000's effects seem to have made it into the box. however i didn't immediatly see a way to route the effects in multi-ways as the a3k offers. basically you can "turn-up" the effect for each pad on the box and that's it.

speaking of pads, they are ok. not bad not good. bigger would be better, as would more of them. also the machine appears to really enforce the whole concept of each set of pads having a set purpose. i would have liked a mode where i could have just used all the pads as single-hit drum pads to program a beat with(a la mpc2000, asr-x).

i wasn't able to figure out anything having to do with the recording of songs/patterns but it doesn't look too good on that front. it appears that you just get one long song to work with, no patterns, etc. keep in mind i had no manual to read or much time to look at it - i could be wrong about a lot of this.

the front panel knobs are good(they are "endless" knobs btw). however i was really dissapointed to find that you can not set each knob to control a different function for each pad. if one is set to filter-cutoff then they all are set to filter-cutoff, etc. i love the knobs but it would be great if each could be assigned to a different function.

more random gripes - the pads sensitivity can be set to either on or off. no inbetween.

the lfo wave shapes are very limited, saw up/down, triangle, and square i believe. *NO* random(s/h)!!! this sucks!

the box itself is very nice looking. from the pictures on line i was afraid it might turn out to be really ugly but i was presently surprised.

it also does the whole acid/auto-beat-adjust thing but to be honest i could care less about that and didn't mess with it much.

Thanks to Yamaha for writing an EXCELLENT users manual. Normally manuals suck terribly and this was a refreshing surprise. A sample audio CD and floppy disc accompany the unit and a well written, in depth tutorial takes you through sampling and building a full song (you can listen to the finished track on the cd to see how well you did). Within a few hours you have a finished track (drum n bass!) and are comfortable with all the unit's major functions. Super easy to use and a fun way to learn.

The unit's controls are incredibly straightforward and sampling is a breeze. This is my third sampler (emu e6400, Akai mpc2000) and it is by far the quickest and easiest to use. No getting lost in stupid menus (like my emu e6400). Sound quality is also good.

Here's a rundown of the key features: • forty two tracks. 40 sample tracks and 2 special tracks (audio in and master) • three different sample track types. loop tracks generate automatic continuos loops. composed loop tracks let you build custom loop phrases, free tracks allow you to add fills/anything else • audio in track lets you mix realtime sounds into your songs. you can control the sound of the realtime audio using both the knob functions & effects. • Ribbon Controller can be set to "scratch" out samples or can be set to control level, pitch, or any other parameter • triple block effect system applies up to three effects at any given time. 43 total effects. • scene memory stores up to eight scenes. each scene holds an entire set of knob settings, mute settings, and effects. You can recall scenes instantly during performance, and you can record scene changes directly into your song. • all audio can be digitally re-sampled • 12 assignable control knobs let you control the sound of each track independently in realtime (select from 22 different parameters) • large, 4 color, vacuum flourescent display • interface is really well laid out.

One Complaint so far: Rather than putting in a ZIP drive for storage, Yamaha only include a standard floppy drive. ugh.

More to come as I get a chance to play with the unit.

(My apologies is this post shows up mulitiple times, I had difficulty submitting the form and had to switch browsers...)