Yamaha AW16G

It's quite easy to get a decent sound out of it. The more complex operations will take some more time to master. The manual is not a big help to get you started, but once you played a bit with the machine and get to know its philosophy it is fine. Make sure to download and follow the instructions of recording 101, it'll save a lot of time getting to know the machine.

The sound quality is great. Make sure to use external preamps. The internal preamps are clearly the weakest link - they are noisy. Still I was able to get a clean sound without preamps using a large diaphragm condensator mic. An external preamp is the way to go if you don't succeed to do that. Once you put a clean signal into the "G" it will handle it brilliantly. The effects are better than I expected. It will take some time to get to know how it works and how the result is, but this learning curve is fun.

It always works. At home or on the road, it works just fine. The metal casing is clearly overdimensioned, which I need because I can be clumsy at times. I would definitely use it for gigging. One tip on advice... don't record a complete gig as ONE song. Break it into segments of about half an hour or so, it'll make the editing a lot easier.

Contacted them once about optimizing (getting rid of the undo info that should save disc space). Very friendly and correct, but they could not help. There are couple of user support fora: http://www.aw16g.com and http://forum.dijonstock.com. The latter is a replacement for the first, which is down every now and then. A lot of valuable info over there, expertise by the users.

I'm a one man band, a hobbyist. I play several instruments on a basic level. The machine suits me well, it has everything I need on board. It was my first multitracker so I had to get to know a lot about recording, it was all new to me. So far I made a couple of very nice recordings.

Once you decipher the fairly cryptic button categories and their organizational/navigational logic: not bad. Until then, pretty tough. World's most disorganized and non-helpful manual. Sorting things out the old fashioned way ("What does this button do?") is the best tutorial.

Totally great with condenser mics or with external preamps. Do NOT expect the pres to power a dynamic mic. You will have an unacceptable noise floor. All the plug-ins sound amazing and the EQ is particularly non-distorting and transparent. The compressor is great and very easy to work with. The manual's description of these features is confusing, at best.

This is the gig recorder, so - yes.

I've talked the Yamaha guys numerous times and they really know this box. They will also admit that the manual could be a little less "Japanified".

This machine is not easy. Hard disk recording is a mechanically complicated process. If you can 't make it work, BLAME IT ON YOURSELF and give up any fantasies of recording music. If you need some recording done, hire an experienced professional. Do not endlessly annoy your dealer or tech support because you have no ability in this area. Being able to plunk down the dough is no guarantee that you will suddenly become not-a-moron.

As standalone units go, this is quite simple to use and obtain excellent results.

You got to read the manual! Unlike driving, where you could hop into a BWM from a Pinto & get comfortable with it in no time; the AW16G is actually more like flying an Airbus Jet vs going into a Boeing, although the flying concept is the same but there are some re-learnings about its instrumentation, features, etc. In general the controls are fairly straight forward once you've read the manual.

Many had complained about its "cheap preamp" but there is actually two gain settings you could change during recording: one being the control knob on board, and the other is controlled through the LCD/Data Dial. At times I prefer using external tube preamps to add warmth, mostly AKG C414s, Oktavas, but I never had to use preamps to compensate low gains. I love the preset libraries, where you could apply professionally tuned EQ & Dynamics for vocals, strings, & drums on each channel, and tweak them to create fairly decent tunes. Lastly, the downmix volume tends to be a bit lower than the actual level displayed on the VU.

The device is very sensitive to group-loop problem. Most of the time while setting up for live recording I was challenged by resolving the ground loop buzz everytime using the AW16G. The buzz dirt does not splash into the tracks (unless you are using an external pre-amp) but it is quite bothersome. You need to save your song before turning off the power - otherwise you may lose it. One time during live recording it froze on me... I had to recycle power to continue.

I work with mostly gospel music for over 20 years and I found this instrument highly useful in home studio or recording live. I own the following sound modules (or multi-timbral keyboards): Proteus XR/ Motif Rack ES / QY700 / Kurtzweil PC88 / Roland V-Drums / Yamaha TX81Z / Korg M1

My wish list for AW16G:
(1) More XLR inputs with Phantom Power.
(2) Make CD-R drive write faster than 8x.
(3) Grounded power supply w/ ground lift switch.
(4) No data interface such as USB, CF, SDIO, your only choices are exporting to CD-RW, or download via optical out, two tracks at a time.
(5) Touch screen would be nice.
(6) More optical / SPDIF port for input. Recording through its optical port is quite cumbersome.

While the unit itself is very straightforward, the manual tells you absolutely nothing of value and presumes we're all qualified sound engineers. I was given about six language versions and i reckon I would have been able to understand the Japanese one as easy as the english!! I have little or no previous recording experience having left that to the qualified ones in professional studios. After a few weeks now though I can achieve as good sound quality as the studios our band used in the 90's (which cost about $45 per hour!. I bought the AW16G because I heard Damien Rice's album '0' which he recorded on a similar 16 track DAW. Pick up a copy and see how good it can sound.

As others have said the pre-amps are poor. For the first while I kept getting 'pops' in the recording from treble overload and had to pad the input to cut it out making the recorded volume low but using the excellent compressor for lift.

I use Jack & Danny guitars and basses(excellent quality for ridiculously low prices), Fender Tele and Precision bass. I direct inject the bass and use a small behringer pre-amp for guitars which works fine. I also have a Takamine acoustic which sounds great and a Sonor Kit. The 8 simultaneous tracks is ideal for miking the kit and mixes to almost commercial quality.

For Vocals I use Shure SM58 and 57 mics which take a lot of mastering to get a decent sound.Beware though of headphone mixes which give a false levels of reverb. I find that the car stereo is the most accurate.

No problems with the AW16G but take care to save regularly to stop accidental loss of data.

No need for CS as yet. WWW.Yamaha.com was far more informative than the useless manual and i also recommend downloading the recording PDF file from Yamaha.

I'm a huge fan of Teenage Fanclub/Byrds/Buffalo Springfield and the AW16G is ideal for those styles of guitar-based music. I haven't used it for keyboard/electronic music so I can't say what it's like.

The AW16G offers great value for money with so much packed into this small, sturdy little box. Previous to this I used PC based recording progs which sounded flat but were a little easier.Those who have listened to rough mixes of our recordings have remarked on the studio-like quality and depth of sound. Its as simple to begin using as a guitar amp and tape deck which I'm sure most of us started on!Every day that i use it I learn something new to improve the sound.

Overall I think its an excellent workstation and would recommend anyone to get one. In the right hands I reckon that it can sound just as good as the 'professional' recording studios.

One more thing, for those who are complete beginners, do a search for 'Studio Buddy'. This is a great beginners guide for recording and gives tips on how to record every instrument or check oput www.homerecording.com.

Never used any recording equipment before, but with time and patience I have learned to make some pretty good recordings. We bought this to do "demo" recordings for our band, which didn't take long to accomplish. We feel the quality is great and the more time I spend with the "G" the better I get at mixing down the recordings. Good quality mikes and getting everyone set up properly is key, too.

full band, keyboard, bass, drums, guitar, all miked. 4 vocalists
We pre-amp with our powered fender mixer that we use when we perform live. It was made for studio use and works well with the G. We don't tend to use too many effects yet, but as we work on our cd of original music we may experiment more. Right now we have been basically working for a realistic sound to show club owners, etc...what we sound like in person.

Not one problem that wasn't user based......we are using it on a gig this weekend, no worries

no need so far

We play country and classic rock with some blues and even a few bluegrass from time to time. We love the "G"! Some of us have played for 20 plus years and some for less. We all have tons of gear and sound equipment and if I listed it, it would be wrong as of tomorrow, one of us is always buying a new instrument. Would want the same machine if it was lost. I love the quality and features, I hate that I am slow to try all the great tricks it can do! Yes I compared to all equipment in the same price range, the "G" seemed by far to have the best features for the money, and reviews were great, along with a great forum to get help and learn from...(sadly gone now) I think it has helped us a lot, even tho' playing live is our main focus, we spend lots of time in our studio with the "G" in the winter months. We love the sound we get on the cds and haven't had a bit of problem with it.

I've had this machine for almost two years now so for me the learning curve is almost gone. I still need to learn more about scene operations (the manual is very poor in this area) but as far as getting great sounding recordings in and out are concerned, it's just a standard process that's learned through repetition, barring, of course the experience and artisic elements required for mixing and mastering.

I've been recording for about 20 years and the quality that this machine can produce is so close to that of store-bought CD's only sound engineers and musician's can tell the difference. And as for untrained people, they can't tell at all. My friend Anthony, the consumate, untrained musical know-it-all that will find fault with everything (we all know at least one person like this, don't we?) was unable to tell that a recording I had him listen to was done in my basement. I told him I bought it at a store and he believed me without flinching. Of course, if you're not very experienced in recording then you will obviously be limited as to what you can produce on any format, but having said that, great recording technique and experience can go a very long way with this machine.

No problems except you must secure the power cord to the anchor on the back of the machine or the slightest jog will disconnect it, making the machine "mysteriously" reboot for no apparent reason.
That'll kill your afternoon.

Never needed it

It's tough to learn for a novice but once you do learn it, the possiblities are really awesome.
If it were stolen I would buy another.
What I wish it had was the ability to separate the paired stereo tracks. But, again, for the money I can deal with this limitation.
Needs better preamps.

Hmm...after reading a couple of the reviews already posted here, it seems that a few people think this unit is difficult to use...and (in some ways) it can take a little getting used to, but nothing more difficult than that. Don't expect this to be like a software based point-and-click DAW and you'll be fine. Maybe I have an advantage as I've been recording my own music since I was 14 (I'm now 32), but it is possible for you to get your head around the AW quite quickly if you've had any experience. The manual is okay (the support documents at http://www.yamaha.com will help ANYONE get started quickly and simply), but may seem a little complex to the novice user (especially those who are a little lazy and don't want to learn anything new for the fear that (in the words of Homer Simpson) "every time they learn something new, it pushes some old stuff out their brain". Like most things in life, the effort YOU put into it goes towards the results YOU get out of it!

The quality of this machine is fantastic! Okay, it's not 24bit/96k (or 192!), but you have to remember the price point on this product, and for that, it really is good value for money, especially for those who know how to set it up and get good results going to the drive before you even start thinking about mixing. The mic inputs could be better, but with the addition of an external mic pre or channel strip, this can be fixed (and as a work around, you can always use insert effects as you track to try and warm up the sound a little). The internal effects are okay, but I feel they are a little on the safe side when put next to software based plugins or a dedicated multi effects units (a great unit to compliment this machine would be something like a Boss VF-1, which would add some of the more extreme effects the Yamaha seems to lack).

I've not had a problem with it so far, it's OS (verion 1.03) seems to work fine and hasn't let me down yet!

I do quite a lot of remixes as well as my own original tracks and have to say I don't find this machine gets in the way of the production process. I've used quite a lot of DAW's (both hardware and software based) and I'm finding this unit very productive once you discovered where all of the functions are located in the various menu screens. I know a lot of people who are looking to Roland/Boss as the top producer of this kind of product at the moment (and the VS-series are excellent units), but after checking the AW16G side by side with a Boss BR-1180/1600 and one of the new Fostex VF'EX' series, I thought the Yamaha to be the better product all-round, much more solid (unlike the plastic feel of the Boss and the naff 'toy-town' feel of the Fostex). The built-in sampler, larger screen and panel layout of the Yamaha really won me over. Okay, the effects are maybe not as good as the Boss, but with a little imagination they can still be programmed to get some great results. For the money (#699 UK Pounds at the time I wrote this review), it's amazing value for money compared to other units (especially the Fostex, which I didn't feel was good value at all), where you'd pay the price of the AW16G just for the machine and then have to pay out extra cash to add the optional CD-RW burner! It would have been nice to have been able to split the fixed stereo tracks into mono, but then I guess Yamaha have to keep some features to tempt people into buying the AW2816, don't they?!? All in all, this is a great buy and I would recomend it (so long as you're not expecting it to do all the hard work for you...if you are then I'm sure you'll soon be whinging that you've been conned and are going to throw it out of the nearest window!). I look forward to seeing what Yamaha will release in the future when the AW line gets a revamp!

If you are a trained sound engineer, probably pretty easy to use. If you're Joe Blow guitar hobbyist, forget it. It is so convoluted and painstaking and just plain friggin' complicated, you'd be better off with PC based recording. I can't find a book written for common Earthlings that walks you through a simple, typical setup procedure.

I think it is probably capable of making some very good recordings, if you can ever figure out how to set up the seeminly countless number of editing screens.

It has never failed to fire up and confuse the hell out of me, very reliable.

I will be lucky to get rid of this and get some of my money back so I can get something "normal" people can use. There is no basic walk through for a standard session of something basic like a guitar track.

It is not anything like user friendly as Yamaha or the sellers would have you believe, if you're a newby to digital hdd recording, stay clear until you know what you're getting into, I wished I had.

I must be thick, I have been using a Fostex DMT8 for the last 7 years and then to "upgrade" to this ! If this is easy to use then I hope I never find a difficult one. Every action you take you have to make a choice in a pop up box and then confirm if you want to make that choice. The manual is crap, I can't figure out how I can load song data from a dat machine, it sort of half tells you, it tells you how to record samples and quick clips, but doesn't tell what you can do with it after. I'm used to flicking a switch turning a knob and recording. This is like everything else these days, overcomplicated ! I wish I had listened to my gut instinct and bought the Fostex 16 track instead, and saved myself money !

I don't think the sound is that good

have only had it 4 days, depends whether I chuck it out the window or not.

I think I'll carry on recording with my knackered Fostex and then just transfer it onto this Yamaha for final mix. Even that is a pain as on the Foatex there is a phono out for every channel which is 8 and on the Yamaha there are only 6 jack sockets and then 2 xlr so I have to codge up 2 more leads, why can't they put 2 more jack sockets as well as the xlrs ?
A right Load of crap and like the other guy said you haven't got 16 channels you've got only 12! BEEN CONNED haven't we

if you've got any recording/engineering experience at all then this things is really a piece of piss....sure the manuals a bit convoluted but thats ok..there are no mysteries in application.editing a doddle...standard OS..seems fine.editing a doodle....

not absolutely Pro quality,but a bit of judicial tweaking at tracking stage can get damn close...yeah preamps hissy if pushed..prob recommend getting dedicated preamp..altho again it IS possible to get OK vocals/Mic sounds to disk..FX fine, maybe not Lexicon but pretty good...shouldnt stop any work getting done...as with all these machines maxim applies:Garbage In =Garbage OUT..a bit of patience goes a long way...OK it aint fidelity levels of dedicated 20Grand Systems BUT if you consider the Technology you're getting, for the price, compared to 5-10 years back who can Reaaly complain eh?...poss alot of moaners about this rig is user errors i rek..generally using guitars(elec+acoustic/bass)/keyboards(kurzweillk1200/Korg wavestation),vocals and MIDI sequences Yammie RMIX....Never had any probs...results most pleassing...

never freaked out yet tho i aint giiged or recorded outside with it....seems stable..no crashes or issues.......yet..lol

never dealt with them tho ive owned Yammie kit for years...never had to which is a testament to reliabilty of Yammie kit i rek...

seems fine for most styles...wouldnt faze me if i had to produce tracks for Techno freaks or Mongolian Throat singers...and allpoints in between....playng 30 odd years..lotsa kit/instruments...if lost id buy again yeah....love the fact it just works only gripe is preamps could be tad less noisy but at this price and for what you get i aint got any real beefs at all.....fav feature UNDO!...lol...chosen for its integration with Yammie sequencer and portability...considered Roland/Korg/fostex/Zoom etc...this just seemd the canines gametes in comparison....
hmmmmm wish it had more XLR inputs but not a major prob....def helps make music, absolutely...not a hindrance..i repeat if one considers what was available in terms of Bang for Buck 5 or 10 years back can we really complain tooo much??..i think not..its amazing kit for the price..only barriers to quality results are in the users domain not the machine.