Yamaha AW16G

Before using, I spent a few days with the manual and tagged the pages I knew I'd need. Once I did that, it's pretty easy. The first couple times doing something I just referred to the manual but easy after that. As with anything, the more you put into it, the more you get out of it. A rating below 10 here isn't a bad thing. For instance, how many of us guitar players would rate "playing guitar" as "easy"? It's the work, man!

This thing is great. On other systems, when I'd play it back for mixdown, and then the final print, they would sound very different on each device. With the Yamaha, what I mix and monitor is pretty much just what I hear on all the other systems I play the final print on. Of course each system has it's own dynamics, but it's great.

I'm sure like anything else, if you take care of it, it'll take care of you. So far, 6 months, no trouble at all. This is a pretty sophistocated device, so shouldn't be carting it all over hell's half-acre anyway.

I've called them with a couple questions, and they got right back to me. At first I wasn't thrilled with sending my question via e-mail, but glad I did. The response was thorough, answered by question clearly with step-by-step, and I have the print-out for next time.

This thing is great. Great sound, easy to use (with manual). If you take the time to learn it, it'll treat you well. And of course the key is what you put into it. If you're recording crap sounds, and don't take the trouble to work the sound before you record, you'll get perfect replications of crap. A good mic + good monitors + the AW16G = Great recording.

OK,time for a scathing review or at least a dose of my experience with this frustrating black box.Can you get a good sound,that is,decent recordings out of it?Yes,but it may send you around the bend trying to learn how to use it.
Keep in mind I'm no spring chicken and have a fair amount of experience using open reel 4 tracks and obsolete Akai 1212 gizmos.I like knobs and having to work through multiple screens is a pain.
The manual is next to useless-well,that's hyperbole-but not well laid out and just generally not very helpful.Simply put the manual is horribly written and just doesn't explain things in plain English.Yamaha includes a DVD with this thing but its good more for humor rather than any realistic help in getting a handle on the AW16G.

I don't actually own this but am essentially the designated operator.My bandmate in a 4 piece hard rock band picked it up with the idea of making decent recordings at home.We previously recorded a year ago with a Roland gizmo but I wasn't invoved in the operation and results were mixed due as much to dense fellow bandmembers as the machine.My view is that there is a good argument for using a pro studio these days if you want decent product...there are plenty of them and they are hurting for business.

Anyway we use the AW16G for basement recordings.We play a mix of old school high energy rock with some alternative oriented stuff.Originals and covers by MC5,Thunders,Stooges,Small Faces etc.Tube amps like SF Fender Deluxe,Ampeg V4,semi functional Marshall JTM 600 something or other.Mikes are a mixed bag of EV,Shure SM 57 etc.Nothing super expensive.A Mackie for Drum submix(old Slingerland set) and right now little outboard equipment.
We have managed to reach the point where we are getting some decent recordings...definitely better quality than the 4 track cassette stuff my bandmates previously used.On the other hand the obsolete tape based stuff(Tascam 3440 open reel)I have used and left in another city did fine also without the frustration factor.
Still getting a handle on using the effects.The availability of compression is a plus and in very limited use the reverbs are ok.I do like the available 4 band parametric equalization and have gotten a lot of use out of that.Again the learning curve is steep.We've had this a couple of months maybe -it has plenty of useful features but just too frustrating to learn how to use.While the mike preamps aren't real strong I just crank them for vocals and use the gain you can get out of the compressor to help out.

That's hard to say at this point.Since it is a computer they emphasize the importance of proper shutdown procedure.This includes not accidently disconnecting it....which of course in spite of best efforts I accidently did.This thing should be hard wired to the adaptor and the on/off switch is poorly placed.

Right now there is a bug in the machine related to finding songs on the dedicated 2 track mixdown to burn to CD,perhaps because of the accidental shutoff.

There is an official Yamaha AW16G related site and also a Yahoo users group and another discussion board(IIRC http://forum.aw16g.com).The AW16G forum is the best of the lot.There is a simplified manual recording 101 which you can download from these sites....helpful and will get you started but really doesn't begin to get into all the features of the machine.

I'm giving Yamaha a 5 in this catagory mostly because the manual is so pathetic.

I gave to give the AW16G a 5.Boy,it has a lot of potential.Even though there are a lot of tracks (not quite 16,more like eight and 4 stereo pairs),it isn't the ideal for a full band with only 2 XLR inputs but its serviceable for our purposes.
Good sound quality,lots of features,could be much easier to use.
I've been playing music for over 30 years and messing with home recording for about 20 years(open reel) and have some experience recording in pro studios as a player and semipro producer.

Maybe we should have gotten something else or gone to an actual computer.I didn't do the actual purchasing though it seemed like a good idea at the time.The learning process continues and the recordings are getting better but there have been times I've felt the urge to pull a Jeff Beck and toss it out the window.

Now I'm returning to write a new rewiew after some months of using the product (I'm the one who did write the first one). I said it was easy to use, but it's also true you will have to lay down some quality time learning to work with/getting the best out of this unit. But considering all what you've got to play with, I still want to say that it's quite easy to use after all. Another rewiewer noted some difficulties concerning the scene memorie: neither have I come to understand how to use that function that would really save you some time pulling knobs when you return to a song you're working with.

Onboard effects: High quality effects I would say! Buying a lexicon mpx200 effects unit, it all ended up with me selling the mpx200! I would only use the better sounding onboard effects after all. I'm satisfied also with the combination of (ADK GT2) vocals with the onboard reverb, (or to be specific - I actually use more or less of the chorus/reverb combination) in a mix I now know how to make it sound nice..

I trust yamaha, and I have had no problem whatsoever.

I like it, and would buy it again!

I've had the unit for about a year and I'll admit it took a abit of fiddling to get used to. But now everything is pretty instinctual. I find my fingers easily hitting the buttons I need without really thinking. I love the jog wheel. It allows extreme precision when cleaning up tracks. Something that just was not possible with tape recorders. The Manual, like many manuals, leaves room for improvement but all in all is very helpful. If you saw mine you'd know by the ruffled page edges that it's been used quite a bit, although I really don't know where it is right now. I viewed the CD once but never used it.

I use a Marshall 2003 condensor mic through the onboard mic pre's (not very good) for vocals. I am abolutely getting a high-end tube mic pre to hopefully get rid of the sharp digital edge on vocals. This is something that I think is inherent in any digital recording system. Electric guitars with distortion go direct through an ART guitar processor. It really has a great sound that can't be distinguished from an amped guitar. For clean guitars, however, I use strictly Fender tube amps. Bass goes direct. Drums are from a very inexpensive ($100) ZOOM drum machine that will soon be upgraded.
I like the onboard effects, although the reverbs need to be coaxed a little to get a natural sound. I especially like the delays and the preprogramed compressor patches for mixdowns. They save me some time in trying to dial in my own. They really pull all the tracks together (except the vocals) for a really professional sounding master. I love having the capability of having individual compressor settings for each channel including the inputs! It's like having 10 compressors! But again the vocals just don't seem to sit right. I've tried all different mic'ing techniques by varying distances to the mouth, EQ, lots of different compression on both the recorded and playback sound, but it always comes out either hard and up front or week and lost. I'm really hoping a good mic pre, like an Avalon, will soften and warm it up.

I haven't had a problem yet with this machine and have actually convinced my band that we can record our new demo with it instead of spending money in a studio. I'm aslo planning on taking it to one of our gigs and plugging it into the board to see what happens.

Neverhad to deal with customer support.

I've been a guitarist for about 35 years and have been in bands playing mostly covers for about 20 years. I also own and set up all of my bands PA gear, currently a tri-amped 3500 watt system. My original music style is between blues, modern rock, jazz and Seattle with lots of guitars and prominent drums.
I really like this machine and believe that although I've become very good at using it I also know that there is atill a great deal about its features and capabilities that I do not know, such as scene operation for instance. That is one area the manual really let me down. Getting the machine to automatically reset volume and effects on specific tracks at predesignated points within a song would be a dream.
All in all I would recommend this machine to anyone. Then again I didn't really compare it with anything else, first hand anyway, with but I trusted the Yamaha brand as I used to have a cassette multi-track recorder the I parted with only due to financial reasons. I think this is a great machine that allows me to quickly get my ideas down. In fact, just last night I recorded, in about an hour, all the way to mixdown, a 6-track original (3 guitars, 2 drum, 1 bass) that I know I would have lost if I didn't record it. My wife came in to use the PC (the recorder is in the computer room) as I was mixing it down and said "That's you? I thought that was the radio". Not bad - but remember, no vocals.

I feel this unit has a considerable learning curve. Mostly because it is rich with features. It's obvious that Yamaha went to great lengths to make it easy and user friendly. The truth of the matter is, you have to get really familiar with the manual and DVD. I find at this point I still have to use it for reference. I'm sure over time I'll get familiar enough to put away the manual.

I've seen numerous aw16g's on ebay for sale. It's possible that many musicians buy it (as well as other recorders) and find out that it takes time, work and discipline to get the full benefit of this machine. They find out it's work! I have to be the song writer, engineer, musician, producer, singer, etc. But I also get full control over the process, sound and mix.

The controls are layed out nicely and are intuitive. Display fairly easy to read.

The controls

Use SM57, AKG c1000s, fender guitars and amps, Ibanez AS180 semi-hollow body.Yamaha rev100 processor. Can use my outboard effects as well as built in. Really quiet and clean compared to cassette. Will generate noise on some effects if not setup right, same with trim inputs. I'm working on my own CD, I feel it will be great quality for a home project. Has built-in preamps. I'm planning to use as much miked analog sounds as possible in hopes to get warm tones. I'd imagine your engineering and mixing skills has a lot to do with the outcome.

I have faith in Yamaha products, they are known for reliability.
Seems pretty solid and I favor the looks of it over the Korgs.

Never had to use them. Pretty good website. By the way, I wish
Harmony-Central would open a digital recording user review section.
Digital work stations are not "effects" or "synths". I was hard pressed to find any reviews on recorders anywhere on the www when I was shopping.

I'm recording electric/acoustic guitars, bass, drum machines, live drums, dobro, bass, vocal and piano. Plenty of rear inputs. Could have gotten Pro tools firewire for the same money but I'm sick of fighting computers and software, plus I'd have to invest in a Mac for stability. This machine is great for portability and mobility.I figure it suits my individual needs. For less than $2000 bucks you can have this DAW, a couple of good mikes and studio monitors. Unheard of a few years ago. Oh yeah, You get 8 tracks, plus 8 more tracks that are "paired" which are really like 4 stereo tracks, which can be cool under certain circumstances but I'd rather 16 individual tracks.The good news is in this unit you get, preamps, effect processors, amp sims, a mixer, a sampler, a patch bay, a CD writer, pro templets, 20 gig hard-disk which is plenty, a midi interface that can be used with cube,protools, etc; all for about a grand. But as with any feature rich gear, expect work, effort and study to get this thing to work for you. I will post again after a few months of useage.

Before buying this unit, I had never before worked with audio, my only expirience in some sort of recording came from the use of my synth workstation - Yamaha SY85. So before I could do anything I had to carefully read through the whole of the extensive manual (in the "wrong" language to, I'm from sweden and the manual was as usual written in english)to get the basic ideas about the whole thing. Well, and I managed to do that - because the manual is a nice piece of work! Easy to understand and follow. In use: Close to a 10, but sometimes it will ask you one or two "questions" too much before it will actually do what you have asked for.. But anyway, quite easy to use even for a beginner like myself. A lot of buttons dedicated for a specific purpose, that's good.

I'm using the aw16g to record vocals as well as other instruments through my ADK GT2 valve-microphone. I quess the preamp's are working well enough compared to other similar equipment (fostex, roland, korg..), but I`m still considering getting myself a dedicated unit to do this, I think that could improve the sound a bit. I'm also considering buying myself some outboard effect (tc 300M, lexicon mpx200?), I'm not quite happy with the reverb. Ok, it sounds clear alright and you have a lot of possibilities to tweak in your own settings, but the feeling I get is this: the nice, warm vocalsound that goes in to this unit from my valve-microphone is never really becoming "married" with the somewhat cold yamaha-style reverb. It feels like the reverb only get "attached" to the signal, maybe it's to crystal clear? Would the tc or lexicon do a better job? Well, I don't know yet! but maybe so.. Other effects: Well, I'm not that impressed, what I said about the reverb is also true concerning things like delay's and chorus (especially when it comes to vocals, I don't hear the problem as much when it's an instrumentsignal/track). But on the other hand I can't compare it to other units.. I really like the equalizing possibilities, now I can get that fat basssound I have always wanted. (I do some reggae stuff, and the fingered bass-sound on my synth is not very helpful in this effort..) For the sound quality I will give it a nine. The unit sounds very good after all, even if some of the effects maybe not wasn't exactly in my personal taste.

I have own this unit for about two months. I really can't say anything about reliability, but it's working nice this far.

I haven't needed any support yet.

If lost or stolen, oh, I would certainly buy another one if I had the money. It's perfect for what I do, some pop/reggae/folk home recordings. And I have full use for the built in sampler too, very convenient. What I miss a bit is a built in drummachine, like Zoom stuff. Sometimes I don't feel like sampling or recording (audio) all the drums.