Yamaha EMP100

The EMP-100 is easy to use but there are a few gotchas with this unit, the manual is clear and concise and available as a PDF file through the Yamaha Website (I love that resource for their manuals and use it a lot when reviewing their equipment .. very smart move Yamaha dudes/dudesses) ... the downside to using the half rack size box is that everything on the operator edit panel is small and it is difficult to see what parameter you are editing unless you lean in real close to it .. this can become a major problem if you need to tweak a parameter on the fly whilst gigging in dim lighting .. I prefer to be able to operate my equipment confidently in dim conditions ..

This unit is great if you want clean sounding vocs and are looking to create warmth or added dimension to your drum and synth sounds .. the effects are very standard and you are limited to 20 editable preset effects, some are combinations of two effects rolled into one ... what it does it does do well and if you use your ears when editing/tweaking the parameters you won't go far wrong. It does leave you wanting for more effects though ... the real saving grace is that it has a midi-in ... thus you can easily swap patches if you are running a midi loop via midi control change messages ... there are 100 preset banks (most quite nice) and 50 user banks so no problems there at all.

The 1/4 inch input jack is a bit scarey and if not treated gently will give you hell with drop outs and crackling, everything else is sturdy and reliable .. at least on my unit that is ... if you decide to gig with this be well aware that this thing should be velcroed down or bolted in and treated very very gently as far as the audio input cabling is concerned, other than that once your connections are established she is solid and crisp ...

I have no problem with Yamaha's customer support. I have never needed to contact them and love the way they make their manuals available as PDF files via their website.

I do glitch and noise based hardcore fusion and this thing aint cut out for that job, luckily I prefer to process my sounds prior to importing into phrase samplers or output so the lush standard effects are usually all I need from this unit ... it is a very good standard digital effects unit but if you are looking for "special" effects or rock-guitar effects you should be looking elsewhere (it will handle guitar quite nicely so long as you don't want to push it too far and no hall or distortion or amp modelling effects available here) ... I use other effects boxes for different jobs plus effects available via my phrase samplers and PC software .. you can get some unusual sounds from it but I think it is best used to add warmth and dimension to thin sounds ... I won't be getting rid of mine any time soon (have had this for 1 month now) as it comes with a midi-in and can be controlled on the fly via a miditrigger so is pretty handy to have in a midi setup (yes I am into midi equipment) ... at the price they are going for second hand I think it is reasonable value for the price I paid ... would probably need to replace it with something similar if it was stolen and would buy again when I had the money .. if it wasn't for the dicky input connection and the dim lighting problem I would have rated this as an 8 ...

any one can use this product - if you cant - then dont buy a microwave

it loses quality in the low end of the effects making it quite tinny and not the best for bass or vocal applications but - for the price i bought it for - it does a reasonable job to mono sounds that you want to boost up a little - then again a good software program will do heaps better!

hno problems so far - solid unit - dropped - spilt beer on it - sat on it - used wrong power cables ect - never ha d aproblem - very reliable!

yamaha has the customer support of a wet flannel - its wet it smells and all you really want to do is ring its neck and throw it out.

most asian companys are the same tho!

great for simple things - wouldnt use it in the mastering of anything - but i tend to use it more like a cheap vocoder - has an effect that makes your voice split in 3 - to what ever pitch you want.

great for backing vocals - so long as you dont mind not having much bass on the effect :-)

Its pretty easy to get smooth reverb from this little unit. Just make sure the levels fall too low (the reverb will become grainy) or too high (hideous digital distortion)
The editing is pretty easy once you get used to the weird led lights which indicate which setting you're adjusting. Takes a few manual consultations to get the idea.
The manual is O.K. It explains in a simple and direct way how the unit works, and how you can hook it up to differnt musical instruments.
My unit had the cracks at on the output jacks. The stupid jacks are not firmly attached to the case, There is a 4mm gap around them, so they wobble and eventually crack. I fixed mine in 15 minutes with a soldering iron, and I'm pretty bad with my hands! If I gigged it though I would be very careful not to place strain on the back inputs.

I am currently putting some sampled strings through it from a AKAI S2000 sampler. It only has a mono input, but "stereoizes" the sound, and spits out a stereo signal. This is also one of its best features, ironically! You can plug in a microphone (would'nt sing through anything else!) and it makes you sound like you're in a 3 dimensional space.
Its easy to get a realistic sound, particularly the "real" reverb settings, such as "hall". The plate settings are also good, if a little weird (they're supposed to be) The other fx are pretty good too, such as pitchshifter (3 notes) delay (very nice, can tap tempo with a foot pedal- very nice feature!) chorus (a bit digital, but O.K) Flanging (very much like Fine Young Cannibals drums on "She drives me crazy") Very digital sounding, but unique too.
Generally the reverb and delay is exellent. The unit definatly has a "sound", natural, but not as natural or quite as warm as some of the roland and boss units I've heard in the last few years. In the mix though, it sounds great. So I would probably keep it even if I bought a roland reverb/multifx.

O.K exept for bad connector problem at rear. Need to be friendly with soldering iron, or know a good electrical appliance repairer (easy for them, T.V's often have these type of problems)
Obiously being yamaha, the unit does'nt crash. I would be very gentle on a gig with it. It would'nt stand up to years of gigging though, without occasional repair (of a very minor nature though) An alternative would be to get the gaps around the output/input jacks filled with silicone after the resoldering repair to stop wobble/cracks reforming.

Yamaha service sucks. Luckily, and electrical appliance dude should be able to fix the minor problems that this unit can get for a low repair price.

Quality pop with syths, guitars and samples. Acoustic/ electronic mix- seems to cover all bases. Where can I but another one!
I've been playing guitars/keyboards for 9 years
I'd seriously consider buying this little beauty again if some b****d stole it, or it spontaniously self-combusted.
I love the sound, size, appearance (nice finish), features and fx. Quite editable, even in multifx mode.
I think newer roland/boss products are a real alternative. However yamaha has its own sound. I've heard lexicon units sound much better on whole drumtracks. I don't like the whole drum track though this unit. It sounds pretty muddy in the lower frequencies. However, snares and cymbals through it (from seperate outs on a drum machine) sound FANTASTIC! Probably the thing this unit is best on.
Beat the crap out of budget/ other used ear. The alesis midiverb sounded pathetic beside it in the shop. I consider this to be a professional unit.
This is a cool box that sounds great. At a reasonable price, snap it up. However, some of the roland/boss products may be worth a alternate look.
Its got a weird diagram expaining the configuration of the preset multi patches on top of the unit. Useful.

Very easy to get a great sound from this unit. The factory presets sound great right out of the box!

I play this through a Les Paul Standard, and a Seymour duncan Convertible amp. I use the amps channel switching for Clean & Dirty sounds, and the EMP100 does the rest.
The reverbs in particular are amazing in this price range (much better than a POD) the Delay section is also great, very warm + natural for a digital product. Likewise, the Flanger is awesome, you can set it to completely take over the sound like a stompbox! Chorus & Ensemble very lush.
This box is very quiet.

Never had a problem in 3 years!! I have gigged 6 times/month for the past 2 years, this box is starting to look beat, but it has never let me down. I did however recently buy a backup at a local musis store for $129.00, a bargain!

No Problem Ever!

Well, it only does 2 effects at a time, but since they sound so natural, that's plenty. If you're into space sounds, this unit is probably not for you. the difference between Yamaha, and the rest of the Processors on the market is that Yamaha's effects sound more natural, less Processed.

This thing is quite easy to use even without the manual, since there are all the parameters for all effects combinations written on the top panel. Except if you have it in a rack... Editing effects is also easy, although it has only 3 LED screen. Of cource it would be nicer to have a LCD display. The manual is understandable.

I use it with my Mackie CR-1604 and it's just great. Very low noise with all effects. Nice reverbs, delays, chorus, symphonic, 2 pitch shifters, flanger, strange early reverberations and combinations of those effects. Well, it's not a Lexicon, but it beats those budget effect processors like Zoom 1201 (I have one) and it's very programmable. I mostly use delay and sometimes symphonic or reverb. The symphonic effect can make your digital synths very analogue sounding and analogue synths tearing your brain apart.

This is a bit tricky. I bought a used one (for around $200) and it had some troubles with the right channel. I opened it and resoldered the contacts on that jack, but the crackles were still there. So I stuffed a little wooden board between the jack and the steel frame and the channel worked as it should. You might wanna try something less silly, but it worked. I heard form a friend that his EMP100 has the same problem. You see, the mainboard in the box is screwed on the top panel, so the cables naturally pull the jacks down/off the board. But once you fix that, it works great.

It was serviced before my artistic work with wood, but they didn't repair the glitch.

It's a great box for synths and drum machines. It's half rack big, but the previous owner made the rack ears for it. In comparison with Zoom 1201 it has a better sound and less noise. It doesn't have so many effects as the Zoom, but they are very programmable and clean. It has MIDI in, but can receive only program changes (I think). The reverbs and delays are great, but the symphonic effect is fantastic. Try it with some mean basslines, it adds another dimension. There is a bypass button and it has a short delay, but who cares. There are 100 preset and 50 user programs. A very nice machine.

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