Yamaha FX-500

I'd always worked with modern units therefore, it did feel a little hard to use to begin with but soon enough it wasn't a problem at all. The manual is well written and easy to follow.

The reason I purchased this unit was for the verbs, delays and modulation. I use a fender 1X10 combo and a marshall head with 4x10 cab. I have several floor pedals and the FX-500 is last in the chain. Both amps are driven in stereo with this unit and I strongly believe that until you do this it's not being used to it's full potential as the delays and modulation are split signals.
As with all effects I needed to take time to get the sound I was after and the sound that I have is generally along the cocteau twins / slowdive sound where the effect smoothers the picking of the guitar, almost like a synth. This unit does it perfectly however, I needed to give some thought in to how this sound is achieved as I could find it not direct from a preset (there are similar presets but not what I was after). The short verbs are amazing full stop!! The way they wrap around the sound without any harsh sound is exactly what I was after. Running the delay mix and the separate symphony sound creates topping of sound I've always wanted!
I was initially going to buy a separate compressor as I ignorantly thought that it would be rubbish but I was wrong...it's perfect for the sound I'm after..bonus!
I've not used the distortion as I've no need for it however the EQ works wonders to model the sound for the reverb.
The sound quality as far as unwanted noise isn't great and it's not in the same league as the new units around today - but then again you wouldn't expect it to due to it's age. I've recorded with this unit and played with live and to be honest the hums/hiss is not that noticeable so therefore, it passes.

hmm, well... The only let down for this unit is the fact that the jack plug sockets are mounted on the circuit board, why I ask???? doh!!! I'm not sure as to why yamaha decided on this idea because eventually the weight of the leads causes the socket to become detached from the PCB and this led in my bad luck to the unit cutting out. It's an easy fix but annoying!
My only thought on this is that they didn't design it for live use.
On the that matter I would advise that if you buy this unit then invest in a small rack case and shelf because for the sake of ??60 or so it'll be cheaper then taking it to the local electronics expert to fix.
I might get a second one as backup for the price as they're so cheap at the moment.

not had to deal with them.

AS I mentioned the music I play is more to the side of verbed out style so this unit is perfect, however I strongly advise you rack it as soon as and be careful of the jack sockets too.

I tend to use the same setting and use my floor pedals for extra effects so there is no need for me to switch patches however, if you do switch patches the beware of the delay between the switching as this could annoy you during your performance, like I said this unit wasn't designed for live use but more so the studio in my opinion.

easy to use, great stuff, compression is top notch, but distortion is so-so, the modulation effects are good, but i dont use them alot, i just use compressor the eq and distortion, its a 89 version so it has no dials, so it takes ages to set sounds

the sound is good through these old pub speakers i have, and better through my marshall MG reverb combo, as i said the distortion is so-so and the pre set effects are weak, but the parameters for making your own are quite good

well, this was given to me by my uncle, who is a dim-witted chump, he once set fire to my bedroom with a candle, he spent most of the 70s stoned, so iguess if it survived him since 89 and is in perfect working order then it deserves a 10

never dealt with them

its a nice bit of gear, i dont normally go for rack effects, but this one is alright, i just wish it had knobs rather than buttons

Dead easy to get into it - although pushing buttons can be a drag. Setting up & storing personoal progarms takes time to learn & you'll need the manual to sort that part out.
I use it to record guitar & bass both directly from the unit in stereo or into an amp then miked up & even occassional vocals as well as preamp & effects when I mike up my cello.

I love it. The only down side is that MOST of the distortion sounds are HORRID. Loads of really good sounds & presets. Lots of variety & subtlty.
I've set up a doz of my own sounds that I use mostly but go back to tweaking the presets when I want something new or unusual.
The bass presets are excellent.
Soft Focus, when tweaked a little is really out there especially when used with a wah pedal.
Compression, EQ, Delay & Reverb along with phasing, tremelo, sweeping, o'drive etc are all great & easily tweaked.

Haven't had a single prob yet. I've ownwed it since they hit the market & had to do nothing at all to keep it running.

Haven't needed any.

I love it. I use a Dunlop Cry Baby wah & Beringher Blues o'drive pdeal in concert with the unit to get some great guitar sounds.
I have mounted it in a rack & through a patch bay along with other bits & pieces for home HDD recording & use it constantly.
The unit was a gift from my wife so all I know is it cost a lot back then & can be had on eBay for around $100 now.

Looking for the manual?, finally i got it!. Look at www.usersmanualguide.com , go to yamaha products, dsp, and you will find it!, (pdf format, english!). Otherwise, no way you can get all the tricks. For studio use its ok, has no place on stage.

Good modulators, so so distortion. Again, for the price you cant ask for more!. I used it with a marshall 8240 stereo and a Ritchie sambora strato. Some back noise.

Never used hard.

Never requiered. Bought in japan so the manuals were in japanese. Finally i got them on internet (after 6 years of use)

I bought this unit used in 1997 or 98. Original 1989 software. This thing was made in 1989 so it was before designers got smart an added knobs. You may get carpel tunnel from tapping the buttons so much. I don't use most of the presets and I haven't actually figured out how to do some of the extra features like tap tempo and foot controller adjustments even though I actually got my hands on a manual (via internet). Once you get the hang of editing the user settings it's a breeze...but you'll be experimenting for hours upon hours. It has 60 pre and 30 user...supposedly the user require an internal battery which hasn't died yet...thankfully because I actually have some settings I really love. Manual is not specific enough for my blood.

O.k., here's some touchy things about this unit. If you set this thing near an amp head, it sends a revloving hum into your distortion channel. Second, I found that it still does this until I run it thru the effects loop. Any of the distortion from this unit sucks, period. Unless you dial in a smidge of it for a bluesy warmth and that's it. Overall, Yamaha sounds are actually good. My guitar rig is this...Jackson dinky with EMG-81>>>Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier>>>Peavey 412ms cab. I run the fx500 thru the effects loop and latch it to my clean channel while using a Beringer midi controller to change presets. This way, I have the effect already armed when I hit my clean channel. The fx unit itself takes a second to switch over presets so my rig takes care of that. The fx500 is mounted in a rack and I set my entire halfstack on top of it. This way it keeps the head away from the unit and I can actually hear my amp.

When I bought this used, the rear jacks were loose and broken...I soldered them back and use zip ties in my rack to keep any cords from straining it. I leave the power switch on because my furman powerstip takes care of that. I am told if the internal battery dies you will lose your 30 user settings..I will cry on that day. But it supposedly gives you a batt low warning and maybe I can write down the settings before it expires.

Never dealt with them.

I've been playing for 10 years. I play a hybrid rock metal with my clean settings in a pink floyd realm. It works for me, plus I'm a poor musician. I can't afford a dozen pedals at 100$ a pop. This does the job. If you can find one for cheap...like $50 or so, this is a great deal...grab one. I wouldnt pay more than $100. If it were stolen, I would probably buy something else or go to pedals. I love the mix of delay and chorus on this thing...I get a swirling dreamy pink floyd effect. I hate the buttons and lack of other effects.

Reading the manual is a must. I worked through it in a night and figured out alot of the settings. You have to get to the setting you want, then hit recall which is a pain when you're live, so make a footswitch. I d/l'd the manual online. Yamaha didn't have any upgrades. Found it pretty hard to get the elusive sounds that come up in my head...

Nice stereo sound. I'm using it as my sole effects processor, and I think I'll get a separate delay pedal (the delays are short, 380ms). Problem is changing the settings while you're playing just ain't easy - and yes there's a delay between switching. A little noisy.

I mainly play acoustic in church with no distortion. I run the guitar into a stereo chorus. Left channel goes straight to the system and becomes my main guitar output. Right channel goes through a Morley volume pedal into the FX500 and output in stereo, so I can control the depth of effect while always having a central sound. Great setup, and I get good symph sound and panning echoes that way.

I highly recommend making (not buying) a footswitch if you're doing anything live. You can cycle through a definable range of settings that way. It's only a momentary SPST switch, so no rocket science here. I bored a hole in my morley pedal and put a small momentary switch on it, and an 1/8" output (mono) near the morley output that goes to the back of the unit. Cable is 1/8" to 1/4" pin to pin. Dunno how I lived without it. Email me if you need help- kmesse at lycos.com.

Setting 40 gave me the Slowdive symphony sound right out of the box! Also email me if you have any good dreamy shoegazer settings for it!

Not sure yet. it doesn't seem well constructed and some of the jacks I can see are wiggly and may give out at some point. But bought it used and no problems yet and I haul it around alot as opposed to leaving it sit.

I asked them if they had an upgrade, they said no, and got back to me quickly.

I lead worship in church, and do my best to make it as dreamy as possible, or use delay to give rhythmic stuff some drama. I would go through a separate distortion pedal, I didn't care for the distortion sounds, but that's taste. My main genre is ambient atmospheric, or shoegazer. I saw Christian Savill's guitar setup (Slowdive) at guitargeek.com and it led me to this. I got it and wasn't disappointed. Can't wait to play with it again... Getting it used on ebay I never complained.

Sounds good without too much tweaking - which is fortunate, because in 14 years of ownership and heavy use, I have never had the patience to do much programming with this unit.

Guitar;

Some very usable presets that have become firm favourites over the years, and still used in preference to newer shiny and more expensive units. Preset 29 (mild motion) with out of phase Strat?..yum??. Distorion can be a bit harsh unless used sparingly.

Synth;

Usable with a guitar - but absolutley the dogs bollox with my Novation bass station. Now that harsh distortion is just perfect..... If you want to have some serious analog fun check this baby out!

Bought new in 1989, used and gigged and with it. Never even a fuse needed changing. Rock solid

Never needed to.

Not worth $300 any more, but if you see one of these going cheap, grab it with both hands and stick something analog with lots of knobs though it. You won't be sorry.

Easy to fly right through editing- like most processors though naming the presets is a bit of a drag. Typical manual.

I would give this a 7 only because the different categories have different sound quality. Distortion is thin and noisy unless used sparingly. The Delays are great. Effects like Flang and Chorus give you plenty of control over parameters and sound nice. Stereo effects, great. The EQ is a little limiting, and the compressor isn't very natural sounding unless you are very careful with the settings. I have used this unit in the effects loop for multitrack recording, and currently use it in my guitar rig. Guitar into ART Tube Pac (preamp and compression, since, as I said, the compressor in the Yamaha is unnatural and difficult to adjust on the fly) into the FX 500 and then stereo into my board. Also used it for practicing, going from my guitar into the FX500 and then into the effects return of a solid state amp.

I bought this unit used (BUZZOS!) for a very reasonable $125 almosst 10 years ago. My software version is dated 1989, so i assume the thing is going on 14 years old. NEVER had a problem. Nice unit.

never dealt with. All the yamaha stuff I own (Synth, MultiTrack, 12 ch board) has always been great stuff.

Half rack piece that can at the least take the place of a few stomp pedals (for guitarists) or help add any effects needed in a pinch at a gig(reverb in the effects loop of your vocal channels).

Very easy to use and to edit. Easy to under stand manual

While not being perfect for its sounds it does have some good
contrasts. Good Delays, Compressor,

I have had the unit since new and it has done a lot of work and it
must be a least 10 years old

Never had to use them for this product but being a repairer I
purchase parts from Yamaha and I like the company and there service.

I really seem to like the sound of this product. I like heavy metal and rock. with this you can get Vai Satch and almost perfect Van Halen sounds. the only bad part is distortions aren't heavy enough.
It sound's best with a BOSS ge-21 eQ with it.

I have a basic hobbyist set up Fernandes-->Dunlop Wah-->Radioshack Tuner-->FX500-->Boss Ge-21 Eq--> Peavey halfstack. The effects are pretty decent but can get sloppy without eq. As I stated above you can get Vai Satriani Metallica Megadeth and Testament easily. All efects are pretty good, 90 in all 30 program yourself. Monk akka is annoying though it's a delay over and over. If anything get one just for the REVERB and DELAYS, FLANGER CHORUS sweet.

So far so good so what
Nothing's fool proof so buyer beware "you know"?
A five for just in MY OPINION kicking ass!

Well because the fx was made in 1989 (version1.0) the manuals are all but gone. I called the Yamaha company and they very politely stated they couldn't really help me but then again the fx is easy to use

Well I'm not one to buy something over and over again but this i would I MUST WARN YOU: messing with this is very addictive you'll use it for hours and not even realize. It can make your own unique sound i would highly recommend this unit to amateur band hobbyist (like myself) or am pro bands