Product: Technics SX-PR51
Price Paid: N/A
Submitted
05/02/2006
at
08:52pm
by
Mike Wilson
Email: jbltecnicspro at yahoo<dot>com
Ease of Use
:
4
It's pretty easy to use in GM mode, but figuiring out how to use the native patches is a royal bitch. The manual does not tell you how to use them, and it's a shame too - because the native patches are pretty good. It took me a month to figuire out that the Technics architecture is like Yamaha XG, and I went from there. For this, I must give it a 4.
Features
:
7
Polyphony is 32 voices, and it is 16 part multitimbral. The effects is minimal - reverb and chorus, and "digital effect." Sadly, the unit cannot be expanded, but it has a good sequencer, and a nice, solid piano feel to it (not springy at all). It is GM compatible.
Expressiveness/Sounds
:
9
With this unit, there are lots of good patches - and some that make you go "why did they even put this in here?" On the whole, there are good strings, nice pads, good synth leads, decent brass, beautiful woodwinds, and pretty reed instruments (clarinet, english horn, and oboe are fantastic). The ethnic instruments are pretty good, too. But where this unit shines is in the piano. I must speak about the piano for a moment. This is one of the best piano sounds I've ever heard! Its Grand Piano is stereo sampled, and has eight different elements to it - which will kick the crap out of any Roland or Yamaha. Put simply, one could purchase this just for the piano sound. All pianos sound nice, too (MIDI grand, Electric Piano, etc.).
If you like to listen to MIDI files, this thing will disappoint - its GM balance is off, but why listen to files when you can create your own music? The drums are nice and clean, and the basses are tight and solid, and the sound effects are ok. All-in-all, the unit is really nice, with some good sounds.
Reliability
:
7
Gig with it? Hehe, give me a break, it's so heavy! It was moved twice across the United States, and its pedal cable was snagged - but it's probably the movers' and our fault for not securing it. (Oh well, we fixed it).
Customer Support
:
No Opinion
Never dealt with the company
Overall Rating
:
10
Overall, I love the unit, and have had it for about eight years now. I use Roland gear to accompany this, and together they sound wonderful. I chose this because it was cheaper than the Rolands we saw, and it sounded the same, and better - in the piano department. If anyone stole this, then they deserve to have it, as this thing requires at least two able-bodied men to move.
