Yamaha AN-200

I bought (3) of these for 200 bucks each.....you know why? I'm going to tell you. Heard of the PLG150AN? It's a expansion card for the S-80 amongst others. Guess what? I'll bet you dollars for donuts that its the heart and soul of the AN200. Read the specs on the card. Now: Ease of use: the AN200 is deep as hell. Midi data format on the AN200 runs from pgs 118-139 in the owners' manual, a lot of it in small print. And you can really only effectively program it (other then in a superficial way) when you hook it up to a computer. It ain't no groove box.

5 notes that sound like something half-way between a softsyn and the real deal. Lot's of reasonably good EFX. A drum machine. And then for the clincher: You can program (4) parameters of the AN200 to change in a very complex and "personal" way over time. Morphing the sound from the benign to the obtuse, your choice. Insane.

For what I want it (and the 2 others) for, it's perfect. Singly: It's OK, not great. Stacked: It shines. I still can't believe that (3) of them brand new cost me 600 bucks, total. Thanks, Yamaha! *Please*, Yamaha: Build another weirdo device like the AN200, and totally mismarket it.

I'll gig with the (3), once I get them properly mounted in a equipment rack. It's going to take some modifications to their cases, but I am not afraid! If any of you that have done something similiar: Please drop me a line, and tell me how you did it!

No idea. I do know that I have a 15-year old RX-5, and (6) Tx-802's, which work great....never needed Yamaha. One of my best friends is a tech, so who cares, anyway?

Thanks, Yamaha!

The AN200's preset sounds cover a variety of styles, and many are
usable either as they are or with miminal editing. My AN200 came
with a decent software patch editor in the retail box.
For those without the editor who feel the itch to tweak, the AN200
has lots of knobs, laid out intuitively.

The polyphony can either be extensive or limiting, depending on how
the AN200 is used. As a straight-ahead MIDI sound module, the AN200
has 5 notes of polyphony in its analog-modeling synthesizer section
(monotimbral), and 32 notes of polyphony in its AWM2-based drum
machine section. The drum machine section can be spread over three
different MIDI channels, for filtering of individual parts.

Effects are rather extensive: delay, pan delay, flanger, phaser,
reverb, and variable distortion.

The AN200 is not expandable. I have read that it will accept AN1x
sounds over MIDI SysEx, but I have not yet tried it.

Since this is a "groovebox"-type unit, the "keyboard" is minimal
(one-octave, no velocity sensitivity).

MIDI capabilities are quite extensive. 1 MIDI channel for analog,
3 MIDI channels for drums. Sends and receives MIDI Start/Stop/Clock.
Almost all knobs send CC data over MIDI for recording into sequencers.

On-board sequencer is possibly the most limiting factor of the
unit. There are four pattern tracks (1 analog, 3 drum), but each track
is monophonic. That's right, no chords allowed. There is also a bit
of analog lag between patterns; during playback, a pattern change
may cause the first analog note not to play.

The AN200 is a dance/techno oriented machine. As such, it does the
dance/electronic genre quite well. The sounds are very electronic;
as such, acoustic instruments are not effectively represented.

The analog-modeling section has 2 oscillators, multi-mode resonant
filter (which can be set to self-oscillate), sync, ring mod, filter
and amplitude envelopes, portamento, FM depth, noise, pretty
much all you'd expect in an analog-modeling synth. The drums sounds
are decent, not as extensive as a Roland MC-505, but usable
nonetheless.

As a sound module, the unit responds nicely to my keyboard controller.
No aftertouch though, which isn't a showstopper for techno-oriented
music anyway.

It seems pretty dependable so far, but it takes a few seconds to
"boot". As I use mine only in my home studio, I can't comment on its
"gig"ability.

No contact yet made with Yamaha.

I think I'd get another one if it were lost or stolen. For what I
paid, it does a lot more than the similarly-priced Boss DR-202, and
with much less output noise--as I discovered when I demo'd the DR-202
before settling on the AN200.

The AN200 fits in well with the rest of my studio (Roland XP-10 as
a main controller/GS synth, Roland JV-880 synth module and Turtle
Beach Maui sampler soundcard, with Cakewalk as my sequencer) pretty
nicely. It finally gives me an analog-modeling synth without having
to pay out the wazoo. As I use it through Cakewalk as part of a
larger setup, I don't have to deal with the rather limiting onboard
pattern sequencer.

For those looking for an all-in-one standalone groovebox, perhaps one
of the Roland MC series may fit the bill. But as a groovebox addition
to a larger MIDI setup, the AN200 can be a better value.

Pretty easy to use. Synth is Awesome! One effect per track kinda sucks. Rumor has it there are some bugs. To set a bass-line, you nave to use either the left-two-octaves, which are an octave-each of two different bass-sounds, or you have to use the upper-two-octaves to set a patch-sound. What is really annoying, is setting the pitch of these notes -- you twist a knob, instead of hitting a note on your controller. I hate that. Adds tens-of minutes to setting a bass-line.

Awesome synth. Drum parts are okay, and you can set parameters for each of the 16-notes. Not enough for the drum parts.

Good sounds. Synth sounds awesome, almost like a real synth. This is a perfect intro-box, but get another one as well, electribe, roland, emu -- anything you can sync. The machine is not complex, but they could've added more firmware into the unit, and clean-up the interface, and add a few more effects functions. Noise generator is definately a plus. It's hard to get an "evil grinding" out of the synth, but I'm not up on my synth technology. Get one used, I took mine back.

Seems solid. Kept it in a canvas briefcase, and no damage after 29 days!

No idea. Mars were good, tho, got two free cables out of them when I returned it.

Annoying note-selection makes the thing useless. It takes me too long to throw a bassline in there, no way to gang them I don't think either.

AN-200.

Nice machine, but read on.

[Version 1.0-->Cool interface, and very easy to use out of the box. I have yet to get the software component runninng (there's a computer software component for inputting patterns and tweaking the synth sounds), and neither the PDF manual nor the paper manual are much help--this is to say, they are sorely lacking in specifics.

Design flaws--> Yamaha tech support admits that the first beat of each pattern, when patterns are chained or if you are doing this manually (i.e. switching patterns on the fly--so they come after each other)...the first beat is cut off. So it sound like an echo or a heavily EQ'd version of the beat. They have NO plans to fix this.

Also note that the Copy Sequence instruction in the manual is WRONG, and the real way to do this is somewhat complicated, i.e. it takes four steps!, and six movements (either turns of data wheel or pressing buttons).

What's good: the reverse, roll, gate, etc. of the patterns. That's cool. Also the synth engine is quite good, though I would recommend you have an eq to tweak it before recording (or of course you can do it via VST, etc on a computer).

I am going to return mine, if the music shop doesn't give me at least 20% off for he permanent design flaw that yamaha support admitted to me.

I've been making midi based music for 16 years, and currenty use Cubase and an upgraded g3 blue and white.

5 note polyphony, keyboard is just rubbery buttons but still ok.
See reviews for effects detail, unfortunatly there are only limited effects for the drums, of the effects are to tweak the synth engine.
cannot be expanded. in/out thru midi. non-pressure nor velocity sensitive, though you can tweak the volume for each key independently after you record a sequence (tedious but possible!).

Synth is good, nice sounds. It's the Yamaha AN1X basically, but with 5 note polyphony. Get an outboard filter and or eq and you've got a nice box. The tweakability of the filters and VCO's is cool. See reviews....

No problems outside of the software/design flaw mentioned above.

They got back to me in 48hrs. And they were honest, so I give them a 9

the interface is much easier to learn than the electribe,..but the electribe M has some PHAT sounds, so look at that box in comparison. Try one of the big music suppliers who will give you 30-45 days Return Policy...

It's a great machine. But I would not recommend it for live use. I will use it to add drum parts to my midi recordings, and in many cases use VST instruments or samples (in loopazoid or another sample playback software) for the actual sounds.

NOTE: the problem of the first note getting cut off for each pattern, when patterns are used in sequence, has been established. A keyboard mag review noted this. And when I spoke with Yamaha support they also admitted this. ALSO NOTE that Yamaha has NO plans to fix this problem. 714-522-9011 is Yamaha Support's number (other numbers and emails are online). You can confirm it for yourself.

Also I have yet to get the accompanying software to work on my MAC. Though I am going to try it on my windoz box next.

Also note that the manual has errros! Most significant is that the way the manual says you copy one pattern from one location to another is WRONG. Yamaha support walked me through the right way today, but it's a tad complicated. The Keyboard Mag report said that one just follows the reverse of the Yamaha Manual.

nice features, the 5 voice polyphony is good for this size of a machine though I recommend some outboard processing in addition to fatten up and tweak the digital modelling .

Good sounds, though not it's highpoint. The highpoint is controlling the pattern playback. But for the $$ it's a pretty good deal.

No problems yet.

Customer support was right back with me, and painfully honest! (see first entry).

If it was lost I may get it again. I've been playing for 15 years and using midi for as long as that. I really like the patten playback options, whereby you can go foward, reverse, roll, mess with the gate and the swing all in real-time. I'd compare it to the electribe-M, but this interface is much easier to use. It definitely helps with getting out the rhythm jams. I say try it out from one of the big shops with the 30day or 45 return policy, and see for yourself.

I've had AN200 for couple of months now and I HAVE NOT been very pleased by its performance.

There is a really big problem in AN200!!! When I change from patch/pattern to another the problem occurs. As we know the AN200 has a built-in sequencer with this normal 16 steps / pattern. If I fill all the 16 steps with notes and CHANGE PATCH the first step doesn't play or I hear just an echo of it depending what patch I'm using. If I build a pattern that does not have a note in 1st step there is no problem. Also if I play the same pattern/patch on and on there is no problem. BUT I WANT TO CHANGE PATCHES/PATTERNS AND LIKE EVERYBODY ELSE.

:(

NO I WOULD NOT USE IT ON A GIG BECAUSE OF PATCH/PATTERN CHANGE PROBLEM.

This thing is so easy to use, you would have to be idiot to not be able to figure it out. Everything is written on the chassis.

The little pads suck, but where it lacks it makes up for with all of its tweaking ability. So many sound so little time. The Midi capabilities are great especially when you use a cs1x or other yamaha control keyboard. You can't expand it but I don't know why you would need to.

The sound in this thing and the ones you can create are absolutely phenominal. The effects are really good too.

This thing has treated me really good. I have accidentally dropped it a couple of times, but still works like a charm. I don't think I could afford two of these for a backup.

I bought my an200 used and it came with only the unit itself. I called yamaha, and they sent me everything(the pc-software, owners manual) FREE of charge to my house and they paid shipping, they even called me back the same day within a few hours to let me know the stuff was in the mail. Thank You Yamaha!!!!! Roland would never do that.

This is by far the best synth I have ever owned. If it were stolen I would hunt down the fucker that stole it and kick his ass and take the an200 back. I would never loose this thing. If for some ungodly reason it was gone I would go into debt to get another one. I own a cs1x, su700, rm1x, su200, an200, and dx200, and will buy the rm7000 when it comes out. I love Yamaha dance gear. I also recommend it to all!!!!

An-200 is very,very easy to use. I got deep into it in 3 hours or something. Interface is great. Everything is in logical order. I haven't tried the sowtware editor but I heard it kicks some ass...
Manual was pretty easy to read and was perfectly simple for me =)

5 polyphony is enough for me. But the thing that it's only one part multi-timbral sucks. Well it isn't supposed to be a whole in one synth or whatever... I think that the sequencer is quite good. It's very easy to edit.

Sounds are what I expected them to be. Lead sounds are great!Rough and metallic. Just the way I like em. Great for harder techno like hard-house, progressive-house and trance. With this I mean the synth part. Drum sounds are quite bad. Not what I expected.
Effects are dull. You can only have one at same time. Well thats why plug-ins are for =)

Very reliable! Hasn't crashed.

It is worth every penny. Sure I wouldn't mind paying less for it, but everything nice is allways expencive.
Beats the electribe A easily! Drums shurely lose to R but hey this AN isn't a drumsynth.
Beats the rolands too. They are only sample playback machines!

This thing is incredibly easy to use. I really like the loop-playback recording capabilities. There are many dedicated knobs, and the envelope generator is self-explainitory. Saving patches and switching is just as easy as any of the Korg boxes. The built in effects are easy to use. What I liked was it's ability to grow with you... as you learn more, you will unlock more.

There is a 5 note polyphony on the AN modeling channel. There are three other channels, all preset rom sounds. The AN200 features several drum kits and bass sounds in the rythm tracks. What I really didn't like was the fact that the loops could only be 16 steps, or one measure. The Korg boxes allows up to 64 steps, or 4 measures. And the bass sounds are grouped in as drum sounds, each note being treated as a drum hits, and each bass sound only has one octave. The step keyboard is only one octave.

It's mixed...
If you want it just to loop the sounds of a Yamaha AN synth, then it rocks. The drums are good, but the bass sounds are very limiting.

I returned mine.

The manual sucks. I didn't have it long enough to have problems.

Whenever I restarted patterns that were playing, it was kind of crackly. I still prefer the Korg Electribes. While the AN200 had more polyphony, it had limited sequencing... and that thing that Yamaha does in all their gear... you know... have twice as many preset, unerasable patters as it does user patterns. If you want a one measure synth sequencer and drum machine in one, go for it. I traded mine in for a RM1x... and paid a bit more money. In my humble opinion, Yamaha slipped up, and what was an excellent idea was unfortunately executed poorly. If it had more steps in the loop sequencer, I wouldn't hace traded it back.

I bought this today, and plan to use it in conjunction with my K5000s to get all the bass and certain lead sounds I could need. This is pretty easy to learn to use in a shorter time frame. I've spent about half a night working with the AN200 and already, I can see what I'll be able to do with it and what I won't(which isn't too much). Presets are solid, but tweeking them to get the right sound is the key to this machine. Knobs galore, couldn't be easier to edit patches. The manual is pretty solid, though there are a couple parts like the voice copy, that the manual has totally ass backwards, but oh well, live and learn.

Polyphony is only five, which could be better, but for a step recorder and a live recording function that splits up 16 steps with tons of analog and knobs to spare, can't complain much. The effects are very solid, probably on or a bit below par with the CS6x's (my last keyboard). No expansion capabilities, and only 128 user sets, but I've got a sampler for that, and I'm sure that I'll end up using them in about 5 or 6 months, but just have to clear them and start over. Midi in and out, played the first time as soon as I plugged it into my nord, and hopefully, it will take my K5000s' arpegiators nicely as well, we shall see, cuz with these analogs and it's capabilities, it should be rather fat to arp the sounds you create. The sequencer is pretty basic, it loops a 4/4 pattern, but after you have recorded, it's a piece of cake to edit what you did on each of the 16 steps(allows you to change the pitch, velocity(volume), and gate time(basically the decay). Pretty nice feature. Turning on and off each of the sixteen steps is just a push of a button, single step to do that which is nice.

Sounds have to be fattened up with some tweaking, but you can get some very solid leads and basses out of this beauty from yamaha. No realistic, I'd say 90%analog and 10%pads... Tweakable to sound different from everything else, and the EG envelopes are recordable as you edit the loop with the knobs (4 recordable passes and each pass can be played instantly with the press of one of the 4 dedicated FREE EG buttons near the top right of the AN) Works well for techno, experimental, electronic in general. There are 120 drum sounds that can get you by, but I haven't gotten into them totally...there's like 12 bass drums, 12 snares, only like 12 selections of cymbols and hats, and there are alot of deep bass sounds that are counted as drum parts? not sure why. but it'll work as my drum machin for now, more than nicely.

It did flip out on me tonight,but maybe that's just me hitting a button and didn't realize that I had gotten myself stuck in a corner with the menus or something? Its built very solid. Gig without a back up,hmmm, probably, its pretty solidly made. It's made of sturdy plastic, but feels heavier than any other small drum machine I've had or any module I've used. Looks like a champ too!

Did email yamaha about my cs6x a while back and they emailed back in a couple of days, which I'd say was impressive. But they didn't really answer any questions that I needed. But overall, they provide quality equipment at a good price, so I'd say the support is there for us, even if I haven't used it much.

Lost or stolen, I'd get it again, if nothing else had come along that captured the analog sound that I needed and had a sequencer and solid construction like this one. 16 bars for a loop isn't the best, but you can work around it,,, don't get this and decide after an hour that it's not for you, try it out and see if your mind can work around any limitations you see... Try it first in the stores and have someone show you the ropes. That's my best suggestion about any instrument you plan to buy. And never buy it for what it says it's selling for, any music shop will bargain with you. I got 70 bux off by spotting that online shops charged no tax and I could get it cheaper there. Price dropped, I dropped my credit card, and here I am, a happy camper. Wish it had more drum sounds, but it's not a definite kill on this synth. I've had roland synths, yamaha cs6x, a nord lead 2, and soon to have a Kawai K5000s, and this is replacing my zoom 234 (drum machine), and I would choose this over the korg boxes any day. Sounds aren't as bland as the red and blue boxes. Prices will probably drop in year just like those two from korg, but as of now, it surpasses those boxes and is in a decent price range for all it can do.