Yamaha AN1x

Forget about half of the presets... not even worth messing with. But there are a few which, with proper editing, can sound great. The synth's strenghth however is not in presets, but in the ability to create some amazing sounds of your own - unlimitted possibilities for the most part.

Some people complain about how the synth is set up - 8 knobs, realtime. For me, that's all i need - sure, it's not set up like the old analogs or something like a nord or jp8000, but who even needs that? If you know how to program a synth, you don't need some fancy set up to do it. Just listen to the sound, and tweak what needs tweaking. And then you can assign 8 knobs to the user section and modify to your heart's content once you have you basic sound set up. Let me say this: i don't ever use the computer patch editor. I don't like having to use a mouse to modify sounds... that's why i bought a synth with knobs... if you want a computer editor buy a softsynth for 1/10 the price... if you want something you can put your hands on, buy an an1x and tweak to your heart's content.

Manual? who cares! I've consulted the thing maybe 10 times since i bought this over 2 years ago. Just use it and learn... it's simple enough.

No problems with polyphony... does anyone know if this synth has aftertouch? i think it does, but i'm not positive. i'm not a huge fan of aftertouch anyway...
Effects section is great. Gotta love the aural exciter... great reverbs, many editable parameters for each effect, but plus parametric equalizer! which i think is a must for any great fx processor...
Only one (or two if you split it) part multitimberal... unfortunate, because if it had something like 3 sounds via midi this synth would be tremendous...
Sequencer is basically a 16 step one for creating "arpeggio like" sounds... i don't use it much, i'm more into pads and smoother analog sounds...

Great analog sounds. Period. I have never felt limitted when creating a sound. If you want something that sounds like an old video-game synth, forget this. This is for just great synth sounds... nice synth strings, not a big fan of brass... some good leads, some excellent sounds alltogether. Effects like reverb and delay really make sounds stick out in your mix.. you can make anything from low scary sounds to pipe organs to synth choir to tech-house IF you know how to program. IF you can't program synths, this is also a great way to learn. I didn't know how to program at all, now i can do just about anything i want to... especially with this synth

Never had a problem, ever.

Never had a problem with the synth.

9.9 rating. Everything you could want for the price. You could pay twice what I paid and get some super digital/analog hybrid whatever... or you could save your money and learn how to program a synth. Ribbon controller is good, arpeggiator good, knobs are great, effects are great, sounds are unlimited...
128 sounds total is a bit of a drag.. one part multitimberal means you'll need more than just this synth to sequence...
Overall, great for the price... in fact, it has gone up in value in the last 2 years... I'm seeing it for about $100 more than what i paid for it.

Most of the Presets sux big time! Playing with presets is like an artist copying his own work and massproduce it. (I don't like that). Editing is also hard. The matrix is confusing and the display don't help much. The PC patcheditor is a gift from the Gods!
If you try out the manual for the solution of a problem, you will most likely NOT find it. It is THAT bad!

The 10 note polyphony is more than OK. I hardly ever use more than 5 notes at a time, ever.
Effects are absolutly crap! It's a classic try to hide poor capabilitys of a synthesizer. Good oscillators don't need chorus to sound fat and reverb to hide glitches in the sound. The MIDI is OK for me. A problem for me is that the synth resets my MIDI settings and restore them to default sometimes?!? There IS a onboard sequencer, but not in a conventional way. It lets you create yourown arpeggio-like FX. A breeze to program with the editor. Pure HELL in the display. The best thing in this machine is the free EG. Draw a envelope and assign it to cutoff. Draw another envelope and assign it to LFO-speed. And so on. Four envelopes per patch with lots of control over time = MAGIC! I will program an emty patch to fit the micromodular. Together they will be unbeatable.

You want realistic sounds? Buy a sampler! This is a pure synthesizer with synthesized sounds. Sometimes it sounds almost organic or alien but always synthetic. Synthpop musicians should like this machine. It's a little to lame for my taste. Whatever i do, it doesn't "bite". I also have a Nord Micromodular, and it "bites" a lot if i want it to. The AN1x sounds like a "pad-machine". Make a pad, use all effects and you got instant Ambience. Lovely by themself, but "eats" a mix completely.

I hung up a coupple of times while editing from the PC. Stable enough to bring to gigs.

Don't know!

Stolen? I'll look for something else. Another interesting VA is the Waldorf Micro-Q KB.

I didn't like the presets. They're geared for progressive rock.
Editing the patches is not difficult, the layout is good, but there are so many features that it takes some time to figure out what is going on. The manual is understandable but does not go into depth. I would have like a lot more tutorials.

10 notes of polyphony-all I really need.
Has effects. I don't use them. I don't like them.
No expansion features
Very intricate modulation matrix. This synthesizer is capable of some very serious sounds. It's one of the most powerful synths I've ever worked with.
On board 16 step sequencer and very good arpegiator-neither of which I use.

The sounds that come out of this synth! beautiful stuff-from screaming leads, to bell sounds, to bizzare noises.I play garage band rock and roll and I love this synth. Don't look for traditional sounds. This is a synthesizer.
Reacts beautifully to my playing. The ribbon controller alone is worth the price. Plenty of knobs, millions of things to tweak.After touch is great-note that it has after touch.

Wall wart power. I take it to gigs w/o a spare-who can afford a spare synthesizer? I should get a spare wall wart cable. You have to be careful carrying it because of the knobs.

Never used them.

I have a Korg DW 6000 and a Siel DK 600 both broken. The Yamaha sounds much better than either of them. The Yamaha is also capable of many more sounds than either of the above synths. I also use a EMU Vintage Keys for more traditional sounds. The Yamaha might be a little brighter than an actual analog synth, but since every synthesizer has its own sound, this is not realy an issue. I play through a silver face Fender Bassman amp with a 15 inch speaker. The tubes sound really good with this synth.
I've played keyboards for 20 years. I've never seen anything close to the power of this synthesizer for the money. If you want the old screaming analog sound you can't go wrong buying this synth.

Its decent.. only 8 realtime knobs.. menus ARE a part of this synth.. NOT reccomended to learn subtractive synthesis with.. Nord or Juno 106 is much easier to get started with.. for the AN1x has a fairly deep synth architecture..

keyboard is QUITE nice! this is ONE REALLY GOOD reason to pick this synth up on ebay for cheep.. cuz it makes a KILLER controller.. velocity AND aftertouch on a 61 key synth with 8 realtime knobs, pitchwheel, ribbon controller.. VIOLA! the effects GREAT.. so great in fact.. that they are, sadly, what makes this synth sound so good.. internal 3 band EQ.. decent reverbs.. distortion.. yaddayaddayadda..

if you turn the effects off and depend on the raw waveforms going the filters and envelopes and whatnot.. you WILL be disappointed.. it is BLAND! NOO FUN! i have made some BEAUTIFUL patches on this machine.. but they were all effect based.. and if i wanted to use effects.. i wouldve used some outboard effects.. thank you very much!! you can make a bubbly wet fart sound neato with effects.. if you want a REAL VA that doesnt depend on effects for making it sound better than what it actually is.. then go for a nord.. if you dont mind the effects.. then personally.. i think the MS2000 sounds better than this thing.. + with that.. you get more knobbage.. [ albeit less keys and no aftertouch :-( ]

oh yeah.. one more thing.. the filters step like a MOFO!!! BAAAAD stepage!!!!

based on the synth architecture ALONE.. no help from effects.. this sucka gets a measley 4!!

tastes like confectionery chocolate... u gotta add sugar to make it taste good..

its a VA.. digital.. OS has crashed on me like once.. no biggie tho.. i wouldnt drop it down a flight of stairs.. case is plastic..

errr.. never delt with yamaha.. its a major bloodsucking corp.. although they DO make some NICE economy instruments (guitar, drums, bass.. etc..)

DONT pay over $500 for this thing.. like i did.. i mean.. ill probably keep it, cuz its the ultimate controller for me.. and if i sold it id probably be losing money.. and like i said.. and i HAVE made some decent sounding patches.. (all of them effects based tho) if it were lost of stolen.. i would.. uhh.. i would probably pick up a DX7 controller KB and a nord rack and some REAL ANALOG stuff.. or something.. i probably wouldnt buy one again.. i dunno.. for 400.. its a perdy good deal..

Is somewhat limited as to what you can get to with one of the eight knobs but is fabulous with the free editor available online.

Only has 10 note polyphony compared to my Nord Lead2's 16 note polyphony. The built-in effects are more than adequate. No expansion. Has a built-in "analog-style" sequencer and arppegiator. It's very easy for anyone with any experience with keyboards.

Sounds GREAT!! SOme on this site seem to think it's only geared for techno-dance-trance, I personally use it to recreate classic analog sounds in my classic rock band playing '70's and '80's. It works great. Nice FAT and warm sounding. I wouldn't say it sounded better than any other VA I also have a NordLead2 and love it as well. Although the AN1x is a great deal for the money.

It seems to be built really well.

Never called supoort but haven't had any trouble getting replacement parts like knobs, etc.

If it were stolen I'd be real pissed and would try to find another one hopefully like the one I found. I bought mine from a dealer that had it as new old stock. I wouldn't be one to pit it against one of the other VA's because I've got a Nord Lead, a Prophecy, and a MOSS board installed in my Triton, I love them all. I really think you should try one and make a decision based on your ears. And yes I know they don't this one anymore although they have the AN200.

this is where AN1X is flawed, but the software-editor changes this. at one point or another you will have to use the software, otherwise you'll miss some of its nicest (weirdest) sounds. i hate looking at computer-screens so i rate it pretty bad here.

10 notes polyphony, 2 split parts (=easy to setup, but still pretty close to monotimbral imo), great keyboard action, mod wheel, bender, 8 assignable knobs (also easy to setup with other softsynths = big plus when using reason or whatever) make it a fantastic first controller kb. also midi in/out/thru, 1 stereo output (which could've been expected since it only has 1 a 2 parts going at the same time, but still, it's limiting here.

BUT no matter how much i may bitch about AN1X, for the price, its features are vast and unmatched except for softsynths (which i personally hate most of the time).

best part is the editing possibilities for the sounds, which are vast (seeming almost modular at times)

percussive sounds (bells, noise drums), bass (both melodic and punchy with the feedback turned wide open), leads of various assortments (synthbrass, kraftwerk tones etc), effects (from cell phones to tiny digital glitches), some wind sounds (mostly just noisy though), etc etc - AN1X is great in this department (you can also add two pedals on top of the wheels etc for further real-time expressiveness) - did i mention AN1X has aftertouch?

on the counterside, i must add that there are times when AN1X varies from a nordlead in ways that frustrate me (though that's probably just me as an autechre fan babbling - there are times that even with all its editing facilities, a certain sound just won't sound completely 'right' to my ears, even though most of the time its very musical and alive sounding)

metal casing (looks and feels like plastic but is in fact metal as opposed to the JP8000 which looks damn nice but is made out of plastic) - no problems with any of the smaller buttons whatsoever and mine was a demo model for nearly 3,5 years, so... i'd say it's quite allright here.

don't know -

very versatile board that 's gotten me started making some halfway decent music so far. love the kb-action, love most of the sounds (covers wider range than a JP8000 for sure -can sound both sweeter and harsher), but has a lousy interface, which turns it into something halfway between a true hardware synth (arp odyssey or so) and a softsynth, though i must add here it sounds way better than most current softsynths. (there is one plus side to the softeditor, you make more backups of your soundbanks and this is also very very easy to do.) i would have loved this board more if it had had at least 2 stereo outs and like 4 parts, but this limitation is much relieved when you add some other (cheapo) synths or a sampler. also, for the price they go by, it's easy to add a cheap fm-synth (dx7, dx9, ds8...) for organs and bass, a decent drumcomputer (R8, S3, RX5, ER-1...) and some ok efects-box like an ensoniq dp2 for the price of a single new nordlead2, JP8080, qrack... which would cover a lot more bass than those first two for sure. the Q is deep though (even the semicrippled micro),but still different machines bring their own specialties and are ultimately more versatile when combined correctly. all this to say the AN1X is a great place to start and a synth which, once mastered, you'll keep coming back to (once you've filled the userbank (or more than 1), you won't want to get rid of it no matter how ugly the front panel. i promise.

The presets on this sound like a demo. There are a lot of sequences and sound effects in them. Editing is hard to learn, but easy once you learn to use the functions. Don't get one without the AN1X Edit software, which in my opinion is much more easy to program than the keyboard itself. Mine came with a French manual for some reason, but I downloaded and printed the english version, and it's just about useless. I couldn't find simple info like how to turn settings/effects off and on. In fairness, this is the first synth I have tried to create my own sounds for, and it seems packed with features I have no idea how to use. Would probably be easier if I was more experienced with modeling.

The velocity sensitive keyboard works well and i is easy to edit the sensitivity for each sound, but it has a vibrato effect if you hold pressure on the keys. Being trained in classical piano, I find this function annoying as I am used to pressing into keys and I keep doing vibrato by accident. The only way I have found to disable it is to turn off the velocity sensitivity for that voice, which disables all dynamics. Lots of effects, most are easy to use. Has full midi capability but only on one channel at a time. This unit has a pressure sensitive ribbon controller, which works very well. It is assignable, like almost everything on this unit, and can be used for effects, velocity, or to change multiple parameters of the voice. Very cool for live performance of techno and responds to where on the ribbon you touch and how hard you press, which control seperate functions. Ability to load sounds from downloaded or user-created patches is simple and greatly expands the usefullness.

Not many "instruments" come on this machine. I think it came with a rhodes sound and a couple of decent moog like sounds like Floyd 75. I would really only recommend this for techno/dance as it would be sub-standard for a performance synth. Onboard efefects are numerous and rich, and you can get some deep fat techno sounds out of it with little tweaking. I downloaded some 303 patches that sound great. Wide array of digital and analog sounds are possible.

100% dependable for me so far, but I only use it at home with my computers a couple of drum and synth modules. I like that it saves info if you are editing and turn it off. Your settings are there when you turn it back on.

Easily got the English manual I needed from Yamaha web site. I've found it hard to find patches for it on the net though, as it seems to be getting rare, and I can't make it take general midi patches.

Overall, if you're doing techno or dance music, it's the bomb. If you're playing country with a live band, don't even bring this with you. I'd rate it a 9.5-10 for techno, and 5 or below for anything else.

The presets are things with black capes on that feed on blood (suck) they are really disgraceful UNTIL you download the freebee editor and the thing just springs to life. What a fantastic machine this is!
Yamaha really lost so much money while people listened in music shops and bazaars around the world DUH!.
Editing patches at first is like trying to extend my Chinese Visa a total pain in the ...Eventually you fill the thing with downloaded patches and it rocks.
The manual is written in Klingon, what a load of garbage !

The keyboard feels great but the mod and pitch bend wheels are a bit plastiky like the whole thing. Don't drop it or it's all over.
If you are wondering why your sounds have gone all wobbly and can't seem to find the problem, check that the mod wheel is back (don't laugh you've all done it). The midi seems great but navigating the menu is puzzling at times as the whole keyboard is black and blue.

It's a dance synth and a really mean one as well, the downloaded sounds are great. Presets, forget them, well most.
A really nice function is to be able to push the knobs in and find the original settings as well as being able to initialize certain parts of the preset programs. the memory is non-volatile so everything is the same when you switch it back on.

I'm really afrad that this keyboards construction is very flimsy and the actual finish seems to scar very easily which is a shame.
Yamaha have brought out a whole load of machines using the same kind of body which looks budget to the max. That silver model with the blue all over it looks dreadful. Brilliant synth - crap construction.

Haven't needed support yet -

If it was stolen i think i'd buy another because it's got a really different sound to my other gear. (Trinity-Prophecy-MC505).

Anyone looking for a great dance synth should seriously get one of these and get rid of the presets.

The manual for this thing stinks, fortunately, that isn't that much you need to learn. I've found AN1x Edit to be a godsend, if that program didn't, exist the ease of use rating of this synth would be much lower. I don't like the odd editing interface the synth has.

Good polyphony, 8 voices I think. Keyboard has a nice feel. Good internal fx. Would have a 10 but this thing has a maximum of 2-part multitimbrality, and really in practicality only has 1, that is very sad. I wish it had more. The on-board sequencer is awesome, I love it! That's one of my favorite things about this synth. Hard to program from the AN1x itself, but with AN1x Edit it's smooth sailing. Has basic virtual analog functions with a little bit of FM synthesis thrown in. The best thing about this synth though is its fun as hell to play. With the cool sequencer, mod wheel, pressure-sensitive ribbon controller, and 8 knobs, you can tweak to your hearts content.

It sounds very fat and analog, I'm really impressed, especially for the money. A trance-maker's dream machine. The pads are awesome, very big and lush. The filters, however, imho, suck. The cutoff has a bad stair-stepping problem which is compounded by high resonance settings. A big disappointment there. If it wasn't for the filters, it would have gotten a 10.

Ugh, this thing crashes on me constantly, but usually when using it with AN1x Edit and my computer. But still, it's annoying. I've never encountered another synth that crashes as much as this one, but it might be partly due to trying to use it with my computer and MOTU MIDI Express, which can sometimes send funny msg's. I dunno, but my other synths don't crash as much, so it gets a 6 here.

I've dealt with Yamaha customer support for another product, an A3000 sampler, and they are helpful if you call them, but via email are completely worthless. In this day and age, that is unacceptable. Get it together Yamaha!

It's definitely worth what I paid, I can't believe they want $500 new for one of those little AN200 boxes, I would much rather have this thing. I got it super cheap on eBay and it was sort of an impulse buy. If it was lost or stolen not sure if I would get it again, but this synth is a lot of fun so I think it's going to stay in my studio.

This machine rocks!
Short review:
It's kind of computer things. EVERYTHING can be stored in a present. So if you save your work, everything is back the same if you load the present again. very nice, no time eating machine. Althought to edit you have to cooperate with a computer. But everything can be adjusted. Very wide range of possiblities. Nice warm sound. A bit clean, but with some tricks you can get it more uglier (is you want ofcourse). The filter cutoff filter is very clean, nbut I like more heavier tweaking cutoffs. Even with lots of resonance... this blue baby can't be compared like filters in an Akai Sampler (S series). It's other. Not better, not worse.

Present sounds? Fuck them. Just get An1xedit and download lots of homemade present and just listen...

Looking foor the BIG PHAT sounds? It's possible... you have to know some tricks and add some dirty effects, but result is ok! :)

That was it.
Buy it! It's much too cheap.

Oh yeah! The keyboard rules!!! very nice playing so as masterkeyboard it's better then great!!

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