Yamaha AN1x

I think this is my second or third review here of AN1x. I finally sold mine because the limited space. In this review, there is same things as I have said before.

After over 8 years I learned AN1x inside out. Editing patches is easy. You can make most of the job with the eight knobs and few buttons. The bad thing is there is no data-slider. Also presets are bad in my opinion. There is good ones in the net but it takes time to get what you want. AN1x is fairly complex, much more than JP-80x0 and Nord Lead for example(they are very basic but not said that's bad thing, no). You can get the free editor from the net which I used at the beginning.

Only opened the manual when was checking some CC's etc, not much for editing.

For me, AN1x was more (complex) pad/string machine than bass/lead synth. That's why using dual layers and long release times, 10-voice polyphony wasn't even near enough. But it's OK.

For my playing style, keyboard was the best for price range and aftertouch was just perfect. Also I used knobs for controlling other synths and sequencer (volume, AT, pan, jomox airbase99 filters etc) but also you could straight edit Roland JV/XV/Fantom and other yamaha synths (FS1r) straight from the knobs. It could be turned to use standard CC's. So you turn filter knob from AN1x Roland JV-2080's filter changed. Nothing stunning today but back to late 90's for me it was great addition.

Sounds were always hard to get sound good in the mix. It always needed quite much editing.

Othervise sounds are quite nice and easily spoiled with too much of internal effects(as with many synths). I think only tempo-delay is very usable but small amount of other fx are also ok. As many times mentioned, it's a bit Prophet 5 sounding and there is some nice other sounds too. Biggest surprices are great emulations of strings (named "Sibelius") and great church organ sound. They sound great but again polyphony is fast cut down.

AN1x is not only good synth for electronic music but I think it's fairly good keyb for progressive rock etc too. It can make some nice pads and leads but also some fx/noise. I have seen two opposite live sets using AN1x: Yes "House of blues" Igor Khoroshev using the same a bit lame portamento-lead sound in every song and Yes "Symphony" where Tom Brislin used his AN creatively and sounding good.

All in all, there is so much to edit and explore. I could buy it back, if price goes even lower.

No problems. Never gigged. Freezed only couple of times.

In my opinion Korg and Yamaha supports are the crappiest around.

I don't know why they didn't make upgraded version of AN1x. You can hear AN1x in my all older tracks. It's great value today. I wouldn't buy it for trance, go for Virus/JP for those. Just contact, if you want some samples or listen the older tracks (can be listened in homepage).

deadzonemusic.com

I???ve installed v1.04 which has to ordered as a spare from Yamaha although many countries don???t have them in stock anymore.
Presets are s**t and clean uninspired and low in volume. There are plenty of good user presets knocking around on the net.
The front panel is ok for simple edits but not intuitive for in depth programming. There???s a good freebie software editor from Yamaha but I use mine with a Doepfer Drehbank which really makes this one of the bests synths for programming that I own.
Manual is crap in fact this is my second AN1X and I???ve only just got my head around the power of the 16 path control matrix no thanks to the manual.

Ok the AN1X is one of the first generation of VA???s with only two part multi but for the price they go for this isn???t a problem as your getting a decent master keyboard (on par with a K2000) with aftertouch, nice arpeggiator and an excellent and versatile analogue style sequencer that???s transmits note, gate, velocity and any MIDI CC you want. Each saved sequence can also be spread across each key the first half of the keyboard and you can transpose it with the other half which is great fun.
There is also a free EG which is kinda like a built controller sequencer for recording real time knob twiddling. This can be set at a max of 16 seconds or a eight measures and is fantastic for constantly morphing sounds although the resolution does step a little which is noticeable on some parameters like cutoff. Use the step and free EG together and things get very exciting.
You can also morph between two patches which works best with changing parameters of two sound that don???t step i.e. like waveform selection, pitch semitone.
Most of the AN1X???s parameters will respond to MIDI CC which as I???ve mentioned works brilliantly with a Drehbank. All sound parameters are on bank A with sequencer steps on bank B.
I???d say its not quite as in depth as a Virus, Q or Ion but its not far off and considering that the AN1X predates most of these machines by a fair few years its fair to say it was way ahead but sadly no one realised this due to its compromised interface and crap manual.

Its strange that being my second AN1X that it still sounds as good as when I first bought it even against all the newer equipment I???ve owned and tried. The ring mod sounds good, you can take the edge of the upper harmonics on the waveforms (good for HPF sounds), four different FM algorithms, PWM on sawtooth waves, very hi frequency LFO???s with a comprehensive variation of waveforms, an excellent multimode filter that doesn???t sound too artificial when used correctly and a feedback function that really brings out the organic nature of the AN1X like overdriving the filter on an old analogue to fatten the sound.
The FX are also good, a deep flanger, grungy auto wha, Yamaha???s symphonic chorus FX (essential for Synthex impressions), a licence Aphex exciter (will help blow away any other VA when used right), tempo and cross delays and a useable reverb. The quality isn???t quite a Boss VF1 but they sound richer than my KP2.
The sound can really be fattened up with VCA feedback and unison mode and the synth sounds good across the range from basses to hi frequency FX especially when the Apex enhancer is used. The crap presets really don???t demonstrate any of these virtues which combined but when used creatively the AN1X really blows most other VA???s away; more beef than a MS2000 or JP8000, better hi frequency sounds than a Virus or Novation.
The thing I like most about programming the AN1X (with my Drehbank btw) against many other synths is that you???re not trying to work around its inadequacies as its more a case of ???I haven???t tried that yet??? which usually pays off and is very rewarding when creating new sounds.
It doesn???t quite cut it against a real beefy analogue but in this respect I find the sound works better polyphonically and deep lush pads are one of the AN1X???s strong points.
I can get an excellent Synthex sound without the Synthex price and fruity hi frequency modulating FX without alaising like other VA???s.

The step sequencer has its faults like not responding to MIDI start stop and the timing isn???t as tight as my Quasimidi gear when recording to an external sequencer but this is really only a problem with syncing tight percussive sounds which isn???t the AN1X???s strongpoint. The tempo delay resetting glitches are also addressed in v1.04.
Other than that its rock solid.

Got my new OS ROM on my Visa from the nice lady at Yamaha UK without any hassle no future developments for a discontinued synth almost a decade old is to be expected.

You can pick up an AN1X for around the same price as a decent brand new MIDI master keyboard or average softsynth, which makes it a bargain for those who want something in the real world they can touch and play.
If you spend a little extra on a good MIDI control surface you???ll have the full power of one of the most underrated VA???s at your fingertips.
Thinking of buying an decent polysynth without the real analogue unreliability (worth it on some analogues tho) MS2000, Nord, or JP8000 then you should check out the AN1X first.

Hello everyone, i'm from chile, so my english is't god.

The manual is excelent, everything is there with examples and good information.
About editing patches, is not so good, 8 knobs for all the parameters, so you have 8 submenus to modify all of them, not so intuitive as a nord lead for example.

10 voices polyphony, excelent for a V.A.
nice effects, reverbs, delays and multieffects, sounds very good.
every sound has two scenes, so with one sound you can have 2 "little sounds" and can be switched in any time or even play at the same time.

Wooooooooow, thin machine sound amasing!!!!!!!!
everything is perfect.
you can do wakeman leads, emerson leads, everything from the old glories of the rock prog of the seventies.
The bases are strongs and punchies, and with the arpeggiator, you can do some nice trance music.
the pads are awesome, with the pwm thay are soft, warm, bright, etc. The pwm can be asigned to any wawe (saw. pulse, etc), so the pads can be very complex.

REsuming, excelent sound for 400 dolars in chile.

Everything work excelent, nice hardware
the case is plastic but strong.
The knows are great, far better than a ms2000

I never contact with yamaha

Very strong machine to emulate the old analog synths

Good price, nice specs.
If you can buy it, don't think twice

There's banks of reasonable presets out there. Editing patches sucks on its own interface, but is pretty sweet with the PC editor. The manual is a complete waste of time and paper.

10 notes poly. The keyboard action isn't terrible, but fails to impress; like most synths, old and new. It has no sequencer in the classic sense, only one for controldata, which is excellent.

For me, the strength of this synth is in its synth strings. Especially in 5-voice (doubled) mode, the strings are silky smooth and evocative. It would be one of my favorite synths for that if I bought it again. You can coax some pretty sweet, expressive Rhodes sounds out of it, if you work at it. I didn't really like the leads, but I'm sure I could improve on those I had preset if I worked at it; I don't really have a need for them though.

For hard, Tangerine Dream like sequenced lines this will do fine, and its bass if good for that. However, for playing basslines, this isn't so hot IMO.

It can sound very smooth or very harsh. It's up to the programmer, i.e. you!

It's nice and lightweight, so carrying it around is fine. It's all rather plasticky, but I had no problem with lugging mine around to gigs. Would gig without backup unless the gig was so good I could AFFORD a backup =]

Haven't had to deal with Yamaha yet.

The AN1x is definately on my short list of 'much synth for little money'. I'm usually just selling gear to buy other, but if I had some cash to burn, this would probaby be in my little studio.

I've been playing for over twenty years, was 'raised' on organ and accordeon, and got to my synth lust via a Casio SK-1 and a Roland Juno-6 to an Elka Synthex and beyond. Having owned some twenty or thirty synths in that time, the AN1x can hold its own.

I love the sounds. I love the PC editor, the ribbon controller, and the morph function. I hate the interface, but that's true for about 90% of digital synths. Somewhere along the way, common sense seems to have left the people who design interfaces on synths. I'm getting an Ensoniq ESQ1 later today; now THAT's an interface! Yamaha also makes about the densest, least readable and useful manuals in the industry. None of it makes much sense to me.

The AN1x is a great buy at its s/h price, and I can't imagine it disappointing anyone too much. A musician's synth, because of the control, and because of the detailed sound editing (with the PC editor).

The an1x features an intuitive and easy interface, where the eight knobs are used to control up to seven different editing aspects depending on which section is selected on a separate LED-button grid. Thats 56 functions, 8 being assignable, and by pressing the knobs it is possible to receive clear info on current settings whilst also decreasing the incremental changes in value while turning the knobs. It is not, however, the perfect real-time environment, incomparable at least to one-knob-one-function boards but more than sufficient.

Further to the right of the board is a LED screen that while not showing us a satelite images of our house like modern synths will eventually do, is fully capable of providing all required information is a concise and non-diverting manner, which is ideal for any real-time synth.

The presets, like most synths are not good at demonstrating the power of the engine. I never know why the factory programmers insist on being so foreign to the concept of interesting electronic sounds for which this synth is ideal, that they provide generic and dated sounds that will turn off many at the shops. At least the manual is exemplary, being clear, detailed, with a wealth of information of how to program and definitions for functions, thus being ideal for the programming beginner. Under this category, I would include the fact that being light-weight at about 7kg is very useful for moving around while still having with you a 61 keyset and synth engine.

Keyboard is so good for my own playing tastes (a firm but bouncy movement) that it has become my master controller, so that I in fact have no other keybeds in my possession. Polyphony is 10, which perfectly adequate for the sounds at which it excels, as explained below.

No expansions, and a slightly limited memory for only 128 programs. MIDI capabilties are perfect, all sorts of weirdness occur between the combined 100 knob functions of the an1x and waldorf microwave xt.
Sequencer is fine for basic use but i rarely use it because sequencers are not my style. Also, a good performance enhancer included is the ability to 'morph' between two separate scenes/voices using the modulation wheel.

I tend to favour digital synths with a unique and intriquing sound character. The waldorfs have it, the additive kawais have it, and then i decided I should try va. We all know how jp8000s are vastly overused and limited in their sound architecture, similar things could be said for nords and virus'. While these boards are the staple of all modern music and are perfectly adequate for your basic pads and leads, where is the love? Or more technically, where is the unique lush, vibrant and simultaneously dark personality hidden in every sound. I think the an1x is ideal for this.

The most extraordinary feature to the engine is the breadth and range of the sounds capable, but its strengths definitely lie within the task of making the perfect lead sounds, and also producing the basis upon which to create a full-bodied and analogish melody for anything with dance, electronica, dub and ambient. I wouldn't naturally choose it for the majority of basic 'filling-in' pads over other synths, though it is certainly capable of them, and it does have some great strings. But the leads you can create are awesome, ranging from beautiful strange entrancing bell sounds that I can't avoid playing around with, to dark and other-worldly pulses that really can't be explained.

The plastic casing has numerous advantages that outweigh the fact that it 'could' be suseptible to damage which, from my experience so far, it isn't. The only slight quirk with the functionality is that if I happen to turn the synth on at program no. 48, it starts making strange crackling sounds. It appears that I programmed the patch in a way such that the engine can't handle it while loading up. I don't really know whether I should be proud about out-synthing the synth engine it or not...

Not yet involved with them.

I would buy it again without a doubt if stolen, as nothing (Nothing!) can compare at its price second-hand.

The An1x was released in the late 1990's, which is surely one of the golden ages in synth history where a majority of modern music originates from machines of that vintage. The an1x is one of the cheapest of those on account of its appearance and that it was less user friendly than some of its competitors and consequently did not catch on to a similar bandwagon to the nords and jp8000s. Nethertheless, it maintains a character and capability that few other can match, and thats why many users cry out for a follow-up machine to enjoy too(an2x etc) but we sadly know that isn't going to happen thanks to the damn market for workstations that yamaha concentrates on these days.

The an1x sits right in the middle of my studio as a controller for pc and the rack, while its sound engine quietly waits, because it knows that i am bound to use it eventually for the sounds that define a track. I use it mainly in conjunction with my other digitals, the Microwave xt and k5000r, and after some time they have all become the best of friends. I sure don't need more digitalness, especially not another va, as the an1x does it all and more

I rate this a 7 because of the manual. Yamaha seems to have 2 modes for manuals: 1) blissfully easy to understand (like my dx200 and this) 2) geek speak engineering specs (like my motif rack and my FS1R). The layout on this isn't intuitive at first glance, but it is logical after a little study. I own quite a few synths, and I have to say the panel layout and tweaking is a bit different than the rest.

I've had this for about a year and a half now, and maybe because I bought it 5-6 years after is was manufactured, the specs never impressed me much. 10 voice polyphony, 2 part multitimbral (sort of). Effects are decent quality to me, which usually seems to be the case with my Yamaha synths, and these are decently easy to program. Haven't used the onboard sequencer much, but it looks ok to me the couple times I dorked around with it. The manual covers explains working with it well.

My only real complaint is with the build of the keyboard. Though mine is in good shape, and has held up well, it's just VERY plastic. Knobs, keyboards, body...they're all very plastic and not near as solid as some of my other synths.

THIS is where this puppy shines. I'm not sure what the reviewer from 05/15/2005 was smokin (say what??? "Sound carries flavor, and the best musicians are those who recognize, on whatever level, that they work in synaesthetics; the art of stimulating different sensorial reactions") but lacking the influence of any LSD, I can say this thing pulls off analog emulation and fatness quite nicely. I have an Alesis A6 and a Micron, and this thing carries its own weight quite well along with those 2 keyboards.

Pads, basses and leads all work nicely on this thing, and to my ear, it reminds me of an old Prophet quite a bit. Flexible enough to program easily for expression with the wheels, X-Z Ribbon Controller and assignable knobs. Unison mode is easy to use and helps fatten the tone up quite a bit.

I'm ready to sell my JP-8080 (I'm clearing house), but despite the low polyphony, I'm keeping my AN1X

So far, I've had no problems using this thing, but then I also don't gig with it. Has a wall wart for power, which isn't good, but it's usable. Plastic body doesn't give me confidence, but it works fine in the home studio.

Haven't had to deal with Yahama for support directly, but I am impressed with all the support on-line. Easy access to FAQs and manuals for the used equipment I've bought, and easy upgrades and software access for the new stuff as well.

I'm not sure if I'd replace this if it were stolen (for sub $200, maybe). My biggest complaint with it is the real estate it takes up, for the less-than-ample polyphony it delivers. Other keyboards I have take up as much or less space, and deliver more bang for the buck when keyboard stand space is scarce. BUT, I find myself turning to the AN1X for certain brass, pad, and bass sounds frequently enough, so for the near future, I'll keep it as a sound source for sure.

Well, I've had my AN1X for a couple or three years now and the longer I use it the better I like it. Geez people, there are some harsh reviews on this synth! I'm just not getting it. However, like any really good synth, it takes time to really learn what it will do. This is a really deep VA/FM synth and 20 years ago people would have killed to have one. The user interface is logical to a fault, apparently. If you aren't logical you are going to hate it. YOu have to be a bit organized in your thinking to approach this monster. Other VA's may have more physical knobs, but actually the AN1X gives you nearly instant access to 64 parameters - more than the MS2000. Punch the right button for your set of 8 and then twirl away and see what happens. All the parameters are labeled right on the front. Makes perfect sense. You turn the knob and the LCD tells you exactly what the current value is. ONce you get familiar with the layout patch programming goes very smoothly. If you don't learn the layout you're going to be frustrated to death because it's all there in front of you but you don't know what to do with it. The matrix is a bit more complicated, though. You'll have to read the manual to make sense of that part of the architecture, but it is WELL worth it! You can make or break a patch in that matrix. The free editor works great, but honestly I do most of my programming on the board these days. There's something clinical about using a computer to design patches... I like to be able to play a note or chord and listen to what I'm doing. That's not as easy with the editor, though it does make many chores much faster. Now the manual is another kettle of fish. It's all in there, but sometimes finding it is not so easy. Also, some of the explanations are a bit arcane. But show me a synth manual that doesn't suffer from those problems once in a while! This is not an easy synth to program - it's far too flexible to be easy. However, once learned it is a joy to work with. I have no trouble tweaking patches on the fly at this point. But, hey, I've had it like three years...

Other reviews have covered this very well... Learn to use the free EG feature - really, really powerful. Also, the equalizer section can really change (for better or worse) the sound of ANY patch. If you find a patch sounding dead - it's probably the VCF or the equalizer that's doing it. Well, could be the edge settings, too... To get the best out of any VA you have to know what you're doing and that takes time and knowledge and experimentation. Of course, that said, if you want a plug and play synth get a rompler, but you're missing all the real fun... This is a VA/FM synth, so it doesn't do everything, but it can do a lot within it's range. Part of the difficulty of this synth is the wealth of features. It's a lot to get your head around and it won't happen the first time you sit down to it, or in a week. You definitely have to learn this machine to get the best out of it.

I like the sound of the AN1X. It's not as harsh and in your face as a Micro Q or an ESQ, generally, though it can be harsh. It's not as liquid sounding as a Matrix 1000 and it will never be a Wavestation, but it can do great things. In my experience, bad sounding patches are usually the fault of bad programming. Programming is an art, definitely. The synth is extremely capable and can sound great. It can be super expressive with 8 knobs, touch strip, two pedals, velocity and aftertouch... YOu can easily program mush on this board, however. Too much of the wrong settings and you have mud, but you can do that with any VA. Likewise, you can make a patch so sharp and shrill that you will get that fingernails on the chalk board sound. The range of the board is extreme, so you can make extremely bad patches or extremely awesome ones. You can also overdrive the internal system and drive it into sporadic distortion if you're not careful. Just depends on what you do with it. It's nice to have the effects for some sounds, and you don't have to lug another FX box around to a gig. It's easy to get carried away with them, though. Several people have said not to judge this on the presets and I have to echo that. To hear what it can really do you have to experiment.

Yamaha makes solid gear. I've still got an amp I bought 27 years ago and it works like it was new. I wouldn't go dropping the AN all over the place, but it should hold up if you are reasonably careful with it. I have not had any problems with the knobs or switches.

Never had to use it.

I've come to love this board and would hate to see it go. I hope it has a long and useful life... Other gear... I have a bunch of synths bought over the past 11 years. Wavestation SR - amazing, Micro Q - hard to compare but it's good, Morpheus a bit thin, but powerful, FS1r - #$%^& to program but fantastic sound, VZ-10m same as the last but doesn't sound as good, XL-7 super lush, deep sounds when tweaked, k5000s unique and beautiful, TG-77 FM wonderbox, Matrix 1000 wish it had knobs, Karma most amazing and difficult synth ever - definitely, 2 ESQm's great sound, flexibility and character for cheap - no knobs... Even so, I still find myself programming on the AN1X a lot. It grows on you... And in its own way it stands up to the other synths I have without difficulty. It's a unique synth and that in itself makes it useful for getting different sounds. On the negative side, it doesn't reward you without effort. You have to earn it. But, that's one of the reasons it is fun to program. If it were too easy it would be boring. At the current street price it is a great board, but only for somebody who will dig into it.

As with any hardware synth, the AN1X is very easy to use straight out of the box if you like the presets, which hardly anyone does. It's very easy to change these using trial and error if you are new to using a synth, but if you want to create sounds from the ground up and are a n00b (like me), consult the manual, which will you you a step-by-step and how to create new sounds.

General: Step sequencer (16), 25 or so arpeggiator patterns, multiple layers per sound which can be edited and played separately or played together.
It has many different sets of filters (VCO, LFO, etc.) and a ribbon controller that is assignable in addition to the mod wheel. I haven't used the sequencer yet.

Expansion: you will need an external device to archive sounds, but there are a lot of midi control options.

This is an analog modeling synth, so it wasn't really made to mimic real instruments. Instead, it can mimic other synths. The sound can range from old synths to 90s digital sounds. The AN1X has a lot of range and create some crunchy and warm bass sounds and some decent string sounds as well. Dance/EBM music for sure with this, but it seems slightly lacking in the LEAD sound department as far as I have seen.

This thing is very durable. My apartment building burned down and the board had water inside of it. I let it sit for a couple of days and cleaned out the inside and it works pretty damn well. It's a survivor and the simple design helps with dependability as well.

I'm in the process of ordering a replacement knob, otherwise I haven't had to repair it.

Overall a very good synth for the capabilities. If you only have to buy one piece of equipment and aren't into using PC-based stuff, this isn't the board for you, as it is not a workstation. However, if you want an old (and newer) synth feel to your sounds without having to spend the money on an older and less reliable genuine analog, this is the synth for you.

wtf is goin on here? Everybody reads, no one writes. Keep this thing going!!! You need to get used to. It's kind of semi-modular. Knobs are a great help offering kind of easy-edit.

Polyphony is 10 MiniMOOGs. You will love to use it in multitrack-recording. Good synthkeyboard, nothing special. Not expandeble. MIDI is great for the knobs may send any controller and any controller may be reassigned to any parameter. Sequencing I do externally can't say.

WOW! Question is if another instrument will ever sound like the AN1X. For me IT is an original. Works for all kinds of synthiemusic. Although there's little classical literature for synths. It's the mean blue (not green) machine. Blind tested it aainst all other VA- (and A-)Synths around. Sounds hard and harsh, may sound nice too, but that's only disguise. Onboard FX- like everything else are realtime tweakable. Bery dynamic play once you use controllers and knobs. If your planning to buy your one and only synth, don't take this one. If your other synths are way too tame and cultivated (I'll say 10 having a few), get this wild one.

Never had any probs. I nevertheless always tend to take as many synth along as I can carry. And in the end who needs a keyboarder?

Support is what WE make it; especially when it comes to old stuff. Those greenhorns in callcenters don`t know or care too much about oldtimers. They are friendly and they try but they can't.

If stolen I'd get me another. If there was an expander-version (NOT the AN200, that's ?=)($%)&) I'd get it in advance. Played some 25 years everything there was around. Love the raw, wild strength of sounds kinda dirty. I hate buying keys when looking for expanders but couldn't help. Compared to JP80**, Nord Lead(which sounds brighter and more precise), Waldorf microwave and microQ and various soft synths, this is the most powerful, pressive sound; blindchecked them playing 100s of demos in WinAmp randomly. It's a great help at making music MY way, knobs controlling internal and external equippment.
Support's what WE make it.

this instrument takes a bit of getting used to as far as editing... however if you spend the time you will be rewarded. in a huge way.

polyphony is fine. better than my obxa... the fx are very nice. the sequencer and arpeggiator both rock.

i own many vintage synthesizers (arp 2600, mini mood, moog prodigy, moog sonic 6, juno 106 and 60, roland jd 800, korg ms 20, serge modular and others, and this synth makes me smile! it is the best analog modeler i have found. and actually (sorry guys) the presets are great. very representative of the sounds you get with classic analog synths. if you can't get fat, cool sounds out of this then you should play triangle or something without knobs.

ok, this is where the problem is. at least when the instrument was initially releaased. i went through two of them before i got one that worked correctly. i heard there was a lot of bad chips. bummer. the one i have now works like a charm. no problems.

cool company. when i got the bad one i called yamaha and told the tech that my an1x was making strange noises. he said.... uh, it's supposed to make far out sounds.......

if mine bit the dust, i would replace it immediately. they are on ebay often for around $400. (ooops, shhhhhhhhhhh...)
this synth represents a kick arse value. the next best thing to a good old analog synth.

I had to write this because the Aaron's comments who owned AN1x, what for a week or something?? As you can tell, it's impossible to write deep review of synth you have owned short time. I bought mine 1998 and still I'm having lust with it. It's my master keyboard because: 1)I'm not piano-player who needs responsive and weighted keyboard, it's fast and light to play and I like how the aftertouch works 2)It's small and don't take too much space 3)8-knobs for controlling other stuff. 4) After owning CS1x, it's easy to use.

I agree the most of the stuff with Aaron because I was totally disappointed when I bought AN1x. Sounds were really bad. I was going to sell it for few times but it's still there. After I spent LONG time with it I started realitze the possibilities and limits of the unit. More next part...

Because I think it's great pad and athmosphere machine, polyphony could be greater than 10. Long release times eats the poly and with dual layering you can create amazing complex and "massive" stuff but with only 5 voice poly. I like the keyboard action but that's totally matter of taste. Effects are not great but a bit spice is always welcome. Delays (tempo delay) are great and I use them most. No expansion. MIDI is great but LFO-sync to MIDI-clock would be welcome. AN1x is quite feature-packed synth with possible to morph two sounds and use dual/dual-unison modes. After few years I started to dig modulation matrix. You can make 16 differet(if I remember right) sets of sources/destinations. With these you can make synth sing and very expressive.

Presets are mostly crap including some very basic basses and synth sounds. Check sounds from the net or try yourself. I was lucky with AN1x because at time I bought it I didn't have many other synths. So I had time with it. If you have studio full of synths, I bet you don't have time to learn every synth inside-out if you aren't full time musician. I use synths for different things even AN1x has made quite many different sounds during these years. AN1x has usually made pads/athmos but also leads/basses.

Knobs are working fine as are the keys. Only the color of the plastic near the inc/dec buttons are faded. I have used it a lot! Never gigged with it.

Never used.

They are dirt cheap today. If you get one and you aren't seeking the cheesy sounds, be ready to lear to edit it (as most of the synths). I combined it with sampler/Roland JV and analog synth and made some nice tracks (IMHO) but now I have more stuff to tweak. Still using AN1x every time. I'm sure Micron can make the sounds AN can't and it definitely has better (and more) presets. Still, test synths and think what you are after.

To say this synth is easy to use is to say that shoes are easy to untie.
The presets are the worst I have heard and will want to hear. Taking a walk through their tutorials created something that (on a different machine) would've sounded great 1/3rd of the way through, then the next step featured ruined it entirely. The Japanese have a well-deserved reputation for beautiful insanity but these patches and instructions led to something completely ineffable. Legal action should be pursued in investigating and rectifying the conditions with which Yamaha treats their sound designers.
No computer should be tainted by contact with this "synthesizer". The manual sadly was the best feature of the AN1x package, which is small comfort after listening to this thing for more than half an hour.

Keyboard action is passable. The knobs will fly off if looked at cross-eyed, like the CS1x and CS2x.

The sequencer was innovative for this time, but can easily be surpassed by the Alesis Micron's phrase programmer, or the RPS functions of the Roland JP-8000. It's basicly an arpeggiator you'd want to use, that you can control.

You can get a decent, strong sub-bass out of it, but after hearing the rest of the patches, you wouldn't want to. The effects... are slightly better than the CS2x, slightly better than the Zoom Sampletrak. Expression was quite workable, but again, the sounds are nothing you want, unless you suffer from some strange hearing deficiency, or secretly loathe your audience.

Sound carries flavor, and the best musicians are those who recognize, on whatever level, that they work in synaesthetics; the art of stimulating different sensorial reactions. There are those who smell colors, hear textures, etc., and music always is a process of evoking by connotation in a variety of levels. So, to me, this board sounded like the smell of vinegar-dressed foot, peppered heavily in dill, eaten in a dusty attic. There was just a huge quality of hollowness, as though the sound components were missing an essential richness. Even the cheapest of Korg VA's sound better than this.

There is no one I hate so much as to play live on this thing for. I'm sure the OS and components are perfectly stable. Those knobs, though...

Ads will often noted that its use as a midi controller is cited very strongly. That's because you'll never want to use much off of it. That ribbon controller is a keen idea on a foully executed concept.

Yamaha must've seen the JP-8000 and gotten the strange idea that they could do it better and in a chassis reissue. If you really need a ribbon controller and a lot of knobs, get a JP-8000, or be daring and try the Novation X-Station 49, which has a joystick instead of wheels, and a Kaoss Pad-style X/Y pad that can cross-control 4 instead of 2 parameters. Ditto on the Korg Z1. The Micron is also well worth looking at.

I sold this thing after a week. No rating here. They wouldn't want to hear from me about this, anyway.

I've been playing about 6 years. I've owned Roland D2, Roland SH-32, Korg EM-1, both Kaoss Pads, Yamaha CS2x, Zoom RT-123, Roland MS-1 sampler, Zoom Sampletrak St-224, and most recently (and belovedly) the Alesis Micron. I sold keyboards for Guitar Center and know my way around a lot of synthesizers. As for this beast, I had it for a week. I gave it a fair chance, did my best to re-edit and get past the presets, and failed: it sounded That Crappy. I will never touch it again and warn everyone else to stay far away from one. Not even the most deranged noiz musician would want one. The only place it would fit in is at Guatanamo Bay.

I wish it had a sound engine as clear and rich as the CS6X. At this point I don't know if I could even touch a Motif again.

If you're looking into VA synthesis, try an Alesis Micron. Annoying to edit but the results are worth 7 times the hassle.

The presets are trash, But then again who the hell buys a synth for presets?
the editing is a little tricky at first. It's like 2 microkorgs in the sense that there is a main control knob for half the stuff and then button groups for the others - basically which ever group is selected is what the knobs do, or where ever the knob is pointing is what the buttons do. after you spend a couple hours with it-it will become 2nd nature.
also the software an1x edit is AMAZING if you own and an1x you much get an1x edit - it's the best way to program this beast.

The poly is good enough it sounds very fat when it wants to.
the key action is simply THE best of any synth I have ever owned (and I have owned alot of synths!) I would pay the $300-400 for to use this thing as a controller! - though if your into piano keys then you wont like it- but it's a synth not a piano.
the built in effects are great, I don't find the need to use external effects at all. it has velocity and aftertouch (why spent 300 on a midi controller when you can buy this!)

it doesn't have realistic sounds...because it's a synth.

it really sounds amazing it's different then most VA's - like how the nord lead 2 is different. also there is lots and lots of modulation.

it's very reliable I have had no problems with it nor have I heard of anyone having any problems with it.
I would gig with out a back up for sure.

well it's kind of old now (1997) so I don't believe there is much customer support - but then again I never have needed it so I am going to give it and even score of 5.

If it were lost or stolen I would defiantly buy it again.
it's worth far more then what I paid.

Presets are OK, they are quite easy to edit. You have over 50 parameters available through the knobs. Manual seems to be quite easy, though I had to read it twice to catch the method of synthesis and construction.

Polyphony 10 notes, reduced to 5 when in unison mode. Unison is a very well - sounding method of play. Sound are doubled and slightly detuned, so they are wider, harder add fetter. Lots of effects: chorus, reverb, delay, rotary and others. Sounding maybe a little bit outdated, but still you must remember that it's not a very expensive synth. Better get an external effects device. Midi works ok, the only drawback is long time of program change control (about 1 sec.) 16 step sequencer, never used it. I think the LFO filter should have a measure in Hz, not scale from 1 to 256 (never know how fast exactly it works). No LFO - tempo link. Knobs rather poor, but they have a very interesting feature: when pressed show current parameter value.

Very few realistic instruments. If you're searching for realism forget an1x. Its a synth of flesh and blood. Fantastic analog-like sounds, that give you the chill. Great for techno, dance, ambient, but of course also other kinds of music. Strong and fat, rather warm in sound, full, heavy. Filters sound great. Should have it in your studio. Velocity keyboard, enough for me. Maybe too little response to aftertouch.

Never any problems with it. I think the worst think about it is poor quality of its case. Low budget plastic, but still seems to be better better than in cs1x.

running ROM version 1.01....the presets sound ok, but are nothing to write home about! if you look for a synth to turn on, select a preset and have fun, there are for sure better ones available! there are lots of great patches (for free!) on the net, though.
what really sucks are the knobs. they feel very cheap and they absolutely don't work accurate. if you want to set a parameter to a certain value - e.g. 23 - , it often looks like this: you move it to 22, then to 24, to 22 again, to 24 again, and just don't hit the 23 - although you move the knob very little! this can really be annoying. sometimes it's like gambling... :(
On the other hand there's a "knob-push-feature" thats already been described here, and this is quite a good idea.
anyway, the free pc editor makes the knobs dispensable!
besides that, the patch editing works fine on the an1x.
the downloadable editor makes it even easier.

arpeggio notes are not send by midi :(
the onboard effects are ok, they don't replace outboard equipment, but do their job quite good. max. polyphony is 10 notes, in unison mode 5 notes. keyboard is velocity sensitive (<- adjustable) and has aftertouch (<- not adjustable). the an1x has an step sequencer which works really nice for own arpeggios. haven't programmed it yet using the onboard editing matrix, only with the pc editor! very easy!
the synth is kind of bitimbral, "kind of" because you can't really play two timbres at a time, just two scenes (two different settings for one voice)!
display is not quite oversized, but big enough.
it has 3 realtime controllers (pitch wheel, mod wheel, x-z ribbon controller), each can control 0 to 16 parameters of your choice.
i'll give this an overall rating of 7 points, because todays synthesizers offer more than the an1x (multitimbre, 3 oscs....).

as for every virtual analog synth, this is not ideal for the reproduction of natural sounds like guitars, pianos, drums aso. samplers do a better job here. you can use the an1x for dance music (from trance to ambience to rave to dancefloor to ...), but also for "spicing" pop, rnb, rock, industrial...! its great for (arpeggiated) pads, basses and leads.

has crashed once, when it received corrupt midi data from my sequencing software.
overall build quality seems not too robust. it's a plastic box.
nonetheless, i would gig with it without backup, i guess.

never dealt with yamaha.

I would buy me an an1x again, if it was stolen. for that price, you can't beat it! There are more sophisticated products on the market (acces virus, clavia nordlead, and so on...), but they are $$$ ! And almost everything you can do on them, you can do in a way on the an1x, too. I recommend it especially to beginners, who are not sure whether va synthesis is right for them. thats what i did, too. it is my first synthesizer. this review is explicitly from an beginners point of view!

PS: If you want to contact me, remove the nosp_am in my email address.

I have read some of the reviews on this web page and I thought I might add something to it myself. My friend Alex wilson has been recording music as a season musician and a producer from many years and I have also been recording music and playing live for about 12 years myself, I think the one thing that alot of us forget is that when we record music and play live most people have no idea about analog or virtual analog only what they like to hear. I can lug my moog modular on stage which has cost me #400 in the last year alone to maintain or my AN1X which cost me #300 and I still get the same great reaction. The one thing I would say to anyone getting started in recording synth based music is don't make the same mistakes as I did spending years and about #15000 on equipment trying to get the perfect sound, You will never get it! just try to make the best of what you have and don't get to worried about true analog or digital analog.

OS 1.02. The manual is very good and useful IMHO. Easy editing, especially with AN1xEdit software editor. Presets - who cares? ;) There's very good ones though. Ribbon controller is fun to use, aftertouch is somethat rough, but usable. Knobs could be better (a bit steppy in normal mode) but works fine. Very logical and well-built synth.

Polyphony could be better (10 max), but I'm not complain (otherwise - 10). Very good legato, unison, dual modes. Scene morphing, FREE EG, arps and step sequencer, ring-mod, FM, Sync, PWM, feedback - great stuff! Very capable synth architecture with powerful modulation matrix (16 in/outs per scene). Very good filter section. - I was suprised how good it is!

What I can say - it is OUTSTANGING Yamaha AN sound! This synth has its own character which I love.

MIDI controller capabilies are just GREAT (very nice synth keyboard action, much better than Roland)! It's my Master MIDI Controller.

Phat & cutting leads, deep basses, lush syn.strings, pads, weird FXs, some FM-stuff (e-piano), organs, syn.percussion - no problem for this synth!

FX section is good: variation effects - very good, delays - good, reverbs - average (at least they are tweakable ;) ), onboard master EQ helps much too...

This is YAMAHA - 10. This synth once retained my edited voice when a sudden power loss occured!

Very good. Yamaha is very responsive by e-mail. Good site. Manuals, wonderful freeware editor and other stuff can be downloaded from their site. Many patches on the web, user groups. Very nice...

If it will be stolen I would buy it again in a heartbeat... I love my AN1x. Great value. I only wish more polyphony and multitimbrality. This synth inspires me to write the music. In my setup AN1x covers all "analog" section. I only wish to add to my setup FM&FS synthesis - Yamaha FS1R (another fantastic synth from Yamaha).

Being used to a cs2x, and a kstation, programming is a real breeze and if that weren't enough, there's free software that edits it!
Presets? Huh? did it have any ?
Manual is good enough... yamaha style..

It has a ribbon controller that is REAL fun to play with, 8 asignable knobs, that feel nice and ruggid! and when je PUSH them you'll see the value that it is asigned ATM.. also, when pushed you can easily finetune your patches
polyphony of 10... welll... if in this synth you do not have enough with 10 voices, consider cycling as a hobby.
Expansions not that I am aware of... but i'll see the end of thay sooner than that this synth is depleted in sounds. (well apart from like the synth breaking)..
It has Aftertouch! which is fair enough, even for performance play, the keys are almost identical to a waldorf Q keys.. play really nice, feel weighty and yet have fast action for the complicated stuff.
The onboard stepsequencer, love at first sight, ok, there might be better steppers, but hey, it still is one hell of a stepsequencer, on top of that it has Enveloppes you can DRAW YOURSELF! 4 of them, and these are asignable to any of the functions in this baby WOW doesn't even start to describe the pleasures that can bring

This is THE electronic synth you want ... if you can't get the right sounds out of it??? what did you say? oyeah, you were a cyclist before weren't you?
A++++

dunno, BUT will find out REALLY fast.......

yes i will use it NO not without DOUBLE backup being my first gig and that facing 2000 people, no thanks, even if it were a sherman A1 i'd bring double backup

haven't yet and don't expect to need it ever

Cyclist vs. Artist.... you do the math..

there is no excuse on earth not to want this .... except ... well you get the idea ;)

Not the easiest synth to get around on but very convienient in a way too. All the knobs are good and easy but the other features are a bit tricky depending on what you are trying to do.

Plent of good features for a VA. The only thing I wish it had that it doesnt is a vocoder but that's not a concern at the price of this synth.

Excellent!!! I love this synth and it keeps suprising me all the time. After owning it for a couple of months and doing some light editing, I finally started to download some patch files from the Phat and Blue website. I was blown away by some of the sounds that other people were making. Those patches made for some great places for me to start making more of my own sounds and really helped me learn more about the synth. If you cant make an analog sound from your favorite 70's or 80's albums with this synth.....well, it's not the synths fault. I've been in and out of a few rock bands with this board and have had no problems with replicating sounds from Van Halen's 1984, Jump, Rush's Tom Sawyer, Simple Mind's Dont Forget About Me, Billy Idol's Rebel Yell, and countless others. It also works great for Linkin Park and Nine inch Nails. It's not the only board I gig with but it serves it's purpose well and more importantly does all the things that my sample-playback synths just cant do.

I've gigged it heavily. I cant afford a back-up so that answers that. Something came loose inside it once that killed all of my A's and E flats but it was a simple fix ( no tools, just reconnect ) and that was just a fluke thing. I cant hold that one incident against it.

Never used them.

If it was lost or stolen I would cry. I love this synth. I've been playin to some degree or another for about twenty years. I've got a few other synths like a Roland U-20 and XP-30, Korg N1R, E-mu Virtuoso, and an Akai S3000. I also run Cubase SX with Halion and the included soft synths. I love everything about it pretty much. The only thing that I dont like is the action but it's not horrible. Just plain and springy. My Rolands have sort of a cam action to them. Hard to explain but I like it. I chose it cause they were so cheap on ebay and everyone seems to like it on this sight. It also got a good review by Jim Aikin in Keyboard magazine. I just started writing a song in Cubase SX that uses several sounds from the AN1x. Definitly helps the process of writing.

The An1x is a pretty complicated synth to program at a first glance, however when you dig more deep into the controls, alot of things start to make sense. However it is much easier using the An1xEd program, which by the way is one of the best editors i've seen for a synth, no doubt about that. This Ed makes editing presets or your own patches a breeze...
The manual is absolutely fab. Nicely written with lots of tips here and there which is really good. Alot of useful reading.

I bought this synth primarily for the keyboard, which I think is really nice for the price you can find these synths for. The built in effects sound nice, but not the best ones i've heard, but they do the job.
10 notes of polyphony. This could have been increased, perhaps through some kind of upgrade, but it still has more than double the Korg Ms2000, and it really sounds just as fat and beefy as that one.
The keyboard action is very nice indeed. You can do extreme fast lead solos or bassline solos, and using modulation wheel and the ribbon controller for solos, just makes life more fun! It's really a fun(ky) synth. Midi wise, it's got in, out and through, and you just use those for storing patches externally to this very nice An1xEd editor.

This is where this synth shines above all. Again for this price, this synth just blows away the competition, even today some 6 years after yamaha released it. It can sound really beefy and bad, if you know how to program it. I've been using synths now for over 5 years and I must say that this is one of my secret weapons in the studio, and overall i'm really picky with sounds since one of my big hobbies is programming sounds. When people hear sounds in my productions and they ask from what synth it came from, 99% can't really believe it came from the An1x....it's that good. It's not NI Absynth, but it does have it's own character and the sonic range is limited if you compare it to the infinitely evolving sounds you for instance can make with NI Absynth. I use it primarily for fat basses and soft/harsh leads...
I've been using alot of softsynths and becoming more and more picky about sounds, but I was very surprised with the An1x, doing sounds that really "stand out" from the rest. Very nice sound indeed.
Someone told me the An1x have a bad DAC, but seriously I can't hear that at all. I just can't take people seriously when they complain about these subtle quality aspects anyway today. People really don't take the time to learn from what these synths have to offer, and I think that's a shame. You really can't make a judgement from standing in the music shop scrolling through crappy presets.
Try it, buy it and love it!

This is not an area i've had to much experience of since i've only had it for like two weeks now, but it hasn't crashed during the time i've used it. Therefore it seems reliable, but I can't really tell from this short time of use...

No experience in this field either...

I hope this synth will stay with me for a very, very long time. I have no intentions whatsoever to sell it. This must have been one of my best buys ever, and I fell in love with it right away. If I have to wish for something the synth could have had, (but for this price you really have no right to complain), that would be more multitimbrality and double the voices. If it had that it would really be one of the best, and most underrated(?), synths of all time. I'm that convinced...

This is my second review since 2000. I have owned it for over 4 years now so I have quite much experience. I thought to sell it for couple of times but that was over 3