Yamaha CBX-T3

It doesn't get any simpler...just plug it into a keyboard controller and use it to call up various voices from one of the sound banks, I had downloaded the manual, but didn't need it to get going.

I bought it for the piano sounds, and they are really good. I'm partial to the concert piano sound in the Orchestra bank, but there are three or four pianos that each have its good points. The main grand piano sound in the general MIDI bank is bright and crisp; the main piano in the Yamaha Orchestra bank is warmer and has a sort of concert-hall reverb under it. With good headphones you can hear not only the hammer sound, but also a tiny echo from the hammer.

For the age of this unit and the amount I aid for it, I think the sounds are amazing. The first night I had it I played for about five hours straight.

The module responds and tracks well to input from the keyboard. It has 16 output channels and some built-in reverb (which I likely won't use, since I can have more control adding reverb digitally to individual track or to a final mix)

The unit is not expandable and you can't alter the voices. I was looking for some good acoustic piano, organ, and vibe sounds, so that really doesn't matter to me.

The keyboard sounds are outstanding--pianos, organs (church, B-3, and one that sounds kind of like it would be at home in a '60's-era skating rink), vibraphones, fender-rhodes, even the accordions all sound pretty lifelike. Orchestral string and wood instruments run the gamut from passable (if buried in a mix with other instruments) to blatantly fake. I don't think the violin is terribly convincing because each note basically begins with the bow being set on the string. I think the cello would sound good in a mix. The plucked violin sounds great. There are some chorused string voices that sound pretty nice.

Synth sounds are great, and there are also a couple of chorus voices I really like. There are a range of bass sounds that are passable to good, including a standup acoustic bass, some slap bass sounds, and one or two kind of funky disco-ish ones. I haven't heard the percussion yet (my current MIDI keyboard only goes up to 99).

It responds well in terms of touch sensitivity. I don't have a high-end keyboard, but I'm happy with the range of expression I've been able to get. It's much better in that regard than the keyboard's stock sounds.

So far it's been great. I don't know the history of this unit, but it's in great cosmetic shape and appears to have spent most of its life in a box. I've played it for 15 hours or so without any issues. I'd feel very comfortable taking it on a gig.

N/A

I LOVE this thing. I had bought a Korg P3 and wasn't that happy with the sound. I got the CBX-T3 for under 20 bucks on Ebay, and as soon as I got it I put the P3 up for sale.

I wanted something that would be simple to use and have some flexibility if I use it for recording. Given the number of presets adn the quality of the sounds, the CBX-T3 will be more than enough for my needs.

The sound you can get from this and a low-end MIDI keyboard is nothing short of amazing. If you buy the right vintage stuff, you can get a surprising amount of mileage out of a very small amount of money.

This is just a sound module and is so easy too use, that it's child's play!

Just plug it into your midi capable keyboard/sequencer/computer etc., turn it on and away you go.

It is very light and has a small footprint. The unit stands up vertically.

* MIDI IN/OUT/THRU
* VOLUME DIAL
* AUDIO IN
* HOST SOCKET
* HOST SELECT - MIDI | PC 1&2 | Mac
* LINE OUT (L/Mono-R)
* 15V/500mA DC

Internal ROM voices:
192 instrument voices and 10 drum & percussion sets.
16 Megabytes of samples.
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Internal RAM voices:
64 internal voices locations
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Polyphony:
28-note DVA (Dynamic Voice Allocation)
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Multi-timbral:
16 voices simultaneous (voices assigned to 16 Parts)
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Sound sampling:
AWM (Advanced Wave Memory)
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Reverb effects:
Yamaha custom DSP (Digital Signal Processor)
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Sound module mode:
General MIDI Level 1

Disk Orchestra (Yamaha)

C/M (semi-compatibility with various desktop music systems)
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Expansion is not possible with this unit, as the sounds are all preset/fixed by Yamaha in ROM. For the price that a person is likely to purchase one for nowadays, I give this a 9 (as it's not expandable).

The sounds on this thing are pretty good considering it was made in 1992. Some sounds are synthetic, but it's a synth so that's ok... while other sounds are really life-like (eg. piano, bass, drums etc).

I have heard the sounds on albums, movie and television scores. I particularly like the funky pluck sound of the electric basses (Seinfield-ish). Drums can be either electric kits or life-like, depending on your interpretations.

A synth module is 'exactly' that - a synthetic version of a real instrument. With this in mind, I personally believe that the sounds on this module are usable.

Some (not all) of the sounds do have an audible wind like noise (9 rating), but you can find a similar sound without it so it's not a real problem, I guess.

It's still working so that's why the rating is 10! Never needed to be taken into a shop.

Never needed them and they probably wouldn't even know what it was (hehe :))

For the price I paid for this thing, I would purchase another as you don't have to carry your PC or Rack around for those that have just a MIDI keyboard (like me :)).

It's really good for simply writing drafts for songs too as you can have most sounds at your finger tips, in one cheap unit.

Considering most, if not all the sounds on this unit are usuable to some degree. Simple to use and no hassle nature make it versatile enough for both beginner and advanced users who don't want to lug around their entire rack!