Product: Yamaha KX5
Price Paid: N/A
Submitted
11/08/2002
at
07:45pm
by
Anonymous
Ease of Use
:
10
This is very easy to use. Plug it in to a midi source and play. I don't have the manual and it doesn't matter.
Features
:
8
The ribbon pitch bender is top rate. Pitch bend, volume and modulation are easily accessed via the left hand (sustain, also via the left hand is a bit awkward). Touch sensitivity is good. Only two midi channels (a few more would be nice). Although there are relatively few keys, and they are small sized, after lots of use those are good traits- easy to hold, lighter weight, smaller to hold. The battery light flashes when the batteries are low, but I still have quite a few songs left before I am out of power (it does last a long time with the batteries). An LED would also be nice, but you can't have everything.
Expressiveness/Sounds
:
10
After years of use, I have found this to be very expresive. The keys have a good touch, the mod wheel is fine, and the pitch ribbon is great. The small keys do permit some cool things. Plus its small size permits all sorts of great playing positions.
Reliability
:
8
I have used it very hard. It was used all the time, and moved in a road case by others, and stayed in a truck. I have played it while holding it up by the stem (left hand) over my head, notes with my right. It is mostly metal and pretty solid. I do have a back-up. One is silver (older and a bit more solid) one is black. I did lose the battery cover and had to dig up a replacement. I also broke a key once, but it was mostly the user's fault.
Customer Support
:
No Opinion
Overall Rating
:
6
After almost 10 years of steady work with the two of them, I would have to say that I really love the instrument. It permits me to get out front and to express myself in a way that I could not behind the keyboards. I have used it exclusively wireless (with Trans midi, Nady and velcro- velcro on each one and when I switch I just move the two wireless items) and I can go anywhere- on stage or off. If you have any interest (which you must if you are reading this) I would recommend trying one.
Product: Yamaha KX5
Price Paid: US $160 used
Submitted
09/16/2002
at
01:15pm
by
M. Lund
Email: mslu97<at>musik dot auc dot dk
Ease of Use
:
10
This is Remote MIDI Control Keyboard (or how you want to phrase it), so there are no sounds in it whatever to tweak or use. It only produces MIDI out signals. I think I saw that this was an OS v1.0, last time I had this baby open. The features are clearly laid out, so you don't really need the manual.
(Although it does state, that in order to access patch 33-64, you have to press sustain and then it'll add 32 to the existing patch numbers available on the buttons).
Features
:
9
No polyphony, no FX, no expansion possiblities, no sequencer, no nothing. Just some keys on a stick, basically.
The keyboard action is quite good for being the smaller sized keys type. Aftertouch and velocity is very responsive, and the MIDI messages send by the remaining controllers are very useful, especially with my Nord Micro Modular (see below).
Expressiveness/Sounds
:
8
No expresiveness nor sounds in it, so I think I'll just rave a bit about some of it's features. The ribbon pitchbender is so neat. No turning of knobs, and no annoying spring-action here - you can almost do tapping on this thing! Excellent controller possibilities, especially with the DX7 and the TX7 (I regularly us it with the latter; again, see below). Only drawbacks are the small keys (but hey, they suit my stubby little fingers just fine) and maybe it sould have had at least 1/2 octave more.
Reliability
:
8
Seems very reliable. Although much of the outer casing is plastic, the core is one solid iron bar with the rest hanging off of that. I play with no backup since I don't have any (the original 80's remotes are a pain to locate). I always pack an extra 9V battery with me, though, but the machine will indicate when it needs a replacement.
Customer Support
:
No Opinion
N/A.
Overall Rating
:
8
I would definately buy me another one, if it got stolen - provided that I could find one! My preferred replacement would be a KX1 in red, but I haven't ever seen one for sale anywhere (not even on eBay!). Maybe I'd get another KX5, if I couldn't find a Roland AXIS instead. The new AX-x machine by Roland seem to flashy - I want the 80s machines.
I use it along with my Yamaha TX7 (for the classic DX Electric Piano) and my Clavia Nord Micro Modular (for the analogue leads and doubling as filter/chorus for the TX7) followed by a Rocktron ADR-02 analogue delay pedal. I sing lead in an 80's cover band, with some limited synth once in a while. So instead of running behind a huge stack of synths (where I was usually confined to being seated), I whip this baby out, and the crowd goes wild. Heck, with 25 feet of MIDI-cable, you can even dance around with the audience! I've been looking for a wireless MIDI-transmitter system for it, but that's apparently not been made for about 15 years or so...
