Yamaha RS-7000

None

Some fancy bells and whistles but delving into the machine deeply you will find (unless by some miracle Yamaha completely revamped the operating system, which I doubt)that it is limited in its sampling capabilities. From other reviews here, it looks like the New OS fixed its 'recycle' features, big deal...I have been using Recycle aloe with my rack samplers for years, BUT, the important issue here is what Yamaha implied in their advertising and what did not happen when I used the unit and what I have not heard from other users since I wrote my first review of this unit and that is this:
What about playing multiple samples in different keys (after being tempo synced via time compression expansion etc) while maintaining the BPM integrity of the sample...this must be done if you want to play multiple samples from different sources in sync together and in a Key (ie A# B etc) that is musically usable...I could never get the unit to do this....If anyone out there has a way to do this on this unit, show me and I will eat my words and buy the unit.

Decent sounds for sure....a nice music box but not a great sampler...

crashed while saving to SCSI...see other reviews

Took a week for them to get back with me

The unit at the time I purchased it was a total Piece of Crap----Rick, ironically, states that my review was a laod of crap....Rick uses Cakewalk...that explains it all. Rick leaves no contact email address....Rick must work for Yamaha.
Want a Hardware sampler all in one groovebox cheesewiz machine? Buy the Roland MC 909...better unit at this particular juncture of the battle for the groovbox market.....looks like it uses variphrase technology as found in the VP-9000 (overpriced unit for sure but at least does what it says it will..unlike the RS 7000 when I bought it new). Shame a company can't work out its R&D bugs before they pawn their gizmos off to the unsuspecting public...and even a further shame that they advertise ambigously to give one an impression of the power of their unit only to sell you something that 'knda, sorta' does what they 'implied' in their advertising, but neither either or...whatever...I am turned off to Yamaha completely...you couldn't give me a piece of their gear for free...I have considered the AW 4416, 2816 and now the AW16G...Nope, aint gonna happen...I link two ZOOM HD recorders are spend the real cash on an Akai DPS24...I just don't trust Yamaha or their lying asses marketing strategies...
Rick, kiss my ass.....
Still, nothing beats an EMU and some good software like Kontakt, if you want to really mangle samples

I'm using operating system 1.14. The Preset sounds are suprisingly
unimpressive for a machine in this price range.
The sounds work well enough for a sketchpad sequencer. (Which is what
I purchased this for.) I can't imagine using many of these sounds for
a final mix however.
There is no true editing of sounds. You can tweak the ADSR in real time
which can be a blast.
The manual is not bad at all. The tutorial is a great help.

The effects are decent but they won't make you put your lexicon gear up
for sale. It has several expansion options that, for the price, shoule
be standard equipment. To center a production around this you would need
at least 4 individual outs.
The MIDI implementation is where this little, plastic box shines. Very cool!
The sequencer is nice. I wish there was a software version of this sequencer.

The instruments are far from realistic. I don't think realism was what
Yamaha had in mind. The drum sounds are cute but grainy. Not something
I want to use on a client's session. I really wish that all the keys
were velocity sensing. For the money, Yamaha could have done this much.

It has wigged out a couple of times. However, I use this in situations
where I don't want to take my Powerbook and a recording rack so the
environment is not always ideal. The smart media cards and Yamaha's
typically bad SCSI implementation don't give me too much confidence.
Work a little and backup and repeat.

Yamaha has always been a good company for support and I've been in the
biz for quite a while.

I would probably not buy this again. I have since gotten a Motif for my
scratchpad and the sequencer on it works well enough for getting ideas
down. And the sounds can make it all the way to the final mix.

I think that this is one of those generational differences. I came up at
a time when recording technology focused on audiophile standards. If I was
delivering my final product as MP3s, the low res sound of the RS7000 would
probably not bother me so much. It still works fine as a sketchpad. $1,000
just seems a little steep for a sketchpad.

Mine runs on OS v1.14, no known bugs on this one. The preset sounds are mixed, some are average ok, some are excellent. Especially some synth-pads, synth-leads and the 63 drumsets are fantastic. Editing the sound is easy as a fart. The manual is one of Yamaha's better ones. And if it doesn't help you, there is a large community out there to help answering your questions.

FAQ: http://www.rs7k.org
Mailing List: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/RS7000

The built-in FX are easy to use, the quality goes from good mid-range outboard-FX to better studio fX ones. Excellent is the EQ for each track separately and the master EQ. Also REALLY excellent are the very analogue sounding filter. The RS can be expanded with usual EDO/PS2 SIMMS up to 64MB Sample-RAM, with the AIEB-2, which gives you 6 extra Audio-outputs, and two digital I/O's, the built-in SCSI-2 interface accepts HD`s, ZIP, JAZ, CDROM. Also the RS has a built-in SmartMedia Card Reader, which can be used with Cards up to 128MB.
You get besides the known small plastic keys, two pressure sensitive free-assignable rubber-pads, a fantastic onboard sequencer, that integrates Sampling and MIDI-sequencing easily, the sampler is not a full sampler, some features are missing, like multi-layer samples, but for a start it's great and the built-in "ReCycle" function works great. The sequencer also offers a realtime Loop Remix, that lets you remix MIDI-sequences in realtime.
Then there are a couple of other features the RS offers, like a MIDI-resolution of 1/480 ppqn and stable and tight timing and and and...

All in all once you understand the pattern-phrase concept, the RS is easy to use. The sequencer is quite intuitive to use and supports your process of composing, instead of being in the way, like most software sequencer with their zillions of functions. The RS sequencer is not as simple as like on the MPC, but also not as complicated as a software one. Yamaha found the right balance with it, to make a highly usable music instrument, especially for live usage and composing.

The internal sounds are highly tweakable and the soundquality is fantastic, The output is 20bit, internally the RS works with 24Bit.

The factory sounds are definately orientated towards electronic music, but with some of your own samples or with an external Tone Generator, like a Proteus, you can use it for every genre of music.
Very versatile usage.

It's very reliable, during a long jam session with a friend, it never failed. I indeed would use it on a gig without a backup. The plastic case on top needed though to be handled with care, the RM1x is with it's metal case more reliable, but the knobs and buttons on the RS are of a higher quality.

I didn't had a CD with the ACID-Xpress software, i wrote an email to the support in Germany and got a few days later with the missing CD, for free. Good friendly helpfull service.

Now the RS goes for less then what i paid, but it's worth every cent. I definately would buy it again plus i would add a QY700. I am using it since it came out here in Germany June 2001. I love about the RS, that it supports my creativity, my composing. It almost never gets in my way during the composing process. I don't like about it, that i have to stop sometimes the sequencer to jump to certain menus, that makes the working process less fluent, but still it's much better than fiddling with a mouse in a zillion Windows and Menu-bars.
I compared it with the RM1x, which i would have gotten, until i heard about the RS, and i compared it with the EMU Commandstations (which i don't like because of their plastic-chart sounds and their tiny small display) and with the MPC. The MPC is a nice drumsampler with a very basic sequencer. Good for what it is built, but far not as versatile as the RS. And overpriced also.

The RS is a bummer. It's now the center of my studio. I never missed Cubase or Logic since i am using it.
I also own a Yamaha TG33, DX200, AN1x, DB50XG, Clavia Nord Micro Modular.

I am using Cakewalk Sonar, Fruity in conjunction with RS, yes the rs is an all in one machine, I give the sounds for R&B production an 8 out of 10, rap 9 out of 10 and electronic 10 out of 10, but for the smart studio this is a must have if you have other keyboards with good sounds for R&B, the basses are fat though, at first I was going to give up my sp808 but I found that I can record straight any of the tracks on the 7000 and trigger samples in addition to its sampling capabilities, so I have everything hooked up via midi, that way any external board sounds can also be recorded and edited directly to any of the rs's 16 tracks, the drum sounds are great but the main thing is none of this really matters because you can load your own sounds and samples into this machine, I can't think of anything else that can be done except for a mouse and a monitor, because this can do anything that a computer and software based system can do and more, you can load external midi either via scsi or directly to a track from the midi cable and sync.....I'v done some things on an MPC a few times but that is basically childs play in comparison to what's under the hood in this machine.

the bomb

anyone without a clue can drop a track on this thing

I have seen it freeze once, but this could have been because of my midi setup

never had to yey

I give the RS a 9 standing on its own, and I give it a 10 plus used in conjunction with other studio equipment and sounds.

My goodness. This shouldn't be legal... the Yamaha RS7000!!!

Lets say you have 5 drum loops that comprise your song. If you wanted to change the speed of the loops you can pitch them, recycle them, acidize them, whatever.

Normally the best way to do it is recycle/wavesurgeon/hand cutting your breaks up.

Well I do this with Wavesurgeon and it works very well.

In using my RS7000 I finally got around to using its built in 'Recycle' feature and HOLY CRAP its stinkin fast and amazing.

You simply select the loop you want to chop, dial in a few settings to see how you like it and it chops it for you, generates midi, *and* assigns it to a track for you so you can instantly start using the loop in your tune.

Fast fast fast!

Apparently the Yamaha not only breaks it up into the individual hits, but records up to 50% of the wave after or reverses it or something so was able to take a 130 loop from 90 to 190 or more without any gapping or weirdness.

I knew it had this feature but when you can do it that quickly and in such a usable fashion... wow!

Ok next up the midi capabilities of the RS7000...

After using Cakewalk from version 3.0 up to Sonar, I am very familiar with midi applications and using them.

I *never* thought I would be saying this but the hardware sequencer on the RS7000 is more capable and faster to use (in most respects) to sonar or Cubase or any midi sequencer. What?s more each midi part gets stored off into little 'phrases' that you can use with any sound set.

Amazing.

The groove feature is also nice. You can just (for instance) record in your 16th note high hats straight quantized at a velocity of 100.

Then by pushing a few keys (ala Roland 909 programming) you tell each time part (beat 1, beat 2, 16ths etc) if you want it to happen early or late or if you want different velocities on different parts or to pitch down on the second beat for some snare variation etc.

It really shines in how quickly you can get it done with the 909 style sequencing.

You can also use midi delay, time compress/expand (of midi), velocity, swing, time offset and more non destructively and with real knobs to twist to get it done!

Whew...

So what about the user interface?

This is one of those things you don't think about until you want to try live stuff out. I sure didn't but the Yamaha folks did.

First off, the only real stuff out there that you can play live with is hardware sequencers. I suppose you could do it soft but either way most folks end up using a Roland groove product or an Akai mpc triggering their synths.

Well Yamaha took the best from both of those units.

The unit is divided up into 16 tracks and each track can trigger the internal sampler, an external midi kit, or the internal tone generator. Lets just ignore the internal tone generator because it?s pretty much a 'groove toy'. I would say if you are happy with the sound of the cs1x, then go ahead and use it. The major, major exception is the drums (more on that later).

So if look at the layout, you can mute and unmute each of the 16 tracks by a simple button press. If you need to mute or unmute more than you have fingers or care to try live, there are 5 mute memories so you can push one button to the same effect.

The sequencer works on the idea of songs being made up of sections... intro, chorus, verse, chorus so you get 16 sections, 9 of which are right on the panel with dedicated buttons.

So at this point, while live you have the opportunity to mute/unmute tracks and jump to various sections.

Each section can hold different things... for instance track 9 might be one sample-based track in one section but a variation in another. There are no rules, you get to load the 16 tracks with whatever samples and midi you like.

So lets look at a track... what can you do with a track? Unlike the Roland, which has tons of knobs but only for the internal engine, the Yamaha has tons of knobs which work on the sampler as well (which in my mi

the rs7000 has a nice personality - although the digital outputs
downsample to 16/44KHz, everything is processed internally at 24
bits.
consequently, this is the nicest sounding machine that yamaha has
ever
made in terms of sound quality and dynamics.

each "song" (or "pattern" as yamaha calls it) has 16 tracks which all
have their own 2-band/parametric eq. nice! the filters are the best
i've heard out of any yamaha product, even better than the fs1r's. it
has 3 fx blocks plus one global fx processor. the fx are very
competent, but more importantly, yamaha have finally included
multi-band compressors. for the first time (in my opinion), you can
make an entire track from start to finish with one box.

the sequencer is just like the one on the rm1x - 16 sections per
song,
and 16 tracks per section. you can mute/unmute each track and switch
sections on the fly, making this an amazingly intuitive compositional
tool, especially well-suited to live use. one big complaint that
others have is that you can't switch between record and play modes on
the fly. this may or may not be a problem depending on how you make
music. each song also has 5 mute memories and 5 scene memories. the
mute memories recall different track-mutes while the scene memories
can recall various settings for all 16 tracks at once, such as
midi-delay, lfo's, adsr's, fx, transposition, etc. so you can go
crazy
tweaking all of the knobs, then hit scene recall and be instantly
back
to where you started. nice! also, you can record your mutes in the
pattern-chain mode.

sample management is a bit quirky. this is not a full-blown sampler
so
you can't have multi-sample layering or velocity crossfades.
furthermore, individual samples within a kit cannot have their own
eq/filter settings - only the entire kit. but seeing as yamaha
encourages you to put only one element per track, eg. kicks on track
1, hi-hats on track 2, bass sounds on track 3, this isn't necessarily
a problem since each track has filters, eq's, lfo's, fx, etc.

each sample kit can be a single sample pitched over 127 notes, or up
to 127 separate non-pitched samples. the samples are divided into 127
local kits and 127 common kits. each song can access a total of 256
different sample kits, half of which are song specific (local kits)
and the other half which are available to all songs (common kits). so
you can have a total of 65536 (256 x 256) samples per song. you
probably run into the 64mb memory limit long before using up all the
sample slots ;)

what this means is that you put your often-used sample kits, ie 808,
909, strings, basses, etc. in the common sample kit bank, while the
song-specific vocals and sound effects go in the local kit bank of
each song. the rs7000 treats samples as part of a song - so when you
save a song, it automatically saves the local kits and the common
kits
with it (if used in that song).

the most interesting feature of the rs7000 is the ability to take a
sample loop and automatically cut it up and create a corresponding
midi sequence that plays back the cut-up samples so it sounds like
the
original loop, much like Recycle. you can then change the tempo and
have the loop stay in time without using a time-stretching effect.
you
can also remix the sample loops on the fly!!! when you go into the
remix menu (while the rs7000 is playing), you can choose how it will
cut up and rearrange a sequence, hit create, then you get an instant
variation. this feature also works with regular midi sequences.

based on my experience, i would argue that there are no serious bugs
in the OS and that the rs7000 is a stable and powerul product.

the bottom line is whether or not the rs7000 interface speaks to you.

michel

this thing is easy to use as an rm1-x; you have to learn the basis but it's really logical in my opinion; also the sampling is easy, many ways to do the things

i know you read about this unit
really don't know how much more could Yamaha have put into an hardware sampler/sequencer
you couldonly be frightened about the fact that your rs7000 should not do all that it's written in the manual!
that story of the bugs...BULLSHITS
mine is solid, now there's also the new O.S.

the internal sounds are really tweakable, but i don't give an opinion cause i hate thinking about this unit as a groovebox, cause it's a sampler; it can go till 64MB of ram;
most of my sounds are samples, loops, everything you want from your pc, cds, radio, soft synths; then i add some internal sounds; the filters are really powerful so a bass can bacome a low kick..it also depends on what you want from music..
a perfect mate to all the people that do music with a computer and want to go on live with an hardware sequencer

i use it a lot, it's avery 'ispiration making' machine cause you can sample just some simple little pieces of sound and just record with your hands on pads etc, then quantize and add notes with step mode, so you can put down in a fast way the thing you had in mind.
mine crashed only 1 time cause i exeeded of the 62 voices;
it has 62 voices polyphony so remember not to overload the system with too many rolls toghether :)
it's perfect for a gig, think that you can do real time loop remixes of every track, over and over again, a monster!

i'm subscribed to the mailing list and i have a great help from people that have rs7k too; there's also the site motifator.com that's about motif and rs7k;
new S.O., so it's all right

i sample a lot, this thig is really a GREAT sampler/sequencer
i make hardbreak hardtekno jungle sperimental ambient industrial noise; don't think that this unit IS for a style; it's a sampler, as an MPC, you can do the stupides r&b music or the most extreme hardcore..it depends on what you sample and how you are experienced in drum/sequencing composing etc etc
my favourite artist are AFX, u-ziQ, all extreme and sperimental music from Praxis to Tresor, i like a lot also acustic music, indie rock, hardcore, dark.
take it easy, and remember that the best piece of kit you own is your brain.

One you have your head around the controls the RS7000 is extremely easy to use. I find that the layout is logical, there are knobs to control many functions and the rest are usually only a page away.
It is extremely easy to alter the sound, if you don't like the pressets you can easily create your own variations.
Personaly i find the sampler to be exactly what i need and very easy to use, i had a rack sampler but sold it cause sampling was a chore.
tutorials in the manual get you on your way easily.

This unit has tons of features and i suggest to anyone looking to check out the yamahasynth site.

The features make the unit perfects for live use. I don't think that you could get a beter gig rig. This is what i believe yamaha intended it for, not to replace a studio as some people seem to believe. Although for anyone starting out this could be a cheap solution to buying a lot of gear.


The slice funtion is one of the most amazing things i have seen, extremely useful as it can be used on midi as well

you will definitly want to bump up the ram fast.

The preset songs suck!!! If you listen to this unit in a store disregard them they are only a taste of what this mahine can achieve.
I love the sound especially the drumkits. I owned an rm1x and in my opinion the sounds were crap so i sold it. The sounds on the RS7000 which are the same as the rm1x sound a hell of a lot better even without any effects applied. I don't know if this is cause yamaha resampled them or the D/A is better but if you have a RM and are thinking of getting a RS you won't be disapointed.


This

never had a problem

never used

This unit allows for easy pattern and song creation.
There are some bugs in the first release operating system but none of these have hindered me in any way. For the price there is a lot packed into this box.
It definitly packs a punch for live use. i recomend it to anyone concidering buying it!

I never even wanted to sample before this thing. Everything was just too fiddley, but with this sampling was just too damn easy and fun. Getting around the way Yamaha uses "phrases" for the parts in the sequence took a few seconds to get my head around, but after that, sequencing is a breeze. The pads are nice, and reassigning sounds to them, even on the fly while recording is real smooth and easy. Recording real time knob tweaks is dead simple!

I wish the sampler were more extensive (layering, etc...) and the soundset it... um.. just ok. Not bad, mind you, but not earth-shattering. However, what this beast can do for real-time experimentation and getting the creative juices going is amazing. The loop-remix, time stretch, bpm stretch, groove templates, etc... this is a truly break the mold piece. I have a few other great sound modules, and therefore, that wasn't the most important thing for me. (Note: use the effects, they can really make these sounds come alive. Want more than one multi-effect? You can resample!)

This seems kind of the same as above to me, so I won't repeat myself. I will say that the high end of the sonic spectrum on this machine doesn't seem crystal clear, although a 3db eq increase on the master eq high end seemed to help a lot. Oh, I didn't mention, you can use a different eq on EACH track!

Seems to be steady as a rock. Built like a truck. I think I would feel very safe without a backup. Although I would ALWAYS want a backup of the files!

I work at a music store, so I get great service. WOn't comment on this category, cause I just don't know what the average person gets.

However for those of you having problems with the RAM not all being recognized, or the loop slice not ever finishing executing (or finishing and there is no sound but a little click) this is a RAM issue. Get better RAM. Get high quality 72 pin SIMMS Non-Parity. I know the RAM we sell in our store meets these specs, but it is shitty, cheap, and causes all these problems in this machine. And guess what, we charge too much for it, so you would never know it was cheap RAM. Try RCS and ask for GREG... 603-898-7750 I believe his current price is $11 per 32 MB chip. It works, it is where I send all my customers.

This is the first thing that has made me want to use a hardware sequencer again since I switched to a computer 7 (or 8?)years ago. That's no small feat! I can't wait to get my Oxegyn 8 from Midiman so I can have a nice small 2 octave keyboard with velocity for a nice portable package!

It's easy to use , but what's the point of using it ?

The Effects suck ,The Sequencer is good (not at all different from the RM1x , so don't speak of innnnovation).

SOUNDS , are HORRIBLE !!!
Someone stated that it had rom samples and that for that reason we had to somehow " respect " the inbuilt sounds !/.
Well no ! , it shouldn't be ROM Samples / sounds , it should have bin good old Virtual Analog Sounds .

The Major flaw of the Rm1x where its sounds so that is what the Rs7000 should have fixed .
The thing that the Rs7000 adds is what they call a sampler , but i woulnd't .
The sampler is even worse than the A3000 !
hahahahaha
Incredible .

If you like the Rs7000 sequencer , go with the Rm1x and buy a good sampler ( you ll be better and cheaper offfff) .

Yamaha stuff is generally well built , .

Motifator.com

If You have lots of money and you would like to waist the extra money over the Rm1x , go right ahead .

The only cool thing about this box is the user Friendly sequencer .
All the rest is is bad not up to proffessional level stuff.