Just got my Yamaha EX-5

[Omega Monkey]

WOOHOO!

Was awakened by knocking at the ass crack of dawn yesterday (ok so it was about 9 am) and opened the door to find the cute Fed Ex girl holding my package. Anyway, we both carried it down to my apartment (it weighs maybe 50 pounds), she took off and I got down to the business of unveiling my new toy.

Well, after about 20 minutes of cutting through tape and digging through peanuts and bubble wrap, I had unveiled the beast. My new Yamaha EX-5 that I bought on ebay the other day (from Sweetwater, a major gear retail company). I was pleasantly surprised to see that it was in like new condition (ebay listings tend to exaggerate). The unit itself is almost flawless, ribbon looks unused (unlike a lot that I saw on ebay that were very grimy and/or just worn out), the manual looks unused, and the disks were shrinkwrapped. So it was almost like getting a brand new synth, but in reality this thing is 6 or 7 years old (too bad it wasnt NOS, then it would have really been a steal). The only (minor) flaw I have discovered so far is some "roughness" on 2 of the black keys (like the got scraped/gouged). But it's very slight and could probably be smoothed out if necessary (but it plays fine as it is).

Just as some background info, the EX-5 was basically Yamaha's flagship workstation before the Motif came out (EX came out in 98 I believe). The name comes from "extended synthesis". This thing can do all the AWM/rompler stuff of course with sampling, but on top of that, it also has a duophonic AN section (virtual analog), a monophonic VL section (physical modeling), and an FDSP section which stands for Formulated Digital Signal Processing, which is basically an effects section which is controlled by what and how you play (ie note, velocity, etc...). Taken altogether, even with the polyphony limitations of some sections, this makes for a very powerful synth.

So I turned the thing on (it has a really cool initialization sequence where all the front panel lights blink in succession, with a (customizeable) welcome message on the screen, and got down to checking it out. Let me just say this thing sounds incredible. Tons of cool pads, leads, basses, and especially tons of killer electric pianos and guitars, plus a few very nice organs. Also a WHOLE lot of crazy special effects sounds which are pretty wild. I will say the piano sounds could be a bit better, but theyre not bad and will probably be fine (esp for live playing). Plus, I didnt really get this thing to play piano sounds, and on top of that I can just load a new piano sample in anyway.

One of the aspects that pushed me to get the EX-5 is its physical controls. Fairly comprehensive. OF course it's got the typical pitch and mod wheels, but its also got an extra mod wheel (how many synths have 2 mod wheels? I havent seen too many), and 6 assignable knobs below the screen (which are taking some getting used to because they spin continuously with no "end points"). Also has LOTS of buttons on the front panel. The buttons on the right side double as voice selectors as well as track selectors in sequencing mode. On the left is mostly mode selectors (voice, performance, song, disk, utility, etc...) and transport controls for the sequencer. Also discovered a very cool feature which I hadnt really picked up on in my research and that is the "scene" function. Basically this consists of 2 buttons that call up different "variations" on whatever sound you're playing. It could be just a slightly different filter setting, or it could be completely different effects programs, or any number of other things. But its cool having 3 "flavors" of each sound readily available (would be great to have say a Rhodes sound for comping and a separate one for soloing).

Anyway, I am very happy with it so far, and I've barely scratched the surface yet. Honestly, I could probably use the presets (maybe with a few minor mods) and be happy with it, but I plan to really get into it and explore as far as possible (esp the VL which I find very intriguing). I would advise any of you looking for an inexpensive 76 key workstation to consider the EX-5. Going rate is somewhere in the $600-$800 range, and they come on ebay fairly often (like 1 or 2 a week typically). Now begins the upgrade process (mine is dead stock, but I went for it because it was in great shape and a lot of them tend to have cosmetic flaws like cracks and whatnot from being abused), which will include flash ram (16mb), regular ram (which I think I might have already, just have to see if its compatible, 64mb), a scsi card, and then some type of storage device to use the card with (either a zip drive or a card reader probably). After that, if I ever gig with it, probably a case of some sort.

Anyone else have any experience with these monsters?

[synthguy]

The EX synths are killer deals these days, especially with the built in synth engines like the two voices of VA, and one of physical modelling. And the EX-5s have the full complement of synthesis types, while the EX-7s have a few taken off, bummer. It doesn't have a huge sound rom, but what is there is really good, and the filters are juicy and have an analog quality to them. Rom synth patches go well with the two note VA.

However as a sampler, you can do a lot better. When keyboard reviewed it, they were stunned at how long it took to load in a sample. Like over 30 minutes! Start it up and take a shower, have coffee and read the paper a bit. Yikes.

The quality is good, but don't count on doing this during shows or anything, or at a studio. You might be better off getting a used sampler on ebay again, maybe something like a Kurzweil, Triton or Rack version.

[aibohphobia]

WOW! Keyboard Magazine writing something negative about a synth that they're reviewing? I'm speechless!

[Omega Monkey]

Well, from what I've heard, 30 minutes is a serious exaggeration. But yes, it is somewhat notoriously slow at loading, although I've heard you can get around this by installing a card reader in place of the floppy drive. And yes, while it might not have as big a wave rom as a Motif or Fantom (keep in mind this thing IS 7 or 8 years old) it DOES have something close to 400 different available waves, many of which are excellent even BEFORE you do anything to them (filters, eg, effects, etc...), and again, you can load in new ones and use those. Plus, with the flash ram upgrade you can have 16 mb of samples to choose from always on board and ready to use, on their own or as waves in AWM voices.

I DO wish it had a bit more "power" (ie faster loading times, and more polyphony for the AN and VL sections), but I think in this price range it probably outperforms JUST about anything (at least I can't think of another 76 key workstation that compares in the sub $800 range). If anyone knows of a synth that compares favorably, I'd like to hear about it.

[Omega Monkey]

Oh, plus I do already have another sampler (Ensoniq ASR-X), so it's not entirely necessary to use the EX for that (but it is handy to have, esp for its graphic editing).

[synthguy]

Well, then it looks like you knew what you were getting into. Great research job! Be sure and post some music with this bad boy. I'd kind of like to add one of these to my arsenal too, since it would give me a physical modelling synth and a whole lot more!

[Hipelius]

Do you have any experience with Kurzweil gear? Because I could get an EX-7 or a K2000VP right now, but I don't know which one to choose!! Help!! :D:D

[synthguy]

Oh jeepers... well, what are you wanting to do with it? If you want something that you'll be making big compositions on by yourself, then the EX-5 would probably be better. In some ways it's a better synthesizer, since it gives you one note of very powerful physical modelling and two of analog modelling, along with several other types. The quality of synth sounds on the EX is a bit richer, closer to a Moog than the Kurz, which is more like an Arp, Oberheim or Prophet 5 in tone, which isn't bad at all. The piano is better, the way it does drums is a lot better, and the effects are a lot better. Plus if the Kurz isn't expanded with sound roms and sampling memory, the variety and quality of samples on the EX-5 is a lot better. It also has up to 128 voice polyphony for much bigger sounds and compositions. The Kurz only has 24.

However if you have big sounds with lots of layers and you play big fast chords, some of the EX's have been known to lag a bit. It's not bad, just something to be aware of, that some of the early ones were a little "loose" in timing. Plus the Kurz has LOTS of support. You can download THOUSANDS of patches just from the Kurzweil website, or other places. Online, I'm not sure how many patches there are. And it does sound very good, almost as good as the latest 2661. It's MUCH better as a sampler, and you can get 30 pin Mac ram for about $25-35 a chip, so it doesn't cost much to get it up to 64 meg. Even tho the effects are simpler, they sound pretty good, and if you're recording, the 24 voice limit isn't much of a limitation at all, since you can do tracks of stuff and get huge compositions. Finally, the Kurzweil VAST synthesizer is probably as powerful as it gets, since it can shape samples like piano or guitar into something good sounding and realistic, or do any type of synthesis or sound mangling. And hey, it was Jordan's keyboard for years so you know it's good.

I don't know if that's any help or not. They're both really great synthesizers. I'd look at it this way, myself. If you know you'll have enough money later to get something like a K2600S, then get the EX-5. If not, then think about what you want to do and make a hard choice. ;)

[Omega Monkey]

Well, one main thing to consider is that the K2K is basically ancient in synth terms, while the EX is much newer. Like the difference between 15 years and 6 years (which is a lot, just think about what computers were like 10 years ago!). So while the K2K is loaded with more "80s style" waves, while the EX should be a lot more modern. Of course, on both of them you can load in your own samples to use as waves, but that means a lot of extra work. When it comes down to it, the mark of a great rompler has a lot to do with it's waves. For instance, on my Ensoniq SQ1+. a lot of the waves arent very good. Meanwhile, my Yamaha TG-77, which came out at almost exactly the same time, has some really great waves (plus FM) and it sounds incredible. Not that the SQ1+ is a bad synth, in fact, it's effects sound excellent, and it's very editable, it's just that the waves themselves arent always so great so you have to kind of "trick" them into sounding good.

The main drawbacks of the EX5/7 are the slow SCSI speed and the limited "horsepower" (ie limited voices in the AN & VL sections, and limited effects in performance mode), but depending on your setup adn how you would use it, this might not even matter. Also, the 7 doesnt have VL (it only has one dsp chip as opposed to 2 like the 5, so it sacrifices some features).

Other than that, it's a very powerful and excellent sounding synth which can sound as modern as you want to make it. Also it makes an excellent controller, with two (2) mod wheels, pitch wheel, and a small ribbon, plus 6 assignable knobs and lots of various front panel buttons. As far as support, well let's see, Kurzweil is basically dead in the water at this point, while Yamaha is going strong after 100+ years, with lots of manual downloads, etc... available on their website, PLUS with the EX you have the EX5 Tech forum, which basically has all the EX experts gathered in one place, with lots of tutorials how to upgrade ram, install various options, different workarounds for common problems, etc... And I've read that the SCSI speed problem is able to be avoided by installing a memory card reader in place of the floppy drive (which would give you up to 2 gb of "on board" memory, which you could use to get samples to and from your ex and your computer). And lastly, you can install up to 16mb of flash ram in the EX, meaning you have 16mb of your favorite samples (or whatever samples you are working with at the time) right at your fingertips every time you power up.

So I would say lean towards the EX, but I would recommend saving up the extra couple hundred and getting the EX5 (or, if you already have a keyboard controller, the EX5R rack version, which goes for about $400-500, about the same as a EX7 which is less powerful but has a keyboard and the 2 mod wheels)

[Hipelius]

Thanks for your help. :)
I think I'll go for the EX-7 and buy a K2000R in the future. My current gear is all Korg (TR-Rack, N364) [ + a DX7, but it's only a controller] and I want to try some other brands as well, and I need a new master controller, 'cause the DX7 sends only one MIDI channel at a time :(. What a pity for such a keyboard action. :(.

Thanks :)

[Omega Monkey]

I think you will be happy with your choice. Although if I were you, I would hold off on the K2KR, and save up to get something a little more modern. I mean, I got a TG-77 last year not because it was one of the best sound modules around in 1991, but because I wanted THAT sound. So unless you specifically want the sound of the K2K (ie the internal waves), you would probably be better off getting a K25/2600R (if you are set on VAST/Kurzweil) or something like a Motif or Fantom X rack, which by that time (Im guessing youre thinking maybe a year or 2 down the road) should be pretty affordable (ie under $1k).

Also, if you are looking to use the EX as a mai controller, it might be worth the extra couple hundred to just go for the EX5 and get that extra octave+ (not to mention VL modeling and more simultaneous effects. But if you have a killer deal on the 7 (like sub $350 maybe) then it might be more economical to get that instead. Just something to think about.