The Yamaha AN1x Synthesizer mailing list

--- In AN1x-list@y..., Richard Whitehouse <rsw@a...> wrote:

> 
> You could always do what I did:  just sell the shit, get rid of 
it.   I had
> a CS6x with a PLG150AN and a PLG150PF card.   What a friggin' 
headache.
> That's got to be one of poorest operating system and user interface 
designs
> I've ever encountered.   Totally non-intuitive and non-musician-
friendly.
> And I'm not a chimp, either - I am literate about synthesizers and
> computers.  I've been dealing with midi synths for almost 20 years, 
and I
> also work as a computer programmer.   I finally realized that I was 
wasting
> my time on that shit, and needlessly frustrating myself.   I did 
myself a
> favour and got rid of the whole thing.   From now one, some of my 
primary
> rules are:  1) never buy a synth that needs expansion cards - if 
you're not
> happy using it without expansions, don't buy it   2) avoid 
expansion cards
> - proceed with extreme caution   3)  proceed with extreme caution 
where
> Yamaha synths are concerned  4) make user-friendly operating system 
a
> higher priority when buying synths.
> 
> Richard
> 
> Please help stamp out velocity-switching.

BRAVO! Good for you. There's an attitude I can respect - no fooling :-
) I owned a Korg Wavestation for years. Loved the sound :-) hated 
programming it :-# Consequently, I was never able to exploit the 
machine the way it was intended :-(

In regards to the AN1x, ever notice how many comments in the online 
reviews detract from the Assign Knob/Function button design? I find 
this an effective mechanism to navigate - and the matrix works for me 
too (if only the select knob were replaced by a column of buttons as 
on the A3000.) But I imagine if the user is not already experienced 
with your typical subtractive synth layout that this can be confusing.

regards,

Jon

p.s. - Are you lobbying to replace velocity-switching with crossfade 
switching or another mechanism?