Emu XL-7 & MP-7 User's Group

I had an RS-7000 for about a year (before I sold it to buy my XL-7). 
The RS-7000 is a cool sequencer in a lot of ways, but it (along with 
every previous Yamaha sequencer) also has some characteristics that 
can lead to some frustration.

What I liked about the RS-7000:

 * Dedicated knobs to control a track's velocity, gate, and add midi 
delays
 * The ability to create "phrases" which could be used in multiple 
patterns/songs.
 * Track Split (note to e-mu: get on this one!): Allows you to record 
your drums on one track and then split it into several individual-
drum tracks (especially useful for multitrack recording with the 
digital outputs).
 * 480 PPQ (much easier on my brain)

What I didn't like about the RS-7000:
 * In order for a song to play without "hiccups" when patterns 
change, one has to convert the pattern chain to a "song."
 * Onboard sounds are generally weak, except for the drums which are 
generally really good. And the synth architecture isn't a quarter the 
quality of E-mu's. (Sounds can only have 2 layers).
 * Even if the synth architecture was good, you can only edit presets 
and save those settings with the pattern you're working on (i.e., you 
can't truly create your own presets with their own names, etc.)
 * Digital output is not standard.
 * General Midi (yuck!)
 * Sequences must be saved to external smart media card or scsi. 
Contents of memory erased when powered down. 

Trust me: get the XL-7. The RS-7000 wasn't the pinnacle of Yamaha's 
hardware sequencers. Even that still required one to expand backing 
tracks (similar to "convert pattern chain to song" on the RS-7000) in 
order to not have timing hiccups. (BTW, no operating system upgrades 
will ever fix these bugs, as Yamaha have stated time and time again). 

The XL-7 is so much more user-friendly in so many ways. You can 
effortlessly switch recording modes before an idea evaporates from 
your ADHD-stricken brain, and the powerful synthesis engine means you 
can actually use the onboard sounds. I wasn't ever able to use my RS-
7000 as a portable composer's workbench because it just didn't sound 
good!

Another thing that should be mentioned is E-mu's much-higher level of 
dedication to their customer base. Yamaha have a reputation for 
releasing a couple of O.S. upgrades and then moving on to concentrate 
on some other product. E-mu has a reputation for continually refining 
their operating systems  (Their E4 Ultra line are up to O.S. 4.7, if 
I'm correct). I guarantee that the XL-7 will, with the release of 
some future operating system, add some of the features I did like 
from the RS-7000 (the "split drum tracks" job would really be 
helpful...). 




> I'm thinking about getting an Xl-7 to sequence my external gear.. 
but 
> i was wondering if the sequencer is anygood (Rs7000 style)?
> 
> Cheers