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Yamaha EX-5 appreciation thread>

AstralWurks

By AstralWurks
in Keys, Synths & Samplers

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AstralWurks Newbie

AstralWurks

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I broke mine out the other day after not playing it for a while and I still absolutely love that thing.

 

As a workstation, it's no good.. but as a performance synthesizer, I still think it's one of the best sounding Romplers ever made. Such depth in the sonic possibilities and as good a controller as you can get IMO. 3 mod wheels, ribbon slider, 6 assignable knobs, breath controller, great action etc.

 

Here's a song I did which features it's sounds prominently. Note how good the piano/strings patch sounds midway through. For the price you can get them for these days, they're hard to beat. The Motif sounds better for acoustic instruments, but I can get FAR more interesting and crazy sounds out of the EX.

 

Give these a listen for good examples>

 

http://soundclick.com/share?songid=6732569

 

This one starts with the EX. Amazing that the synth is now like 17 years old too and still holds it's own against any rompler out there.

 

I love the preset that starts this one. Listen to how good the Rhodes even sounds on it starting after the breakdown at 2:15.

 

http://soundclick.com/share?songid=6732549

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Chando Newbie

Chando

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oh boy... looking more into the EX5r. I think I found my dream synth. With this and a JV1080, I don't think I'll ever look at the JD-990 again.

 

The only thing is... I can't think of a MIDI controller with that many mod wheels.

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psionic11 Newbie

psionic11

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I have an EX5r that I really like... I use it as a rompler only as well. I mostly got it for its built-in VL70m physical modeller. But its FDSP engine is nice also. Too bad I let a huge piece of wood fall across its face -- nothing external broke, but now the 6 knobs and 10 buttons don't work. Until i figure out how to MIDI my way deeper into the machine, I'm stuck at only the I1 internal bank and using arrow keys to get around. Too good to let go, even gimped as it is.

 

As an aside, I only have one other rack synth, and it's a Technics WSA1r. I also got it mostly for its physical modelling. Some pretty good sounds in it, and very responsive to velocity naturally. The piano is very good on it, as good as or better than most digital pianos I've auditioned at Sam Ash. It does a good job satisfying my meager classical piano needs. Layered with the EX5r and controlled by my Fusion8, it's kept my ebay GAS at bay...

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ChristianRock Newbie

ChristianRock

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Anyone looking at the EX5/EX7 who hasn't checked out the Alesis Fusion should probably do so. It also has samples (except they're much more expandable due to having a hard drive), physical modeling, virtual analog and 6-OP FM all built in (with the EX5 you have to buy the PLG cards, I guess, correct?).

 

And both have quirky sequencers... but work great if you look at them as synths and sequence elsewhere. Though the Alesis sequencer is certainly useful if you can work with linear sequencing (32-tracks MIDI plus 8 Audio tracks per song is nothing to sneeze at).

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zoink Newbie

zoink

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Anyone looking at the EX5/EX7 who hasn't checked out the Alesis Fusion should probably do so. It also has samples (except they're much more expandable due to having a hard drive), physical modeling, virtual analog and 6-OP FM all built in (with the EX5 you have to buy the PLG cards, I guess, correct?).

 

 

No, the EX5 comes stock with all of its synthesis engines. The idea of making these things optional came in with the Motif (or actually, with the CS6X).

 

I've had my EX5 for about 6 years, and I have to say it's one of my all-time favorites. Great control surface and keybed, three mod wheels, two patch variation buttons (like the old Ensoniq EPS and ASR10 -- very useful for nuanced playing), and a small handy ribbon controller. As others have mentioned, the EX5 really shines as a multi-synthesizer, not so much as a sequencing workstation (slow SCSI, etc.). But it has a great sound, and isn't inordinately difficult to program.

 

The EX5, along with the FS1R, is one of those neat synths from a recent but bygone era when Yamaha used to take chances on brilliant, if quirky, ideas.

 

The beauty of the EX5 is that at a price of about $500 it can do things sonically that no Motif can touch.

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wackawa Newbie

wackawa

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I suppose it's not completely fair to knock the EX5 as a 'workstation'. The sequencer on it is just fine. It also has an 8 track pattern sequencer which you can use in conjunction with the more traditional 'linear' sequencer. I also like the editable 'groove templates' that were part of the sequencer as well.

 

The biggest 'issue' would be the processing power. While they tease you with all the 'synthesis' methods in one box, in combi/song mode, there were real limitations as to how many of these methods could be used at a time. This is the area where the fusion really beats the ex5.

 

As far as 'must have expansions'.... I think the flash memory is handy. Also the SCSI card was sold separately as well as the additional output card. There weren't many expansions for it IIRC.

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NuSkoolTone Newbie

NuSkoolTone

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I miss the AN the EX5 had. For some reason, the PLG-card could never come close even though they were branded the same thing. The VL and FDSP were sweet too.

 

Enjoyed the keymap feature and felt it was an EXCELLENT controller with impressive build quality. It had a nice warm sound. Unfortunately, the ROM wave set fell pretty short, and the sample load times were abysmal.

 

To this day I still believe Yamaha should have passed on the Motif and fixed the EX5. It's one of the best examples of something awesome that could have been!

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liliththekitten Newbie

liliththekitten

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This is the first I've heard of this synth. I might like one.

 

Yamaha had so many cool products 10-15 years ago: AN1x, FS1R, the A-series samplers, the QY thingies, RM1X, RS7000, AN200 and DX200, CS6x. Even the DJX mk1 (I went there) and CS1/2x were fun. I guess their last batch of products like the RS, etc... flopped and with computers taking over they just stuck with making Motifs. now they have Tenori-On I guess.

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