Anyone with an ex5r?

I just received one yesterday, and I'd like to verify whether the main data knob is damaged. Mine extends out only about 1/16" from the surface of the unit, making it pretty much impossible to turn it except by putting your finger in the little slot in the knob...it is totally a pain to turn this knob - it just doesn't turn easily and consistently.

Sounds like you're talking about the big data entry "jog" wheel, right? A common problem is that the mounting nut holding down the encoder becomes loose, which makes the jog wheel bind up on the edges such that it's very difficult to turn.

Carefully pull it off (it's just a press fit) by pulling straight up. If you can't get fingernails around the edges, try using the caps from two or three Bic pens simultaneously - you don't want to scratch things, and you want to apply even pressure.

Once off, look inside, and you'll see the loose mounting nut around the encoder. Find a deep socket of the proper size for the nut (sorry, I forget the size!), and tighten it gently BY HAND (don't put a ratchet or other tool on the socket).

Press the jog wheel back on, and you should be good to go.

Enjoy your EX5R. The EX series are great machines. Try very hard to get:

1) The 16 mb Flash Memory Kit (rare)

2) 16 mb or more of additional DRAM (rip it out of a real old retired computer)

3) The ASIB1 SCSI adapter (get one out of a cheap A3000 sampler from eBay)

These are "must have" accessories for getting the most from your EX.

Drop by the ex5tech.com forums, too, for plenty of tech info (such as how to fix the jog wheel), and loads of free sound sets.

Thanks! I recognize you from that ex5tech forum that I was browsing last night. I confess that in my first night of messing with it, I really didn't get my head around the interface. I'll have to rtfm a bit....but the sound quality is indeed very good.

yeah - I was talking about the jog wheel.

Can I sum up the issues with sysex as follows: it's ok to use an editor as long as you're only using the first 3 elements, and not editing drum sounds? I'm just wondering if it's possible to actually use sounddiver or midiquest for some of the editing of individual sounds. Of course, I couldn't even get either one to recognize the ex - curious as to why. I think I have the sysex id and other settings correctly set.

WRT editors... Wow, I see you did some careful reading! Yes, you pretty much have it right.

Warning - opinions follow...

I agree that the EX5/R/7 interface takes a little getting used to. However, the major reason for this is the depth of the synth. Once you understand the synth architecture, the interface isn't that bad. There are actually only a couple of places in the interface that are out and out inconsistent, poorly organized, or obtuse.

I used Sounddiver early on (before emagic was bought by Apple). Along with the Element 4 and Drum Voice problem, emagic's tech support was horrible (they were big on placing blame on others, and did nothing to help). So, I dumped Sounddiver. The computer editors weren't really any better than the EX interface, anyway. Like I said, it's more an issue of learning a rather deep architecture.

All that said, the interface on the EX5*R* (only) has a rather severe inconvenience. Unlike the EX5, the EX5R does not have dedicated front panel buttons for switching between Elements. On the EX5R, you have to go back to the OSC screen to change Elements. Not difficult, but tedious. As cheap as they can be found these days, you might want to consider adding an EX5 keyboard. They have a great keybed, are quicker/easier to edit, have three wheels (pitch + 2 mod), and a nice ribbon controller - all in all, they're much better for sound editing and for performance.

BTW, be absolutely sure to get Derek's excellent ex.factory software. While it has some editing functions, it's not quite a full fledged editor, but it is a great librarian and general purpose utility. Without ex.factory, I literally would not have been able to build some of the large Sample/WAVE sets we have, and the Voice (aka patch) sets are WAY faster to assemble with ex.factory. And WRT editing, Derek figured out a very clever workaround to the EX sysex dump bugs.

Have fun, and congrats on your new/old machine. It takes a while to learn, but will reward you with years of fresh sounds, and it can do some things that no other synth can.

Thanks...maybe I should have looked for the keyboard. Anyone wanna trade?

yeah - it's the architecture that I haven't figured out yet, and I could swear that I went to the osc mode to switch elements, but still couldn't do it. I was quite confused....but this was the first night, without reading the manual (which took ridiculously long to print out on my very slowwww printer). It's definitely a keeper based on the sound, so I like your idea about a keyboard version. Now I have an as1r that's supposed to arrive today, if fedex doesn't screw up.

had the EX5 for a while... great great synth... only sold it because of space... one board I would love to get hold of again when I settle down (probably be years and years!)...

i used to own the ex5 r

was okay sound wise as is all yamaha gear but the damn midi slop response sucked too much for me. before the update it was just slow to respond to note or cc info. after the update it was more like a random function than a tighter timing. i actually preferred the steady longer delay over the more unpredictable but shorter lag at times.

the sample playback engine was quite nice.

the an type engine wasn't anywhere near as good as ana an1x or an200 or plg150an.

the dspfx synth sucked unless you like big cavernous drone sounds.

i could see what they were trying to achieve with it but it was limited to sound for film type scoring and fx noises for really out there ambient projects.

definately get the 16MB flash option above any other upgrade if you plan to keep the ex5. it is the single best part of the unit (the sample engine synth) and the flash rom means a lot of your own samples can sit there in the unit immediately with no wait for disk to load issues. for custom patches using custom looped samples it is a godsend. can make the ex5 actually sound very much like a decent v.a. without resorting to the poly choking v.a. onboard.

as far as getting around the unit just use it as a pcm synth for a while and then later on experiment with the dspfx synth and va engine. you'll pretty much ignore those anyway after you get comfortable with the pcm side as it can cover anything the others can with some samples fed into it.

If you're content with static samples, I'd agree. If you want a dynamic sound (in terms of both timbre, nuances, and volume) that is extremely playable, I have to strongly disagree.

The AN, VA (virtual acoustic wind modeling), and FDSP engines, coupled with a very nice sample playback engine with great filters, plus all the realtime controls on the keyboard version, is what makes the EX5 a special machine for sound design and for performance (no, it's not a superior workstation). If all you want is a sample playback machine, or if you want a better workstation, the Motifs are almost certainly a better choice.

I have an EX7. I know there's some kind of testmode that tests all the functions.. (Ribbon, wheels, knobs, keys, etc'..)... it will verify whetherer your know is working or not... Try looking in the manual .It tells you how to get to this mode.

Is it possible to "double it" at the cost of polyphony? On AN1-x you can have two patches (4 oscillators) with the halved polyphony which is still enough for basic chords (5 poly).

Don I just read your quote, I'm wondering how many guys would fall for something like that!