Back in 1991, this rhythm programmer arrived as Yamaha's clever answer to Roland's R8, blending drum machine grit with synth-style editing that let producers craft everything from punchy house beats to raw hip-hop grooves—artists like Daft Punk and the Chemical Brothers couldn't get enough of its clear, dynamic sound.
At its heart is a 16-bit AWM2 sample-based engine pulling from 96 internal PCM drum and percussion waveforms (up to 48kHz), plus six analog-style waves like saw and sine for bass lines, with two oscillators layerable per voice across 16-note polyphony. You've got 16 touch-sensitive velocity pads for playing in beats, a quirky non-conventional pitch bender, and a center-sprung modulation wheel that tweaks pitch, decay, pan, filter cutoff, or osc balance in real time (with MIDI CC assignable like CC16 for cutoff). Editing shines with digital multimode filters—12/24dB lowpass and highpass, complete with resonance, EG, and velocity sensitivity—plus reverse playback and assignment to stereo outs or four individual outs. The sequencer holds 100 preset and 100 user patterns (up to four measures, 1/96th note resolution, 40-250bpm with triplets), chaining into 20 songs up to 999 measures, all in a compact, sober design that's easy to tote.
Over the years, it's earned a loyal following for those distinctive, full-bodied tones that cut through mixes, though some note the pads can be finicky to repair long-term.
