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From: gibson@unc.UUCP (Bill Gibson)
Newsgroups: net.music.synth
Subject: Re: Yamaha CX-5 ?
Message-ID: <25@unc.unc.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 17-Sep-85 11:24:56 EDT
Article-I.D.: unc.25
Posted: Tue Sep 17 11:24:56 1985
Date-Received: Thu, 19-Sep-85 04:44:07 EDT
References: <190@telesoft.UUCP>
Reply-To: gibson@unc.UUCP (Bill Gibson)
Organization: CS Dept, U. of N. Carolina, Chapel Hill
Lines: 35
Keywords: bad data or confusion
Summary: 

In article <190@telesoft.UUCP> dar@telesoft.UUCP (David Reisner @shine) writes:
>
>The Yamaha CX-5 is a cross between a baby home computer and a synthesizer.
>It has a typewriter keyboard, is programmable in basic (sigh), and hooks up
>to your TV to display text.  In addition, it has something like the
>equivalent of eight DX-7s inside it. 

The Yamaha computer I've heard of is the CX-5M. If this is the same machine,
then the facts are slightly different. The CX-5M has the equivalent of
*one DX-9* inside it.
The DX-9 is much less powerful than the DX-7, since it has only 4 operators 
combined in 8 algorithms (compared to the DX-7's 6 operators and 
32 algorithms).

>Perhaps it is much more difficult to set up sounds, or
>perhaps it is not both velocity and pressure sensitive?

Since you have a screen to display all the parameters on (which is
done with graphics in Yamaha's voicing software), it's easier to
set up sounds on the CX-5M than on a DX-9. Also, the DX-9 is *not*
velocity- or pressure-sensitive, so I doubt that the hardware in
the CX-5M is.

>Seems like there is either some catch which I don't know about, or
>that is a pretty damn good deal.

I think that the former was the situation, especially since the TX-816
(Yamaha's rack-mount set of 8 DX-7's; no Z80 microcomputer involved)
sells for about $2600.
On the other hand, if this is some new Yamaha product that *does* have
8 DX-7 equivalents in it, it is a good deal; if this is the case, please
tell me - I Want One!

Bill Gibson
gibson@unc                   ...[akgua,decvax,philabs]!mcnc!unc!gibson