Thanks for this video. Although it is a niche concern, making sure the PLG cards are still in the unit is crucial when buying these secondhand. I'm on the lookout for a DX200, but now know to make sure the card is included.
AN200 is frequently underrated due to its groovebox style, but very powerful and nice sounding synthesizer. This video deserves a like for Moki too ;-)
Moki was cool. Thanks for showing what this thing can do without the PLG150-AN card. I was really wondering why they are sold so inexpensive without one.
@@gearfacts It seems that Miko has some real star power. You should do a narrative video, like "Miko Down Under". Possibly overdub a voice with the cat in everyday Aussie life situations, like mistaking a wombat or a kangaroo for a huge mouse LOL. You could follow in the same format as Morris the Cat, ya know?
@@dawnr8511 haha I’m not sure her “adventures” would make for compelling viewing. “4th December 2021 - slept for 20 Hours. Ate some food. Continued my strange obsession with plastic bags. Slept some more…”
@@gearfacts Ya just film an expression on Moki's face and do a simple voice over. The cat does not need to do anything except a voice over comment on what's going on. Like "oh no, he's got another 80's synthesizer, but no cat nip again!"
I love this synth, in my top five pieces of gear. I've used it a ton in my recordings. It's the same synth engine from the AN1x. You can get these at a good price, but the DX200 is more sought after. I like running those two together.
This is the unit I have along with the DX200. The cards are installed in mine. The thing I do not like is the 1 bar beat lengths or 16 steps only. The Korg Volca has this same rhythm limitation yet old Casio RZ1 or Boss DR660 drum machines can have upto 4 bars or more per pattern or 64 steps or more per beat. My gripe I know. The only thing these units are good for in my opinion IS the synth card inside! Though.. the control surface is good and can work with the Yamaha AN1X, RM1X, and RS7000 or other compatible Yamaha instruments. It is old fashion midi 5 pin din as well as being able to upgrade the OS of the AN200 to 1.03 which fixes some bugs.
MIDI 5-pin sockets and cables are sturdy, reliable and simple to understand. Modern gear without them makes life harder, when connecting directly with older gear due to them relying on a computer being present etc.
@@EgoShredder Amen! Agreed! I do not like USB midi on a synth or keyboard as the ONLY option.. 5 pin din is also so versatile that you can wire it in many ways as you like in a setup like for custom sockets and cabling in a studio etc.
Late reply, but it’s not 16 beats only - Shift-Swing (Beats) allows you to choose 16, 12 or 8, and although any one pattern is 16 beats maximum, you can chain patterns together in song mode. The BIG problem with the AN200 is that its CPU is too slow, so is unable to push program changes to the PLG fast enough when chaining patterns with different sounds in song mode. This results in the first AN beat of a new pattern being lost. Really annoying. The other annoyance is that not all the AN parameters are available through the physical controls (this is unforgivable), for example the ring modulator. So you have to carefully choose a preset to start with (that has those parameters you can’t control), OR use a separate AN editor over MIDI - there’s a pretty good panel for Ctrlr that works well.
Just play the demo songs. If it is just rhythm and bass, there is no card or it is defective. I just bought an AN200 without that card and had it returned. Thankfully got another one that works fine.
some of those patterns are mint. so all those patterns are still onboard just missing a synth channel if you take out the card? not sure why someone would do that, does the card make something else better or is it worth selling on?
The PLG cards were a standardized format Yamaha created to be interoperable with several other products. The cards are compatible with certain devices in the Motif product line, as well as some later MU- series modules.
thanks for posting. been thinking about yanking the PLG out of my AN200 and putting it into my CS6x
Go for it!
Thanks for this video. Although it is a niche concern, making sure the PLG cards are still in the unit is crucial when buying these secondhand. I'm on the lookout for a DX200, but now know to make sure the card is included.
You are correct 👍
AN200 is frequently underrated due to its groovebox style, but very powerful and nice sounding synthesizer. This video deserves a like for Moki too ;-)
Cool sounding gear - some of the samples here remind me to some cheesy TV shows in 00s.
Moki was cool. Thanks for showing what this thing can do without the PLG150-AN card. I was really wondering why they are sold so inexpensive without one.
Moki will be making another appearance v soon :)
@@gearfacts It seems that Miko has some real star power. You should do a narrative video, like "Miko Down Under". Possibly overdub a voice with the cat in everyday Aussie life situations, like mistaking a wombat or a kangaroo for a huge mouse LOL. You could follow in the same format as Morris the Cat, ya know?
@@dawnr8511 haha I’m not sure her “adventures” would make for compelling viewing. “4th December 2021 - slept for 20
Hours. Ate some food. Continued my strange obsession with plastic bags. Slept some more…”
@@gearfacts Ya just film an expression on Moki's face and do a simple voice over. The cat does not need to do anything except a voice over comment on what's going on. Like "oh no, he's got another 80's synthesizer, but no cat nip again!"
@@dawnr8511 hahaaaa, it's the story of her life, the poor thing. Pfft what am I saying, that cat lives better than most humans!
I love this synth, in my top five pieces of gear. I've used it a ton in my recordings. It's the same synth engine from the AN1x. You can get these at a good price, but the DX200 is more sought after. I like running those two together.
Yeah I was amazed at how BIG some of those drum sounds were. Made my other percussion gear sound pretty feeble.
This is the unit I have along with the DX200. The cards are installed in mine. The thing I do not like is the 1 bar beat lengths or 16 steps only. The Korg Volca has this same rhythm limitation yet old Casio RZ1 or Boss DR660 drum machines can have upto 4 bars or more per pattern or 64 steps or more per beat. My gripe I know. The only thing these units are good for in my opinion IS the synth card inside! Though.. the control surface is good and can work with the Yamaha AN1X, RM1X, and RS7000 or other compatible Yamaha instruments. It is old fashion midi 5 pin din as well as being able to upgrade the OS of the AN200 to 1.03 which fixes some bugs.
MIDI 5-pin sockets and cables are sturdy, reliable and simple to understand. Modern gear without them makes life harder, when connecting directly with older gear due to them relying on a computer being present etc.
@@EgoShredder Amen! Agreed! I do not like USB midi on a synth or keyboard as the ONLY option.. 5 pin din is also so versatile that you can wire it in many ways as you like in a setup like for custom sockets and cabling in a studio etc.
Late reply, but it’s not 16 beats only - Shift-Swing (Beats) allows you to choose 16, 12 or 8, and although any one pattern is 16 beats maximum, you can chain patterns together in song mode. The BIG problem with the AN200 is that its CPU is too slow, so is unable to push program changes to the PLG fast enough when chaining patterns with different sounds in song mode. This results in the first AN beat of a new pattern being lost. Really annoying. The other annoyance is that not all the AN parameters are available through the physical controls (this is unforgivable), for example the ring modulator. So you have to carefully choose a preset to start with (that has those parameters you can’t control), OR use a separate AN editor over MIDI - there’s a pretty good panel for Ctrlr that works well.
big up the Moki assistant purrer😘
Yeah I really must work more Moki into my vids
Nice!!! Still powerful! Please make one the Roland SH-32.
Wow that is really cool I like it 🔥🔊🔥💯💯😎✌️ 🇮🇹
Me again :)
A guy wants to sell me one but he's not a musician & doesn't know whether there's still the card inside.
Is there an easy way to know?
Thx
Not really - I'd google it and see if there's some secret way;)
Just play the demo songs. If it is just rhythm and bass, there is no card or it is defective. I just bought an AN200 without that card and had it returned. Thankfully got another one that works fine.
some of those patterns are mint. so all those patterns are still onboard just missing a synth channel if you take out the card? not sure why someone would do that, does the card make something else better or is it worth selling on?
No...the synth part is off
4:42
sick
Not bad
What does the board get used for?
The PLG cards were a standardized format Yamaha created to be interoperable with several other products. The cards are compatible with certain devices in the Motif product line, as well as some later MU- series modules.