Downward is darker: Yamaha RS7000 groovebox electronica track

[@Synth2000]

This thing lends itself so well into deep/dub house and techno, it’s incredible.

[@MIDERA]

I agree. It’s one of the best grooveboxes out there.

[@leninonacid2358]

Great machine... Probably one of the greatest machines ever made... Some people don't like it, but Yamaha did something really impressive here...

[@justplainodd8619]

nice username

[@7milejulio]

It might be great for electronic music. My ghettotech on here is fire. But it sucks for hip hop. The sampler and sampler replay is terrible. The chops are clunky and harsh when played. Its descent at loops. They could've put better drum sounds in the unit.

[@leninonacid2358]

@@7milejulio Bro have you ever used the machine on a big soundsystem? Then you know what the drums are all about. I too thought that the drum sounds are "crappy" until i started using the machine on PA systems. The drum sounds aren't crappy at all. They are just "basic" so that you don't have too much frequency feedback on PA systems. Yamaha knew what they did... Sampler might be a bit sucky, still you don't need it necessarily for a hip hop beat...

[@7milejulio]

@@leninonacid2358 I like it for my electronic music. The problem for me is when I bought it, the guy at Guitar Center told me the RS-7000 was like an MPC with it's own sounds. As far as the drums the kicks, snares and hi-hats require massive tweaking for hip-hop. I have a MK-2 I need to get familiar with. The RS-7000 is a unit better suited for an experienced producer. For my 1st piece of equipment my sound design knowledge wasn't adequate.

[@leninonacid2358]

@@7milejulio What speakers are you using it with? The sound of this machine heavily changes from speaker to speaker. "Massive tweaking"? Never felt like I had to massivley tweak something to get acceptable results... sound always needs to be arranged regardless of what machine you are working with.

[@sssyntax]

I had one of these once in 2009. I could tell it was amazing. I could sense how immensely capable it was. I had the manuals..... But for the life of me, I could not get my head around how to use it. Great to see you have nailed it.

[@MIDERA]

Thanks! I’m always torn with the rs7000. It’s very big and ugly, and some ways in which you do things make no sense to me, but yet it accomplishes all the tasks I need it to, so therefore it’s a pretty great device. Thanks!!

[@digitalbeat666]

Nice tune. Got my rs-7000 from santa claus last xmas

[@MIDERA]

Oh nice! Enjoy :)

[@BrancoArgenta]

How cool it would be if Yamaha relased a modern version of this!

[@MIDERA]

I think it would be cool. Then again... I haven’t really been too fond of much new stuff coming out so I’m not sure it would be for me.

[@vinniethechin5230]

Maybe behringer could replicate it with a twist !

[@BSpazTs]

Nice job

[@MIDERA]

Thanks!!

[@ianmitchell4745]

I absolutely LOVE this. I'm just selling mine, but this is giving me some second thoughts. I mean this is just good music.

[@MIDERA]

Thanks! Just curious - what do you have that will replace it? It's a really good sequencer and the internal sounds are good too, but there are probably better things out there.

[@ianmitchell4745]

@@MIDERA I think Im going to go almost completely software based with Ableton and aa Arturia Minilab mk2. I also have an AN200 by Yamaha and an old Korg MS2000.

[@MIDERA]

@@ianmitchell4745 Well - I think you probably know what's best - I'd say get rid of it if you're not using it!

[@b.hornetiii.6771]

This was (still is) the peak of Yamaha's (groove, studio all in one box) engineering back in 2001 when the VS race was fully ON between Yamaha, Roland and Korg. This is by far the most advanced, easy to use, versatile "sample, groove box studio" to date. It has everything and more. Don't let the looks fool you. The same year Roland destroyed the competiton with VS2480 hard disk studio, and I had both of this machines in 2001. New almost nothing about mixing, but it was still a blast. :)) From 2001 unwards only "cheap stuff" was made for almost a decade when Roland came out with Fantom series and Korg with Kronos. That's about it. :)

[@MIDERA]

It is a great groovebox. I kinda don't like some aspects work, and it's a bit obtuse in some ways, but it's still great. I did find it annoying that I couldn't send PC messages that I needed in the right way. There's a way to send them, but it would re-send every time it looped and that was a problem, or it would only send certain MSB or LSB and... yeah, if you don't use it to sequence other things it worked a lot better. It's probably my second favorite sequencer after the Spectralis.

[@b.hornetiii.6771]

@@MIDERAYes, you have to use it like a seperate beast entering your setup ... With these machines you have to know where their strong points end and weak beggins. Easy, fast workflow must be your No.1 priority if you want to make something great and enjoy doing it.

[@MIDERA]

@@b.hornetiii.6771 Exactly. I have been struggling to enjoy the Squarp Pyramid. It has like such weird 2-3 button combos to do things and it throws me off. Nothing should be that complicated with these machines, but it is!

[@EricBalcon]

yes it still sound modern, this machine always been a dream for me to buy.

[@MIDERA]

It's a really nice groovebox. I love the FX in it too. Thanks!

[@BSpazTs]

Nice programing

[@MIDERA]

Thanks!

[@darrenkennedy8233]

Very nice track n video !!

[@MIDERA]

Thanks!

[@unknownfilmmaker777]

Nice work! Reminds me getting into this stiff in the 90s.

[@MIDERA]

Thanks!

[@joerxworx7299]

super fine Track !

[@MIDERA]

Thanks!

[@DarrenCarroll72]

Deep sounds. Nice work

[@MIDERA]

Thanks Darren :)

[@RickMaczka]

Cool, very inspiring as I just picked up a rs7000

[@MIDERA]

I think you'll enjoy it!

[@RickMaczka]

i am , surprisingly easy to pick it up in some ways........ and looking pretty damn deep too

[@scubabrit8865]

Amazing as always MIDERA!!

[@MIDERA]

Thanks Scuba Brit!!!

[@lairdtomfrenchelectromusic2545]

Whaouu !!! I was so surprised at the introduction of your piece that I had a doubt. Is it MIDERA? I checked and yes, it's you(I was also surprised by the image effect, built into the video)!!! Once again, you have amazed me!!! MIDERA, you are a genius!!!! Thank you very much for sharing!!!

[@MIDERA]

What’s the image effect? I used two cameras, one is junk (the second video). Anyway, thanks! The RS7000 for sure sounds great. I actually love the internal drums in it.

[@lairdtomfrenchelectromusic2545]

@@MIDERA I may have expressed myself badly, I was talking about the transition of the video at the beginning... Indeed, it is not an effect.

[@customizeconcepts]

I’m lovin’ this here muuuuuch !!! .

[@MIDERA]

Awesome, thanks!

[@fitdogStudios]

I have 2 of these boxes. Shame Im not twice as good. Great track:)

[@tobiaswinkler6971]

would you sell one ?

[@MIDERA]

Yeah - I keep buying stuff but I don’t seem to get any better :/ oh well. Thanks!

[@falangistavaleroso9689]

Great machine MIERDA

[@MIDERA]

Yeah - the RS7000 is great. Thanks

[@falangistavaleroso9689]

@@MIDERA thanks MIERDA

[@boberbib3178]

I do all my live shows with abltonlive.I ran at least 5 difrent daws rewired into ableton, like reasion, fruityloops, so on but Abalton is master daw that controls all my external synths and plugins but it takes days hours on programming hundreds of sliders, nobs, triger pads for live show while you program and produce your music.I rather do all on groove boxes and work stations because takes less time but gets to expensive for equipment.

[@MIDERA]

Are you saying you want to use grooveboxes and sequencers or that you prefer Ableton?

[@haydnr1631]

Awesome track!

[@MIDERA]

Thanks!

[@artvandelay3282]

Do you remember how you got that 303 sounding patch at around 3:55 ? I've had my rs7000 for a few years now but never really tried to emulate that sound, as I'd just use my td3.

[@MIDERA]

Hey, I think it was just a preset… I don’t recall it being anything special per se. There really isn’t a lot you can do to shape the sound on the RS… although you can add some fx and change the filters. I might be able to go back and look.

[@iambeef]

Man, this would work great in the next Streets of Rage.

[@MIDERA]

Hah, thanks!

[@pascaldeshayes5459]

Good stuff! The RM1x was the machine that got me hooked to electronic sequencing as its on-the-fly arranging functions were so inspirational. I've since then bought an RS7000 that has been collecting dust but I know I'll take the time to dive into it at some point. Are the multi-outs option worth the hunt, in your opinion?

[@MIDERA]

Hey Pascal - well, I bought the multi-outs and sold them, so... no. I didn't think it was worth it, lol. My RS collects dust too - I don't find it as inspirational as my Spectralis unfortunately.

[@pascaldeshayes5459]

@@MIDERA Oh - I see. Thanks for your insight!

[@pascaldeshayes5459]

@@MIDERA Do you find the Spectralis to be as intuitive and playful in terms of live sequencing/arranging?

[@MIDERA]

No - I wouldn’t recommend it for live sequencing. But I wouldn’t recommend the RS7000 for that either. I would probably go for the Analog Keys if I wanted to live sequence. The spectralis is amazing for many reasons. It sounds amazing, it’s an all in one unit with some crazy good analog filters (monosynth parts - monophonic), it has a fixed filterbank where you can sequence each bank on its own and it ends up sounding really great. The sequencing is excellent as well. Ahead of its time. But it is a deep synth with a lot of menus. That said, I find it easier to use than the ra7000. But the spectralis is very expensive and may not be ideal for you, depends on what you want.

[@KrisBarton432]

Yeah this is rad!!! I totally blame you for my just buying one of these off ebay a few minutes ago hahaha.\m/

[@MIDERA]

Nice - Definitely one of the best grooveboxes and sequencers out there!

[@kostantinosmag2986]

Nice one

[@MIDERA]

Thanks!

[@bastiaanw3519]

Aciiiiiiid! 🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂

[@MIDERA]

Heck yeah :)

[@ram-4]

Great stuff. It's a shame KZbin doesn't have any demos of building a track on the RS7000. There's one on sale for a good price near me, and I'm considering it since as a Yamaha fan I always wanted one - but Ableton does everything this did (and more, obviously), especially when used with a Push 2.

[@haydnr1631]

No reason why you can't use both together!

[@MIDERA]

Thanks - I think there are some videos about building tracks on the RS now, aren’t there? It’s really good although I find I move more quickly with my Spectralis… RS is great though too :)

[@CliffordNovey]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/aaLSi5qulpufd9U

[@blessedbthywill]

Nice machine

[@MIDERA]

Blessed B Thy WiLL agreed!

[@______BS______]

Such a cool track! I am impressed, partly because of the sound, but even more by your programming skills and very nice arrangement. Hard to imagine it's made only on one machine @MIDERA, Can i ask you, how immediate is the sequencer - for example can you put midi events (and edit them) in the grid mode on the fly on different midi tracks without stopping it? how often it is needed to stop the sequencer during programming sequences?

[@MIDERA]

I think in the grid and step mode you can move between tracks without stopping the sequencer. It's pretty immediate. Honestly, it's a great sequencer. Somewhat a little dated, but whatever. I kept it, sold the Squarp Pyramid, if that helps. Thanks!

[@______BS______]

@@MIDERA That says a lot! I'm on JJOS2XL, but i really miss grid sequencer in my life, seems like RS7000 is a perfect choice

[@MIDERA]

The grid sequencer is better than the step sequencer in my opinion... there’s something the grid can’t do that the regular sequencer can, but I can’t recall what it is. Anyway - love the RS7000. The second best sequencer I’ve used. Spectralis is the best. If it allowed polyphonic step sequencing like the Analog keys, it would be absolutely perfect.

[@SeverityOne]

Just out of curiosity, how would this compare to a Korg Electribe (the bright metallic blue one, forgot the model)? Or is that like comparing apples and oranges? This came out during a period where I already had almost exclusively Yamaha gear, so I later bought that Electribe from a friend.

[@MIDERA]

It's a fair comparison, but the reality is that the RS is worlds better in almost every way except maybe immediacy. I have both. The EMX is ok as a drum machine, but even then, I don't think it's as good on any level.

[@SeverityOne]

@@MIDERA Fair enough. Thing is, with a fully kitted out EX5, I already have a lot of AWM2 synthesis. And Yamaha's sampler implementation from that period was really sub-par, particularly the way they handled loading from disc. If I remember correctly, the RS7000 has slow loading speeds, too.

[@MIDERA]

Slow speeds for sure when starting up. It’s not perfect by any means, but we were comparing the EMX (not a sampler) to the RS7000, which has a decent sampler, good synth engine (not great), excellent sequencer, FX, master FX, tons of knobs, polyphonic, etc. If I could have only one groovebox for all different uses, the RS would probably be it. I still prefer my Spectralis, but the RS is a second best. EMX is probably going to be sold sooner than later.

[@xisotopex]

so I finally dragged this thing out of the closet, and came to this video for inspiration... when you recorded this, did you record the different tracks separately or did you just record the stereo out put only?

[@MIDERA]

Everything in one run through. You just mute and unmute different parts.

[@pakomora8469]

Yeahh

[@MIDERA]

Thanks :)

[@TheRealDirtySkillz]

Your the only producer I know who's rocked this machine. Everything else on KZbin is basic as shit. Good job. What's this worth now?

[@MIDERA]

Hah, thanks - I would hate to put others down for trying (haven't really looked at any RS videos recently). I don't know how much it's worth, but I think it still holds up pretty well, except that it uses smart media cards (though you can buy Xd adapters and use those, they work great). I'd say they go for... $400? I paid less for mine, but it's in rough condition.

[@boberbib3178]

TheRealDirtySkillz Yea.now now a days , every thing fits in your pocket, there design for baby fingers.I big machines like this with big nobs, a lot nobs sliders.this thing has a sampler.built in.

[@rafaellino8365]

What stick do you input instead of the card?

[@MIDERA]

There’s a SM to xD that I’ve used. SM card would be best though.

[@rafaellino8365]

@@MIDERA does it not work properly?

[@IvoryJoeMixes]

whats the adapter youre using for the SM Media card? And where can I buy it? Im looking for one for ages!

[@MIDERA]

www.ebay.com/itm/XD-Picture-Card-to-Smartmedia-Card-AdapterXD-SMC-Adapter-SMC-Interface/290800918194?hash=item43b515deb2:g:0nIAAOxy86RSVmbq You'll need to break off the plastic shield so that the card is able to insert far enough into the RS7000. There's documentation somewhere on the internets about this.

[@MIDERA]

Because smart media cards are expensive. The Adaptor and Xd cards are very cheap.

[@siegfriedkoppenstedt8147]

@very droll You can us a SCSI2SD Adapter from Amigakit amigakit.amiga.store/product_info.php?products_id=1264 with a mountet 25Pin Connector. Than only a 50Pin->25Pin Cable is needed.

[@unalienate]

@@siegfriedkoppenstedt8147 I've done this on all the RS7000's I've owned.

[@aaronsoat5480]

All of these sounds and samples came from this unit? Were they included?

[@MIDERA]

Hi Aaron - all sounds are part of the original ROMpler within the RS7000. Thanks

[@aaronsoat5480]

MIDERA wow man that is fantastic!! I have looked into getting one several times but I think you have sealed the deal man!! Very good work... on all of your stuff

[@aaronsoat5480]

MIDERA however, I just invested in a Mellotron M4000D Micro synth last week so I may have to be patient.. not my strong suit lol

[@basedvato]

what mod did you use to replace smartmedia card? does it help make load times faster? thanks

[@MIDERA]

I just use something like this (but from ebay): www.amazon.com/dp/B000L12F10/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_4ITlEb0AVZ0AT It’s a SmartMedia to Xd card. But it does not help with speed times. It’s the same.

[@mattyg499]

@@MIDERA Is there a size limit o for the XD card?Nice track btw

[@MIDERA]

I think 128mb? I think it could be bigger, but I’m not sure because you can only have 64mb or 128mb of ram (can’t remember).

[@raven-jz6cv]

This or the mc909:)

[@MIDERA]

Easily this. I had the MC909 and it had some strange firmware issue where switching patterns caused the last set of sounds (or FX?) to drop immediately. I didn't like it. I sold the MC909 and didn't look back.

[@raven-jz6cv]

@@MIDERA i have me an mc505 makes the same shit. Tried them both those 7000 and mc . Mc booms proper but 7000 felt a lot tighter. I think together will be brainfried combo. Yeah roland is notorious about those matters. Ill get em both eventually haha i found me now a like new mc till summer ill get me this also. I like the sounds coming out of the rs they are serious while roland i feel is oversaturated digitalized . Which is ok for techno. But if ya wanna go deep . Man the rs how u made it sound. Emotional

[@radioXxXheadXxXfever]

how many synths are you sequencing here?

[@MIDERA]

This is just using the RS7000. No other synths.

[@rasterraster1728]

ya it has on board sounds and it can play samples and it can sequence other gear

[@radioXxXheadXxXfever]

@@MIDERA awesome just picked one up i was curious

[@radioXxXheadXxXfever]

@@MIDERA GRID STEP? STEP EDIT?

[@MIDERA]

@@radioXxXheadXxXfever It's got step edit, grid edit. It even has this feature called loop remix. You can remix the drums to play the pattern differently. It's amazing.

[@scyphezero8878]

[@MIDERA]

Thanks!

[@woabeatz9717]

None for sale no where😩

[@MIDERA]

Really? What about ebay?

[@woabeatz9717]

MIDERA -i found one.....they want 650.00😩

[@MIDERA]

$650 USD? With or without the AIEB2 board?

[@woabeatz9717]

MIDERA -it's listed on reverb.com ...not familiar with boards...

[@MIDERA]

They're going for under $500 on eBay - which is about what they went for when I bought mine in 2012-2013. I would wait and then see if it's what you really want. Anything else you're deciding between? I'm getting into it more, hopefully I can post my latest track soon - really enjoying it.

[@CHUMP-CHANGE]

!!!

[@MIDERA]

:)