http://www.psnw.com/~nbarnes/bugs.html


Let me preface this by saying I think the EX is worth every penny I paid for it! Again, it packs a lot of bang for the buck! I don't consider any of the
following problems as a reason not to buy an EX.

SCSI speed is slow. Technically this is not a bug, but it is a limitation. Personally I haven't even purchased the SCSI option yet. But when I feel like I need some fresh sounds its good to know that it i there...even if it is slow!


Yamaha's Response: SCSI speed is slow because of hardware implementation on the EX motherboard. Improvement of SCSI speed will require a new motherboard currently NOT available, and no announced plans for release. As a work-around for those who extensively use samples, Yamaha is working with a Flash Ram manufaturer and will soon make available a 16MB Flash Ram upgrade at a very reasonable price.


Timing problems occur when playing back 4-voice pads in the sequencer.


Yamaha's Response: It is possible to bog down the processor with certain thick Voices. This is true. Not in most musical situations. If you try a torture test rather than something musical your results
may cause some alarm. If you use an FDSP Voice with 4 Elements you are using a great deal of the processing power of the EX architecture so don't expect the response to be as lightning fast
as your GM module (1 or 2 layers). In general, keep your attack sounds on the lower number tracks and the big slow pads on the higher number tracks. MIDI is serial after all, and there is an order to
things - in this case lower number tracks have a timing priority (not track 10 as in GM). The sequencer resolution is 480 clocks per quarter note - try off-setting certain hits to make your music work
more smoothly. Try creating Voices that efficiently use the 4 elements. When the full range of notes is assigned to all four elements in a 4-element Voice all four elements will sound when any
single key is played so the total polyphony is reduced to *, and the processing requirements are increased fourfold. If each element is assigned a different range of notes (like Pf: Natural Grand; a 3-element Piano) and none of the zones overlap, only one element sounds when any single key is played. In this case the polyphony and processing requirements are the same as for a single-element>Voice. Digging into the architecture a bit will reveal other areas that can slow response time. For example, some of the Voices where clearly created to be played "live". They have lots of layered elements and use special processors, like the FDSP engine. These all can slow the response time a bit. If you tend to use lots of these type Voices simultaneously in a sequence, you can expect some sluggishness. As you learn about the EX you will be able to detect what components are important to the overall sound you are going for - learn to thin out elements that are not critical. For example, there may be an element using polyphony and all it adds is the sound of the hiss of a B3's Leslie speaker. You may want to remove that (or not).

Isolating elements and determining their contribution to the sound is the first key to mastering the EX. Just because you like this Voice or that Voice does not mean they can be used without some consequences. A knowledgeable arranger chooses his musicians wisely, just as a knowledgeable programmer picks their sounds wisely.

The sequencer drifts out of time when syncing.


Yamaha's Response: Problem has been fixed with OS version 1.09.


The sample & hold waveform for LFO 2 in AWE voices doesn't work; it creates a saw wave instead.


Yamaha's Response: Yamaha is aware that it does not work the same as the S/Hs in an AN element's LFO1 and is checking into it. (I have not checked this yet with OS 1.09. Not sure how...please let me know if you have more info on this,....Nathan )


A bug still exists when sending sysex (VL voices only). It appears that the EX ignores part of the VL element data. Yamaha is aware of this and is fixing the problem. Also, the EX does not always display the element names for any new elements sent to the custom element slots until the power is turned off/on. (This problem is intermittent)UPDATE: 2/26/99 This bug has been fixed with OS V1.10B.

NOTE : All end users MUST call Yamaha to order firmware upgrades...3/25/99

Yamaha is aware of the all the above and according to Tech Support is working on solutions.