i want opinions / advice on A3000 (vs A4000, A5000)

S

sybariten

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OK i'm very interested in gettin a sampler and have been discussing this on a swedish forum a bit but most people either tell me to "seriously consider software" or they don't have any experience of the Yamaha samplers.
You see, i'm specifically interested in the A series from Yamaha, perhaps because i will be using a RM1x as the core of the music. (this is also why a software sampler won't be so practical, although much cheaper)

I've been reading a bit about the discussions on A3k here, this is a huge forum so i bet there are some Yamaha-sampler-users our there. The prices discussed are much higher than both my experience and budget though:

What i can get is an A3000 for around 130-140 US dollars including shipping. Its used, ofcourse, the question i want to ask you is:
Is getting a harddrive for it such a trouble that i should be looking for another deal, that includes a harddrive already?
If i could get an A5000 or A4000 (less frequent??) for maybe 2 or 2.5 times the price, should i concider doing that instead?

In other words: those of you that use A3k - do you know if there are any features that would make you want an A4k or A5k instead ?

All tips or views on the A-series are appreciated!
Peace!
 
okay right off the bat lemme tell you NOT TO MESS WITH THE A3000.
it's little ass screen makes it a serious pain to navigate through the many levels of menus and screens.

i know they are cheap but they are slower when it comes to many functions such as saving/loading...much slower than their a4/a5k brethren and they also contain fewer effects.

so if you want to make life seriously easier just skip messing with a3k because for not much more you can have something waay better.

i copped my a5k for $300 flat so you can get them for cheap you just gotta swoop on them. the major differences between the a4 and a5 are the polyphony is doubled to 128, you also get 32 channels (as opposed to 16) and you can have 6 simultaneous FX running as opposed to 3 on the a4000.
just think about that, 3 effects vs. 6 effects at once...that is something that makes spending an extra $100 worthwhile in my book.

the a5000s went for $2000 something when they first came out and they can be acquired for a miniscule fraction of that these days so i would advise you to just get one and you'll be in heaven!

but if you are seriously struggling get an a4000 but don't drop too much on it.

peace
 
buy the A5000 ... just get it fully loaded with maxed out ram and a hard drive or you'll be in hell, the digital I/O expander would be nice too ...

IMO it sounds absolutely killa ...
 
Thanks! Couldnt get any hands-on advice like this in sweden, but i guess posting at an american forum reaches a biiiig amount of users.
Your words sure had some impression, i'll concider the backdraws of the A3k then and maybe drop that idea. As for what you said on 4k vs 5k, the polyphone doesnt really have much importance for me, but i guess six effects can be a _lot_ nicer than just three.

peace!!
 
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