YAMAHA RX5 (1986)

 

A digital drum machine family with Midi or some pads for recording to the internal sequencer.

The RX5 is the flagship model of the "RX" family ... but is it still worth to buy today?

LAPTOP The Rx5 is quite heavy about 3.8 Kg weight quite solid and well build.
It features a 16 x 2 LCD display with green backlight screen, 24 drum pads with no Velocity and 36 buttons for edit.
On the left upper part there are four sliders for Volume / Data Entry / Click volume / Tempo on the opposite part there's the instrument mixer with 12 volume sliders.
Behind the machines there are the following connections: Phones Output, main mix Jack Stereo Out, Out for click, 12 separate Outputs, Midi I/O, Clock Sync I/O, a Footswitch input for Start / Stop (same as relative button) and finally two cartridge slots for PCM and DATA.

Power supply input is standard 12V with negative in center - requiring a few mA 200/ 300.

VOICE main core based on a 8 bits CPU Hitachi HD63B09 that generates 16 digital voices.
The wavetable are two ROMS holding a total amount of 24 waveforms coded at 12 Bits and more PCM can be added with external "WCR" cartridges.
NOTE: Both internal and WCR PCM can't be assigned to any pads but only to its relative category, in other words: it can't assign the "Snare" to "Tom" pad.
The sounds are typical end of 80' ish and just can't be edited so much, except Pitch tune ( range -24 to +36 semi tones) a button for Backward play and DAMP effect simulation for Cymbal, mostly effective for sequencer mode.

->info about Hitachi HD63B09

EDIT Using the Rx5 at first is really NOT easy nor intuitivemostly, based on typical Yamaha logic with "JOBS functions", but a good read to MANUAL helps.

LFO just one modulation is possible, the "Pitch BEND" that raises or lowers the Pitch in +/- 60 semi tones range in a determined time speed, perfect function for some Simmons electro tom or warped sounds.

ENVELOPE each voice has a 4 segments EG called "A-D-D-R" Attack / Decay1 / Decay2 / Release with two times for D1 and "GATE" the overall sound time excluding the fourth Release segment. LOOP Any PCM sound has a loop switch mode - this can create pretty weird effects for experimental percussions or strange sounds.

SEQUENCER a maximum of 100 patterns (up to 99 measures) 20 Songs that can be recorded two main modes:
A) Step Grid
B) Real time (quantised)

Also different time Signature such as 1/2 1/4 1/12 1/16 1/24 and 1/32, and various QUANTISIZE level for recording from 1/2 to 1/48 precision or SWING MODE but works only in quantize time of 1/8 or 1/16 with range 50%-70%.

SYNC the machine has various Sync modes:

a) Internal clock - with frequency range from 40 to 250 BPM.
b) External Midi clock - any Midi device with clock out.
c) Tape sync in recorder - recorded signal feeding the Rx5 TAPE IN.
d) External analog signal- feeding with external gate or trigger analog signal.

FILTER NONE MEMORY songs and voice are stored in RAM memory that works with an internal soldered battery common type lithium CR-2032.
DATA BACKUP Save your precious data with RAM cartridges model "Yamaha RAM 4" or use Midi dump data exclusives ; a third backup way is the tape player, awkward and damn slow. FACTORY sound presets are burnt in a ROM -> READ the procedure on the right column.

Yamaha Rx5-Factory demo patterns

 

BENDING Due to its limit and it's cheap price, the RX series are often used for some Circuit bending experiments creating some micro contacts in ROM chips to create strange effects and glitches. ---> FREE BENT SAMPLE KIT HERE! Yamaha Rx5 circuit bent experimental pitch play. thanks to Nico Tripaldi omdatik WARNING: DO NOT PUT A SCREWDRIVER AT RANDOM INTO THE MACHINE! THIS COULD BE DANGEROUS!

"Your RX5 has been developed through over a century of Yamaha research and design,
using state-of-the-art electronic music" - from Rx5 manual