Review of the Yamaha AW1600

[admin]

Review of the Yamaha AW1600

Can be found Here:


http://tweakheadz.com/reviews/review_of ... aw1600.htm



http://www.zzounds.com/a--3745/item--YA ... id--aw1600
Excerpt:

The Ergonomics of Use.

I was able to record on the AW1600 without reading the manual except for a glance or two. The manual was pretty good, for a Yamaha. But keep in mind, if you are new, the AW1600 is a complex device with a lot of functions. One thing I love about the unit is the controls are really placed well on the surface. The hands almost intuitively know where stuff is, which leads to some fast button pushing. In Yamaha's true style there are a lot of alert boxes wanting you to confirm loads, saves, recording, accessing the library of effects. The sheer number of alert boxes is a bit extreme, so I was happy when i found the preference that turns off many of the confirmation boxes. A little quirky thing they have, again in true Yamaha style, is when you make an error, Yamaha will scold you with an error message. Its kind of like your father correcting you. Where you would normally see "OK" or "Exit" to clear the box, the developer wrote in: "Oh I see!" What is this, are they becoming comedians over there in Japan? Maybe they should have added a little "boinnggg" sound too. Or shout out "RTFM, stupid!" Lol.

[nanashiwanderer]

I just noticed this, a band I looseley worked with helped them with drums and bass tracking, mixed at infinite wave did their whole tracking on these.

I also found that Yamaha's pres are very bang for your buck. The circiut on this sounds fairly samiliar to the MG, it may be the same. Right now i'm working with a firepod and they remind me of the yammy pres.

[xonox]

I've got a few questions about the aw1600...

From what i understand in the manual i got in pdf format, the mastering section is preset-only... Is that true ? Or else what can you adjust ? Where is it explained in the manual ? Is it different from channel dynamics or is it the same that's just applied to the stereo track ?

Is it possible to edit channel dynamics settings or does one always have to start from a library setting ?

I do not own one, i'm shopping for a mtr...

The only things needed for the aw1600 to be perfect would be a bit more editing options and either a better manual or letting the user edit mastering settings/working without presets...

It's so confusing to shop for a mtr...

[PeteH]

I got rid of my AW1600 and instead bought a Tascam 2488 Mk II. It's so much easier to do songs with it, plus you get 8 more tracks for about $100 less money. I really love it. I didn't love the AW1600 - it seemed too complicated and not as user friendly as the Tascam.

[85Dave]

My cousin got this unit from a friend for a great price and uses it in his "home studio" (bedroom deal)
anyways I got to try it for a few minutes today...not recording but just overall looking though it and hearing something he recorded.

he does a lot of acoustic recording and vocals but only has a cheap PG Shure dynamic mic to use at this time. When I heard the song he recorded I noticed he had the preamp pinned and there was a lot of static.

I also noticed how "Cheap" the faders felt which was strange since yamaha normally had outstanding build quality. They were very loose and didn't feel smooth at all...somewhat worse than my Frostex MR8 MTR however they were longer sliders.

I suggested he get the MXL 990/991 or a Rode NT1A. He doesn't have much cash aside and will probably get the MXL set (something I use in my studio).

I'm sure he still has to learn how to properly record. I know pinning the preamps is nothing you would normally do on any type of gear.

Overall its probably not an MTR I would spend my money on TBH. I prefer DAW setups with a large screen and the ease of being able to move audio clips around in Sonar.

*Reads though Tweak's review*

[Jaxon13]

Hiya!~

I've had the AW1600 for about a year now and I LOVE it! It's easy to use (once you get familiar with some of its idiosyncracies), is highly portable (which is great for those of us that have the piano in the living room and the drums in the basement ) and, most important, SOUNDS GREAT! What sold me on it ultimately, when trying to decide between the Tascam 24 Track and the AW1600 16 track was that the AW's made in Japan instead of China. I'm not China-bashing per se: Yamaha of Japan has a reputation for high-quality gear. Those who say the faders don't feel good or have some other quality control issue with the machine must be punishing/abusing their equipment or something. The unit I have is tight, smooth, responsive and runs like a top! Then again, it hasn't seen the inside of a club either, so....

One comment I do have to make: In Rich, The Tweakmeister's review of the machine, he states:

"Where you would normally see "OK" or "Exit" to clear the box, the developer wrote in: "Oh I see!" What is this, are they becoming comedians over there in Japan? Maybe they should have added a little "boinnggg" sound too. Or have a little sample shout out "RTFM, stupid!" Lol."

EVERY TIME I see this error message on the machine, I think of it going "boinnggg" and it never fails to make me laugh! Sometimes I supply the sound-effect for it. Hilarious, Rich!

While I'm dishing the accolades, Tweakheadz is, IMHO, The Best site for researching gear and getting tips on digital recording. What a beautiful blend of knowledge, homespun wisdom and humor! Many thanks to Rich and all the contributors who make it so!

Cheers!

--JR

[Tweak]

Thanks for the kind comments JR!