Category Archives: Music

NAMM 2026: Yamaha PSR-E483 and PSR-E583, updates

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Yamaha promotions have mentioned PSR-E483 and PSR-E583 models before next week’s NAMM 2026 (January 20-24, 2026), so it’s a safe bet that they will appear from the fairy dust. Many budget-conscious punters have awaited new E-series models and will be happy to see them. No specs or details yet, but stay tuned.

Casper at Casper tutorSynth caught sight of a new Genos 2 Voice and Style Expansion Pack: “Back In Time”. Watch Casper’s video for more information. The pack looks like a “greatest hits” collection from early Yamaha arranger keyboards (e.g., PSR-2700, PSR-5700, PSR-6700, PSR-7000 and PSR-9000.

Genos and PSR users will be glad to get the updated MIDI Song to Style application (V1.2) — which will be announced, also. [Don’t look for it quite yet.] The update supports Windows 10/11, macOS 15 (Sequoia) and macOS 26 (Tahoe). Supported keyboard models are: Genos2, PSR-A5000, PSR-SX920, PSR-SX720, PSR-SX600, PSR-E583, PSR-E483, PSR-E383, PSR-EW320, PSR-EZ310 and PSR-I300.

Speaking of updates, the Yamaha CK61/CK88 have received update v1.10. The update adds the following new features:

  • Additional new MENU parameter: “Part SW Mode”.
  • Additional new SETTING parameter: “Pan”.
  • Additional new SETTING -> Rotary Speaker parameters: “Balance”, “Stereo/Mono”, “Speed”, “Acceleration” and “Transition”.
  • Additional new SETTING -> Audio Trigger -> Play Mode parameter: “Hold”.
  • Additional new shortcut operation to “Master Tune”.

And of course, “Fixed minor problems.” Download it today.

Yamaha SEQTRAK got a major update from v1.21 to v2.00. New features are:

  • Added “DrumKit” track type, allowing up to 7 drum sounds in a single track
  • Added “Synth” track type, enabling drum tracks to be used as synth tracks
  • Extended Bar Length button functionality to Drum tracks
  • Enabled value changes via ALL knob rotation while pressing the following buttons: VOL+/-, PAGE, SCALE, OCTAVE, KEY, BPM+/-, SWING

The SEQTRAK app is also bumped to v2.00. Check out the SEQTRAK update video.

MODX M OS v3.00 catches MODX M with Montage M (modulo reduced MODX M functionality). New features are:

  • Now supports Expanded Softsynth Plugin for MONTAGE M/MODX M.
  • New effect types (GS1 Ensemble & Tremolo, M/S EQ Compressor, CS Ring Modulator) have been added.
  • New waveforms (Clavi) and Performances have been added.
  • AN-X and FM-X parameters have been added to the Part LFO destination.
  • ESP Control has been added to DAW Remote.
  • Updated the initial control number settings for controllers used in DAW Remote.
  • Note Limit and Note Shift have been added to Scene, with support for External Part.

The MODX M update is available now. Here is Blake’s Take. Blake has been a busy lad writing Takes for the SEQTRAK and CK updates, too. All to be found on the YamahaSynth.com site. MODX M OS v3.0 demo by Masataka Kono (no talking, just playin’).

As Scott Hanson would say, “This is the witching hour.” Keep your eyes open as updates pop up like Spring flowers.

Copyright © 2026 Paul J. Drongowski

NAMM 2026: Tis the season

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Time for a few NAMM 2026 musings. Tis the season.

Hammond-Suzuki are teasing a new model. If the video shows the new model, you had better save up your pennies. The new model does not look entry-level. Gotta wonder how import tariffs (tax) will affect USA pricing? [Free the markets!]

No new hardware (yet), but Clavia Nord have released new sounds:

  • “Supreme Horns by e-instruments is an exclusive collection of premium horn samples featuring four different sections and a wide range of articulations.”
  • “The Astoria Grand is a mid-sized grand piano, crafted in New York in 1916 during the renowned “Golden Era” of American piano making.”

The Astoria Grand is compatible with Nord Stage 4/3/2 EX/2, Nord Electro 6/5, Nord Piano 6/5/4/3 and Nord Grand 2/1. Supreme Horns are compatible with those models plus Nord Wave 2/1.

Yamaha will be announcing two new keyboards at NAMM 2026. Of course, they will promote the new MODX M series keyboards. One — or maybe two — of the new keyboards will be the long-awaited PSR-E483. The PSR-E483 has a sibling — PSR-E583 — and both share the same digital logic board. The PSR-E583 is just a bit more expensive than the PSR-E483, so who knows? Given the naming, I don’t expect a major break from the current E-series models.

So far, Roland have announced the KIYOLA KF-25 and KF-20 Artisan digital pianos. They are intended to be art for your living space as much as they are musical instruments. The Artisan pianos are the result of a collaboration between Roland and the Japanese furniture manufacturer Karimoku. “The instrument’s carving takes cues from Hikimono, a technique in which wood is carefully prepared to achieve smooth, round shapes.” Aesthetically, the design is a cross between Scandinavian and Japanese influences.

Roland are taking a page from the Yamaha CSP playbook. The featured instruments are available through the minimalist front panel while other tones and features are accessed through Roland’s Piano app. You’ll find the KIYOLAs at the MoMA Design Store starting at $5,720 USD (non-member price).

Korg have not made any announcements at this point. The Korg USA and Japan sites mention the BM-1 Bluetooth MIDI interface, Nu:Tekt NUTUBE Overdrive BK, FISA SUPREMA C aero digital instrument (AKA digital accordion) and the usual gizmos. The BM-1 Bluetooth MIDI interface looks and behaves a lot like the CME Widi Master. I hope someone asks Korg about interoperability.

Speaking of CME, CME will be promoting the new H12MIDI Pro USB HOST MIDI interface. Quoting CME:

Presale starts March 2026 with shipping in April. Only 400 units available in the first run! Priced at US$199 (MAP/MSRP). US$139 during the presale period.

The H12MIDI Pro has six IN/OUT TRS MIDI ports (type A and B) plus USB Type-C. Like all upper-end CME MIDI boxes, it supports routing, filtering and mapping. CME seem to know their business and I recommend their gear over cheap knock-offs.

Ashun Sound Machines (ASM) will show its new ASM Diosynth wind synthesizer. The Diosynth has two Hydrasynth Wavescan Oscillators that allow you to choose 8 waves out of the 219 waveforms and morph between them. A new sample-based synth section adds multi-sampled instruments (separate attack, breath noise and key-off samples). The Diosynth manual mentions the much-rumored ASM Leviasynth (har-har). Given ASM’s recent denials, I wonder if the Leviasynth reference will be [redacted] from the manual?

Fender are pushing further into the studio market with a wide range of audio products. The Fender Studio AudioBox Go USB-C Audio Interface is a single audio channel interface at the low end of the range ($100 USD). The Fender Studio Quantum HD 8 USB-C Audio Interface is a 26-in/30-out rack box at $1,100 USD. Fender are also moving into the studio/MIDI controller market with the Fender Studio Motion 32 Production and Performance Controller at a very reasonable $330 USD. It does most everything one would expect from a modern groove box (Smart Scale, Smart Chords) and is tightly integrated with their Fender Studio Pro DAW software. Too expensive or want something APC-like? Try the smaller Motion 16 at $270 USD. Both Motion controllers are expected in “Spring 2026”.

Copyright © 2026 Paul J. Drongowski

Korg Volca Sample riddim?

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Teenage Engineering wisely got out ahead of everyone and released the EP-40 Riddim and Ting combo just before the holidays (and January 2026 NAMM).

I went absolutely berzerk when I heard the EP-40 and quickly pulled out the Korg Volca Sample 2 to see what I could do. There’s a lot to love about the Sample 2. Its USB port and the Korg Volca Sample Librarian make sample management a snap. The step programmable sample parameters supply a lot of dynamic messin’ along with the tempo and swing knobs. The controls may be small, but I love their immediate accessibility.

The analogue isolator controls are a kick, too. You can dynamically kill or boost the low and high ends. Korg provide similar capabilities in their Volca Mix. That and the compression and stereo field effects are the reason why I keep the Volca Mix in the toolbox.

I wanted to create long-loop grooves as though I was working in Ableton Live. One of my favorite entertainments is to launch Live and drop in a few samples and hear what comes out. The Sample 2 workflow is not as smooth as Live since everything needs to go through the Volca Sample Librarian. Oh, well.

Other issues arise when using long samples (e.g., two or more bars). Lack of sample space is a major issue. The Sample 2 has only 8 megabytes — yes, 8 megabytes — of sample space. The Sample 2 operates at a 31.25kHz sampling rate and it’s not clear if down-sampling saves any space. (The Librarian does sample rate conversion.) An old trick to save space is to “pitch up” incoming samples and then slow them down during playback (returning the sound to its original pitch). This technique adds yet another prep step and buzzkill.

The Sample 2 comes with great factory samples. That’s both good and bad. The factory samples occupy roughly 80% of sample memory leaving you with 20% free. That’s roughly 26 seconds of available user sample time. Sure, you can wipe the factory samples, but really?

I smacked into limited memory capacity immediately. I trimmed several dub loops into 2 to 4 bar loops. None the less, drum, bass, skank and fill loops hit 100% right quick.

Loops longer than two bars trip another issue. Longer loops continue to play after hitting the stop button. This is known behavior and it is annoying. Next, if you want to play a two bar loop, you need to adjust the tempo down to half. That way, one can trick the Sample’s sequencer into thinking it’s a two-bar sequencer. Of course, this spreads the 16 sequencer steps across two bars thereby cutting your time resolution in half (eighth notes). Go for four bars and the resolution is cut to four quarter notes per bar.

Overall, I think Korg conceptualized the Sample 2 (and its predecessor) as a digital beat box to which a user can add short one-shots. In that regard, Volca Sample is quite successful, especially at its price point. It’s not designed for long samples.

I always like to give the gear I have (Sample 2) first shot and buy if necessary. As to EP-40 Riddim and Ting, I’ll have more to say after UPS gets here. 🙂

Teenage Engineering, by the way, are showing Field System Black in time for NAMM 2026. If you want to hear more about TE’s development process, I strongly recommend WVFRM’s interview with David Eriksson, co-founder and lead engineer of TE. If I were teaching today, it would be required for class.

Copyright © 2026 Paul J. Drongowski

Ho, ho, ho, NAMM 2026

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Time for a pre-holiday ramble. NAMM 2026 — also known as “Christmas in January” — is now one month away, January 20-24, 2026. Certainly, November and December product releases will be featured at NAMM 2026. So, dropping into stream of consciousness mode…

Behringer is great at stocking stuffers. The latest stuffer is the two DCO Behringer UB-1 Micro with replicas of the 3396 and 3397 chips once found in the Oberheim Matrix 6/1000. USA pre-order for about $71 USD. Shucks, might as well pony up another $40 and buy the three VCO Behringer UB-Xa Mini Analog Synthesizer at $109. After upgrade, the Mini is 5 voice and it has a 5-pin DIN MIDI input instead of a 3.5mm MIDI jack.

I also have a fondness for Sequential Circuits. The Behringer Pro VS Mini Hybrid Vector Synthesizer is a 4-voice hybrid vector synth, joystick built in for $119. All of these small format modules are much smaller and cheaper than the real deal and don’t take up as much space in a studio. Gosh, they aren’t more expensive than a good plug-in, too.

Sonicware continue to roll out new toys. The ELZ_1 play (now V2) is a small wavetable synth featuring the original Waldorf wavetables. The LIVEN series groove boxes cover a wide range of contemporary music styles. As to my own taste, I’m liking the LIVEN Ambient 0, LIVEN Evoke and LIVEN Lofi-12. Sonicware products are available in the USA through Amazon.

If you crave actual Waldorf tables and sound, check out the nicely-styled Waldorf Protein. The Protein has eight voice polyphony and is 4-part multitimbral. Even though it’s a new model, it just got its first update adding a 12dB filter option, more memory slots and 20 free patches by Kateryna Zavoloka. The USA price is $399 USD — quite reasonable. Eight voice poly is enough to be dangerous and I wish other developers would take note. Three or four voice polyphony ain’t enough for two-fisted pads.

Which brings me to the subject of tariffs. Yes, USA people, you are paying the tariffs. You are also waiting longer for product to arrive on these shores. Check Behringer pricing and you will see lower prices in Europe. Sonicware LIVEN used to be $199; they are now $259. Sonicware moved sales to Amazon because they got tired of chasing shifting tariff rules, especially cancellation of the de minimus exception.

In software-land, Steinberg are shipping new iOS plug-ins and apps. Cubasis gets a boost. iOS versions of the Verve and Etude character pianos join Iconica Sketch on iPad/iPhone. Verve is the Steinberg felt piano which lets you layer in atmospheric elements. Etude is a C3X which — to my ears — sounds more “played in” than the usual pristine Yamaha CFX samples.

Verve, Etude and Iconica Sketch can run standalone as well as AUv3 plug-ins. The new Verve and Etude are described as “designed for iPhone/iPad”. The introductory price is $15.99 (each). What’s the catch? The Verve download size is 19.8MBytes and the Etude download size is 18.8MByte. These are the sizes for the core apps — the full download will be much larger. I’m running Etude on a Mac Mini under HALion and that was an 18 Gigabyte download. (The Iconica Sketch core app is 20.4MB and the full download is 1.6 GBytes.)

Be sure to pick up Steinberg’s free HALion Sonic 7, Guitar Harmonics Essential, LoFi Piano, Novel Piano, Taped Vibes, etc. You can make a lot of music with Steinberg free stuff!

Audio Modeling always have new, innovative products (and holiday sales). SWAM instruments can get price-y, even on iOS. Thus, Audio Modeling have created the Discovery Series (“Explore. Invent. Discover.”) SWAM VariFlute is the first virtual instrument in the Discovery Series. VariFlute is an introduction to physical modeling letting you horse around with pipe length, diameter and material. If you’re missing Yamaha VL, VariFlute is for you. The introductory price is $9.99 and it’s only for iOS.

Too big for a stocking, but now more portable, there’s Arturia’s AstroLab 37. AstroLab is, essentially, AnalogLab in a box. The 37-key model is super light and alleviates my main concern about the 61-key model, that is, its weight. The trade-off, of course, is accepting mini-keys. The 37 is only $700 USD.

Speaking of mini-keys, I still find the Korg Microkey Air to have the most playable mini-keys. I’ve paired (literally!) the Microkey Air 49 with the 1010Music Tangerine via CME WIDI. CME has won me over for Bluetooth MIDI.

As to NAMM 2026 rumors and thoughts, I expect Korg to show up and show out. After dropping KRONOS 3 and miniKORG 700Sm, they haven’t brought much to the stage. Products like Kross need an update. Plus, Triton-based instruments like EK-50 and i3 need to move into the modern age. Can anyone tell me why i3 is more expensive than EK-50?

Yamaha USA Shop has a NAMM 2026 new gear page. The “Synthesizers and Keyboards” section has three new product slots. The first slot is MODX M. The other two slots say “Check back on on January 22, 2026” or some such. Yamaha punters will finally see the PSR-E483. The E483 will have a fraternal twin, too.

Pictures of an Akai MPC XL have leaked. Things looks massive and the rumored price is massive, too: $2,899 USD.

Yamaha STAGEPAS 100BTR mkII

Yamaha have updated the STAGEPAS 100 BTR. The mkII adds two USB Type-C ports: one port for your table/phone (USB 2.0 compatible) and a USB “power delivery” port. The mkII supports USB audio I/O and Bluetooth audio gets a bump to A2DP/HEP. The power delivery port replaces the 24V charging jack in the mkI models. Battery life, size/weight, and audio specs remain the same. MAP for the mkII is $400 USD.

I’m a committed STAGEPAS 100 (mkI) user. I have one at home (no battery) and take a battery-powered 100BTR to my church gig. The sound is clean and is loud enough for practice and personal monitor. The 24V power jack always seemed a little weird because it requires an external laptop-style brick. The mkII changes should make life easier for buskers.

Rather stingy, the instruction manual claims “This product does not come with a USB power adaptor or USB Type-C cable.” C’mon, man, these little STAGEPAS aren’t cheap. STAGEPAS 100 mkI models are on sale right now.

Copyright © 2025 Paul J. Drongowski

Roland Go:Keys mini-review

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Maybe it’s the visual aesthetic which keeps drawing me back to the Roland GO:KEYS 3 and 5. Yes, it’s a box. The simple lines, however, are clean. The chassis colors are well-chosen and the turquoise is lovely. The pastel white keys are a good match.

With time on my hands, I dropped by Kennelly Keys in Everett, WA to give the sounds a try. With so many on-line demos, I decided to focus on playability and voice quality. The styles and chord patterns are hipper than Casio, Yamaha and Medeli. Roland are catering to younger players and contemporary genres. I could have a lot of fun jamming along to chill, downtempo, neo-soul, etc. with GO:KEYS.

Roland Go:keys 3

Today, however, it’s the Advent season church music for the week. Why not kill two birds with one stone and get today’s practice out of the way, too? The instruments are light-weight (max 5.5kg or 12.3 pounds). I could see taking one to church rehearsal (maybe a church gig) since they run on battery power and have built-in speakers.

The keys are piano-ish and are not synth-style keys. They are great for the more than decent acoustic pianos, electric pianos, pads, strings and orchestral instruments. If you have a chance to play a GO:KEYS (gen 2), take it. The keys compare favorably with the Casio CT-S500 and CT-S1000V.

Sonically, pianos are definitely a strength. Strings are good and you get a healthy selection of tones and articulations. (It ain’t VSL. 🙂 ) The pads surprised me. I found more usable simple pads than MODX. I don’t need or want tricked up pads. I didn’t have to look too hard to find them.

The orchestral instruments (e.g., oboe, clarinet) are passable. French horn ain’t bad. If this is your thing, too, I would look to the Roland Cloud and download the EXZ007 “EXZ Orchestra” expansion. The Orchestra expansion contains voices from the SR-JV Orchestral 1 and 2 boards, the Vocal Collection and more. I bought these boards back in the day for $200 USD a pop. Amazing.

Organ-wise, I got on with so-called pipe organ reasonably well. The quieter pipe organ voices are pleasing. The piano keys don’t get in the way if you are playing at a slow tempo and legato touch. Faster tempos may require adjustment. EXZ007 adds a few pipe organs, too, along with a raft of choirs from the old Vocal Collection. (Thank you, Eric Pershing.)

Hate to say it, but Hammond B-3 organs are a disappointment. None of the basic tones/registrations clicked with me (no pun intended). Further, who in the hell makes organ voices velocity sensitive? Yes, there are a few of those abominations.

Better drawbar organs are available in the EXZ008 “EXZ Vintage Keys” expansion. The EXZ008 contains the SR-JV Keyboards of the 60s and 70s (pianos, clav, B-3, combo organ) and a slew of vintage synths. The in-built “VK Rotary” effect is an improvement on the bog standard rotary effect which is really a chorus in cheap disguise.

Playing B is where the box piano keys got in the way. This could be a deal-breaker for organ-oriented players. Playing at a fast tempo felt wrong and I couldn’t adjust to the key response. Major yellow flag for me here. Bummer, everything was going so good.

Roland cannot be faulted for the keys. My Novation Launchkey 49 Mk4 has box piano keys and I have similar issues playing organ with them. I bought the Mk4 for playing AP/EP on a light, swappable MIDI controller in my studio. Think over your requirements and choose.

I spent most of my time playing the GO:KEYS 3 through its internal speakers. The 3 exhibits a lot of boxy-ness. Yes, I’m sure it sounds better through an external amp. The 5 is less boxy. Overall, not a big deal because I usually play through battery powered Yamaha Stagepas 100 or Headrush FRFR GO.

So, 3 or 5? The 5 has much better connectivity. It may seem a trivial matter, but the 5 front panel legends are easier to read than the turquoise. I flat out could not read the button labels on the turquoise and kept refering back to the white 5 nearby. Advantage 5.

Now for the big decider. The 5 can load EXZ expansions which include waveforms. The 3 can only load patches (voice meta-data) and styles. I would almost certainly acquire EXZ007 and/or EXZ008. Both expansions include waveforms, so GO:KEYS 5 it is.

I’m still sorting out Roland Cloud subscriptions and lifetime keys. I would likely get lifetime keys for EXZ007 and EXZ008. That’s an extra cost. Wait, there is another extra cost — downloading requires the Roland Cloud Connect wireless adapter. $124 USD Ka-ching. The adapter includes a 12 month Pro Membership, but still…

Overall, I’m favorable impressed by the current Roland GO:KEYS. If there was a model 5 with a synth-action keybed, I would buy one.

Right now, we are in the looming shadow of NAMM 2026 (January 20-24, 2026). Yamaha will almost certainly announce the next E-series 400 model sometime in the next few months. Plus, it’s time for Korg to update the i3, EK-50 and Kross. Logically, it’s better to hold off for NAMM and see what comes our way.

Copyright © 2025 Paul J. Drongowski

Medeli profile

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Medeli Electronics Co. Ltd. is one of the largest developers and manufacturers of electronic musical instruments, but you might not know much about them.

I investigated a few of Medeli’s low-cost arranger instruments while searching for inexpensive gear to mod. For example, Medeli offers the new entry-level Nebula series instruments: MK37, MK49 and MK61. Medeli had a large booth at NAMM 2025 and is trying to establish the Medeli brand in the USA.

Medeli chose a tough time to enter the USA market. The headwinds are strong thanks to the (illegal) tariffs. Free the markets.

Medeli already have one foot in the door: ASM (Ashun Sound Machines). You know the ASM Hydrasynth. ASM is a subsidiary of the parent Medeli and is the portal through which more Medeli-branded gear will flow.

Medeli manufactures components and OEM keyboards which are sold under independent brands. You might have seen products from POGOLAB, LEKATO, VISIONKEY and STARTONE and noted their similarities. Medeli components have appeared in products from M-Audio.

I decided to get a little smarter about Medeli and drew up this profile:

Company founded in 1983
Hong Kong manufacturer of digital musical instruments
Over 1,000 employees across Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Shanghai, and Zhuhai
Team of over 80 engineers in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Zhuhai
    2009 Medeli Zhuhai established
    2006 Moved mfg from Shenzhen to industrial park Zhuhai
Plastic injection, metal shop, paint and silkscreen printing, wood 
    processing, PCB assembly, and final assembly
In-house SMT line, automatic insertion line, and bonding equipment
Annual production capacity of 1.5 million units
Expertise: IC design, DSP Algorithms, Sound Generation, 
           Drum Pad Design and Keybed Design
Proprietary multi-core digital audio processors
    32 to 256 tone polyphony
    Special purpose instruction set (AMP, LOOP, FIR)
A5 integrated circuit (2013)
    256 polyphony
    11 cores
    1500 MIPS
    ARM9 CPU (32-bit RISC)
    Products: ASM Hydrasynth, AKX10, M-Audio Accent
Synthesis engine
    FM, PCM, ubtractive synthesis
    Adjustable hardware-level multiple filters for each voice
    Anti-aliasing filter
    Physical modeling (drums and pianos)

Clearly, Medeli is a major player in electronic instruments. Zhuhai, by the way, is a major industrial center across from Hong Kong. It will be the new “Shenzhen” for electronics.

Please note the range of Medeli’s industrial expertise and equipment. Manufacturing is capital-intensive and electronic musical instruments are not free as many people might think or wish.

Medeli AKX10 main board

Like Yamaha, Korg and Roland, Medeli have developed their own line of synthesis and audio processors. The latest processor, A5, is a multi-core integrated circuit appearing in the ASM Hydrasynth, the AKX10 arranger, Medeli digital pianos, and the M-Audio Accent piano module. Usually, the A5 is paired with a separate ARM host processor (e.g., STM32F103VE) to handle operating system duties, user interface and so forth.

Here is a Medeli timeline taken from their corporate web site:

Timeline
    1983      Company founded
    1993      MEDELI brand established
    2003      First integrated circuit IC0105 enters mass production
    2003      MD2032 (32 polyphony)
              A2 (64 polyphony)
    2007      MD2032 enters mass production
    2008      A2 enters mass production
    2010      MD2032A (32 polyphony) enters mass production
    2013      A5 (256 polyphony)
    2015      A2S (128 polyphony) enters mass production
              A5 enters mass production
    2019      Founded the ASM brand

As to on-line demos, the MK37 ($75 USD) sounds decent for the price. It goes head to head with the now discontinued Yamaha PSS and Dream SAM 2000 series components. The MK49 ($100 USD) has touch response and sounds even better. The MK49 acoustic piano tone is quite decent. The MK61 ($140) adds more voices and supports two-voice splits and layers.

Medeli MK49 Nebula series keyboard

You don’t see very many 49 key instruments like the MK49. Sure, it has mini-keys, but you can almost stuff it into a backpack. Medeli sound design is getting better. I would say that the electric pianos and organs are probably the weakest bread and butter voices. The EPs don’t sound like a Rhodes — more like a sampled EP synthesizer patch. Some of the styles remind me of the now-dated Yamaha QY70. If the MK49 had better EPs and organs and did split/layer, it would absolutely kill at $100.

Copyright © 2025 Paul J. Drongowski

SAM2695, A50 and NSX-39 thoughts

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I’m still kicking around ideas for small, ultra-low cost MIDI tone modules. Random thoughts to follow…

I completed the SAM2695 project using the M5Stack U187 MIDI module. Using a nibbling tool and utility knife, I cut a few holes along the edge of a Hammond 1591CSBK plastic project box. I packed the MIDI module and cabling into the Hammond box and strung cables through the holes. There are three cables:

  • An in-line barrel connector switch cable
  • A 3.5mm stereo cable (6 feet)
  • A CME MIDI cable (3 feet)

The audio and MIDI cables are thin and flexible. Overall, this proved to be a better construction method than drilling holes for external connectors and so forth. I’m not the best fabricator…

SAM2695 General MIDI tone module

The end result is a GS-compatible General MIDI module which is the size of a guitar pedal. I configured a Novation Launchkey 49 (Mk4) to select 16 GM voices through the pads and to tweak/tweeze a basic set of GM parameters. The Mk4 supports two zones (Part A and Part B), is flexible, and deserves a blog post of its own.

I put the SAM2695 through its paces and confirmed my impressions. (See my post comparing the SAM2695 against the Yamaha PSS-A50.) Not a bad GM module for $50 (total). Still, it won’t have people selling their Nords, Montages, Kronos, whatever. 🙂 There are some decent playable voices and then there are some crap voices.

The SAM2695 effects, in particular, leave me wanting. The 2695 exposes reverb and chorus parameters, but most tweaking requires System Exclusive (SysEx) messages. More ranting about SysEx in a minute.

Relatively speaking, the Yamaha PSS-A50 is not harsh and its effects are better. The PSS-A50 also uses a one-chip solution, the Yamaha YMW830. On the other hand, the A50 MIDI implementation is truly spartan. For example, one cannot change either the reverb or chorus type. The stock A50 is mono (not stereo), so the Yamaha engineers decided not to implement MIDI CC#10 Pan.

Thus, I have really cooled to the idea of hacking the A50 into a module. Why begin a project when you know that the end result will be deficient in a major way?

Which brings me to the third option — chopping up Gakken NSX-39, better known as “Pocket Miku.” The NSX-39 is based upon a different one-chip Yamaha solution, the YMW820 (NSX-1). The YMW820 is a more than decent XG MIDI implementation. It supports the full GM sound set (A50 has 40 selected GM voices) and it has a fair to middling variation effect unit, including rotary speaker!

With all that going for it, the NSX-39 should be a no brainer. Nope. There is no clear, direct way to hack MIDI onto the YMW820. So, it’s likely to be MIDI over USB all the way and the USB port is implemented by an ARM media processor chip fronting MIDI to the YMW820 over SPI. The NSX-39 is already a small board/package and there isn’t much to cut away.

Then there is the issue of that insipid Miku voice. MIDI channel 1 is dedicated to Miku and, without writing the flash ROM, you can’t get rid of it. Yamaha had envisioned Real Acoustic Sound (RAS) as an alternative to Miku, but they never released a ROM image. RAS is a form of Articulation Element Modeling (AEM), also known as “Super Articulation 2“. Here is a video demo (AEM saxophone) of what could have been. [Video courtesy of Ken Fujimoto.]

YMW820 Real Acoustic Sound (RAS)

A big issue hanging over all three design options is the inability to send SysEx from the Launchkey. Or, another way of stating the requirement, critical settings need SysEx when most inexpensive MIDI controllers are incapable of sending SysEx. Really, how hard would it be to add SysEx support to a MIDI controller? SAM2695 has two MIDI CCs — CC#80 and CC#81 — which set the reverb type and chorus type, respectively. This capability is very unusual, however.

Yamaha arrangers keep voice set-up data in a few different places. Every voice has a basic set-up in its internal meta-data. One level up in abstraction, each panel voice has a so-called VCE (Voice Edit) file. (“VCE” is one of several file name extensions which denote a Voice Edit file.) The VCE is a MIDI file which selects the base-level voice and then changes EQ, filter characters, attack/release, and insert effect among other things. Styles contain something like a VCE in One Touch Setting (OTS) locations. Registrations can store VCE-like data, too.

The arranger voice design got me thinking. Why not map MIDI Program Change messages to a group of VCE-like MIDI messages in order to set up the SAM2695 (or whatever), i.e., choose reverb and chorus type, tweak EQ, and so forth? My AdaFruit Feather MIDI event processor would be a good platform given the appropriate custom code. A future project?

Copyright © 2025 Paul J. Drongowski

M5Stack U187 General MIDI module

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Getting right to the point, cabling the M5Stack U187 MIDI Unit was a straightforward breeze. I now have a tiny General MIDI (GM) module for less than $50 USD. Best of all, the audio is cleaner than other SAM2695 implementations and I have full access to the Roland GS-compatible engine within.

Yep, I traced out signal paths to make sure +5V and ground go to the right places. M5Stack have done a good job with their connector and port layout. Plus, the cable color-coding makes it easy to see “what goes where.”

M5Stack U187 General MIDI module cabling

The picture above (click to enlarge) shows all of the electronics and cabling splayed out. I added an in-line power switch between the AC-DC adapter and the M5Stack buck converter. The only “trick” is to jumper the RXD and TXD signals. The jumper creates a signal path from the external MIDI IN to the SAM2695 MIDI port. RXD and TXD are both TTL-level signals, i.e., the receive side is after the opto-isolator.

And, gosh, M5Stack gear is inexpensive for what ya get. I’m tempted to try one of their integrated controllers like the M5Stack Core 3. Count me in.

Next on the agenda is a case. I’m going to stuff everything into a plastic Hammond 1591CSBK, also known as a “guitar pedal” case. I don’t intend to add connectors; the audio, MIDI and power switch cables will dangle out of the box. I’m ham-handed when it comes to craftsmanship and there is no reason to complicate set up. I will use a CME MIDI cable since the CME’s have much smaller plugs. The HOSA MIDI cable (above) won’t fit inside the 1591 case.

The only quibble is that M5Stack have jacks on all four sides of the U187 module. Thus, I’ll need cables with compact, right-angle plugs.

Overall, the M5Stack U187 MIDI Unit is the fastest, cheapest path to a GM tone module. Recommended.

Copyright © Paul J. Drongowski

Sound test: Yamaha A50 vs. SAM2695

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The Yamaha A50 keyboard and the M5Stack U187 MIDI Unit (synthesizer) are based on two different ultra-low cost chips: the Yamaha SWLL (YMW830) and the Dream S.A.S. SAM2695, respectively.

The SAM2695 implements the full General MIDI (GM) sound set replete with Roland GS control and System Exclusive (SysEx) MIDI messages. The A50 implements forty voices from the GM sound set and a subset of the Yamaha XG MIDI standard. Because the A50 is a subset, it seems only fair to compare equivalent voices and see which synth is stronger.

The table at the end of this post is a voice-to-voice comparison. Neither instrument will have you ditching your Montage or Kronos. 🙂 The price points are definitely entry-level — $120 USD for the A50 (if can find one) and $15 for the M5Stack U187 MIDI Unit.

Surprisingly, the main grand piano voices are nearly identical! Both pianos are single strike and key velocity simply makes the underlying multi-sample louder or softer. Unexpectedly, the A50 electric grand is darker than the main grand. I prefer the darker tone as it is less likely to shatter glass.

The A50 electric pianos correspond to dark Rhodes and FM DX tones. The SAM EP has a bell-like chime, even its attempt at Rhodes.

The organs aren’t going to knock you out being the typical GM fare. The A50 drawbar organ has more low-mid tone and guts. The SAM rock organ is annoying and is especially buzzy in the low end. (An attempt at overdrive?) It’s unusable.

The A50 acoustic guitars have more mid-range body tone. The SAM clean and overdriven electrics are thin and the SAM overdrive (OD) is unconvincing. I selected A50 voices through its front panel and Yamaha may be adding the chorus effect to the clean guitar. Both jazz guitars need chorus to get the classic JC120 effect.

The SAM basses sound like a sampled electric. The SAM acoustic bass is not very jazzy (authentic). The A50 slap bass nails “Seinfeld” and the A50 synth bass almost nails “Chameleon”. The SAM synth bass is all punch and no sustain — doesn’t sound very rezzy.

The SAM solo violin and cello have more attack and body than the A50. Didn’t see that coming! The SAM pizzicato string voice has reverb sampled in, resulting in playback artifacts. The A50 harp low notes are unrealistic.

My biggest knock against SAM is the ensemble string voice. There is a bad, very audible loop lump in the octave about middle C. This gaffe should have never shipped.

Trumpet and trombone are what one would expect of GM solo brass — kind of real, but one-dimensional. Again, it’s a single multi-sample made louder and software by velocity. The A50 French horn is mellower than SAM. The SAM brass section sounds like a sampled synth brass patch, not real horns.

The A50 tenor sax is breathy although it won’t fool anyone. The SAM tenor sounds like a snake-charmers reed recorder. Yuck. I prefer the warmer A50 oboe. The clarinet and flute voices are nearly identical.

What can you say about synth leads and pads? They are what they are. The A50 has a few nasty, aggressive lead voices and the SAM has a few, too. Yamaha nails a few of the classic GM synth voices, but they were there at the beginning of General MIDI, weren’t they? 🙂

Overall, it’s a split decision. I lean Yamaha A50 over SAM2695. Yet, I keep repeating “15 dollars” over and over again. Remember, SAM is a full GM sound set and you might be able to substitute an alternative GM voice in place of a weaker voice.

If you like Akai MPK Mini and want an A50-like experience, I recommend the Akai MPK Mini Plus 37 combined with the M5Stack U187 MIDI unit. The M5Stack gives you a complete GS-compatible synth module (for $15!). Avoid the Akai Mini Play and its brain-damaged SAM implementation.

Copyright © 2025 Paul J. Drongowski

+ mark means "generally useable for a low-price instrument"

PC1  Voice name            A50 SAM  Comments
---  --------------------  --- ---  --------------------------
1    Grand Piano            +   +   Same
3    Electric Grand Piano   +       SAM: bright; A50: dark
5    Electric Piano 1       +       SAM: chimey tines; A50 dark Rhodes
6    Electric Piano 2           +   SAM: Rhodes; A50 DX EP

12   Vibraphone             +   +   Same
13   Marimba                        SAM: more hammer tone

17   Drawbar Organ          +       A50: more low-mid freq
19   Rock Organ             +       SAM: sampled chorus is annoying, buzzy
22   Accordion              +       SAM: thin; A50: chorus/octaves
23   Harmonica                  +   A50: thin

25   Nylon Guitar           +       A50: body tone/resonance
26   Steel Guitar           +       A50: body; SAM: not bad!
27   Jazz Guitar            +   +   A50: dark; SAM; bright; both need chorus
28   Clean Guitar           +       SAM: thin; A50: built-in chorus, sustain
30   Overdriven Guitar      +       SAM: too clean, OD fake-y

33   Acoustic Bass          +   +   SAM: sampled electric?
34   Finger Bass            +       SAM: picked bass?
37   Slap Bass              +       SAM: picked fretless? A50: Seinfeld
39   Synth Bass             +   +   SAM: no sustain; A50: Chameleon

41   Violin                     +   SAM: more attack, body
43   Cello                  +   +   SAM: more body
46   Pizzicato Strings      +       SAM: sampled reverb, artifacts
47   Orchestral Harp            +   A50: low notes unrealistic
49   Strings                +   +   Similar; SAM: Can hear loop point

57   Trumpet                +   +   SAM: slightly warmer; A50: more real
58   Trombone               +   +   A50: more attack blat
61   French Horn            +   +   SAM: brighter, more attack; A50: mellow
62   Brass Section          +       SAM: sampled synth brass?
63   Synth Brass                    Very similar

67   Tenor Sax              +       A50: breathy; SAM: snake charmer
69   Oboe                   +       SAM: bright, almost synthetic
72   Clarinet               +   +   Very similar
74   Flute                  +   +   Very similar

81   Square Lead                    A50: pure; SAM: nasty, chorus/distort
82   Sawtooth Lead                  A50: clean; SAM: nasty, chorus/detune
83   Gemini                         A50: nasty; SAM: Calliope
85   Punchy Chordz          +       A50: nasty; SAM: kind of weak

89   New Age Pad                    SAM: bell-like; A50: classic GM
90   Warm Pad               +   +   Both good; A50: classic GM
101  Brightness                     What can I say?

M5Stack U187 MIDI in the house

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Here are a few pictures of the M5Stack U187 MIDI unit, U125 buck converter and cables.

M5Stack MIDI Unit and 5V buck converter

These M5Stack parts are tiny. I included an SD-sized adapter in one of the pictures in order to convey a sense of scale.

The M5Stack modules interconnect by way of 4-pin JST connectors (GROVE). I plan to use the U187 MIDI Unit as a standalone MIDI module powered by the 5V buck converter and an AC adapter. The buck converter requires a center-positive adapter cable, by the way — a simple fact not mentioned in the converter’s description.

The U187 MIDI Unit has MIDI IN on 5-pin DIN and 3.5mm jack. It has MIDI OUT on 5-pin DIN and 3.5mm jack. The slide switch controls internal signal flow. Optionally, one can pass the MIDI IN through to the MIDI OUT as shown in the routing diagram.

The next step on the way to musical joy is figure out the wiring. The short ribbon cables are “unbuckled”, a term which I have not encountered before! “Unbuckled” seems to mean straight-through. In other words, when you look at the JSTs in the same orientation, pin 1 is white on both, pin 2 is yellow on both, etc. Conceivably, one could have a “twist” that reverses the signal order.

Why worry, Alfred? The buck converter has a JST connector, too. The +5V and Ground pins are live while the two “data” signals are unconnected (NC). I plan to short the U187 TXD and RXD signals, and when push comes to shove, I do note want to accidentally short +5 and Ground!

M5Stack color-code their JST ports, thank goodness. The U187 port is blue and matches the blue PORT.C UART JST on their controllers and bases. This should help me do the matchy-matchy when wiring. I plan to double-check power using a multi-meter. It’s not the expense ($15) of blowing up the U187 as much as the time wasted ordering a replacement and waiting on delivery.

One Dream SAM tidbit. Dream have formally declared the SAM 2000 series synth chips as end of life (EOL). The window for final orders has already closed. Dream have asked customers to move on to the SAM 5000 series.

M5Stack U187 MIDI Unit inside

The image above shows the inner guts of the M5Stack U187. The U187 case is held together by a tiny hex screw and lucky me, my smallest hex wrench got the job done. You see the Dream SAM2695 in the shot. Long live the 2000 series!

Copyright © 2025 Paul J. Drongowski