Sound test: Yamaha A50 vs. SAM2695

Posted on November 15, 2025 by pj

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.

+ 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

Posted on November 12, 2025 by pj

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!

Gettin’ the itch to chop

Posted on November 10, 2025 by pj

I’m always in the mood for tiny noise makers and, possibly, mods. My latest fantasy is a good-sounding add-on module to be controlled by a Novation Launchkey 49 Mk4 or Arturia Keylab Essential 49 (both in my clutches).

So, round up the usual suspects! I thought about taking the Mototool to the Yamaha PSS-A50 since it has good mod potential. I’d like to keep the main board and front panel intact, ditching the mini-keyboard, After listening to the A50 sounds, I got cold feet! If I did go Dr. Frankenstein on it, the front panel plus main board combo would be larger than my goal.

I browsed through a zillion Yamaha and Casio service manuals and teardown videos. The now discontinued PSS series keyboards are the smallest having only two internal PCBs. The PSR-F50+ relatives have as many as five PCBs. Even the simplest looking Casios (e.g., CT-S1, CT-S100) have three boards or more. Nope.

Pocket Miku, AKA NSX-39, is a good candidate although one must be willing to sacrifice MIDI channel 1 to that atrocious Miku voice. I did a little deep diving on Japanese NSX sites and found a Real Acoustic Sound (RAS) sax demo that is every bit as good as an Articulated Element Modeling voice on Tyros. It’s a shame that Yamaha never pursued the RAS tech. NSX is pretty much dead to Yamaha, too, because every NSX link to a Yamaha site is a 404.

I A/B tested PSS-A50 voices against NSX-39. Same waveforms, I’m sure. The NSX-1 chip (YMW820) is a kissing cousin to the Yamaha SWLL (YMW830) in the now defunct PSS series. The NSX-1 has better effects, a full GM sound set, and a more capable XG implementation. Goes to show that Yamaha could be making a killer E-series machine, but chooses to make dumb marketing decisions.

The main drawbacks to either A50 or NSX-39 is MIDI communication. Both devices would require a 5-pin MIDI hack or a MIDI host.

SAM, where are you?

I also compared Dream SAM against the Yamaha SWLs. Specifically, I A/B’ed the Yamaha sounds against the MIDIPLUS miniEngine USB. The miniEngine combines a USB MIDI host, 2,500mAh rechargeable battery, and Dream SAM2553 synthesizer chip.

I honestly want to like the miniEngine, however, a few of its flaws are hard to overlook: serial (5-pin) MIDI doesn’t work, the audio output is a bit noisy and the SAM2553 sound doesn’t quite rise to Yamaha. The SAM has a nice Roland GS implementation, providing access to certain high-want parameters via MIDI CC and NRPN messages. Yamaha XG requires SysEx to access key parameters like REVERB type and CHORUS type, effectively putting those parameters out of the reach of most MIDI controllers (including mine).

Still, I can’t quit SAM. M5Stack sell the U187 MIDI unit for $14.50 USD. The U187 is tiny, has two 5-pin MIDI DIN connectors and is based on the SAM2695. After I threw in GROVE connectors, etc. and an M5Stack buck converter, the dust settled around $60 including tax, tariff and shipping. I’ll let you know how it goes.

CME H2MIDI Pro

And, speaking of MIDI hosts. I tried driving the A50 and NSX-39 through a DoReMiDi USB MIDI HOST UMH-20 from Yamaha MODX6. No Joy. I think the Active Sensing messages from the MODX make the DoReMiDi crazy and message transmission was sporadic.

I’ve had issues with the UMH-20 before. At this juncture, I cannot recommend the DoReMiDi.

I ordered and tried the CME H2MIDI Pro instead. No issues. CME know how to make MIDI devices! Plus, the H2MIDI can be configured to filter out Active Sensing, an important feature because Yamaha refuses to provide a software switch that turns off Active Sensing (despite many customer requests).

CME is a strong recommend.

SWLL update

A few intrepid investigators are deep-diving the Yamaha SWLL (and related) processors. The SWL processors are used extensively in the entry-level E-series keyboards. The SWLL is a super-low cost system on a chip which combines an AWM tone generator and an ARM7TDMI core.

In previous posts, I’ve danced around the specific host core in the SWL series. We now know, conclusively, it’s an ARM7TDMI core. Yamaha has been phasing out the old SH architecture cores in favor of ARM (and Linux). BTW, the CSP-100 series may be the last product based on SH. The CLP-800 employs the newest member of the SWX family, the SWX-100F. No doubt, it’s an ARM, too. CVP, on the other hand, is RIP.

Yamaha MODX M waveforms vs. MODX

Posted on October 15, 2025 by pj

So begins the tedious task of comparing Yamaha MODX M waveforms versus MODX waveforms. New waveforms are genuine, objective improvements to the AWM2 sound set.

Yamaha MODX M6 synthesizer [Yamaha]

The table below summarizes the acoustic piano waveforms.

MODX M         MODX         Velocity levels
-----------    -----------  ----------------------
CF3 Stretch    CF3 Stretch  3 levels  stereo, mono
CF3 Flat       CF3 Flat     3 levels, stereo, mono
S6 Stretch     S6 Stretch   4 levels, stereo, mono
S6 Flat        S6 Flat      4 levels, stereo, mono
CFX            CFX          9 levels
CFX 2022                    9 levels
C7                          5 levels
Nashville                   5 levels
S700           S700         3 levels
Brite Piano    Brite Piano
Imperial                    8 levels
Hamburg Grand              10 levels
U1 Upright                  5 levels
Felt Piano                  4 levels
Upright        Upright      3 levels
CP80-2         CP80-2       4 levels
CP80           CP80         5 levels
CP80 Stage                  5 levels
CP70           CP70

MODX M has an updated CFX grand piano. The Hamburg Grand is brand new. The “freebie” piano libraries are now in factory waveform memory. All in all, a nice collection of instruments. MODX M does not implement Virtual Resonance Modeling (VRM).

Next up, electric pianos:

MODX M         MODX         Velocity levels
-----------    -----------  ----------------------
67Rd                        9 levels
73Rd Studio                 8 levels
74Rd Stage                 10 levels
78Rd Studio                10 levels
EP1            EP1          3 levels
EP2            EP2          2 levels, 1&2
EP3            EP3          2 levels, 1&2
EP4            EP4          5 levels
Rd Soft        Rd Soft      5 levels
Rd Hard        Rd Hard      4 levels
Rd73           Rd73         5 levels
Rd78           Rd78         5 levels
Wr Warm                    12 levels
Wr Wide                    10 levels
Wr1            Wr1          3 levels
Wr2            Wr2          4 levels
Wr3            Wr3          5 levels
Clavi B                     4 levels
Clavi S                     4 levels
Clav1          Clav1 
Clav2          Clav2
Clav3          Clav3
Clav4          Clav4        2 levels
Clav5          Clav5        3 levels

At this time, MODX M does not have the ClavD6 CA and ClavD6 DA waveforms which are part of the Montage M OS 3 release.

Unfortunately, no new waveforms in the organ, acoustic guitar, electric guitar and stringed bass categories. Montage M neglected to add new pipe organ waveforms and MODX M is no different. [Important to worship music.]

The orchestral woodwinds remain the same as MODX. MODX M adds new ensemble string section waveforms, Cinema Strings:

MODX M
-------------------
CinemaStr Vn
CinemaStr Vn Legato
CinemaStr Vn Spic
CinemaStr Vn Trem
CinemaStr Va
CinemaStr Va Legato
CinemaStr Va Spic
CinemaStr Va Trem
CinemaStr Vc
CinemaStr Vc Legato
CinemaStr Vc Spic
CinemaStr Vc Trem
CinemaStr Cb
CinemaStr Cb Legato
CinemaStr Cb Spic

These sounds are called “Kino Strings” on Genos and recent high-end Yamaha arranger keyboards. Yes, Yamaha reuses waveforms… The MODX orchestral solo and ensemble strings, Celtic Harp and orchestral harps are carried into MODX M.

For you chimpanzees, MODX M adds a zoo of new percussion noises. There are too many to mention. To get started, search the MODX M Data List for waveform names beginning with “OP “. There are new cowbell waveforms. 🙂

I will add new tables here. Stay tuned.

Yamaha MODX M update (v1.10)

Posted on October 15, 2025 by pj

I’m pretty excited about the new Yamaha MODX M series. My original MODX6 gets played almost every day and is getting a little beat out. I have developed tons of Performances and content for MODX6 and a MODX M6 or M7 replacement would be a logical choice.

The MODX M series Quick Guide, Operation Manual and Data List PDFs are available at your favorite Yamaha web site. Thank goodness Yamaha released the Data List in PDF as well as EXCEL format. I absolutely detest reading the Genos Data List in spreadsheet form.

Yamaha have also released a MODX M update v1.10. The release notes identify the following changes:

New features
    * Now supports Rec’n’Share.
Fixed problems
    * Improved stability of USB (audio, MIDI) connections with 
      computers and smart devices.
    * Fixed an issue where more than 17 libraries could not be 
      loaded correctly.
    * Fixed other minor problems.

Glad to see the Rec’n’Share support and would love to see more integration with Yamaha apps.

I will add more comments here as I learn. In the meantime, I recommend reading Blake’s Take Introducing MODX M. Blake is an excellent writer. If you’re like me, you don’t have gobs of time to watch videos. Blake’s Take should answer most of your immediate questions.

Yamaha MODX M6 synthesizer [Yamaha]

First, we need a proper MODX M6 picture! [Click images to enlarge.] The “leak” image came from a really sketchy site. I don’t have a clue how they obtained it.

Yamaha MODX M comparison [Yamaha]

Next, I have reproduced an image from Blake’s Take. This image compares the MODX M against the original MODX and Montage M series. I will be referring back to this comparison often while I weigh a MODX M purchase.

As a reminder, MODX M has 1.9GB of User Wave memory versus the 1GB of User Wave memory in the original MODX. The MODX M inherits most (all?) of the Montage M preset waveform DNA (10.7 GB when converted to 16-bit linear format). I will study the list of preset waveforms carefully.

Yamaha MODX M virtual drawbars [Yamaha]

My only criticism of Blake’s Take — he buried the lead! MODX M has the shimmer reverb and the VCM rotary speaker sim. That shimmer reverb is sweet. Need I say how many organ players have awaited eight sliders and the VCM rotary speaker? And the MODX M display shows virtual drawbars. Hurray!

Yamaha announce MODX M synthesizers

Posted on October 14, 2025 by pj

Well, it turns out, yesterday’s picture was not fake. 🙂 So, yes, eight sliders and six additional knobs (under the touch display).

From what I’ve been able to gather, Yamaha MODX M is a nice slimmed down version of the Montage M series. Spiffy. It has three engines — AN-X, FM-X, AWM2 — and, ta-da!, has the VCM Rotary Speaker effect.

Here are a few key specifications:

Tone generator: Motion Control Synthesis Engine AMW2: 128 Elements (max.), FM-X: 8 Operators, 88 Algorithms, AN-X: 3 Oscillators, 1 Noise
Polyphony: AWM2: 128 (max.; stereo/mono waveforms), FM-X: 128 (max.), AN-X: 12 (max.)
Waveform memory: Preset: 10.7 GB (when converted to 16-bit linear format), User: 1.9 GB
Display: 7″ TFT Color Wide VGA LCD touch screen
Live Sets: Preset: 256, User: 2,048

The AWM2 engine has the Montage M upgrade allowing 128 Elements Per Part. Knobs, Super Knob, pitch bend, mod wheel and sound engine are now high resolution, another get from Montage M. MIDI 2.0 is supported. The eight sliders and Part/Scene buttons control 8 Parts per Performance.

As to ESP, I will quote Yamaha directly:

EXPANDED SOFTSYNTH PLUGIN (ESP) — AVAILABLE EARLY 2026: Free for all registered MODX M owners, the Expanded Softsynth Plugin (ESP) replicates MODX M in your favorite Digital Audio Workstation (DAW).

The 88-key model has a GHS keyboard and the 76- and 61-key models have a semi-weighted FSB keyboard. Sorry, none of the models have aftertouch.

Weights and measures are:

     Model    Weight       Dimensions (W x D x H)
    -------  --------  -------------------------------
    MODX M8  29.9 lbs  51-9/16" x 15-3/8"   x 5-15/16"
    MODX M7  16.7 lbs  42-7/9"  x 13-11/16" x 4-5/8"
    MODX M6  14.6 lbs  34-3/4"  x 13-11/16" x 4-5/8"

Right now, I’m playing MODX6 mainly for its weight. I could see slipping up to the MODX M7 at its modest weight.

USA prices are:

     Model     MSRP     MAP
    -------  -------  -------
    MODX M8   $3,099   $2,500
    MODX M7   $2,499   $2,000
    MODX M6   $2,199   $1,800

My, tariffs and inflation have taken a toll. On-line retailers already show “IN STOCK” status.

More to come. It’s getting late, here!

Yamaha MODX M — Witching Hour?

Posted on October 14, 2025 by pj

With Halloween fast approaching, Yamaha announced new Yamaha MODX M models. We are heading into the Fall holiday sales season and YamahaSynth.com has scheduled a special Tech Talk on Wednesday, October 15, 1:00 PM PDT/10:00 PM CET. [PDT — Go Mariners!]

Yamaha MODX M6 (unverified, possibly fake)

Here is a picture to whet your appetite. I can verify it’s authenticity. Eight sliders, six knobs under the touch screen, and a re-designed data wheel.

Thanks to tariffs, USA customers should brace themselves for a stiff price increase. USA MSRP pricing is M6 $2,199 (MSRP), M7 $2,499 (MSRP) and M8 $3,099 (MSRP).

Yamaha swallows Steinberg hardware

Posted on October 9, 2025 by pj

Well, you could see this one coming — eventually — and eventually arrived. Yamaha has subsumed the Steinberg hardware business (quoting Yamaha):

Yamaha Corporation has decided to transfer the hardware product business previously handled by its wholly owned subsidiary, Steinberg Media Technologies GmbH to Yamaha. As a result, Yamaha will take over Steinberg’s hardware product planning and development functions, which will be marketed under the Yamaha brand going forward. Meanwhile, Steinberg will focus on software development and sales.

With this business transfer, Steinberg will focus on software development such as Cubase and Nuendo. Additionally, the IXO12, IXO22, UR22C, and UR44C models previously sold under the Steinberg brand will be rebranded under the Yamaha brand as the UR12MK3, UR22MK3, URX22C, and URX44C, respectively, and released with the same specifications. Sales of all Steinberg-branded hardware products other than these four models will be phased out, but product support and driver provision will continue for the time being.

In some ways, the move makes sense. Some Yamaha-branded products like the AG06 are a UR combined with a small-format mixer. Going the other way, Montage audio handling is most of a UR.

Steinberg always seem faster moving and more willing to take chances than Yamaha corporate. I hope the transfer of hardware product planning and development to corporate does not stifle innovation.

Yamaha Extrack app now in the USA

Posted on September 30, 2025 by pj

Yamaha have announced the Extrack app in Europe and the USA. As I mentioned in my preview, Extrack is a practice buddy and a stem extraction tool. More from Yamaha itself:

Yamaha Corporation announced today the U.S. and European launch of Extrack, an iOS/Android music app that allows users to practice and play their instruments along with their favorite songs as if they are part of the band, following its successful debut in Japan.

Built by musicians for musicians, Extrack makes it easy and fun for a user to learn, practice and play along with their own library of songs. Extrack uses proprietary stem separation technology to automatically extract individual instrumental parts such as guitar, drums, bass, piano or vocals from the user’s own audio files on a mobile device, making it possible to adjust the volume, mute or isolate individual instruments.

Extrack automatically transcribes chords for guitar and piano, helping users learn their favorite songs with confidence. It also features song structure analysis, allowing users to repeat sections, skip by measure, and adjust playback speed.

Extrack subsumes much of the Yamaha Chord Tracker application.

There are two levels: free and subscription. An Extrack subscription is called “Extrack Pass” and it gives you:

Unlimited song analysis (Free: 5 songs per month)
Up to 50 favorite songs (Free: 3 favorite songs)
Seven instrument separation (Free: 4 instruments)
Up to 50 songs in your Extrack Library (Free: 5 songs)
Fine tune tempo to two decimal places (Free: One decimal place)

An Extrack Pass subscription is $39.99 USD per year or $5.99 per month. A 7-day free trial is available in either case.

The current USA IOS version is v1.1. I’ve downloaded the app and I’m very curious about the stem separation process and results.

In use

Here are four short stems extracted from Fleetwood Mac’s “Go Your Own Way”. No tweaking and tweezing. Simply import the track from my music library and analyze. The Extrack analysis phase takes a minute or two. Then, I played each stem into Sound Forge.

There are four stems (Vocal, Drum, Bass and Others) because I’m cheap and I’m running the free edition of Extrack. 🙂

Even though I saved the audio to MP3, the MP3 files are a reasonably accurate portrayal of what I heard through the monitors during record. The Vocal, Drum and Others stems have audible artifacts. The Vocal and Drum extractions aren’t too bad although you would want to bury the artifacts in the mix. The Bass stem seems to be missing the low-mids that give an electric bass punch.

Mixing three or four stems together and you get an acceptable music-minus-one practice experience. Extrack gets the job done as a practice buddy. I don’t think pro re-mixers are going to give up their high-end tools for Extrack, however. I should crank “Go Your Own Way” through SpectraLayers and hear what I get. Get what you pay for?

Extrack manual

The following images are the embedded Extrack manual (Copyright Yamaha, thank you). Click on an image to enlarge it.

Yamaha Extrack manual (1)

Yamaha Extrack manual (2)

Yamaha Extrack manual (3)

Yamaha Extrack manual (4)

Review: TalentCell 12V battery pack

Posted on September 16, 2025 by pj

The wind-up

First, let me explain… Our church was designed and built long before architects anticipated the switch from (pipe) organ to acoustic piano for liturgy. Nor did they ever expect guitars, drums, brass, woodwinds or electronic instruments. To add insult to injury, the original “church organ” — rarely used — consumes a huge amount of real estate. Oh, and forget about storage space for music stands, mic stands, etc. It’s non-existent.

Thus, I play in an insanely small space on a choir riser. No two- or three-tier rig; MODX6 barely fits.

There are two aging electrical outlets (mains) to one side of the choir area. We musicians must fumble over choir members — mere singers! — to access the wall outlets. Set-up is like playing a game of Twister.

The pitch

I’ve tried a number of battery-powered rigs and none have been fully satisfactory — until now. Thanks to two Youtube videos, I sprang for a TalentCell rechargeable 12V 6000mAh lithium ion battery pack. $32 USD and it’s going to the gig with MODX6 and a Yamaha Stagepas 100BTR.

The littlest Stagepas deserves a review of its own someday. Briefly, the Stagepas 100BTR is 100W (Class-D), 120dB SPL, 70Hz-20kHz, and weighs 12.1 pounds. It contains its own rechargeable battery.

The TalentCell has two output ports: +12V (nominal) and +5V USB-A. The +12V connector takes a 5.5mm x 2.1mm jack just like MODX. The 12V port doubles as the charge port. The TalentCell has its own power switch, thank you.

TalentCell 12V 6000mAh battery pack

MODX6 power consumption is 16 Watts at 12V. That puts typical current draw at (16W / 12V) ~ 1.33 Amps. With a 1.33 Amp draw, the TalentCell should be good for (6000mAh / 1333mA) = 4.5 hours. You may or may not get 4.5 hours of power. I would never run a battery to its ragged edge! However, you can, should and will get 2 hours and that is good enough to cover a Sunday service plus rehearsal. I think if I played a four hour gig, I’d buy a second TalentCell and bring it along.

I am definitely not the trusting type, so I’ve been running on battery power while practicing this week. I feel pretty good about achieving a two hour run-time. I have not experienced any power glitches or drop outs. I would not deploy this rig if there was even the hint of unreliability.

If you watch the videos or read reviews, you will hear and see comments about the TalentCell’s nominal 12V output. Fully charged, my digital meter reads 12.1 Volts (unloaded). After two hours use (3 of 5 power LEDs lit), the meter reads 11.3 Volts. Yes, that is a tad less than 12 Volts, but it is also typical behavior for a battery pack.

With a few minor exceptions, the MODX digital (+5V, +3.3V) and analog (+9V) electronics operate on power which is internally regulated. The internal regulators require minimums of 10 Volts (regulated down to 9V) and 8 Volts (regulated down to 5V and 3.3V).

Thus, the slightly lower nominal voltage has not been an issue for the sensitive stuff.

The TalentCell comes with its own 12.6V power adapter and Y-cable in the box. The Y-cable supports charge while in use. The Y-cable is rather short, so I bought a 3 foot 5.5mm x 2.1mm extension cable. With the TalentCell on the floor, the 3 foot extension cable is long enough to reach the MODX6 power input while the MODX6 is resting on its stand. I play sitting, BTW, so you will need a longer extension cable if you play standing and want to leave the TalentCell on the floor.

I feel pretty good about this solution and I hope that my reasoning and analysis are helpful. As always when it comes to power, think thrice. Check voltages, current, operating time and polarity. Don’t leave anything to chance.

The final score

The gig went according to plan with no issues. I played through my trusty Bose SoundLink® Color II speaker — just enough to blend with the voices on this outing.

I ran the MODX6 on the Talentcell battery pack for roughly 90 minutes, start to finish. The pack registered four out of five LEDs capacity-wise. I measured the output voltage at home: 11.3 Volts DC.

I intend to make this my standard set-up. I simply unpacked everything, set the MODX6 on its stand, hook up the cables and play. I don’t have to crawl around looking for outlets and I don’t trip over choir members. I’m taking the win. 🙂

Sand, software and sound

Electronics and computing for the fun of it

Category Archives: Music