YAMAHA 01x mLAN MUSIC PRODUCTION STUDIO Yamaha`s 01X is the first product to feature Yamaha`s next generation mLAN technology. Offering high speed audio and MIDI networking between computers, synthesizers and other mLAN compatible products, Yamaha claim the 01X offers more than any previous computer music product. Yamaha’s 01X is the first product to feature Yamaha’s next generation mLAN technology. Offering high speed audio and MIDI networking between computers, synthesizers and other mLAN compatible products, the 01X offers more than any previous computer music product has ever delivered.

1: The Yamaha 01X combines the functionality of a freestanding digital mixer, two effects processors, a DAW control surface, and an mLAN-based audio and MIDI interface in a single device weighing less than 14 pounds. Impressive flexibility and outstanding ergonomics ensure ease of operation. Imagine linking all of your audio and MIDI equipment using one bidirectional cable for each device. The mLAN protocol, introduced by Yamaha more than a decade ago, can carry dozens of audio tracks and hundreds of MIDI channels over a single IEEE-1394 FireWire cable (see the sidebar “What Is mLAN?”).

No muss, no fuss, and no bother — that's the promise of mLAN. The device that goes the furthest to make good on that promise is the Yamaha 01X. The Yamaha 01X is many devices rolled into one. It's an mLAN-based multichannel audio and multiport MIDI interface for your computer. It's an 8-input, 24-bit A/D converter that handles sampling rates as high as 96 kHz. It's a freestanding digital mixer with two onboard stereo effects processors and dynamics on every channel. It's a remote control surface with reassignable knobs and motorized faders for your digital audio workstation (DAW) software.

Use it to track, mix, and master your studio recordings. Tuck it under your arm and carry it into a nightclub to automate your band's live mixes. I agree with Yamaha's claim that there's never been anything like the 01X.

2: The 01X's rear panel has eight channels of analog I/O, stereo S/PDIF, 32-channel MIDI, and two mLAN connectors. Mic preamps are provided for all eight inputs, but only two have XLR jacks and phantom power. The front panel's left half contains eight channel strips (see Fig. From bottom to top, each has a 60 mm motorized fader, an on button, a select button, a channel knob, and a gain knob, which is continuously variable from line to mic levels. The main display, a 2-by-55-character LCD with LED backlighting, stretches across all eight channel strips between the two rows of knobs. Each channel knob changes the value of whatever parameter appears above it in the display, and pressing the same knob selects a displayed value. To the right of the channel strips is the main stereo fader, which also has on and select buttons.

Above that is that Name/Value button, which switches the display between showing parameter names and their values. Game maker punch out rom download. Pressing Name/Value while holding the Shift button lets you toggle from no metering and viewing a vertical bar meter for a selected channel to viewing horizontal bar meters for the stereo output.

The lower-right quadrant contains transport controls, eight function buttons, a shuttle/jog wheel, and a button to enable scrubbing. Additionally there are cursor and zoom buttons, buttons to locate and write markers, shift and flip buttons, and buttons to scroll through fader banks. All are within reach of one another. The Shift button is an important one, because pressing and holding it toggles several other buttons to perform alternate functions.

The transport buttons feel like those on an old multitrack tape deck, and their tactile response practically invites you to smack 'em hard. The gray silkscreened area in the upper-right quadrant contains groups of mode, page, and mixer layer buttons. Two of the mode buttons select whether the front panel controls the onboard mixer (Internal) or external software (Remote), and the remaining three let you select and store Scenes, access Utility functions, and quickly toggle the monitor source between the internal mixer and DAW tracks. The Monitor A/B function is handy; by holding the button and turning a knob, you can adjust the balance of the two sources. A single knob controls the monitor out levels and the headphone levels. In the Page section, the Selected Channel button determines whether the display shows several parameters for a single channel or a single parameter for eight channels. Four EQ buttons summon equalization settings for four bands.