Yamaha RM1X

The Lounge Other Gear
#21

The RM1X was my first drum machine!

Great fun, but not so good internal sounds. However, those lofi sounds might also turn/have turned to an advantage, because it clearly differs from Ableton Live cleanness. I also remember the floppy drive.

I had to sell it purely due to monetary reasons while being a student, will never forget that!

Not sure if that helps :smiley:

All I remember is that itā€™s robust, feels like real good old hardware, and has quite some features under its hood. I might be purchasing one again for my little son, because the Elektrons are too sensitive for kids, but I donā€™t wanna say that itā€™s a toy.

#22

Sucks to hear that. If you go down that path again, have a(nother) serious look at the RS7000; I think it justifies the price increase.

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#23

That is too bad.

I received a pretty beat up RM1x myself yesterday. A couple of buttons didnā€™t respond at all, and the eight control knobs were slow (sticky, sort of) and really wobbly. After some cleaning and insistent button pressing it seems to respond rather well now, so I might keep it after all.

The machine itself is very nice. Pattern changing is better than what I read somewhere on the net, as you can choose to have it quantised to either 16th notes or a whole measure.

Also, it has this warm, compact sound that makes it nice to jam with on its own. I canā€™t wait to sequence other gear with it though.

#24

probably, due to its age as well, a good clean up would help in sorting out malfunctioning controls (unless thereā€™s more than just dust). coming back to this thread makes me fell like getting one again ā€¦ :alien: really enjoyed using it

#25

Hi guys!
Few days ago I bought Yamaha RM1X in mint condition! Like it very much!
Have a question to rm1x owners. How do you sync it with Elektron gear (I have A4 and OT)?
Yamaha has its own terminology so I slightly confused how devices can interact. Is it possible to integrate it as a 3-rd elektron? I mean when I change pattern on master device ā€“ all devices change patterns simultaneously.
Which device would be a better master? Iā€™d prefer RM1X.
Yamaha has Patterns and inside each pattern it has a Sections. So, section is a pattern in Elektronā€™s terminology, isnā€™t it? And rm1xā€™s Pattern is an elektronā€™s Bank? Could you please give me analogy with elektron architecture? :slight_smile:

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#26

Evening all,
One of my sonā€™s friends dad has just giving me an RM1X!
I had one of these old beauties years ago and remember getting some nice stuff out of it using XGEdit , which is long defunct.
Donā€™t really want to shell out on Midi Quest, so does anyone have any pointers to a sound editor for Mac? Googling it just sends me to loads of dead sites.
Just trying here before i run the gauntlet of GS.
Thanks in advance.

#27

Donā€™t know about the RM1x, but I coded one for the RS7000ā€¦ could probably do one for the RM1x if I actually still had one.

#28

Pity that.
Cheers anyway.

#29

You guys will not believe me if I tell you I have a mint RM1x sitting on a bookshelf collecting dust, somewhere in my studio :slight_smile:

#30

hated that thing.

had it for 2 weeks, did nothing I wanted it to, dumped it for less than 100ā‚¬ I believe back in 2016.

my main gripe was that you had to stop the sequencer for almost everythingā€¦ and it was so unintuitiveā€¦

it should be telling that over the rm1x, the machine I stuck with was an OCTATRACK. which was MORE INTUITIVE.
(yeah, you read that rightā€¦)

:stuck_out_tongue:

oh and the internal soundsā€¦ well if you like to produce 90s music I guess you might think theyĀ“re okay, but ā€¦ no nonono no, not for me.

one of those things I would accept ā€œnostalgiaā€ as a reason to use it, but since I never had one when they were relevant, I didnĀ“t see the point to get used to an obsolete machine with so many shortcomingsā€¦

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#32

So do I !!

#33

.

.

This guy is also great.

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#34

Been wandering the interwebs looking at old school groovebox type gear. In specific the old E-MU Command Stations, Yamaha AN200, and the Yamaha Rs7000 and RM1X. I am intrigued by the RM1X as a sequencer. These things seem fairly capable as far as a midi sequencer goes, but I keep hearing different things. So apparently In XoX step record, you canā€™t hear the other tracks playing while you record. Though Iā€™ve heard in realtime record mode you CAN hear the other tracks playing. Anybody care to chime in? Are these things any good still in 2000?

Also love this vid here, awesome work

#35

Try and get a RS7000. Was a weapon when released; is still a weapon now.

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#36

I like my RM1xā€™s. Super handy for quick midi sequencing and building up ideas. I think of it as a ā€˜songā€™ sequencer; itā€™s set up for building patterns up into song Ideas. I never used to use mine much for step sequencing, mainly real time recording. You can hear the other tracks when real time recording. You canā€™t go into record mode while playing and add notes etc. Fairly good editing abilities so you can add/remove notes, append patterns etc. Iā€™ve got two and had a third for a while too. My pal had the RM then upgraded to the RS7000. Never got around to getting one myself although if one can along at the right price Iā€™d be in there.

#37

Thanks for the info @Bunker! I real time record 90% of the time, so it seems that wouldnā€™t be an issue. I love my Digitone as a master sequencer for all my gear, but the midi effects on the RM1X sound like they can spice up a sequence with some variation. Iā€™ve also never used a linear sequencer in hardware. Wondering if it would help to flesh out longer sequences.

Care to comment on the on board sounds? I hear their pretty terrible but others have said they can get usable stuff out if it. Iā€™ve also heard the buttons wear out on these units much faster than the RS7000.

#38

I had a rm1x then a RS7000 long time ago, I remember the RS7000 was a beast. Sampling, sequencing, make a full track. I liked this machine but yeah, it was already old when I got it and some buttons didnā€™t worked well. And if I remember correctly, some encoders started to jump values.
Be carefull if you buy this kind of gear, go to test it before. The rm1x and RS7000 travelled a lot in free party / rave party in the forest :slight_smile:

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#39

i have mine on my desk right now )
and also have old E-Mu sample banks (that were used in E-Mu ROMs) on SD card in my MC-707.

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#40

I canā€™t speak for the buttons on the RS but yeah, my RM ones wore out and needed replacing on my earliest machine. I did it myself. Bit of a faf disassembling but once done the repair was easy.

Sound wise itā€™s deffo dated sounding. Youā€™ve got plenty of useable sounds including plenty of drum kits but donā€™t expect DN quality! Re effects. I donā€™t know where Yamaha pillaged the fx unit from but, again, itā€™s got a dated 90ā€™s vibe going on. The midi effect is the midi delay which basically triggers extra notes, either internally or over midi. Obv. The other fx only work on the internal sound engine.

Iā€™ve used the odd patch from the internal sound generator in newer tracks Iā€™ve made so not totally unusable. I used to love to stick on a pair of headphones, plonk the RM on my lap and sketch out a tune using the internal engine, then once firmed up subbing the internal sounds for midi synths. It sat at the heart of my set up before I got a DAW (renoise) and even then I used it for recording midi patterns which I then recorded into the DAW. I found it much faster than recording midi into the DAW directly. Plus I was still using the RM to write the song, DAW was used as a multitrack recorder with arrangement done on the RM

Donā€™t be surprised if the knobs start falling off, theyā€™re very loose fitting on the pot shafts. Touch wood Iā€™ve not had any screen issues with any of my RMā€™s. From memory the latest firmware was only available as a ROM upgrade but donā€™t quote me on that. Iā€™ve never upgraded mine.

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#41

Yes you can hear the other tracks in realtime mode.

I own two of them. It used to be my main sequencer so I bought a second one as a backup.

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