SU200 Sampling UnitYamaha's SU200 is a smart-looking little unit in a matte-silver plastic case resembling that of the beloved Roland TB-303. An assortment of rubbery pads in various sizes with amber-colored backlights dominate the lower half of the front panel. The top half of the front panel features three knobs for controlling volume and effects, a backlit LCD, and a ribbon controller. The back of the unit has stereo input and output jacks, a mic input, a 11/48-inch headphone jack, a slot for a SmartMedia card (3.3 volts), and a MIDI input. You can power the SU200 with either an optional AC adapter or six AA batteries.
This compact unit is just about as wide as many DJ mixers, making it easy to fit into a DJ setup. You can connect the pair of 11/44-inch input jacks to your mixer's outputs and grab samples from records, or even process the external audio through the SU200's Tech Mod (ring modulation), Distortion/Lo-Fi, Delay, or Filter effects. Sampling from a record during a set is relatively easy, although it does require some advance planning - it takes a few seconds to select a pad and erase any prerecorded sound assigned to that pad from the unit's memory. Catching a perfect loop is also fairly easy as long as you have a decent sense of rhythm and know how to count, but in the pressured environment of a live set you're probably better off working with presampled loops or capturing one-shot phrases or sounds.
YOU CAN BANK ON ITThe SU200 features eight playback pads arranged in three banks, providing a total of up to 24 samples. You can give each sample its own sampling rate (44.1, 22, 11, or 6 kHz) and can record it in either mono or stereo. The unit's 896 KB of memory provide a total of 21 seconds of stereo sampling at 44.1 kHz, or 5 minutes and 33 seconds of mono sampling at 6 kHz. Maximum polyphony is six mono (three stereo samples) for the lowest three sampling rates, and only two mono (and one stereo) samples at 44.1kHz. Also, you can only play samples from one bank (A, B, or C) at a time. All samples recorded into the SU200 get saved in the unit's flash memory, which retains the data even with the power turned off. The SmartMedia card slot allows you to load or save samples and WAV files with a memory card.
Despite its low cost, the SU200 comes with features found on Yamaha's more expensive samplers: automatic tempo matching for loop playback without altering pitch, an instant Reverse Playback button, time stretching, a Tap Tempo function, a Loop Remix function that rearranges pieces of a loop, and resampling (which also captures effects). The sampler's effects, which include Slice, Tech Mod, Dist/Lo-Fi, Delay, Filter, and Scratch, are adequate though not exactly awe-inspiring. Each of these effects (except Scratch) features two controllable parameters; you adjust these parameters with knobs and can control the second parameter and the Scratch effect through the ribbon controller. You can use only one effect at a time on a single sample or external audio. The effects sound pretty decent: the distortion is gritty, Tech Mod is appropriately whacked out, the delay syncs to a loop's bpm, and the filter covers a useful if mild-mannered range - no ear-splitting frequencies here.
THE SECRET WEAPONBecause the SU200 features no MIDI Output or Thru jacks and lacks a built-in sequencer, it's useful mainly as a sample-playback device or a tool for live performance. Although you can't really compose full songs with the unit, its battery-powered operation makes it a perfect sketchpad to use on an airplane, on a tour bus, in a subway, or in the great outdoors. Because you can immediately audition your efforts, it's also a wonderful way to capture audio on the streets or in the wild. The SU200 is a good secret weapon for DJ gigs, as it's easy to incorporate into just about any rig you'll find in a club. Inexpensive and very easy to use, the SU200 is a great first sampler or a fun, portable addition to a more extensive studio or live-performance rig.
YAMAHASU200 Sampling Unit $499.95
PROS: Very easy to use in live performance. Portable and battery-powered. Can use different sampling frequencies.
CONS: Playback functions only - no sequencing. No MIDI Out or Thru. Effects are just average.
Overall Rating (1 through 5): 3.5
Contact: tel. (714) 522-9011e-mail info@yamaha.comWeb www.yamaha.com