The market's getting a bit silly at the moment. You could easily pay more for a Yamaha VL rack unit alone, and yet the EX5 does VL synthesis - and throws in 2-voice AN synthesis, sampling, 128-voice AWM2, FDSP modelling, two FX units and a fair-sized sequencer. Surely this makes the EX5 possibly the best-value synth on the secondhand market?

Of course, there's a slight lack of horsepower in the processor, although to be fair the EX5 isn't alone in this respect. Solution - buy two and you've probably still got change from the price of a secondhand Motif!

As for the astronomical price of the rare SCSI interface, the interface unit is a standard part in the A3000 sampler. Solution - buy an A3000, cannibalise the SCSI interface and sell the sampler for spares. Seems a bit wasteful, but it's cheaper than the interface on its own! Of course, you could just use the A3000, which is more versatile than the EX5's sampling facilities - but on the other hand the EX5 is a damned sight easier to understand.

Like I said, the market is getting a bit silly...

In fact quite possible the EX5 is the best workstation ever built by anyone.

Yamaha, ditch the appalling 'home keyboard in drag' Motif, stick a CPU with 32 times the power into the EX5, add some USB ports, and possibly a better screen, job done.

And god forbid never implement the hideous phrases as you have put in everything else and make sure you KEEP the real-time song record pattern track!

5000 out of 5

It's good in a way that it didn't shift big units, because a) second-user prices are low and (b) you don't hear its presets all over commercial releases!

Of course, the beauty of this synth is the sheer programming power available to you - but the manual is so unhelpful the EX5 might have written it itself! The Joy of EX is a must-have download if you want to figure this beast out. If only Yamaha would look at E-mu's manuals they'd see how it should be done.

It's also hard to beat for expression - sensitive keys, three wheels, ribbon strip, four pedals and even breath control. Nice onboard effects, too.

Minus points for the sequencer - a typical Yamaha effort which expects you to be note-perfect and understand musical notation - but who uses onboard sequencers anyway? (We didn't all learn the piano when we were young...)

Also minus points for the optional extra SCSI interface - seems you can't get one for love or money, and when you do it's painfully slow. So best to forget the sampler, too.

Still, as a pure synthesizer the EX5 is hard to beat. For half the price of a new Motif or Triton - or less - you could get an EX5 secondhand. No contest.