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AMAZING INSTRUMENTS: YAMAHA VL1, VL7 and VL70mby William Coakley 01/10/2001
Of the three devices which employ physical modeling, the VL1 is the premier instrument with two elements available to form sounds; it can be used as a dual polyphonic instrument with one element creating the sound for the range of the instrument or as a monophonic instrument using two elements to create the sound throughout the range of the instrument.
The VL7 came about later and is generally referred to as half a VL1 with its single element. Other than for a few sounds (mostly guitar and percussion sounds) you can't tell the difference between the two.
The VL70m is the latest in the physical modeling series. This is a half rack module that incorporates physical modeling as the basis for its sound. This unit is set up for a wind controller although a breath controller can be used conveniently also. In camparison to the original VL1/7 the sonic quality is most disappointing and the effects are poor quality as well.
The VL1 was introduced sometime in 1995 (copyright 1994). It was the first of the new technology synths using physical modeling. Physical modeling is computationally intensive and creating the actual models requires quite a bit of research time to get it right. Physical modeling then is a real time mathematical formulation of sound based on control sources.
I first heard this instrument at the NAMM show in 1997. It was still a rare and unknown item then. When I walked into the Yamaha suite to browse I heard a band playing (typical at NAMM shows) and my attention was drawn tothe digital pianos they had produced. Before I left I heard the saxophone solo and thought the guy was pretty good and I noticed a crowd of people standing around the band in amazement ...but I couldn't see the band. So I took a closer look and found no band at all. Here was a guy with a breath controller playing this super sax solo with a midi back up. So realistic was this sax sound with all its expressiveness that I just couldn't believe that it was coming from that keyboard. I hung around for awhile as he then played an oboe, flute and some string sounds. Although I wasn't impressed with the strings and brass sounds, I was still knocked out with the reed sounds and the expressive capabilities of the synth. I hastily inquired about the price - nearly six thousand dollars! Well, I thought as I left,"maybe someday soon."
Ever since then I have often thought about getting one and a few months ago, quite by accident, I did. I bought a VL7 and liked it so much that I got a VL1.
These instruments opened up a longing in my soul for expression. Ever since I first played a Lowrey organ sometime around 1960 I knew that someday it would be possible to play an orchestra. In the late 60's I had an engineer modify my Lowrey organ so it could pump 3 Leslie speakers (all different types). This resulted in the first somewhat realistic string sound. I was in heaven and knew it wouldn't be long before the next step.
In 1969, when I worked with Bob Moog, he arranged for me to be his personal dealer in south Florida I felt I had made that next step. In 1982 when I began sampling with an E1, I felt I had moved one step closer to that goal. But I had always thought there must be some way of getting more expression from these sources.
The VL7 and VL1 are answers to a prayer. For the first time, I can play a violin and it sounds right. I can glide the bow across the string or pound it into the string for a marcato attack. I can make the violin cry or make it bold and proud. All this overcame me while playing one day and I realized just how much I had missed the personal contact and communication from a soloist to a listener. What a marvel this instrument is.
Just before I bought the VL1, I had purchased a VL70m. I thought that the $600.00 dollar price tag might give me the benefit of having the VL1 sound quality with a price that conformed to buying 5 year old technology. That assumption even close. The VL70m really didn't sound much better than a cheap sound blaster card. I thought there was something wrong with it at first. Although the attack portion of the sounds was good for most of the patches, it's what follows that is so poor. I have heard that other patch libraries can be purchased that may improve its performance but what I heard from the stock Yamaha patches wasn't even close to the sonic quality of the VL1 or VL7 and so I returned it because its sound quality was such a disappointment.
My advice to keyboard players that want to fill that emptiness inside and that longing for expression: get a VL1 or a VL7 and watch your life change and your music step forward with expressiveness. Personal communication with your audience is that important.
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