The M12 connects to both flash drives and USB hard drives (above left). The complex control panel (above) and some of the control options (below). controller has a USB port and the ability to load external WAV files and MIDI data, this information has to be saved onto the brain, where the memory limitations are evident, especially if you try to save a big sample. Capabilities The Multi 12 will have a number of applications. It can be used as a stand-alone percussion instrument. Its self-contained pads and terrific onboard sounds, along with easy-to-use sensitivity settings for hands, fingers or sticks, make it easy to use, straight out of the box. The next step up would be using it as a module and adding a couple of drums for an ultra-portable, versatile kit. I used it this way for a practice session and although the triggering was responsive and dynamic, in reality it is very hard to rely on the inbuilt pads for full-blown drumming – especially when you’re used to 12” pads and large cymbals. As a kit add-on, the Multi 12 can be used simply as a MIDI triggering device and connected to the MIDI in of another module – and this, of course, is not limited to Yamaha modules as MIDI is a universal platform. This application, however, would be totally under-utilising the processing and performance capabilities of the onboard brain. Alternatively, and I guess this is how most Multi 12s will end up, it can be used as an auxiliary percussion set-up, using its inbuilt sound palette, and fed through the “mix in” of the main module. Not only does this application add 12 inputs to the kit, more importantly, it adds a range of extra sounds and the ability to trigger samples. That may not be much of an advantage to DTX III owners, but will certainly appeal to lower-end Yamaha owners as well as users of other kits. 10
Nifty features While the Multi 12 doesn’t have the onboard sampling capabilities of the DTX III module or rivals like Roland’s SPD-S, it does have very intuitive and user-friendly sample-loading capabilities, and Yamaha has bundled the hardware with a trimmeddown version of Steinberg’s Cubase software. This allows users to record samples on their computer and transfer them to the Multi 12. The easy beater selection – stick, hand or finger – is very convenient, especially when switching modes. Of course, there are extensive manual trigger sensitivity settings for further refinement. The functionality of the pads is also impressive. For example, pads are mutable. Press down on the pad after striking and it is silenced. Press down while striking and you can alter the sound – simulating the technique of bongos, for example. Pads can also be configured to generate different sounds based on how hard they are struck. The Multi 12 allows for up to four sounds to be allocated to each pad – and these can be stacked (triggered simultaneously) or set to alternate or play in sequence, allowing for instrumental chords or sequential notes – very handy if you’re using some of the chromatic sounds. Yamaha also gets a big tick for USB connectivity – and especially for allowing the Multi 12 to connect not only to flash drives, but also to external USB hard drives. Another great inclusion is the ability to direct the click track to the headphones only. This allows the drummer to use the timing crutch without sharing it with the rest of the band. www.digitaldrummermag.com