One tweak that makes the "assign" step easier imo is to first reassign the Category of every pad to 017 UserSample and then right arrow to Number and assign a sample to each pad. That way you don't have to switch back and forth between Category and Number.
Just picked up this unit myself. This is really helpful, thanks. I was really hoping there might be a wider variety of sounds such as bells, so I think this is the way to get those on the machine. This thing would be so much easier to customize if they had a piece of software to interface with it! But for what it does and how it sounds it’s not very expensive, so I guess that comes with it. And shameful they didn’t use USB-C!
Yeah it’s pretty unbelievable how many button presses it takes to do anything with this interface. But it has this retro tamagotchi feel to it that’s at least a little charming haha
@@hawtcocomusic I've only had this a few days and have fallen in love with it. Not only are the samples very realistic and the bass very reasonable for such a small device (I think the whole box is a resonant chamber), and the tactile feel is great, but it blew my mind as a MIDI controller in Logic Pro. I lost a couple of hours just exploring all of the sounds I never played with in Logic before. It's much more appropriate for many percussive instruments than using a keyboard...it's starting to capture ther kinesthetic experience of a traditional non-digital instrument. I also have a Roland Handsonic HPD-20, and the Yamaha sounds and feels nearly as good...though the playing experience on the Roland is on another level, as well as the range and configurability of the sounds. But for sheer fun and portability it beats the Roland for sure...that requires a plug (no battery option) and a speaker or headphones and it's more than twice the size and weight. I hope in a future iteration of the device Yamaha improves the interface and drops the old USB 2 and Micro and makes a useful computer interface for customizations, and provides a wider variety of patches.
Ooo nice I haven’t really connected it to my DAW yet but I’m sure that would be a ton of fun too. It seems like the device is getting a decently positive reaction and finger drumming only getting bigger so fingers crossed they make an even better one soon 🤞
Yeahhhh it was a lot more work than I was expecting. But I think you could get pretty fast at it once you’ve gone through it a few times! I’m used to just dropping samples into an Ableton drum rack so this is a bit more work than that for sure.
@hawtcocomusic thank you very much for the review. Maybe it will motivate them to streamline it. I feel a lot of companies do this now days and it just makes the devices feel half finished.
I agree it's a nuicsancxe, but not *that* bad. I've been surprised how quickly I've gotten used to the convoluted menus...there is a logic to it. The sound and playabiity are winners...hard to argue that for the price. It's really well designed and a blast to play.
Ooo yeah you’re right I guess with a touch screen you could make any kind of layout your heart desires! That’s cool, I’m gonna let that simmer in the back of my mind lol
The onboard speaker is pretty decent, but for a studio recording I would either record directly onto a flash drive OR use the audio out port and record directly into a DAW. At that point it’s pretty much just recording WAV files, so definitely studio worthy!
That first step of assigning where we go through menu->files->allsamples->save will save all your samples directly onto the device. You can remove your flash drive after that. In the video I kept mine in because I was also recording my playing onto the flash drive. Hope that helps!
My favorite part about it is the onboard speaker. It feels super freeing to be able to play without being tethered to a laptop. But there are also MPCs that are even better at that sort of thing. I think the main selling point for this is the unique button pad layout though, there aren’t any other pads anywhere with this particular ergonomic setup. Which in itself is a bit of a pro and a con at the same time.
Yamaha sells the fgdp30 model that's 100 cheaper but has some wacky voice operated menu instead of a screen and fewer buttons. The 50 has backing track features i won't use but i think the screen lets you tweak individual sounds. The 30 also doesnt have that usb stick port. I would love to save 100 bucks but i dunno.
@@jasonjayalap Don't know if you pulled the trigger or not bit I'd say if you only want stock sounds, the 30 would do, but IMHO absolutely worth it for the 50 even though customizing could be simpler. You get a lot for the money with this instrument and if it does well I could easily see them improving future models.
One tweak that makes the "assign" step easier imo is to first reassign the Category of every pad to 017 UserSample and then right arrow to Number and assign a sample to each pad. That way you don't have to switch back and forth between Category and Number.
Oooo hell yeah great tip, thanks for sharing! Anything that speeds up this process is a godsend haha
Not much FGDP-50 config videos on YT yet, so this is pretty useful!
Yeah it makes sense because navigating its interface is kind of a nightmare. But glad I could help out! 🙏🏽
Just picked up this unit myself. This is really helpful, thanks. I was really hoping there might be a wider variety of sounds such as bells, so I think this is the way to get those on the machine. This thing would be so much easier to customize if they had a piece of software to interface with it! But for what it does and how it sounds it’s not very expensive, so I guess that comes with it. And shameful they didn’t use USB-C!
Yeah it’s pretty unbelievable how many button presses it takes to do anything with this interface. But it has this retro tamagotchi feel to it that’s at least a little charming haha
@@hawtcocomusic I've only had this a few days and have fallen in love with it. Not only are the samples very realistic and the bass very reasonable for such a small device (I think the whole box is a resonant chamber), and the tactile feel is great, but it blew my mind as a MIDI controller in Logic Pro. I lost a couple of hours just exploring all of the sounds I never played with in Logic before. It's much more appropriate for many percussive instruments than using a keyboard...it's starting to capture ther kinesthetic experience of a traditional non-digital instrument. I also have a Roland Handsonic HPD-20, and the Yamaha sounds and feels nearly as good...though the playing experience on the Roland is on another level, as well as the range and configurability of the sounds. But for sheer fun and portability it beats the Roland for sure...that requires a plug (no battery option) and a speaker or headphones and it's more than twice the size and weight. I hope in a future iteration of the device Yamaha improves the interface and drops the old USB 2 and Micro and makes a useful computer interface for customizations, and provides a wider variety of patches.
Ooo nice I haven’t really connected it to my DAW yet but I’m sure that would be a ton of fun too. It seems like the device is getting a decently positive reaction and finger drumming only getting bigger so fingers crossed they make an even better one soon 🤞
Cool & Helpful!
Happy to help out! 🙏🏽
Great job, thanks !!!
Hell yeah thanks! Hope it helps you get down with some wacky sounds!
Yamaha needs to write a piece of software for this. We're not in the 80's anymore.
Right?! A little software window where I could just drag and drop samples would change everything about this thing for me.
Thanks so much for this Hawt coco!
It’s my pleasure! Hope it helps you make something epic :)
S tier tutorial right here! Might have to build my own kit for this buddy 🤖😁
Ooo it’s calling your name for sure. Imagine the park sessions with this guy dialed in.
Wow I was about to pull the trigger for this until I saw what I have to go through to load my own sounds.
Yeahhhh it was a lot more work than I was expecting. But I think you could get pretty fast at it once you’ve gone through it a few times! I’m used to just dropping samples into an Ableton drum rack so this is a bit more work than that for sure.
@hawtcocomusic thank you very much for the review. Maybe it will motivate them to streamline it. I feel a lot of companies do this now days and it just makes the devices feel half finished.
I agree it's a nuicsancxe, but not *that* bad. I've been surprised how quickly I've gotten used to the convoluted menus...there is a logic to it. The sound and playabiity are winners...hard to argue that for the price. It's really well designed and a blast to play.
I wonder if someone has made a virtual fgdp for tablets using touchOSC or something like that. Sick dabbled shade in that garden btw.
Ooo yeah you’re right I guess with a touch screen you could make any kind of layout your heart desires! That’s cool, I’m gonna let that simmer in the back of my mind lol
Very inspiring, how the sound quality for you? Could use this live/ or for studio recordings do you think?
The onboard speaker is pretty decent, but for a studio recording I would either record directly onto a flash drive OR use the audio out port and record directly into a DAW. At that point it’s pretty much just recording WAV files, so definitely studio worthy!
Thanks, keep it up :)
Great video! Seems like a piece of gear in desparate need of an editor app :D
Thanks! Yeah the UI is probably my least favorite part about this device. But after swimming through the M8 like you do it should be a piece of cake!
Thanks for this, do I need my flash drive in at all times once the kit has been saved? Or does it save to the device? 😄
That first step of assigning where we go through menu->files->allsamples->save will save all your samples directly onto the device. You can remove your flash drive after that. In the video I kept mine in because I was also recording my playing onto the flash drive. Hope that helps!
One of the mini 64GB drives that stick out no farther than a BT dongle seems like a good match for this unit.
Is loading custom kits the big reason to pay for the 50? Or do you use the other features?
My favorite part about it is the onboard speaker. It feels super freeing to be able to play without being tethered to a laptop. But there are also MPCs that are even better at that sort of thing.
I think the main selling point for this is the unique button pad layout though, there aren’t any other pads anywhere with this particular ergonomic setup. Which in itself is a bit of a pro and a con at the same time.
Yamaha sells the fgdp30 model that's 100 cheaper but has some wacky voice operated menu instead of a screen and fewer buttons. The 50 has backing track features i won't use but i think the screen lets you tweak individual sounds. The 30 also doesnt have that usb stick port. I would love to save 100 bucks but i dunno.
@@jasonjayalap I haven't gotten my hands on the 30 yet so its hard to say. But I'm sure you'll have some fun either way. :)
@@jasonjayalap Don't know if you pulled the trigger or not bit I'd say if you only want stock sounds, the 30 would do, but IMHO absolutely worth it for the 50 even though customizing could be simpler. You get a lot for the money with this instrument and if it does well I could easily see them improving future models.