The 'doo be dooby doo' voices are nothing to do with audio loop technology. They are simply regular SA2 type Voices, Donny, that the style plays.

I think Yamaha are on the right track, TBH... The technology to play chordal and melodic lines isn't QUITE there yet, as Ketron's inability to play more than simple Maj/Min/7th in audio and has to add in MIDI notes to complete the extensions kind of shows.

But for drums and percussion, the idea is great. And, for multipads, if you like the 'loop/arp' kind of modern music, a LOT of very contemporary flava could be dropped in, as long as you understand, just like most loop music, that the pitch of the loop can't be adjusted. It's not going to chord follow, but that isn't really the main thing with that kind of music.

For audio loop technology with time stretching (so you can at least change tempo somewhat) to come to this price point is quite a game changer. If anyone can pull it off, Yamaha can. But I have a very nasty feeling they are going to mess it up by trying to make it proprietary, just like their arranger and WS samplers. Just about every OTHER WS and at least Korg arrangers sampler sections can read Akai multisample loads (and some do Soundfont). This makes the selection of proper multisample libraries relatively easy to load up.

But Yamaha have a proprietary multisample format. Sure, you can load in .Wav's one at a time. But a vel-switched drum kit can be HUNDREDS of separate samples. Or a four layer piano (88 notesX4 layers+resonance samples). Yamaha would make you load them in one at a time, and do the mappings yourself. IN-FREAKIN'-SANE!

Let us just pray that sanity returns to their poor crazy minds!

If they try to milk this cow dry by making you have to buy Yamaha branded drum loops, well, look at the style selection. A few every few months, then nothing! That is not going to make this the success it could be.

Pray with me, fellas, pray with me!