Derrick Zieba

Brit Awards

"What's on the PM1D's side is proven technology and the fact that they're utterly, utterly reliable." "Right now my favourite desk is the PM5D, Yamaha have come so far with the head amps and the EQ, and the way it stores and records are much more instinctive than the 1D. I know touring engineers who've learned on the PM1D who now find the PM5D a fabulous desk. So, in terms of the essential technology, for shows like these there's nothing really lacking. It's the way it's operated, if they concentrate in that area - and I'm sure they will - then it can only get better."

Mark Jones

FOH engineer, David Gray tour

"I initially intended to use the desk for only a short time but I just loved the sound it produced so I kept it on." "The PM5D has proved to be an extremely reliable piece of equipment. It does everything I ask of it."

Beppo Bottega

FOH engineer, Umbria Jazz

"As well as its numerous effect and a very nice sound quality - thanks to its preamps and converters - in a situation such as Perugia, where there are several groups in the course of the day, which come back to perform on the following days, it's is extremely useful to be able to recall the stored scenes for each band. The console is also very user-friendly, as it puts all the most frequently used parameters - EQ, gates, comps - immediately there at your fingertips in a very intuitive manner "

"For example, if, after having played calmly, at a certain point the musicians began to swing harder, the possibility of being able to use the inserts directly via the PM5D software in real time while they were playing was a priceless feature! The Piazza IV Novembre stage is fun - with its free concerts open to everybody, it doesn't host elite sounds, but a nice assortment of genres. Chiara Civello congratulated me personally for the sound, and the FOH engineer with Relax - who really knows his job and works a lot in studio - said he really enjoyed working on the PM5D."

"A lot of folk say there are certain things they can't do with a digital desk, but that's not true - once you get learn how to use the software, you can do anything an analogue can, plus a lot of more!"

Matteo Coppe

Monitor Engineer, Umbria Jazz

"I would have preferred to study the console with more time at my disposal, but I immediately learned the basics and was able to face the job at Perugia without any worries."

"For example, I was able to set the first of these keys (User Defined keys) to recall the EQ of Aux 1 - it was like having an external graphic equalizer at my disposal - I opted for EQ, but it's possible to assign many other parameters to the keys."

"The ‘Cut and paste' function is extremely useful. With big bands for example, I saved typical settings, which I copied into a new scene and modified according to any small differences in formation."

Alistair Artingstall

Monitor engineer, Keane US tour

"The first digital desk I used on the road was a DM2000 and then I started to use a PM5D. It certainly made my life easier for things like festivals. You just stick a card in and up comes the mix!"

"What can I say about the PM5D? It's reliable. It works, I'm happy! It's that simple! It has more bells and whistles that I'll ever need."

Ant Carr

System technician, Keane US tour

"I really like the desk. It's reliable, flexible and easy to use."

"On the Keane tour the PM5D handled the opening acts as well as Keane thanks to the recallable gains and in festivals it's so small no one cares about us bringing in our own desk mid afternoon."

Andrew Thornton

Sound engineer, Daniel Bedingfield's UK and European Tour

"The desk stood up very well throughout the tour and managed to keep up with Daniel's monitor needs. Daniel knows exactly what he wants and requires different mixes for every song. No analogue desk could have kept up with him."

"Essentially, I like the fact that everything you need is contained within the desk. It has a small footprint, and its on-board graphic EQs and effects means there's no need for any external racks. The desk certainly gives a lot for the money."

Billy Flore

Monitor engineer, Black-eyed Peas

"It had everything I wanted, it's small and light - you don't need ten guys to lift it. It takes no space at all, not even for a power supply. It's the sort of desk you can turn up with at a festival and the house sound crew won't mind putting it in for you - it's not like your asking for a lot of space to fit in all the racks and stuff that you'd take with an analogue board."

"I'm out here now with no manual and I'm discovering something new everyday, and it just gets easier. It took me a little time to get the hang of, sure. But the vibe I'm getting off the band already is great - I just love this desk. Gates and compressors are great, so there's no external processing; and although effects are not much of an issue for monitors, the quality of the reverb' in the desk I'm using is great, you can change anything on it. You know, I thought the on board compressors would be kind' a basic, but they have everything you'd expect on a 4u off board unit."

Stanley Miller

Sound engineer, Neil Diamond Tour

"For this current tour we have a pair of PM5Ds for mixing the show, one out front, one for monitors. The recall of the console - which I've been preaching about for a long time - is amazing. The EQ is exactly what it needs to be. The sends, muting, effects on/off is all taken care of in the programming - so I can concentrate on the show and mix."

"Yamaha has been proven in the field - I've been using this product line since the old PM1000s - reliability is the key, I knew this was going to work."

Steve May

Monitor engineer, Queen World Tour

"Overall it's sounding great, the band think so too. It's a busy show with lots of musicians and there's a 12m thrust stage out in the audience, so there's loads of different mixes to provide; I'm using all 24 outs and 3 Matrix sends. What first struck me about the desk is I like the way you can make it feel like an analogue desk."

"I find I barely need the on-board EQ because the desk itself doesn't really colour the signal at all."

Marco Della Torre

Monitor engineer for a TV show "Speciale per me" (RAI)

"The console is definitely under greater pressure at live events, but it was also extremely useful with the limited broadcast times on "Speciale per me" - if they told us we'd five minutes for a changeover on stage, the deadline had to be respected!"

"With the PM5D, when a mic was added at the last minute, or a line had to be split on to two different channels, or a mic switched from one send to another, I just set the required configuration, then, at the right moment, with a simple recall, everything was ready instantly - equalization, dynamics and effects - this is an enormous advantage!"

Steve Hawkins

Sound Supervisor/Lecturer, The Guildhall School of Music and Drama

"We chose Yamaha digital desks because they're well respected in the industry and also because most of our students will almost certainly use them in their future careers."

Stewart Chaney

Plus 4 Audio

"The line of digital desks from Yamaha have already proved themselves, they are completely solid and reliable."

Hinnerk Gehrckens

Manager of the audio and video department, Deutsches Theater

"The PM5D has no pitfalls for users. The ergonomic, easy to use interface is completely intuitive. Often there are two or even more ways of achieving a specific result. The PM5D combines the modern features and self-contained design of the DM2000 with the analogue interface of the PM1D. In addition, Yamaha digital consoles have a good reputation in the industry because of their excellent price/performance ratio."

Dave Kay (Ad Lib Audio)

Scissor Sisters tour

"It's the first digital desk we've seen that looks really easy to use, very straight forward. As a company what we wanted was a desk that we could slot in instead of an analogue board without having to think about a new multicore or other peripherals."

"I've had a go with the desk and I love the simplicity of it all."

Matt Napier

Monitor engineer, McFly

"It did everything I hoped it would do. It's a well thought out desk and proved to be very stable. "

"This should have been the first digital desk to come out; it's an ideal desk to try if you've never used a digital board before.

"Well I've been using the RH version with the head amps from the PM5000 and I have to say the sound quality is great. Generally, in terms of its intended market, I'd say that Yamaha have got it completely right."

Peter 'Stoy' Stoynich

FOH engineer, The Ten Tenors tour

"I am enjoying the PM5D because of its ease of operation. The automation is seamless from scene to scene, and programming is quite simple. The added bonus for me is its size. The Ten Tenors play mostly Theatres so it is nice for promoters that I only take limited space."

Alan Mourant

Former Head of Sound CATS Asia Tour 2007
Based in Adelaide, South Australia.

"I am always confident that when I get behind the PM5D it will deliver. It has a compact size, ideal for theatre, with plenty of outputs and has very responsive faders and dynamic processing. The scene changes are seamless, the programming is easy and the REV-X effects engines sound great. The fact that the console is well supported through Asia is comforting and I consider the PM5D to be among the most reliable part of the touring system."