Yamaha MDP-5

I play part time professionally in a Top 40/Variety band. Not as a keyboardist, but as a bassist. On the side I also DJ (turntables,CD's/MP3's), Karaoke DJ, and play as a duo in a one man band. I achieved my goal of sounding like a 9 piece band with the following items:
Korg i3 Intelligent Arranger
General Music SK-88 88 key "World" Keyboard/arranger.
Korg 05R/W
Roland SH-32/Roland SP-808
Roland KC 300
Behringer mixer(s),Alesis processing and Bose Speakers.
80% of music is sequenced on Logic Pro for Windows on a Toshiba M35-X laptop.

How: Ebay-These are only available in Japan
Where: Kanagawa Japan-NEW-
Why: A laptop is just too big to bring on stage,plus unreliable if you have no backup.You can store everything on Floppy, but try loading 4 sets of music on two GM keyboards that have only 2 MB of memory.It also looks unprofessional IMHO.Go for the shock value, don't point and click hehe.I've seen too many bands that sequence their music but they bring their desktops on stage.It's also obvious when the singer(s) are switching between songs behind a covered stand on stage!But all kidding aside, I sequence my songs in blocks so that the arrangements are nonstop, just like a live band. Anyways, how much I paid:
$191.00 includes INTERNATIONAL shipping.


-Compatability-
General Midi
General Midi 2
XG soundset
GS soundset
-Storage-
up to 128 on Smart Media card, includes an 8 MB card.PLENTY for any situation. I have over 200 hours of music that takes only 23 MB.
-SOUND Quality and Portability-
AMAZING sound quality for a little box. It rivals my 05 when playing back custom sequences like Whitney Houston,KC and the Sunchine Band, New Order, and the Black Eyed Peas.
Portable-I can listen to my songs on the subway trip home, it can run off of 4 AA batteries.
Imagine: Playing on stage with only a Keyboard and a little box the size of a paperback book!
"Minus One" Function-
Mute parts as necessary.
SIMPLE to use- Yes, the instructions are in Japanese, but with a little knowledge of midi and how sequencers work you can pretty much figure it out on your own.
USB Midi driver

Looks like a toy but hides a beast underneath.
Mini Jacks for input/output
Midi IN only


Ok, white plastic unit, looks like a toy.
Small, can fit on top of your keyboard near the pitch bend wheel or anywhere else where space is limited.
Small LCD display-Just enough info to do the job which is fine since all my arrangements are made in Logic Pro

I took the chance, you should too!Besides only being sold in Japan, how many times will people wonder how you get your tracks out there "live"...Also, uou can repeat passages in realtime!! Beat that!No more clunky laptops. the laptop is now a backup to the MDP, and other sequencers...
Contact me anytime for more info:
ehandog @ yahoo.com

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com