Yamaha Hardware Sequencers

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

from www.musicproducts.com, for less than $400 US despite its compact size, this piece of gear is basically a self-contained music-making machine. the sequencer is amazingly versatile, you can program up-to-8-track patterns (phrases) which you can "copy" and "paste" into your songs. the 500+ sounds are also very wide-ranging in the musical styles they are suitable for. the editing capabilities of the qy100 is also very impressive. i love that each sound can be played through a virtual 8-octave keyboard. 8!! so you can play the sound at an extremely low or high frequency and come up with really neat sounds. like most people who have used the qy100, the batteries get eaten up in no time. if the keyboard was velocity sensitive, it would be an even greater stand-alone workstation. it would also be nice to have included a sampling capacity (although right now you can record analog instruments into it). otherwise, it has won my heart. plastic case, rubber keys. it would be nice to have an MC-303/505-type of keyboard on it. i love it! the time spent on the manual is well worth it. there are so many musical things you can do. i think this little machine is actually a challenging medium for song writers. because of its limited screen space, you can't see everything you do, which makes you compose and think of the composition in a different way than you would if you were writing it on staff paper or something. just my more philosophical two cents. This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

(Originally written by Paranomix39/translated from Audiofanzine FR) UTILIZATION Personally, I find the sequencer is quite complicated but great: everything can be edited! It takes too much time but once you understood how it works, it goes smoothly. The 64MB memory isn't a lot but I use it with a PC so that's not a problem. Its main advantages are the sequencer, the drum machine, and the playability live. SOUNDS Properly edited presets sound good. You'll obviously need to enhance the sounds with some processing or VSTi, but it sounds very good by itself. The result is much better with an AIEB2 card: the sound becomes clearer and has more punch. OVERALL OPINION I started three years ago with a RM1x, then I bought a RS7000 one year ago and it's a dream machine. I've sometimes thought about selling it but I never did because I was sure I would regret it. I previously used Electribe SX and MX (too simple for my taste so it became boring). The MC808 is a very good device but I like having lots of knobs, like on the RS, which BTW has a very small display (it feels almost like a plastic toy). The MC303 is really nice considering its price but it's in a totally different league. Right now I just have my RS7000 and my Mac. As a summary, buy the RS because it's an amazing tool (but don't expect to master it right away).

Multiple Midi Outs would be sweet. A way to save user patches. A way to hear other tracks while recording in X0X mode. Price paid $700 UTILIZATION The interface can be hard to get used to. There is a lot of sub-menus where certain features hide. It's a very easy machine to use though and it has never crashed or anything similar. The only big glitch is that after a lot of use the keys become worn and unresponsive. The manual is ok and should get you up and ready in little time. Once again, the only big glitch is that after a lot of use the keys become worn and unresponsive. SOUNDS Sound is not where the Rm1x excels in my opinion. It's sequencer might be top notch but it really lacks in the sound dept. If this is your only peice of kit you will want to expand. However, its sounds compliment other synths well. OVERALL OPINION Aside from the few things I mentioned the Rm1x oooozes class. It's sequencer is top notch and suits both studio work and live work. While I dont think it's sounds are amazing they still have the ability to inspire and do work well when placed in a composition with other sounds. Originally posted on FutureProducers.com Posted by: Unknown ( 4-, 2002)