KVR Audio

himalaya · Post by **himalaya** » Sun Apr 08, 2012 7:46 pm

If anyone is looking to buy a Yamaha QY100 (or its little brother QY70) here you can listen to some audio demos of sounds from this machine. I just posted these on another website to help somebody hear how these little groove boxes sound and I thought if KVR members were to search this forum for some audio this might help.

These mini tracks, or more precisely ideas/sketches were created a long time ago, mostly some time in 2002/3 usually when I was on the move or in the park, airport, or some other location (the time when I attempted to create some music on a bumpy bus ride at night, was the most demanding!

todd_r · Post by **todd_r** » Sun Apr 08, 2012 8:42 pm

Can you import the midi into your daw? Thought about getting one before as a sketchpad

himalaya · Post by **himalaya** » Sun Apr 08, 2012 8:54 pm

I never tried that (midi and my head do not like each other). But it should be possible, surely. I could do a test, I suppose.

bpblog · Post by **bpblog** » Sun Apr 08, 2012 9:16 pm

i was always intrigued by these little sequencers and as of recently i've been thinking of getting a small Yamaha module (MU 15) for my live setup.

is it possible to do things like control filter cutoff with MW via MIDI?

(as far as i understand, QY100 and MU 15 should have the same sound possibilities)

loving that first downtempo tune, too.

himalaya · Post by **himalaya** » Sun Apr 08, 2012 9:51 pm

bpblog wrote:is it possible to do things like control filter cutoff with MW via MIDI?

Again, it's something I've never tried. The QY was my traveling companion and I never used it as part of my midi rig. However, I will set it up and test it. It might take a day or so, as I'm in the process of re-wiring all my midi stuff (got a new 8x8 Midi interface). Once that's done, hooking up the Qy will be easy. So stay tuned.

(as far as i understand, QY100 and MU 15 should have the same sound possibilities)

Perhaps, I don't know, but I suspect that it will sound inferior. Even the QY70 has less samples and less drum kits than the bigger QY100. Also, looking at an image of the MU15 I'd say it will be difficult to use, more difficult then either the QY70 or 100. The latter, are really well designed. The way the body fits into your hand, and more importantly, the way navigation buttons are set up, a much better screen... Great stuff.

Another observation, I remember auditioning the QY70 in Chappel in London back in the day, and it was loaded with lots of dance oriented patterns. Then, later, I tested the QY100 and its content was more guitar/rock based (I preferred QY70's patterns, but since I didn't intend to use any preset patterns it didn't bother me). I suspect QY100's 'Rock' focused sound was due to the guitar input and the pre-amp. So if you are going to use one of these live, the Qy100 has those extra features which could come in handy.

loving that first downtempo tune, too.

Thank you.

bpblog · Post by **bpblog** » Sun Apr 08, 2012 10:23 pm

thanks for the replies.

i watched a MU15 demo video and it really looks like something i could use to make my live setup even more portable.

plus there's one going real cheap in the local ads currently. i'll investigate about the MIDI features a bit more.

maleaco · Post by **maleaco** » Mon Apr 09, 2012 8:10 am

Haha awesome work, keep it up

Bronto Scorpio · Post by **Bronto Scorpio** » Mon Apr 09, 2012 9:40 am

I haven't listen to all the clips yet but I've heard so far sounds really nice

Makes me want to buy a small groovebox or something

Cheers
Dennis

himalaya · Post by **himalaya** » Mon Apr 09, 2012 9:54 am

Highly recommended!
Making music outside, perhaps sitting under a tree in the park while the sunset strokes your muse is a great experience,

mztk · Post by **mztk** » Sat Apr 14, 2012 8:36 pm

other than the rock factory patterns, does the 100
differ much from the 70? soundset? have you used the
flash card slot to load midi data? (ok, it has external
input to fx...is this useful/usable?)
i learnt about midi on a qy20, with its nasty GM set,
and had a qy70 briefly, which was quite different. i'm
thinking about getting it again, but wondered if the 100
is a better choice. thing is, i'll now have to view that
screen with glasses on..> thoughts of bulkier qy300/700...

haha, you have to be careful though: might end up writing
another QY demo!

would be good if you had user sound presets...say, a tg500
in a QY...

himalaya · Post by **himalaya** » Sat Apr 14, 2012 10:14 pm

mztk wrote:other than the rock factory patterns, does the 100
differ much from the 70?

The main difference is the mic/line input and the pre-amp, which comes with lots of presets. Another obvious difference is the size. In a way teh QY70 is a better mobile option the the 100.

have you used the
flash card slot to load midi data?

No. I only used it to save my songs and patters (styles)

(ok, it has external
input to fx...is this useful/usable?)

Never used it myself. Although the geek inside me loves the idea of having these in case I have an uncontrollable urge to sing along with my little QY tunes.

i learnt about midi on a qy20, with its nasty GM set,
and had a qy70 briefly, which was quite different. i'm
thinking about getting it again, but wondered if the 100
is a better choice. thing is, i'll now have to view that
screen with glasses on..> thoughts of bulkier qy300/700...

I find the QY70/100 soundset very usable in context of getting some ideas down, but I would imagine that a lot of these sounds would be good enough for a commercial track if mixed well with plugins ( a bit of compression EQ boost here or there, some delay, etc).

haha, you have to be careful though: might end up writing
another QY demo!

Nah! get yer QY and lets flood this thread with more QY noodles.

would be good if you had user sound presets...say, a tg500
in a QY...

Yes, definitely. But what I found out is that I didn't miss sound presets (living in their own memory separate from patterns/songs) as it is very quick and easy to tweak the few parameters you get.

I'm going to keep my QY100 and give it to my son when he grows up as his first initiation to music making with electronics. By that time the QY will be as vintage as a Minimoog ModelD is nowdays. He will be proud of his dad that he had kept such a rare device for so many years and will start a new music craze/revival, with a new outfit named: The General Midi Band.

mztk · Post by **mztk** » Sun May 06, 2012 2:25 pm

ok, so i now have a qy100 here. the same thing as a qy70,
just has the audio input gizmo and the smartmedia gizmo.
(what a weird format that was...)
and it is excellent. true, the sounds are a bit limited,
but you can use them. it just makes me wonder when yamaha
are going to bring out the next qy machine, with sampling
and audio recording. that would be a trip.
if so, it could also do with some usb ports, to accomodate
some korg nano things. do you reckon it would be possible
to connect a korg nano Kontrol to the midi in, via a usb/midi
cable?
this thing is phatter than it's siblings: bigger-just the right
size now, a little bit smaller than a 303/606-...and, in truth,
if you don't mind data dumps over midi(how long can that take?),
you could just as well get the less sought after qy70. it's
pretty amazing, you get 8 pattern channels and another 8 song
(linear, non looping) channels. the 20 does 4+4, and i'm not
sure what the 22 does, but these are all excellent little sequencers
of outboard, with all the midi bells and whistles(unless somebody pops
up to point out a problem)...
I WOULD LIKE to have quicker control of mutes and solos and mixing, maybe,
which is why i was thinking of add-ons like korg nano's.

himalaya · Post by **himalaya** » Sun May 06, 2012 2:36 pm

mztk wrote: I WOULD LIKE to have quicker control of mutes and solos and mixing, maybe,
which is why i was thinking of add-ons like korg nano's.

I agree. This is why I love the design of RMX1 and RS7000 as they allow for very quick soloing of all 16 tracks.

the sounds are a bit limited,
but you can use them.

Dive in that edit mode, as you can add some extra spice with the filter and stuff. I found that the basic tone of a lot of the sounds is very good. I particularly loved the strings and pads plus some synth sounds.

Post some demos if you make any.

mztk · Post by **mztk** » Mon May 21, 2012 7:18 pm

haha, i've already had a little bash with it, remembered
very quickly how to use it, and in the limited breadth of
what i did, it was impressive. i'm intending mine as a jam
MIDI sequencer for outboard, but you're right: in itself,
it is a bit of a classic. fat little beast compared to the
qy20/70. and er, not QUITE ready to showcase da skillz
just yet..i'll see what i can do though

dontcha wish yamaha would do a sampling/recording version?

mztk · Post by **mztk** » Tue Jun 12, 2012 7:21 pm

had some more time with it the other day, using the guitar input.
tried all the presets...they're ok, usable, but the clean input is
great with the gain pushed a bit(just wanted to check it worked).
batteries aren't great, don't last very long.
i'm a bit confused about the number of MIDI tracks it offers, as it
only has one midi bus...you can send out th epattern tracks on
1-8/9-16, and/or it can record full midi input on 16 separate tracks
to the song tracks....so what happens when you write pattern tracks
after that?

Yamaha QY100 demos