Yamaha QY100 Sequencer Accompaniment Tool  

just a quick note , this is a great unit that sounds great and holds up to road use . i've used the same for for 5 years with no problems ( no laptop could hold up to that ) . ONE BIG PROBLEM  ,this unit only has 1/8 stereo output , i've been waiting for a few years for yamaha to upgrade this unit but they never do .

I bought this as a stand alone midi recorder so that I wouldn't have to fool with computer issues. It does that and a lot more. I have had fun playing with it and the sounds are great. I haven't used the amp sim but I have used it to tune. I have an old DR5 and I dug it out to see if I could work the two together and I'm playing with that now. The drawback is memory size. You can have 20 songs but 2 songs fill it up so you need a memory card which are hard to find. You probably can put a thousand songs on a 16MB card but the internal memory must be about 256K. Midi files are small.

I have the QY 100 and it rocks!!! I love the sounds it produces and the way its easy to step write your user patterns in a song. The user patterns have 8 tracks and when in song mode you can add 16 tracks of sound to it making a orchetra symphony. It tool awhile to learn, but its worht it, as one reviewer said you have to read the manual to get the full education of this product. I have it connected through my CZ101 through MIDI to control the sounds and then have connected to my drum machine through Midi to reinforce the the drum sounds. The sequencer controls the tempo and playback of all the sounds being produced. I love this little machine.

I never was much for gadgets and 'bells & whistles'.  Put me behind the keys with some good sounds (B3, Fender Rhodes, different pianos) and I'm good to go.  But within the last year I found a need to arrange fill parts for live performance and I haven't used a sequencer since the 80s.  I currently play with a Kurzweil PC88 (over 10 years old) and run it through the rack version of the Korg Triton which I've loaded up nicely.  I also have a Korg CX-3 for the Hammond sounds when I play live.  The choice was to buy a Korg TR-88 with on-board sequencer or the Yamaha QY-100.  I was PLEASANTLY surprised with the QY-100.  I sat for no more than 2 hours reading the manual (which is about my patience level for gadgets) and started going to work.  Once you record you first song you'll get the knack on how to use it and your following songs will go quick.  I especially LOVE the copy/paste function for tracks and measures! When I bought the QY-100 I originally thought "I'll just run the Triton through the sequencer".  But the on-board sounds and drum kits are great.  The piano sounds aren't the best but they'll do.  What I enjoyed the most was the nice blend of Yamaha's classic variations on DX-7 sounds, Analog and Digital sounds.  I haven't run my Triton through the sequencer yet - everything I need is already on-board the QY-100.  Get the power adapter - this thing goes through AA batteries like there's no tomorrow! The optional memory chip is handy too.  Once I learned how to use the QY-100 I filled the memory fast!

Great product - from what I have seen it is the only choice for accompaniment.  The features are great but you do need to spend time with it to learn.  I would buy this over anything in its class.  The sound is great, interface good.  Buy the AC adapter.  Keys do not sense velocity, but you can adjust it and there is a random velocity setting that is pretty good - sounds live.  It has a memory card slot, but forget it - it's an older Smart Media format that you can't buy except from suppliers that choose to keep making it for keyboards and other devices like this.  It does NOT use SD cards.  There is an adapter available to go from Smart Media to XD, using a maximum of 128M but don't bother.  Buy a USB to MIDI adapter (I had good luck with a Yamaha UX16) and you're set.  Load and store sets/songs with your laptop or PC all you want.  It will also connect via serial or Mac accessory cables.  Overall, this is a great buy.  Get one.