QY700

[Zenkodo]

Are there any Yamaha QY700 sequencer users around? I'm working through the manual but it would be great to hear people's working methods and tips etc. I realise I could be in a minority of one - no PC in the studio, hardware synths and outboard with a stand alone hard disk multitrack.

[fatbenelton]

There's a Yahoo group…

https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/qy700/info

[B4i]

I had one of these many years ago. Great piece of kit for sequencing and arranging. The internal sounds aren't up to much compared to more modern kit IIRC. I do miss the intermacy and speed the QY provided compared to a PC though

[johnny h]

I know its a lot more expensive, but have you considered the Cirklon?

[fatbenelton]

Not had a QY but I have had a Cirklon - different beasts I think. Constructing large songs/arrangements etc is not the Cirklon's forte. Perhaps a RS7000 or RM1X…...

[Kevin Nolan]

I have several keyboard setups and use a QY700 in one of them for recording. Absolutely love it. I treat it as a 32 track MIDI recorder - I've deleted all of its preset phrases out of memory so it's just a 110,000 note multitrack sequencer. I know it inside out for basic recording and MIDI editing - so it's uncomplicated and does what it says on the tin. I love the idea of a hardware sequencer for basic 'DAW type' MIDI multitrack. It's from a different era I accept, but it works and I love using it. It compels you to play live on a keyboard into it (cause it doesn't do much else !!).

That said, I am contemplating replacing it with an iPad Garageband setup, given its transparency to Logic Pro which I also use. In that instance I'll reinstall all of the preset phrases onto the QY700 and see what they deliver (though I;m not one for using presets much). They are not to be snubbed at however - they're quite well programmed an you hear them on TV productions, still, on occasion.

Overall, a beautifully designed multitrack sequencer with fabulous interface, MIDI features, and the added bonus of thousands of preset phrases across multiple genres. Embrace it and enjoy it - there are many ways to skin the cat (of music).

[Zenkodo]

Thanks for your replies.
Does anyone know if the chord track and preset phrases can be assigned to external midi channels? I'm liking the idea of the chord track cos my (lack of) keyboard skills means I can think of chord changes faster than I can actually play them ! :-/

[himalaya]

I still have my QY700, although I haven't used it in many, many years, so my memory of all its operational quirks is not good.

As a side note, when I did use it, I was very creative on it, churning (admittedly cheezy) ditties as if there was no tomorrow.

[Szymek85]

Kevin Nolan, how did you wipe the qy700 of all phrases?

[Eddy Deegan]

Kevin Nolan, how did you wipe the qy700 of all phrases?

There is a guide to restoring the factory presets starting on page 23 of QY700 manual though it looks like you need the 'style' floppy disk to do it.

If you don't have that disk then you can get the contents of it from here though you will need a floppy drive to write that data. I would think a standard USB floppy should work just fine to do so and they are pretty cheap to get hold of.

[Mike Senior]

I'm a long-time QY700 user, although it's been in mothballs for the last (gulp!) 10 years now. I do still have it, though, for those situations where I need to do MIDI troubleshooting. It's a great machine.

Incidentally, I did this whole tutorial series using the QY700's internal sounds, so I'm not sure I agree with the OP saying that the sounds aren't much cop:
https://www.soundonsound.com/techniques ... a-xg-part1
https://www.soundonsound.com/techniques ... a-xg-part2
https://www.soundonsound.com/techniques ... a-xg-part3

[Mike Senior]

And, come to think of it, a lot of this music was also done with the QY sounds:
http://cambridge-mt.com/ms/mtk/#Triviul

[Dave.P]

Been meaning to dig my QY700 out for some time now, this just could be the nudge I needed!
I must admit I also made some cheesy stuff on it, but certainly never mastered the operation....

[Ted Bee]

hi all , new qy700 group on mewe

https://mewe.com/join/yamahaqy700

just started as yahoo groups gone to mail only

got pdf , styles and good info

stay safe

[Stonehousestudio]

Nice, just joined up. Thanks for the heads up.

[tlloren]

Hi all, I am thinking of getting a QY700 and was wondering about the screen. I haven't heard anyone complain about the backlight burning out yet. I imagine there is no replacement for them these days.

I recently have had Yamaha replace the screen of my DM1000 after almost 20 years of service. Luckily they are still supported after all this time. The QY700 is an older unit but most probably not seen the abuse that a typical DM1000 board would see. They look like they are about the same size too.

I am just wondering how everyone's screens are holding up especially those who use these units frequently.

[Eklektric]

I have another question on the qy-700. I like to use it as a sound module. I have al my sounds setup on different tracks in pattern voice mode. I'd like to send midi on different channels that correspond to the tracks numbers but when I send midi to the QY all channels play piano except 10 is drums, it doesn't play the sounds I've set in pattern voice setup. Does anyone know a solution for this?