It's a MIDI tone generator and sequencer. Go on the Yamaha website and look it up regarding the features and such.

I own that same model. It costs a pretty penny when I bought it. I've used it alot when playing out with the band. You can send a click to the drummer and sequence keys to play automatically it can also trigger midi patches on other devices like vocal harmonizers and samplers. The box can get quite deep. You will definately need a manual. It really is a very nice midi recorder / tone generator and sequencer.

Very nice find for being in an attic. All you need is a nice midi controller keyboard and you can record all your keyboard parts to the sequencer and it will play it back. You can also use a roland midi pickup system and record the guitar midi to it and play back keys, horns or whatever type instrument you select. It's a very cool box.

moonbaby wrote: It's a MIDI tone generator and sequencer. Go on the Yamaha website and look it up regarding the features and such.

Download the manual here:

http://www.synthman…

Jonesey wrote: I own that same model. It costs a pretty penny when I bought it. I've used it alot when playing out with the band. You can send a click to the drummer and sequence keys to play automatically it can also trigger midi patches on other devices like vocal harmonizers and samplers. The box can get quite deep. You will definately need a manual. It really is a very nice midi recorder / tone generator and sequencer.

Very nice find for being in an attic. All you need is a nice midi controller keyboard and you can record all your keyboard parts to the sequencer and it will play it back. You can also use a roland midi pickup system and record the guitar midi to it and play back keys, horns or whatever type instrument you select. It's a very cool box.

Hi there. I just got one of these QY300 sequencers and am having difficulty figuring out how to get it to run various external synths. There is really nothing in the manual about it. I would really appreciate it if you could you give me some pointers?

QY300 wrote: Hi there. I just got one of these QY300 sequencers and am having difficulty figuring out how to get it to run various external synths. There is really nothing in the manual about it. I would really appreciate it if you could you give me some pointers?

Unfortunately, there is no easy way to provide simple pointers. There is too much missing info about all your connected equipment, and a lot of MIDI setup and usage information that you need to be familiar with to successfully connect things.

You can start with he manual, AND the Voice Lists and MIDI Data Sheet. The manual tells you how to assign channels and things to receive and/or transmit, and how to connect to external equipment.

https://usa.yamaha…

In the manual, start with pages 2,3,4,18, 115,116, 117.

The Data Sheet tells you what MIDI data and control the thing is capable of using, and will be necessary when determining how any external unit will respond, and how it responds to data input from an extermnnal source. Of course, for that to be truly useful, you'll need the manuals of every external module/keyboard/etc., and their MIDI Data Sheets.

Be careful about not confusing "Tracks" with "Channels". The "Track" is simply the lane of which the data resides and rides. Any available  "Channel" can be assigned to any "Track", and you may even purposely assign two or more "Tracks" to the same "Channel", which would force all tracks of that channel to respond to the same MIDI data of which it responds...though it's normally not done. Normally, all tracks should have their own MIDI channel. Also, normally all Drums are on "Channel" 10.

You'll want to be careful of your "Channel Mode Messages". If set to Omni On, everything gets sent to everything, and nothing plays as expected. Normally, you'd want Omni Off, Poly On (Mode 3).

You mentioned "various synths". Depending on your intent for each, it can be complicated. Are they multitimbral, and do you want to use one, two, or more simultaneously?

Using multiple ones, be careful of connecting them. As the manual states, if the QY300 will control them, connect its MIDI Out to the first synth MIDI In,  and that unit's MIDI Thru (NOT MIDI Out) to the next MIDI In, and so on. It is not advisable to connect any "MIDI Out" of any unit in the middle of the chain to any MIDI In. What happens is that the next unit will only respond to data that the previous unit received and passed. MIDI Out is normally used ONLY to be the first in the chain, controlling others.

As you can see, the QY300 does NOT have a MIDI Thru. That means it should always be used as a controller to transmit, or if used as a sound module being controlled by a keyboard, computer, etc, always LAST in any chain. Some devices have 3 MIDI ports (In,Out, Thru). Some have only 2 (In, Out), and some have only 2 BUT have an In, and a combined Out/Thru, of which you may be able to choose which through settings, etc.

So, using the QY300 as the sending unit, you can connect several units in series, provided all (except, possibly, the last) have MIDI Thru capability. MIDI Thru passes ALL the original data from the source...notes, program changes, etc., channel data. Just remember that each additional unit will have some delay, and if too many are chained serially, the ones toward the end may drop notes, etc., as the signal weakens. That's why people use MIDI expanders/distribution boxes, etc.

If you want the brass and Hammond to play from a Roland keyboard, you would set the brass and organ TRACKS' (say, track 1 and 2 in the QY300) "Channels" in the QY300 to, say, channels 1 and 2, respectively. You would then set the Roland keyboard to respond only to channels 1 and 2, and assign the Roland brass and Hammond patches to that.

If you want, say, the funk bass from a Yamaha keyboard, and, say, that is on Track 3 of the QY300, you would set the QY300 CHANNEL to 3, and the Yamaha to respond to CHANNEL 3, assigned to Yamaha's Funk Bass. And, so on.

Of course, you don't have to match the track numbers and channel numbers, but it may be handy if you think ahead enough to try. But, no matter how careful you are, you still may end up with Track 8 of the QY300 assigned to, say, Channel 15 of some external unit.

Also, it may be helpful to learn about Sysex (System Exclusive) messages, and Patch Change messages to insert and send at the beginning of a sequence. Sometimes, when going from one sequence (song) to another, you may get strange sounds coming out of anything or everything, because the synths are set up to the previous patches of the preceding song, so when you expect a sawtooth synth, you get an oboe, or something.

At the very beginning of any sequence (song), I always insert a system "Reset" message, Depending on your outboard unit, it could be a GM (General MIDI), Roland GS, Yamaha XG, etc., which resets the entire modules to fresh. If you have one of more of each, it doesn't hurt to insert all 3 to send to the units, of which they will only respond to the one meant for them. That all depends on which protocol the external units are using.

Then, on each TRACK of the unit containing the sequence (song) (in my case, the MIDI computer), I insert a Bank/Patch Change so that the desired patch on the corresponding unit changes, and I get what I expect.

Then, you consider all the Controller messages, which control things like volume, pan, any effects and such of which any unit may be capable.

This stuff can get confusing.

Remember, if you like the sounds in that thing, and get fed up with trying to program it, you can also just use it as sound module, controlled by a computer or keyboard, etc.

Good luck.

Kapt.Krunch