Yamaha QY20

Ease of Use: 7
Rhapsody from Passport

Features: 10
I use the Roland AX-1 Keyboard Controller and velcro the QY20 to the back of it (using a 12" Midi cord)

Expressiveness/Sounds: 8
I like the Pianos' Guitars, Basses, and strings. Since I purchased mine new in 1993 I paid the $565.00 price tag. Still haven't changed that internal battery yet though.

Reliability: 10
It has been very reliable. I did lose some tracks when I wasn't aware that you had to copy your changes to another 'blank' pattern. So when I turned it off I was shocked to see it didn't remember it anymore!

Customer Support: 7
I haven't sent anything in yet but I also play a Yahmaha APX 12 String which everyone says' they think is as great sounding as I do. Yahmaha has made great musical instruments for years..I think they stand behind their stuff..

Overall Rating: 10
I really like it and would buy another one. I originally purchased the QY-10 but the 20 is light years ahead of it..The synthesis is much better. I think a wireless midi would make it better and I'm still looking for an Ensonic DP-4 to use with it.

Submitted by Anonymous at 10/08/2003 13:56

Ease of Use: 10
This is as easy/complicated to use as other Qys. I think its a breeze...assembling a song and choosing how much of the packing pattern you want can get tricky but thats about it. I use a MDF@ and jsut record in realtime. I dont hink you can do that on a qy100 alone so I wont bother upgrading. Tell me if I am wrong. Sounds are really no good on their own. Add some distortion, very little, or overdrive and reverb and it sounds good. Editing pitch and velocity is exact and easy. I love it. Basically, if you dont get it, read the manual. If you still dont, read it again. Its all there and its not impossible to figure out....unless....

Features: 9
NO built in effects, velocity keyboard, or backlight. You cant alter sounds by cutoff and attack, etc. But you can do all that through midi. The onboard sequencer is great. I notice that its not a total smooth change with switching patterns...maybe .00001 a second short but its not a big thing unless you are anal.

Expressiveness/Sounds: 10
I actually had a QY22 and sold it and then regreted it. SO I got this QY20. I got it and was dissappointed by the matte finish rather than the newer glossy QYs. But I think it is way better sound wise. That is the only real ifference by the way, asaide from a few missing drum sounds. But this has MORE synth brass, MORE synth bass(!!!!!!!), and an ADDITIONAL Analog drumset! That is AWESOME! You get more sounds! Too bad though, I am missing a few sounds like helicopter, gunshot, seashore...my heart is crushed...psshhh!

The main reason I am writing this review is to let others in the market know this has coooool sounds! Better than the other QYs. I was shocked,

Reliability: 8
I only worry about that internal battery thing. But when its out, i'll jsut send it in I guess. unavoidable.

Customer Support: 10
They are very helpful people.

Overall Rating: 9
I love it! Especially with a MDF2. I can play and mute tracks, change patterns, add licks, all while its being recorded onto the MDF2 as a song. While, the MDF2 is recording, I can even manually add 4 clicks or whatever before I start playing so I have time to get ready to perform with it....like recording straight into Cakewalk on a computer. Hey if anyone out there knows if the QY100 can do that alone, send me an email!

Submitted by Anonymous at 08/04/2003 07:19

Ease of Use: 7
The that I bought earlier today seems to be an excellent additional to my 24 track home studio. I Can't give a great deal of details involving the usage but it seems to be very easy to use. My plan is to use it as a drum sound source/sound module and never as a sequencer as I use Cubase 5 for that purpose.

Features: 7
The poly capability of the unit is great. I do a great deal of sequencing of music for video and can use the sounds. It being GM ready is great.

Expressiveness/Sounds: 8
Not bad at all.

Reliability: N/A

Customer Support: N/A

Overall Rating: N/A
I saw the thing at the swap earlier today and if looked perfect. At the time, I could not remember what features it had or what magazine reviews had found. But at $5.00, I felt that I couldn't go wrong. From what I have been able to determine [without the owner's manual, I love it. I will be putting to to use as a source of strings and drums mainly.

Submitted by Darrell Hines at 01/27/2002 16:07

Ease of Use: 8
Nice but programming can be a bit (?) difficult.

Features: 8
It has it all except for effects (1992).

Expressiveness/Sounds: 7
Sounds are ok, best are drums i think, its no Moog or Oberheim but you already figured that i guess.For rehearsal and rough song making this is ideal.

Reliability: 9
Dunno, when i bought it the display was blur and had like chinese characters on it after resetting it was gone since then no problem.

Customer Support: 10
Yamaha got it right their after sales is good.

Overall Rating: 10
GM,4 track full editable squencer,100 voices 100 drum sounds, a mini studio.Very nice if you find it for the right price.

Submitted by Mike found a hobby at 10/12/2001 23:37

Ease of Use: 7
For putting together songs from preset patterns (100 preset paterns) and playing along to them, this unit is very easy. For anything more advanced, such as writing your own patterns, using unusual time signatures etc., it can get rather complicated and fiddly. The buttons are rather small, but that is unavoidable on a unit that is smaller than a VHS tape. Very good manual, also available on-line from Yamaha in pdf format.

Features: 8
8 track sequencer and midi (almost GM) sound module.
Keyboard are rubber switches like a ZX Spectrum - horrible, but can use a midi keyboard instead.
CAN BE RUN OFF BATTERIES !!!

Expressiveness/Sounds: 6
I bought mine second hand and very cheap, so I think it is great.
The sound quality is pretty poor by todays standards - no where near as good as a DB50-XG let alone a pro-keyboard, but compares well to many of the cheaper home keyboards. Drum sounds are not bad, but I prefer my Alesis SR16

Reliability: 10
Never gone wrong

Customer Support: 8
Good on-line support, excellent user manual, havn't needed anything else

Overall Rating: 8
Great for singer guitarists that want a very portable band in a box.
Probably wouldn't buy another one because I don't use it that often - mostly playing with a real band now.

Submitted by Anonymous at 08/02/2001 08:37

Ease of Use: 9
Simply great

Features: 9
For 1992 one of the best new product that came out. Sounds nice through PA.

Expressiveness/Sounds: 8
8/10

Reliability: 10
10/10

Customer Support: N/A
Do you need it?

Overall Rating: 10
I bought it for 150 usd but wont sell it for the same or less.

Submitted by Mike at 06/17/2001 11:44

Ease of Use: 10
This is a must have for the music student. If you want to practice with a true "band in a box", this is it. This unit is easy to use and to become familiar with. You can save 20 songs, use the patterns over static chords to practice your scales and comping techniques. You can even dump your data to any sequencer.

Features: 7
This unit is GM and responds well to all midi exprssions. The keyboard on the unit was not made for playing, but for entering the chords to the backing tracks. Although you can play a melody on the keyboard, its best to slave the unit to a midi keyboard controller and audition the sounds that way.

Expressiveness/Sounds: 7
Some instruments are realistic enough as the GM thing goes. This unit is well suited for the practicing musician who wants to have a band in a box while working on his/her improvisation.

Reliability: 10
This unit is very dependable. I've had mine since 1992 and only just taken it in for servicing of the backup battery. I've never had any problems with it on the 7 gigs I've done using just that unit and my guitar.

Customer Support: N/A
Never had to deal with Yamaha.

Overall Rating: 10
If I lost this unit I would have to replace it. Its ease of use and sounds are worth having especially during Guitar instructions. In my daily study of the Guitar, I've find this unit very necessary to allow me to hear the harmony while practicing my scales and comping.

Submitted by Colin Sobers at 04/12/2001 07:43

Ease of Use: 7
Most of the features are straight forward, but the advanced options such as pich shifting can get complex
you're going to need the manual

Features: 9
The unit is versitile, but I would best describe it as a musical gameboy
It makes a great drum machine

Expressiveness/Sounds: 7
I really like the strings and the pads, I don't like the bass, guitars and horns...stay away from the cheazy horns
It's great for symphonic...movie-like music

Reliability: 10
I've never had the slightest prob...If you treat this unit well it will treat you well

Customer Support: N/A
I've never delt with Yamaha...I chose to just take care of the unit

Overall Rating: 7
The QY-20 makes a great drum machine...the drum sounds are great
It sucks for live application
It's best use is to show bandmates musical ideas that are unconventional...The QY has allowed me to describle soundscapes that I would not be able to communicate with a guitar or keyboard.
I don't think the unit could ever produce pro-quality sounds by it's self...but with other units...maybe
If you don't want to spend a millions dollars, this unit is good.

Submitted by Charles Rees at 07/08/2000 08:48

Ease of Use: 8
First some general information - it took me a lot of digging to find out about the QY20 as compared to other QY instruments and I am not 100% sure I have it all done even now.
The QY20 is the second of the "video-tape" sized sequencer/sound modules in the QY line. The first was the QY-10. It had a one octave mini keyboard, 76 preset rhythm patterns and room for up to 24 user patterns. It had 30 or so instruments (waveforms) and 20 or so drum samples (28 note polyphony). It could store up to 8 songs.
Following the QY-10 came the QY-20 (reviewed here). Vastly improved over the '10', it sports a two octave mini keyboard, 600 preset rhythm presets, with room for up to 100 user rhythm patterns. The editting capabilities also expanded considerably. It had 100 waveforms and many more drum samples (128?). It could store up to 20 songs.
The QY-22 seemed to come out shortly after the QY-20 and its only difference (as far as I can see) is that it had 128 onboard instruments (to conform to General MIDI guidelines). As far as I know, there were no other differences between the '20' and the '22'.
The QY-70 is the more recent of this line of small units (there is also a QY-300 and a QY-700). It sports XG (Yamaha's highly successful answer to Roland's GS standard) sound generation. It likely increases functionality a good deal, too - I haven't been able to try one out. The XG is the first of this line that offers any degree of sound editting (and an XG editor might be a good thing to pick up for it).
The manuals for both the '10' and the '20' were very good, utilizing many examples. Nevertheless, it would be impossible for them to cover all the things these instruments could do and still be a size that was not incredibly intimidating.
My only criticism of the "Ease of Use" for the QY line (not just the '20') is the onboard input mechanism. I just have not been able to expressivly take advantage of the little lima-been sized keys. It works, mind you (and better, in my opinion than the Roland PMA-5's pen-input, or the BOSS DR-5 guitar-style input), but it still tends to hamper free expression - at least for me. I can do a lot more sitting at a keyboard in 10 minutes than I can in a half hour with this input mechanism.
Other than that, it is a superb way to get ideas down, to edit them, polish them, and even use as a backup band for live performance. I would have liked to have an optional foot-pedal (start/stop), though.

Features: 9
Much of this category's info is in my overall summary in "ease of use". It has no built-in effects, no expansion - except that which implied by an external module (like a Data-Disk or a computer to save what you've worked on, clear it, and do more).
Once again, the sequncer is top-notch. I used to use the Roland MC-500 and MC-50. And this is just about every bit their equal.

Expressiveness/Sounds: 8
The sounds are about as good as GM gets - that's not meant as a criticism. I think they are as good as Roland's GM, and perhaps a bit thicker. This unit would do well in just about any kind of music, except perhaps orchestral (no tympani, no alternate string types, etc.).
As stated in my opening comments, I find "expressiveness" a lacking on it. For that I'd strongly suggest using an external keyboard. But if "expression" to you is the ability to put together preset patterns and write print some fairly simple to medium difficult linear track over that, this unit should not dissapoint you.

Reliability: 10
Yamaha instruments, like Boss guitar pedals, seem to be built to very high and durable standards. I think this unit will last many decades unless purposefully beat on (and even then I expect it would die a hard death!).

Customer Support: 7
I bought mine used, so I never needed to contact Yamaha. In the past, though (for other instruments), I have found them to be at least as helpful as any other company (like Roland - and much better than Kawai).

Overall Rating: 8
When I buy gear, I look long and hard and try to make any gear I buy pay mulitple dividends, if possible. I search for economy, multiple applications for a single unit, reliability and good sound. The QY-20 met all these criteria. I use it in my car at lunch times to scratch out ideas for the band, I use it as a live sound module, etc. I have not been disappointed - with the possible exception of the mini keyboard.

Submitted by Anonymous at 08/13/1998 12:54

Ease of Use: 9
Ease of use is high, especially for someone who needs a small, highly portable module for sequencing. The QY20's installed sounds are very high in quality and range across all the instrument families. The horn sounds are not great, but the guitars, strings, and percussion are excellent. Among other uses, the QY20 makes a very solid drum machine. But I program a lot of other sounds into my sequences too.
I use the QY20 for personal practice (I'm a percussionist -- marimbas, drums, etc.), band rehearsal, composing and arranging.
The manual is excellent, one of the best I've had for a synth or drum machine.
I also use a Yamaha MDF2 to back up MIDI data onto diskette. Additionally I use a Roland Octapad to program drum tracks into the QY20.
There are several layers of screen (LCD) display to program, mix, record, edit. Most screens are very intuitive to use. Those that aren't immediately intuitive are easy to use after a few sessions.

Features: 8
Polyphony - I believe it's 10 notes.
Keyboard action: well, it's got a mini-keyboard (not touch sensitive, but you can edit velocity post-entry). The keys are about the size of a black bean, but they're workable. And you can always do step sequencing! A nice feature is the octave shifting you can use to access a broad palette of sound on the keyboard. In your studio, you'll usually want to hook up to a larger MIDI to record sequences.
No expansion card.
On board sequencer is good. I don't use my Alesis MMT-8 and HR-16 since I got the QY20. I haven't hit any sequencing limitations for what I like to do with the box yet.

Expressiveness/Sounds: 8
See comments above.
With the broad range of percussion/drums, basses, guitars and strings it's versatile. I use it for tropical jazz in a variety of rhythmic styles (samba, merengue, mambo, etc.) and it's proven to be a great help in cooking up tracks.

Reliability: 10
I've had the QY20 for 2-1/2 years. No glitches yet. I take it on gigs without a backup, which I wouldn't do with the Alesis MMT-8 and HR-16. I took them to a gig a couple of years ago and they flaked on me. It's very handy to take such a small package to a gig, hook it up to an amp or the sound system and wail.

Overall Rating: 10
I would buy it again.
The big pluses for me are portability, recording capacity, quality and range of the percussion sounds, edit controls for mixing sequences after they're entered. It helps me make music in a big way.

Submitted by Blair Helsing at 07/13/1996 17:14