Yamaha QY70 - battery powered mini synth workstation

[@mr_floydst]

The QY Data Filer is here: usa.yamaha.com/support/faq/music_production/1596.html XGEdit, a software for editing XG synth sounds: www.oocities.org/tokyo/island/2526/xg2.html

[@NickHowesAstro]

If you can find a link, the XG300 editor also exposes the hidden QS300 mode for the QY70/DB50/SW60 etc

[@mr_floydst]

@@NickHowesAstro All links on Google lead to malware-infested, long-abandoned geocites pages. :-)

[@furtovin]

​@@NickHowesAstro Hidden mode QS300 for QY70!!!??? For DB50XG there was such a mode, described in detail in the instructions. But in QY70, unfortunately, there is no such mode. Or do you have additional information?

[@NickHowesAstro]

@@furtovin The SWP00 chipset in the QY70 should support it. To be honest, I never worked on the QY70 or used one in anger, (I did work on the DB50XG/SW60XG and QS300). Try the editor/sysex, it may be that someone at YCJ decided to lock that mode out on the QY70, but the chipset absolutely does support it

[@furtovin]

​@@NickHowesAstro Are you really the same Nick Howes? Then I tend to believe you. I tried using the same methods that work for DB50XG: send a bulk dump to QS300 (Model ID=4B). Then I use the downloaded voices (Bank MSB = 63, LSB = 00. PC 1-32). For QY70 it doesn't work. Specify, if you can, the direction of my search.

[@ricknas5704]

I have the QY-70 since its release in the 90's and it is now being used by my son (7yo) :) I truly love this sequencer!

[@mr_floydst]

Thanks for watching! It's nice to see our kids getting into music with these gadgets. :-)

[@andyturner3056]

It's awsome. Would never get get rid of mine

[@_P_M_]

I have a QY300. I replaced the screen with a new backlit one....much better. I mainly use the auto-accompany feature. It allows me to play one keyboard but have my other keyboards playing along with whatever I play. Much like an auto-arranger. It's very cool. I use it all the time. The stock sounds aren't bad but I don't use them often. The built in phrases can be mixed and matched, or you can make new ones and then combine them into patterns. Surprisingly easy to use, considering it's a Yamaha. Yamaha really kind of owned this concept. Almost like Band in a Box, but in hardware form.

[@paulcarboneNY]

I did the same mod to mine - really makes it quite a useful bit of kit in the 21st century! I used a whiteish display, but wish I used green; feels more 'period appropriate'

[@mr_floydst]

Thanks for watching! Can you please tell me which screen or backlight you used? I've been trying to track one down, but wasn't successful. :)

[@arcanics1971]

As usual you make something I would have imagined too low tech to be great sound absolutely awesome! Good work, Mr Submarine man!

[@nameofpersonnumber8390]

I use this device as my main sequencer lol it's full of supprises

[@mr_floydst]

Thanks! My opinion: Synth technology "matured" around the 2000s - since then, we got different UI concepts and better prices, more RAM and so on, but the overall idea what a synth should do and what it should sound like hasn't evolved that much (the only notable exception being the arrival of super lush reverb units in the last decade). So buying a 2000s rompler will get you relatively good sound you can work with in one way or the other. I know this is not true in many ways, but in a broad sense that's how it is. Start arguing. ;-)

[@arcanics1971]

@@mr_floydst I won't argue with the expert!

[@andreschato]

This is the first time somebody explains the effects clearly on KZbin. Thanks!

[@mr_floydst]

I would have thought @jayb , premier ambassador of everything QY, has done that a long time ago. ;-) Thanks for watching!

[@FilippoDeVecchi]

you bring me back 30 years ago !!! I own this machine and i think it still rock!

[@mr_floydst]

Thanks for watching! I totally agree, it rocks! :)

[@brucefellowes4848]

Great machines. Used one at every gig from 97-05

[@mr_floydst]

Thanks for watching!

[@nutopiansg7613]

MADE A LIVING WITH THIS FOR 30 YEARS ON STAGE

[@mr_floydst]

Oh, cool! Did you use it as a "backup band" or as a performance synthesizer?

[@JonathanDotExe]

Wow the distortion effect sounds really nice. Makes the sound way more "analog" ;).

[@aardiie]

Agree

[@mr_floydst]

Thanks! I like the tube amp sim- it's the same as in my EX5. Use it all the time to add some roughness to patches where needed.

[@Kevhuman]

My qy70 is presently sequencing a few synths (tb-3,craftsynth2.0,Volca fm) and playing the v- drum module from my td-9 kit. I have a micromonsta2 in the post to hook up to another 2 midi channels. I also use a yamaha kx49 controller as it has nearly 400 motif style sequences on-board which I can easily transfer. The CC works like a dream and will record live in overdub mode. I covered the problem of backing it up by going on eBay and buying another qy70. Can hopefully just dump the midi across from one to the other, although I haven't tried yet. Also I can now DJ with two qy70s which is much fun !

[@mr_floydst]

Thanks for watching! - sounds like a fun setup.

[@dustmighte]

Neat. I assumed from the XG branding that sound wise this was more of a desktop SoundCanvas-like module

[@mr_floydst]

Thanks for watching - yes, this certainly is an XG module but Yamaha certainly likes to have their synths with a lot of bass. The filter & envelope control is a thing you can do on all XG products. (That's why I'd really like to try one of those Yamaha MX49 keyboards in - depth, they're fully XG compliant, which means there should be some sound shaping possible with those)

[@senhorlampada]

Oooh nice! Your QY100 video was how I found your channel and made me subscribe These boxes are incredible to this day 🥰🥰

[@mr_floydst]

Thanks for watching! Yes they are, for a lot of reasons.

[@valley_robot]

Still got my qy70 , it’s a great portable machine , battery life is pretty good , about 3 to 4 hours and it has some great sounds plus you can edit ADSR on all the sounds , it also has one user drum kit that can be fully edited , modern groove box manufacturers need to up there game , I used to use mine on the train , mine has been spray painted black so it looks like the qy10 and the qy20 , the silver look really makes it look like a 90s handheld game console

[@mr_floydst]

It's worth holding on to. The chord track is my favourite feature that no other current box has.

[@studiospiraluniverse]

Such a wonderful device. I have mine since half a ywar but only touched the surface so far. Thanks a lot for making QY70 videos!

[@mr_floydst]

Glad you like them! Thanks for watching!

[@squishmusic]

GR8 overview of this lil pocket groovebox beast! You mentioned 2:38 one can freestyle on 8 seq trx with the 8 pattern trx, but actually this is a 24 trk groovbox. You can record any pattern (8 trks) into the song pat trk and then utilise all 16 song seq tracks. I typically had extra drums/perc on trk 10-11 you are more likely to max out the polyphony before you max out the track count. Look 4ward to the next episodes. I never got around to doing a deep tutorial on the QY. But this might inspire me to at least post some rtk to my very empty YT channel :D

[@mr_floydst]

You're right, my bad! I confused this with another box I have. I should really make that video "correcting all the nonsense I said in some videos". ;-)

[@hayleylaura8818]

Thank you for sharing this! Your demonstration was extremely helpful in understanding how to compose with one of these. Really appreciate it!

[@mr_floydst]

Thanks for watching! :)

[@drakelacy2358]

Being in the Discord, you learn about video uploads pretty fast 😂

[@mr_floydst]

Thanks for watching! Yes that's what Discord is for. :-)

[@nameofpersonnumber8390]

This is a great video! Learned new stuff and I've spent hours with this thing!!

[@mr_floydst]

Thanks for watching!

[@Sasvad]

You earned my subscription. Great review.

[@mr_floydst]

Thank you very much!

[@Sasvad]

i just found mine back,, i bought it in 1999 and used it in all my travels over 10 years.Now i have to clean it and put a new battery in for the internal storage.@@mr_floydst

[@paulwood4142]

Was getting some Tron vibes from that intro.

[@mr_floydst]

Thanks for watching! Now that you said it, I hear it, too. ;-)

[@humanwaveform]

great video. Love you showcasing these devices. :)

[@mr_floydst]

Thanks for watching!

[@JulianToler]

I love my QY70 - so glad to see more love for this device! I would really like to connect to the host port from a modern PC - maybe via a RPi 2040 as a serial to USB interface? Either that or a good walkthrough for a wiring diagram for the plug to a serial to USB adapter. My attempts to do this have failed so far - maybe I am using the wrong type of USB to serial adapter.

[@mr_floydst]

I never though about that. Got to research.

[@JulianToler]

In case anyone needs the manuals and data lists - and a little tips file I created - please download these in a zip file here drive.google.com/file/d/1by_83DzXMscaqzHGtw7OhXj0LMZFc3lc/view?usp=sharing

[@NickHowesAstro]

DB50XG (one of the most successful products we ever developed - won so many awards) in a box

[@mr_floydst]

Ah, interesting! I wasn't aware of that.

[@mr_floydst]

BTW you guys at Yamaha created so much great stuff, but for some reason, the late 90s/early 2000s period is my personal favourite part of Yamaha's history. Thanks a lot for that. And thanks for watching my incoherent rambling ;-)

[@NickHowesAstro]

@@mr_floydst It was also interesting in that both the DB50XG/SW60XG sound cards (and also the QY70) support QS300 mode, which is a vastly more interesting synth editing mode. I wrote the book on the DB50XG. That hidden mode got me in to a heap of trouble with some of the synth sales team (as they were trying to sell QS300's for a lot more money)

[@furtovin]

@@NickHowesAstro I have had a DB50XG for a long time and use the QS300 mode a lot. I also have QY70, I tried to find this mode there, but without result. Do you have more information about QS300 mode in QY70 ??!!!

[@NickHowesAstro]

@@furtovin Hi, I thought I replied, but it appears not. I didn't work on the QY70 itself (I did work on the 50/60/1000XG and QS300). The SWP00 chipset on the 70 "should" support this mode, but I suspect that YCJ in some way cut the capability out from sysex/O.S to not impact sales of the QS300

[@dustyaudio]

Thanks Floyd! Unrelated: I was searching for a way to “refurbish” my Korg Nanaokey 2, I got it used and was hoping I could give the keys a nicer feel. I disassembled and cleaned it out but still looking for any “mods” I can do to make it feel new or less used at best. Thanks again!

[@mr_floydst]

Thanks for watching! The Nanokeys are quite "wobbly" even fresh from the factory. I never heard of mods to improve this. As these are rubber keys, I guess you'd have to replace the keys.

[@dustyaudio]

@@mr_floydst good to know, I figured it had been very used but sounds like its ok and working normally.

[@NickHowesAstro]

You also need to reference XGEDIT, which gives you a lot of control over the synth engine

[@mr_floydst]

Thanks for your feedback. I've added the link.

[@SebticSmile]

Wow - impressive what you do with that!

[@mr_floydst]

Thank you very much!

[@InkyDaCaT]

👀Seb👀

[@New_Zealand_Music]

Thank you. Can definitely hear some, Bjork in there. Apparently she used one. Nice bass for industrial. Cheers

[@mr_floydst]

Thanks for watching! I read that somewhere, too.

[@New_Zealand_Music]

@@mr_floydst I think they may have mentioned it on SOS. 🙏💜🐈

[@iixorb]

I completely forgot that I’ve got one of those somewhere. Hope I took the batteries out !

[@mr_floydst]

Yep, battery acid certainly is corrosive! Maybe this is a good moment to revive it :)

[@djgreenhornet2892]

🔥🔥🔥🔥

[@mr_floydst]

🙇

[@kcat80]

thankyou! this is the one that I have :)

[@mr_floydst]

Thanks for watching! :)

[@wiggesobk]

Nice little mashine!

[@mr_floydst]

Yes indeed! :-)

[@DawlessHouseMusic]

I think the QY70 sounds much better. The 100 had a slightly higher resolution that lost some of the "synth" vibe and moved more towards something of an overly crisp digital sound.

[@nameofpersonnumber8390]

I agree! I want both, but went with the 70 for it's sound

[@mr_floydst]

Thanks for watching! The QY100 does sound better, but not by a wide margin - at least I could barely hear it when comparing. Maybe my ears need checking. ;-)

[@avrilcadabra]

They look like cool devices, this one seems a little harder to come by than the 100 in my country.

[@goldenfurniture123]

Cool

[@mr_floydst]

Thanks for watching!

[@TheScreamingFrog916]

Extra points for Yellow Submarine :-)

[@mr_floydst]

I found that in the bin at the local grocery store and had to buy it. ;-) I found it curious that a well known manufacturer of toy cars releases such a thing in the 2020s.

[@TheScreamingFrog916]

@@mr_floydst Thanks for sharing its origin. I'm always keeping my eye open, for Beatles memorabilia like that. I picked up a great Yellow Submarine coffee mug, at local guitar store. Great reminders of good times 🙂

[@joeybauer4012]

Excellent video, thanks for covering the QY70. In your previous QY100 video, you show the Create Continuous function, and while I was able to copy the process, I don't fully understand what all the values and changes you made did. At some point would you be able to explain the various values in the Create Continuous function? Also, is there a way to assign a midi channel to a specific instrument track in patter mode, so I wouldn't need to shuffle up and down between [Intro], [Main A], etc. and the instrument tracks? That way I could start making CC changes immediately after switching pattern. Again, thanks for covering the QY70. You are a very good communicator and these videos are a great resource.

[@mr_floydst]

Hi! I'll do that in a future video. Thanks for you input!

[@dingdong7562]

Hello and first of all thank you for the many great videos about this unusual device! I will definitely own one of these in a few days! but now I have some questions. The most important thing would be: which USB-to-Midi interface do you use in this video or which one could you recommend? thanks again and keep having fun 😊

[@mr_floydst]

Thanks for watching! I made a video to answer that question specifically: kzbin.info/www/bejne/n4eXgIaIfJt-n9E ;-)

[@InkyDaCaT]

Thank you ☺️

[@mr_floydst]

Thanks for watching! :)

[@InkyDaCaT]

@@mr_floydst Im a bit worried that one of my best friends has commented and we might be unknowingly bidding on same one Ive located🤣🤣🤣🙌 hehe

[@mr_floydst]

@@InkyDaCaT 2 weeks ago these were like $120 on ebay, now 170? I'll never understand price fluctuations... And good luck with that bid.

[@dylansherrick1035]

So does this thing have an actual synth engine or is it all samples? Either way its cool but that acid bassline didn't seem sampled at all.

[@mr_floydst]

Thanks for watching! It's Yamaha's AWM2 engine - a subtractive synth that uses samples instead of oscillators. It's a bit dumbed down in the QY series, but you can still adjust filter frequency, resonance, envelopes, LFO and so on. I once made a video on th subject if you're interested: kzbin.info/www/bejne/n5_Vf4eNd86phLs

[@sijmestorm172]

Thanks for this great tutorial! Could you please make a short tutorial on setting up the Korg NanoKontrol 2 for the QY70? Thanks! Sijme

[@mr_floydst]

Hi! I already kind of did in one of my QY100 videos. Here it is kzbin.info/www/bejne/a2qti6CMfb6Bqrc But you're right, maybe I should make a video on this topic specifically so it's easier to find on search engines. Best regards!

[@roddy9372]

or could you just share the nanokontrol template file for the qy ?

[@HiSiWi]

Great video! This is one of my favourite Groove boxes to use on the sofa. Do you know if you can mute tracks only in the different parts (intro, part A etc) rather than globally? Would make it quicker to create songs. Thanks.

[@mr_floydst]

Thanks for watching! I don't think that's possible. But you can use the erase function die remove a track per part.

[@gahgahgahd00]

what's going on with the drums around 10:10ish? is that distortion or filter cutoff?

[@mr_floydst]

Hi, thanks for watching! That's filter cutoff and a bit of resonance on the drum track. Might be some clipping, too ;-) because using resonance will produce frequency spikes

[@JayBmusic]

Technically the three effects are send effects. Unless you're in song mode where you can decide if you want the variation effect to be a send effect or an insert effect on a single channel. Oh and the maximum song length is 999 bars. ;)

[@mr_floydst]

Thanks for clarifying that :-) Compared to modern "small" sequencers, 999 bars is super luxurious.

[@JayBmusic]

@@mr_floydst Haha, yeah, 999 bars is pretty much endless. :D

[@dfpguitar]

Is the Yamaha acting as a midi host for the korg controller?

[@mr_floydst]

Hi - I made a video to answer that very question: kzbin.info/www/bejne/n4eXgIaIfJt-n9E

[@TooSlowTube]

What sort of USB MIDI hub are you using to connect the nanoKontrol to the MIDI socket of the QY70?

[@mr_floydst]

It's that one by hobbytronics.co.uk which sadly got discontinued. You can use a RasPi as well (I have a video on that) but several viewers pointed out that's a bit of overkill. ;-) kzbin.info/www/bejne/hGXchperhNaFaa8 Note to myself: I really need to finish that "answering the most common questions on this channel" video. ;-)

[@TooSlowTube]

@@mr_floydst Thanks. The Pi solution is interesting. I made up a simple converter, a while ago, with just USB in and MIDI Out (so no need for an optoisolator circuit), using the HobbyTronics USB Host Controller Mini board - which has also been discontinued. There's still the USB Host Controller Board V2.4 though - same thing, but a bit bigger, and a bit more expensive. I guess that with their MIDI breakout, plus a mini USB socket breakout for the power connection, is most of what you'd need to make the one they used to sell, minus the case. I might try it, eventually. I was hoping for a cheap, lazy solution :) I can make these things, but getting around to it is always a problem. They sell a USB Host Controller IC too, including one in DIP28 form. There are a few more parts to add, to make that do the same as the USB Host Controller Board V2.4, and of course, it wouldn't be as small.

[@subiesojourner777]

Does the QY100 have the same "tracker view" built in like the QY70?

[@mr_floydst]

Hi, thanks for watching! If you mean the track editor which displays all MIDI events in one list - yes, it's there.

[@subiesojourner777]

@@mr_floydst Thanks. I'm thinking about getting the QY100 to connect with my Polyend Tracker. I'm wanting to set up a small mobile studio that I can put in a case and take it with me.

[@virgilwilliams2378]

It's way better than the Op1 nonsense.

[@mr_floydst]

Thanks for watching!

[@kentuckyfriedcaleb]

What kind of USB MIDI hub is that? I'd like to get one for my QY70

[@mr_floydst]

Thanks for watching! It's this one www.hobbytronics.co.uk/usb-midi-converter but it's been out of stock for a long time now. Perhaps write them a mail...

[@kentuckyfriedcaleb]

@@mr_floydst thank you, you’re entertaining and insightful. Got a subscribe from me with the Dirtywave M8 video!

[@AV-fh7rp]

Could you do a lofi jam with the qy70?

[@mr_floydst]

One could do a lofi jam on the QY70, they even included relatively long record noises and radio static in this box. Or are you asking specifically me if _I_ could do a lofi jam? ;-) (Perhaps)

[@AV-fh7rp]

@@mr_floydst thank you for telling me about those sounds. I think more qy70 videos from you would be great. This one was super helpful! I thought maybe since the qy seems to be a thing in the lofi community it would be cool to see how you would approach it.

[@cuttlefishpie3731]

How come stuff from them is better than the new crap like volcas?

[@mr_floydst]

Thanks for watching! Well, the QY70 was quite expensive (compared to the Volcas) when first introduced. But then again, all of Yamaha's 90s products were quite forward-thinking and had a lot of depth to them that was hidden behind a wall of submenus.

[@azizxon7323]

Ему можно записать wav семплер

[@mr_floydst]

There is no sampler here, only a XG/GM rompler synth.

[@LethalBubbles]

n... no freezepop mention?? D: kzbin.info/www/bejne/eWbVpHaHltNkaJI QY70 is legendary

[@mr_floydst]

Thanks for pointing that out! I didn't mention any pop acts because pop history isn't my field of expertise. ;-)

[@metokyo4960]

Nice demo! Thanks! I would subscribe if you don't push it on me so hard.

[@mr_floydst]

Thanks! Well, yeah, the topic of KZbin subscription. It's an important metric on KZbin (especially for potential channel sponsors). The stats clearly show that the number of subscriptions per video is 10 times - or more - higher when I ask people to subscribe compared to not doing it. So that's what I do. If you're so upset by that 30 second message _after_ getting all the relevant info, oh well, so be it. ;-) Best regards!

[@metokyo4960]

@@mr_floydst I'm not upset, it just have oposite effect on me, but since algorithm prove your method to be effective I guess I'm not exactly in your scope audience :) Excellent work though, checking in from time to time. Much appreciated!