Hi Squeak,
you may want to try and listen to one before you buy.
The earlier models QY10/20 ( to my ears at least)weren't on a par soundwise to the keyboards of that day. It wasn't the sound quality that you were paying for but, the portability and functions.

One thing I always did before I bought a keyboard , workstation , whatever, was to try and read the manual, just to make sure it was going to do what I wanted. I always thought of the QY's as a mini workstation.

best wishes
Rikki

It's interesting that the QY's have had the longevity they have. They've existed as they are with only minor changes for quite a few years. It begs the obvious question as to why there is no QY1000? I think the QY-100 has improved the most since it's inception. I've tried all of the QY's and they all are fun, useful and unique. They pop up on eBay often too.

I still have and love my little QY-22.
The only unfortunate thing about the QY series
is that they are not PSR .sty file compatible.

I'm curious to know if this thread is about the same type of Yamaha Sequencer which I have, the QX 21, which I still have together with the original invoice of May 11 1988 !! I paid £269 for it (app $500) which was a lot of pocket money then.
I used it only a couple of times as I remember and couldn't get used to the New Concept(?)!
cheers

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Eddie from Rotherham
www.yamahakeyboards.info

Eddie: the answer is no. The QX21 is a completely different device from the QY-series being discussed here. While the Yamaha QX-series were small sequencers, the QY-series is a group of battery-or-adapter powered "pocket" arranger/sequencer/tone modules. Here's a picture of the QY-100:

Pretty little thing isn't it I showed this to the wife (she was pleased with the price and what all it does for that too). She said there's another thing for me to play with on the toilet

Squeak

You know when you think about it the QY-100 is really a pretty powerful little box. The unit is extremely small, and will fit on a keyboards music rack. It has an XG sound set with ability to tweek the voices. A total of 22 drum kits. It has preset styles and phrases,and allows you create your own. Good effects (customizable too). A 16 track linear sequencer with good editing (and it's internal). It also has an 8 track pattern sequencer. It has a micro keyboard on the panel for quick input, or you can use a controller. It also has a mic/guitar input with effects on that line. That alone is awsome. I can plug my guitar or mic in and jam to what I record. Plus it has smart media storage. I know there's a few features I'm missing, but all this for less than $500.00 You really can't go wrong with it. When I had my PSR-550, I'd always record my songs using the XG voices for backing and the panel voices for soloing. With the QY I can record my backing on it, and solo with my Casio WK-3500. Plus as my wife mentioned "the ability to record music while on the can" It runs on batteries and the adapter is less than $15.00 I'm fairly certain now that I'll be picking one of these up.

Squeak

The single thing I have against the QY-100 is the form factor - tiny multi-function buttons, a screen that begs for reading glasses, a mini-keyboard that is silly to even think about inputing music with it, and once you hook up everything you really need like midi/audio cables and power it becomes an ungainly little box that is inconveniently falling everywhere. I'm not saying this to knock it (you'll do that plenty by using it, ha ha) but the cute-factor and functionality does get offset by the reality-factor. I like the form of the QY-700 better because it's a desktop unit with larger buttons/screen etc. but you'll have to decide for yourself. Here's the QY-700:

Well those aren't really issues with me regarding the QY-100. I like the size of the unit. The size of the buttons don't bother me. I can understand how it may bother some who have thicker fingers. The screen isn't an issue to me because my eyesight is fine, and it would be used in a well lit environment. I like the portability in the QY-100. I agree the QY-700 is a nice unit. It also has a great screen too, but I wanted something that wouldn't take much space, pack a good punch, and very portable.

Squeak

Thanks for the prompt.
I would now say that the QY Series is a very interesting range of accessories, having looked at the specs.
cheers



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Eddie from Rotherham
www.yamahakeyboards.info