Walkstation

A walkstation is an electronic music device which provides musicians with the facilities of a music workstation in a portable package. The term was introduced as part of the marketing for the Yamaha QY10,[1] presumably as a portmanteau of Walkman and workstation.[2] Its usage is typically limited to the portable members of Yamaha's QY sequencer family.[3]

The Yamaha QY10 - the device for which the term walkstation was originally coined

The features of a walkstation are:

The heyday of the walkstation lay between the time when creating such devices was viable and the time when general-purpose portable devices, such as laptops and mobile phones, were capable of offering comparable functionality.

Devices

Yamaha QY70
ManufacturerDeviceYearMIDIKeyboardSequencer tracksAccompanyment tracksUser accompanymentDigital EffectsStorage media
YamahaQY101990Yes1 octave44YesNoNo
YamahaQY20[4]1992Yes2 octaves44YesNoNo
YamahaQY81994YesNone44NoNoNo
YamahaQY221995GM2 octaves44YesNoNo
YamahaQY701997GM/XG2 octaves168YesYesNo
YamahaQY1002000GM/XG2 octaves168YesYesSmartMedia

Other comparable devices:

ManufacturerDeviceYearMIDIKeyboardSequencer tracksAccompanyment tracksUser accompanymentDigital EffectsStorage media
PhilipsPMC-1001986No2 octaves15NoNoCassette tape
BossDr 51993YesFretboard Style04YesNoNo
RolandPMA-51996GM/GS2 octaves44YesYesNo

More recent portable music workstations:

References

  1. Trask, Simon (May 1991). "Yamaha QY10". Music Technology. Music Maker Publications (UK).
  2. Russ, Martin (August 1994). "Yamaha QY300". Sound on Sound. SOS Publications Group. Archived from the original on 2015-06-07.
  3. Johnson, Derek; Poyser, Debbie (August 1996). "Roland PMA5". Sound on Sound. SOS Publications Group. Archived from the original on 2015-04-02.
  4. Waugh, Ian (March 1993). "Yamaha QY20 Portable Workstation". The Music Technology Magazine. Retrieved 2020-12-27. [The QY20] houses an eight-track sequencer, 100 preset patterns each with six variations, 100 AWM sounds and eight drum kits. It can store up to 20 Songs with a total capacity of 28,000 notes. It's 32-voice polyphonic (some sounds use more than one voice) and can play a maximum of 28 notes at once. Externally, it has a nice big 128 x 64 dot LCD with adjustable contrast, MIDI In and Out sockets, a stereo mini jack Out and a headphone Out. [It] sports a 25-note, er... button, polyphonic keyboard compared with the QY10's one-octave monophonic affair. You can run the QY20 off batteries for composition on the move or plug in an optional mains adaptor...
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