Yamaha QS300 User Manual

Welcome to the QS300

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Congratulations and thank you for purchasing the Yamaha QS300 Music Production Synthesizer.

As its name indicates, the QS300 Music Production Synthesizer provides all you need to create and perform fully orchestrated and professional-sounding music. The QS300 features an advanced tone generator, plus a comprehensive sequencer for recording and editing your performances.

The tone generator of the QS300 provides 954 high-quality Voices, full General MIDI and new XG-MIDI compatibility, and three separate digital effects sections for processing the Voices. To ensure playback of even the most sophisticated song data, the QS300 also has 16-channel multi-timbral capacity and full 32-note polyphony. The comprehensive, yet easy-to-use functions let you subtly change and customize the Voices, or create completely new and unique Voices of your own.

The sequencer section features 16 tracks for recording your own performances

—either in real time or manually (by Step recording). Punch-in recording allows you to re-record any portion of an already recorded track. Sophisticated editing functions let you perform various transformations on the recorded data

—such as transposing, quantizing, changing note length and velocity, copying, and much more.

More than just a performance recorder, the sequencer has flexible and convenient automatic accompaniment functions. These include special Phrases and

Patterns that provide complete backing band parts (for example: drums/bass/ guitar/keyboards/strings) in a wide variety of musical styles. Plus, these backing parts change harmonically according to the chords you specify. You can even create your own original Phrases to be used with the automatic accompaniment.

All of this gives you the means to easily create complete and musically appropriate rhythmic/chordal accompaniment in a fraction of the time it would take if you recorded all the parts yourself.

Table of Contents

Precautions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 How to Use This Manual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 The QS300 — What It Is and What It Can Do . . . . . 7 Panel Controls and Terminals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

GUIDED TOUR

		Setting Up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .					. .	.	16
		Playing the Demo Song . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .					.	.	18
		Auto Load . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .					.	.	19
		Selecting and Playing Voices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .					.	.	20
		Changing the Voice Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .					.	.	21
		Quick Selection of Voice Variations in Different
		Banks — Variation Voice Auto-Search . . .					. 22
		Editing a Voice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .					.	.	23
		Changing the Amount of Reverb . . . . . . . . . . .					.	.	23
		Changing the Amount of Chorus . . . . . . . . . . .					.	.	24
		Selecting a Variation Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .					.	.	25
		Setting the Pitch Bend . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .					.	.	26
		Comparing the Edited Voice with the Original					. . .		27
		Changing the Envelope Generator Setting . . .					.	.	28
		Naming and Storing the New Voice . . . . . . . .					.	.	30
		Recording a Song . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .					.	.	32
		Enter the Song Mode and Select an Empty Song					. . .		32
		Record the Accompaniment Patterns . . . . . . .					.	.	33
		Record the Accompaniment Chords . . . . . . . .					.	.	36
		Record Your Own Keyboard Performance . . .					.	.	38
		Naming and Saving the New Song . . . . . . . . .					.	.	39
		Other Sequencer Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .					.	.	40
					REFERENCE
		Voice Edit Mode							43
		Voice Common
		Overall Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .					.	.	44
		Controller Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .					.	.	46
		Variation Effect Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .					.	.	47
		Voice Element
		Wave Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .					.	.	48
		Wave Parameters Element Copy . . . . . . . . . . . . . .					.	.	50
		Amplitude Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .					.	.	51
		Filter EG Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .					.	.	53
		Pitch EG Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .					.	.	54
		Graphic EG Edit Parameters — Amp, Filter and Pitch					. .		55
		Template Copy — Amp, Filter and Pitch . . . . . . . . .					57
		Tuning Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .					.	.	58
		LFO Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .					.	.	59
		Other Voice Functions
		Drum Set . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .					.	.	60
		Voice Name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .					.	.	63
		Voice Store . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .					.	.	63
		Voice Compare . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .					.	.	64
		Voice Job — Edit Recall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .					64
					Song Mode				65
		Loading a Song . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .					.	.	66
		Song Playback
		Loop Playback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .					.	.	67

Transport/Location Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	67
Measure/Beat Parameter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	68
Mark/Jump Function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	68
Tempo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	69
Mute . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	69
Play Effect Bypass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	70
Multi Controls
Storing the Multi Control Parameter Values . . . . . . .	72
Pages
Volume . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	73
Voice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	74
Search . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	75
Pages
Send . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	76
Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	77
Effect Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	79
Pages
Tuning/Filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	82
Mode/Velocity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	83
EG Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	84
Vibrato . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	85
Controller Edit
Portamento . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	86
Real-time Controllers: MODULATION Wheel /
PITCH Wheel / After Touch / Foot Controller . . .	87
Song Playback Effects
Per Track . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	89
Quantize . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	90
Swing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	91
Transpose/Clock Shift . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	92
Gate Time/Velocity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	93
Other Song Functions
Track Transmit Channel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	94
Song Chain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	95
Song Mode: Recording Operations	97
Realtime Recording . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	98
Punch-in Recording . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	99
All-track Recording (Realtime and Punch-in) . . . .	100
Step Recording . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	101
Measure/Beat/Clock Display . . . . . . . . . . . . .	102
The Note and Keyboard Displays . . . . . . . . .	103
Step Mode Function Keys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	103
Pattern Mode	105
About Phrases, Sections, Patterns and Styles . . . . .	106
Selecting and Playing Patterns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	107
Changing Chords . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	108
Specifying the Bass Note For a Chord . . . . .	109
Specifying the Bass Phrase Chord Type
(Harmonization) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	109
Multi Controls
Pages
Volume . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	110
Voice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	111
Search . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	111
Page
Send . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	112

2

Pattern Playback Effects

Per Track . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113

Quantize . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114

Swing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115

Transpose/Clock Shift . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116

Gate Time/Velocity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116

Other Pattern Functions

Track Transmit Channel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117

Track Mute . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118

Accompaniment Recording	119
Realtime Accompaniment Recording . . . . . . . . . . .	120
Step Accompaniment Recording . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	122
Pattern Entry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	123
Chord Entry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	124
Phrase Mode	125

Selecting and Playing Phrases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126 Combining Phrases (in the Pattern Mode) . . . . . . . 127Other Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128 Recording Original Phrases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129 Realtime Phrase Recording . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129Retrigger and Type Parameters . . . . . . . . 131 Step Phrase Recording . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132Measure/Beat/Clock Display . . . . . . . . . . 133The Note and Keyboard Displays . . . . . . 134Step Mode Function Keys . . . . . . . . . . . . 134

Disk Operations

135

Direct Load and Save Operations

Load Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136

Save Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137

Song Jobs

139

00: Undo/Redo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140

01: Quantize . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141

02: Modify Velocity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143

03: Modify Gate Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144

04: Crescendo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145

05: Transpose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146

06: Shift Note . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147

07: Shift Clock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148

08: Chord Sort . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149

09: Copy Event . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150

10: Erase Event . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151

11: Extract Event . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152

12: Thin Out . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153

13: Create Measure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154

14: Delete Measure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155

15: Copy Track . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156

16: Mix Track . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157

17: Clear Track . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158

18: Expand Backing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158

19: Init (Initialize) Play Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159

20: Normalize Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159

21: Copy Song . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160

22: Clear Song . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160

23: Song Name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161

Table of Contents

Pattern Jobs

163

00: Undo/Redo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164

01: Copy Pattern . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165

02: Append Pattern . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166

03: Split Pattern . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167

04: Init (Initialize) Play Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168

05: Clear Pattern . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168

06: Style Name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168

Phrase Jobs

169

00: Undo/Redo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170

01: Quantize . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171

02: Modify Velocity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171

03: Modify Gate Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171

04: Crescendo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172

05: Transpose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172

06: Shift Note . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172

07: Shift Clock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173

08: Copy Phrase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173

09: Append Phrase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174

10: Split Phrase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174

11: Get Phrase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175

12: Put Phrase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176

13: Clear Phrase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177

14: Phrase Name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177

Editing Songs and Phrases

179

Edit Change Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180

Other Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183

Edit Insert Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184

Editing Tempo Track . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186

Utility Mode

187

Synthesizer Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188

MIDI Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190

MIDI Input Filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191

Sequencer Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192

Fingered Chord Zone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193

Others Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194

Disk Mode

195

Save Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197

Load Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198

Delete Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200

Rename Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201

Format Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202

Appendix	203
Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	204
Warning and Error Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	206
Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	208
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	209

3

Precautions (PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE PROCEEDING!!)

■ Location

Keep the instrument away from locations where it is likely to be exposed to high temperatures (such as direct sunlight) or humidity. Also avoid locations which are subject to excessive dust accumulation or vibration which could cause mechanical damage.

■ Power Supply

Avoid plugging the instrument into the same AC outlet as appliances with high power consumption, such as electric heaters or ovens. Also avoid using multiplug adaptors since these can result in reduced sound quality and possibly damage.

■MAKE SURE POWER IS OFF WHEN MAKING OR REMOVING CONNECTIONS

To prevent damage to the instrument and other connected equipment, always turn off the power prior to connecting or disconnecting cables. Also, turn the power off when the instrument is not in use, and disconnect the power cord during electric storms.

■ MIDI CABLES

When connecting the QS300 to other MIDI equipment, be sure to use only highquality cables made especially for MIDI data transmission. Also, avoid using cables longer than 15 meters, since long cables can result in data errors.

■ HANDLE THE INSTRUMENT WITH CARE

Although the instrument has been constructed to withstand the rigors of normal use for optimum sturdiness and reliability, avoid subjecting it to strong physical shocks (such as dropping or hitting it). Since the QS300 is a precision-made electronic device, also avoid applying excessive force to the various controls. When moving the instrument, first unplug the power adaptor and all other cables to prevent damage to cords and jacks. Always unplug cables by gripping the plug firmly, not by pulling on the cable.

■ CLEAN WITH A SOFT, DRY CLOTH

Never use solvents such as benzine or thinner to clean the instrument, since these will damage the cabinet finish or dull the keys. Wipe clean with a soft, dry cloth. If necessary, use a soft, clean, slightly moistened cloth — making sure to wipe the case off again with a dry cloth.

■ ELECTROMAGNETIC INTERFERENCE

Avoid using the unit near televisions, radios or other equipment generating electromagnetic fields. Proximity to such equipment may cause the unit to malfunction, and may generate interference noise in the other appliance as well.

■ Data Backup

The QS300 contains a special long-life battery that retains the contents of its internal memory (User Voice data and System data) even when the power is turned OFF. The backup battery should last for several years. When the backup battery needs to be replaced “Battery Low” will appear on the display when the

4

Precautions

power is turned on. When this happens, have the backup battery replaced by qualified Yamaha service personnel. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO REPLACE THE BACKUP BATTERY YOURSELF!

Internal memory data can be corrupted due to incorrect operation. Be sure to save important data to floppy disk frequently so you have a backup to revert to if something happens to damage the data in memory. Also note that magnetic fields can damage data on the disk, so it is advisable to make a second back-up copy of disks that contain very important data, and keep backup disks in a safe place away from stray magnetic fields (i.e., away from speakers, appliances containing motors, etc.).

■ Handle Floppy Disks and the Disk Drive With Care

•Use only 3.5” 2DD or 2HD floppy disks. (2HD disks having 2DD format cannot be used.)

•Do not bend or apply pressure to the floppy disk. Do not open the shutter and touch the surface of the floppy disk inside.

•Do not expose the disk to high temperatures (e.g., direct sunlight, a car interior, etc.).

•Do not expose the disk to magnetic fields. Magnetic fields can partially or totally erase data on the disk, rendering the disk unreadable.

•To eject a floppy disk, press the eject button slowly as far as it will go then, when the disk is fully ejected, remove it by hand.

•Do not attempt to eject a disk while the disk-in-use indicator is lit.

The disk may not be ejected properly if the eject button is pressed too quickly, or it is not pressed in as far as it will go (the eject button may become stuck in a half-pressed position and the disk extends from the drive slot by only a few millimeters). If this happens, do not attempt to pull out the partially ejected disk. Using force in this situation can damage the disk-drive mechanism or the floppy disk. To remove a partially ejected disk, try pressing the eject button once again, or push the disk back into the slot and then repeat the eject procedure carefully.

Do not insert anything but floppy disks into the disk drive. Other objects may cause damage to the disk drive or the floppy disk.

■ DO NOT OPEN THE CASE OR TRY REPAIRING THE INSTRUMENT

YOURSELF

The instrument contains no user-serviceable parts. Never open the case or tamper with the internal circuitry in any way, since doing so may result in damage to the instrument. Refer all servicing to qualified Yamaha service personnel.

■ Third-party Software

Yamaha cannot take any responsibility for software produced for this product by third-party manufacturers. Please direct any questions or comments about such software to the manufacturer or their agents.

YAMAHA is not responsible for damage caused by improper handling or operation.

5

How to Use This Manual

You are probably eager to try out your new QS300 Music Production Synthesizer right away and hear what it can do, rather than have to read through a lot of instructions before you can even get a sound out of it.

However, to get the most out of your QS300, we strongly suggest that you read the following sections in the order given:

1) Precautions

This gives you important information on how to care for your new QS300, how to avoid damaging, and how to ensure long-term, reliable operation.

2) The QS300 — What It Is and What It Can Do

This briefly provides an overview of the functions and features of the QS300 and offers some important hints on how you can use it effectively.

3) Panel Controls and Terminals

This section introduces you to the panel controls and terminals, and reading through it is a good way to familiarize yourself with some of the basic operations.

4) Tutorial

This very important section gets you started using your new QS300. It helps you set up the QS300, play it, and use some of the fundamental functions and features. The hands-on experience you gain in this section will help you navigate easily through more advanced sections of the manual later.

5) Reference

Once you’re familiar with everything above, skim through this comprehensive guide to all editing functions. You won’t need (or want) to read everything at once, but it is there for you to refer to when you need information about a certain feature or function.

6) Appendix

Use the sections in the Appendix as necessary. For example, the Index will come in handy when you need to quickly find information on a specific topic. Other sections, such as Troubleshooting and Error Messages provide additional useful information.

7) Sound Lists and MIDI Data Supplement

Finally, this separate supplement provides complete lists of the available Voices, Effects and Effect parameters, as well as detailed information concerning MIDI data.

6

How to Use This Manual / The QS300 — What It Is and What It Can Do

The QS300 — What It Is and What It Can Do

As its name indicates, the QS300 Music Production Synthesizer is more than just a synthesizer — it is a fully equipped music production machine that has everything you need to play and produce professional-sounding music.

What It Is

Built into the QS300 are an advanced tone generator, with comprehensive editing functions, three digital multi-effect sections, and a full-featured sequencer for recording and editing your performances, and a flexible automatic accompaniment system that produces complete backing in a variety of styles. The QS300 also has a floppy disk drive, for storing and organizing your important data.

■ Tone Generator Section

The tone generator of the QS300 features 954 highquality Voices, in 47 different Voice Banks. (See the separate “Sound Lists & MIDI Data” supplement.) It also provides complete compatibility with General MIDI and the new XG-MIDI format, and gives you full 32-note polyphony for even the most complex song data. A set of comprehensive Voice editing functions lets you create your own User Voices. (See Voice Editing below.) And there’s internal memory space for saving up to 128 User Voices — plus unlimited storage capacity with the floppy disk drive.

■ Effect Sections

The three effect sections of the QS300 — Reverb, Chorus and Variation — provide an enormous variety of tools for enhancing the Voices. There are 11 types of Reverb, 11 types of Chorus, and a full 42 different Variation effect types, including Delay, Rotary Speaker, Distortion and Auto Wah.

■ Voice Editing

The Voice editing functions give you an exceptionally wide range of controls for changing both the actual sound of a Voice and how that Voice responds to various real-time performance controls. Altogether, these functions give you the power to either subtly enhance a Voice, or completely change its basic character.

A single Voice can be created by combining up to four different waveforms, or “Elements.” These are the basic sonic building blocks of the QS300 and there are 205 waveforms available. These can be assigned to different sections of the keyboard, played at different velocities, with different envelopes, and be given completely independent filter, pitch EG, tuning and LFO settings (page 43). This flexibility allows you to create extremely complex Voices that can shift in texture and pitch, and change dynamically according to how you play.

In addition, each Voice that you create can be given its own volume, velocity response and portamento settings (page 45).

■ Sequencer Section — Song Playback and

Recording

The sequencer section features 16 tracks for recording your own performances (page 97) — either in real

time or manually, by Step recording. Three additional tracks — Pattern, Chord, and Tempo — let you record fully automatic backing tracks and tempo changes (page 119). You can use Punch-in recording to rerecord any part of an already recorded track (page 99). In addition to independent Voice, pan, volume, tuning and effect send settings, each track’s Voice can have different filter and vibrato settings, velocity response, and even be given independent EG and MIDI controller settings (page 71). And all controls are available in a “mixing console” layout for exceptional ease of use. Moreover, there are a host of editing functions

— in the Song Jobs (page 139) — for transforming the recorded data — such as transposing, quantizing,

changing note length and velocity, copying, and much more.

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■ Automatic Accompaniment

What sets the QS300’s sequencer apart is its versatile automatic accompaniment functions, which give you complete backing band parts in a wide variety of musical styles (page 33). Plus, these backing parts change harmonically according to the chords you specify. You can even create your own original parts to be used with the automatic accompaniment. This means you can create complete rhythmic/chordal accompaniment for your song more quickly and easily than ever before.

■Comprehensive Compatibility and Playback Controls

Thanks to full compatibility with the General MIDI and new XG-MIDI formats, the QS300 ensures highquality playback and reproduction of virtually any song data. And the QS300 provides extensive play- back-only controls (page 89), allowing you to change various aspects of how the song data is played back, including quantization, transposition/tuning, gate time, and velocity response.

■ Editing Recorded Data

The QS300 also features comprehensive and flexible editing controls that make it easy to correct mistakes or change recorded tracks, and generally help you to refine your sound. These controls let you individually modify the timing, pitch (note), gate time (length) and velocity (loudness) of each recorded note. They also allow you to change the data values of other recorded events, such as pitch bend, program change and after touch. A special Edit Insert mode lets you insert specific note, pitch bend, program change, control change, after touch, or exclusive events at any point in the recorded data. (See page 179.)

■ Disk Operations and Utility Mode

The QS300 has a built-in floppy disk drive that provides easy storage and retrieval of all data. It also facilitates data management, allowing you to create a well-organized personal floppy disk data library. (See page 195.)

The Utility mode includes a number of functions that are important for general operation. These functions include MIDI data handling, interfacing with external equipment, global sequencer settings and controls, ABC system operation, and more. (See page 187.)

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The QS300 — What It Is and What It Can Do

What It Can Do

Here are a few ideas on how you can use the QS300. This section is not comprehensive, but gives you a good general guide to the overall possibilities and provides a starting point or springboard for your own creative ideas and explorations.

■Live Performance — Including Solo Gigs

The huge number of high-quality Voices and profes- sional-level effects makes the QS300 a perfect keyboard for live performance. Add the 16-track sequencer and the sophisticated automatic accompaniment, and you’ve got a single, easy-to-use instrument that can take the place of an entire band! Moreover, the GM and XG compatibility let you take advantage of the vast library of song files on the market, allowing you to cover virtually any tune in any style of music.

■Home Studio

For an all-in-one music production instrument, the QS300 also has amazing depth. The comprehensive editing controls, MIDI implementation, 16-part multitimbral capacity — and, of course, the stunning Voices and effects — make the QS300 an ideal centerpiece for the recording or project studio.

■ All-in-one Practice Instrument

The automatic accompaniment features of the QS300 give you authentic sounding rhythm, bass and chordal backing in a wide variety of musical styles — which are perfect for practicing and playing along with. Use material from the vast library of GMand XG-com- patible song data, or create your own songs — then, play the keyboard while the songs play back. Compared to a metronome, it’s a much more exciting and effective way of practicing.

■ Composing & Arranging Tool

The accompaniment features can also be used to quickly and easily flesh out your own musical ideas. With the wealth of chords, Phrases and Patterns — and the comprehensive Song and Phrase editing functions — the QS300 makes it exceptionally easy to instantly turn your inspirations into complete compositions. Plus, the quality of the sounds and the authentic backing let you create polished versions of your ideas to others.

■ Multimedia Sound & Music Creation

With the explosive growth in multimedia software and applications, the QS300 serves as a handy computer sound and music tool, as well. Since it’s fully compatible with the GM and new XG formats, song data that you create on the QS300 can be used with any GM-compatible application. And there’s even a special SFX Bank of sound effect Voices to add sonic realism and power to your next multimedia presentation.

9

Panel Controls and Terminals

The QS300 is exceptionally easy to use and features a simple, consistent and highly intuitive control interface. Even so, we recommend that you take the time to look through this section and familiarize yourself with the controls and terminals of the instrument.

Front Panel

r

3

3

3

e

MODE

VOLUME

SONG

VOICE

7

8

9

y

INTRO

ENDING

PATTERN

PHRASE

4

5

6

MAIN A

MAIN B

SHIFT

F1

F2

F3

F4

F5

F6

F7

F8

EXIT

1

2

3

UTILITY

DISK

FILL AA

FILL BB

0

—

ENTER

FILL AB

FILL BA

EDIT

JOB

SEQUENCER

NO

YES

DEC

INC

q

COMPARE

u

STORE

RECORD

TOP

STOP

RUN

t

CHORD ROOT

M

M7

6

7

m

m7

m6

mM7

m7( 5)

dim

aug

sus4

Madd9 M7(9)

6(9)

7(9)

madd9 m7 (9)

m7(11)

7( 5)

7 ( 5)

7 ( 9)

7 ( 9)

7 (13)

7 ( 13)

7sus4

7 ( 11)

PITCH

MODULATION

w

q PITCH and MODULATION Wheels ..................

PITCH MODULATION

● PITCH Wheel	● MODULATION Wheel
For continuously	For continuously changing the amount
raising or lowering the	of modulation in a Voice.
pitch of a Voice.	(The actual modulation effect depends
	on the Voice’s settings;see page 46.)

w Floppy Disk Drive ................................................

This is used for storing important data to a floppy disk.

(For more information, refer to the section “Handle Floppy Disks and the Disk Drive with Care” in the Precaution on Page 5, and the Disk Mode Section on Page 195.)

Disk drive door

Disk-in-use indicator

Eject button

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Panel Controls and Terminals

e VOLUME Slider .................................................................................................

VOLUME

● VOLUME Slider

For adjusting the volume of the sound output (in both the OUTPUT and PHONES jacks).

r MODE Buttons ..................................................................................................

These buttons call up the main operating modes of the QS300. When the Song, Voice, Pattern, or Phrase mode is selected, the lamp of the corresponding button lights.

s

Calls up the Song mode, for sequencer recording & playback operations. (See page 65.)

v

Calls up the Voice mode, for selecting and playing the Voices. (See page 43.)

MODE

SONG VOICE

p

Calls up the Pattern mode, for combining Phrases to create accompaniment Patterns. (See page 105.)

u

Calls up the Utility mode, for performing various functions related to the overall operation. (See page 187.)

e

When the Song, Voice, or Phrase mode is selected, this calls up the corresponding Edit mode. (See page

23.)

S

Not strictly a MODE button, this calls up the Voice Store operation (when the Voice mode is selected). (See page 31.)

PATTERN PHRASE

UTILITY DISK

EDIT		JOB

COMPARE

STORE

P

Calls up the Phrase mode, for selecting, playing back and creating accompaniment Phrases used in Patterns. (See page 125.)

d

Calls up the Disk mode, for performing all data storage and disk-related operations. (See page 195.)

j

When the Song, Voice, Pattern, or Phrase mode is selected, this calls up the corresponding set of Jobs

(important functions related

to each mode). (See page 139.)

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•Numeric Keypad

•EButton

•Rotary Dial

•D/IButtons

•Cursor Buttons

t Data Entry Controls: .......................................................................................

These controls are used to move the cursor (highlight) in the display and change or set values (e.g., Voice numbers, parameter settings, etc.).

The numeric keypad is generally used for typing in specific values. The E button is used to actually enter values, and execute certain functions and operations. The rotary dial lets you quickly increment or decrement values, and is especially handy for covering large value ranges. The D/Ibuttons respectively decrement or increment values. The cursor buttons move the cursor (highlight) around in the display, letting you select available parameters for editing.

The keypad can also be used (in certain editing and recording operations) to enter specific note lengths and dynamic (velocity) values, as indicated above each button. (See page 102.)

In addition, some of the keypad buttons can be used to change Pattern “sections”

(Intro, Fills, Ending, etc.) in Pattern playback and Song recording. (See page 102.)

3	3	3
7	8	9
INTRO	ENDING
4	5	6
MAIN A	MAIN B
1	2	3
FILL AA	FILL BB
0	—	ENTER
FILL AB	FILL BA

The rotary dial is used for incrementing/ decrementing values. It is handy for quickly scrolling through a large range of values.

The minus button is for entering negative values.

(Press before or after typing a value on the keypad.)

The Ebutton is used to actually enter a specified value. It is also used to execute certain functions.

		The D/Ibuttons are used to
		decrement or increment through values.
		Hold either button down to continuously
		move through values.
NO				YES
DEC				INC

The cursor buttons are used to move the cursor or highlight around in the display.

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Panel Controls and Terminals

y (Button / Function Buttons (!- *) / )Button ............

The (button is used with some buttons (in certain situations) to access some secondary or alternate functions. The function buttons — !through *— are special “soft” keys that change in function depending on the current display. They select the corresponding menu items that appear directly above them in the display. The )button allows you to return to the previously selected display page, or to “escape” from a particular operation or function.

									The )button allows you to return
The (button is used to access									to the previous display page, or leave
certain secondary functions.									a particular function.
SHIFT	F1	F2	F3	F4	F5	F6	F7	F8	EXIT

The function buttons (!- *) are used to select corresponding menu items and pages from the display.

u Sequencer Controls ........................................................................................

These are used to control recording and playback, as well as perform certain location functions, in the Song, Pattern, and Phrase modes.

The tbutton returns to the beginning of the current Song or Phrase.

The Rbutton starts recording or playback (depending on whether or not recording is enabled). The lamp flashes at the current tempo during recording or playback.

SEQUENCER

RECORD

TOP

STOP

RUN

The rbutton enables	The Tbutton stops	These are used to move through
recording (sets to standby).	playback or recording.	the measures of a Song, Pattern,
The lamp lights when recording		or Phrase.
is enabled.

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Rear Panel

RISK OF ELECTRIC SHOCK

DO NOT OPEN

: RISQUE DE CHOC ELECTRIQUE NE PAS OUVRIR.

TO REDUCE THE RISK OF FIRE OR ELECTRIC SHOCK,

DO NOT EXPOSE THIS PRODUCT TO RAIN OR MOISTURE.

THIS DEVICE COMPLIES WITH PART 15 OF THE FCC RULES. OPERATION IS SUBJECT TO THE FOLLOWING TWO CONDITIONS: (1)THIS DEVICE MAY NOT CAUSE HARMFUL INTERFERENCE, AND (2)THIS DEVICE MUSTACCEPTANY INTERFERENCE RECEIVED, INCLUDING INTERFERENCE THAT MAY CAUSE UNDESIRED OPERATION.

MODEL	SER.NO.
			MIDI						OUTPUT	PHONES
POWER	AC INLET	THRU	OUT	IN	SUSTAIN	FOOT	FOOT	R	L/MONO
ON/ OFF						CONTROLLER	VOLUME

q w

q POWER Switch .....................................................

Push this in to turn the power on, and push again to turn it off.

w AC INLET ................................................................

Plug one end of the included power cable to this terminal and the other end to an appropriate AC electrical outlet.

e MIDI IN/OUT/THRU Terminals ...........................

For connection to other MIDI devices, such as a MIDI keyboard, tone generator, sequencer, or to a computer (with MIDI interface). MIDI IN is for input of MIDI data. MIDI OUT is for output of MIDI data; connect this to the MIDI IN of another device, when you want to control/play/record to that device from the QS300. MIDI THRU is for “daisy-chain” connections of additional QS300s or other MIDI instruments.

r SUSTAIN Jack .......................................................

For connecting a pedal switch (such as the optional Yamaha FC4 or FC5). When connected, the switch controls sustain on/off.

t FOOT CONTROLLER Jack ................................

For connecting a foot controller (such as the optional Yamaha FC7). When connected, the foot controller can be used to continuously change various functions and aspects of the sound, depending on settings made in the Voice and Song modes. (See pages 46 and 87.)

e r t y u i

y FOOT VOLUME Jack ...........................................

For connecting a foot controller (such as the optional Yamaha FC7). When connected, the foot controller is used to continuously change the overall volume of the instrument.

u OUTPUT (L/MONO, R) Jacks ............................

For mono or stereo output. Connect these to the inputs of a mixer or amplifier. When only the L/ MONO jack is connected, a mono mix of the stereo signal is output though the jack.

CAUTION To avoid possible damage to your equipment (and ears!), make sure that both the QS300 and your sound system are turned off when making connections.

i PHONES Jack ........................................................

For connection to a set of stereo headphones. Connecting headphones to this jack does not cancel the output through the OUTPUT jacks.

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TOUR GUIDED

GUIDED TOUR

This short but important part of the manual will guide you through the basics of operating your QS300. In the sections that follow, you’ll learn how to:

•Properly set up the QS300.

•Play the Demo Song.

•Select and play Voices.

•Make changes to (or “edit”) a Voice, then save that

Voice for future recall.

•Record a Song using the Patterns and automatic accompaniment as well as your own keyboard performance.

•Use some of the other convenient features of the sequencer.

•Save your original song for future recall.

Master the basics in these sections, and you’ll have the experience and know-how necessary to confidently use any of the more advanced functions covered later in the Reference section.

15

Setting Up

Here, you’ll learn how to set up the QS300 — either by itself or as part of your current system. We strongly recommend that you follow the instructions to the letter to avoid damaging any of your equipment.

What You’ll Need

•The QS300 and the included power cord.

•An amplifier/speaker system, preferably stereo. Alternately, you can use a set of stereo headphones.

•Audio connecting cables.

Making the Connections

● Operation ................................................................................................................

1. Connect the audio cables from the R and L/MONO OUTPUT jacks of the

CAUTION! Before

QS300 to the appropriate inputs on the amplifier speaker system (as shown

making any connections,

make sure that all in the illustration below).

equipment to be connected is turned off, and that the QS300 power cord is not connected to an electrical outlet.

Amplifier

Speaker System

		MIDI Keyboard
FOOT CONTROLLER/
FOOT VOLUME
R
L/MONO		MIDI OUT
SUSTAIN
PHONES
MIDI IN
		AC INLET
7	8	9
4	5	6
1	2	3
0	—

16

Setting Up

CAUTION! To avoid possible damage to your amplifier/speaker system, use this simple rule of thumb: The amplifier is the last thing you should turn on and the first thing you should turn off.

If the amplifier has only one input, use the L/MONO jack on the QS300. If you are using stereo headphones, connect them to the rear panel PHONES jack.

2. Connect the power cord to the AC INLET terminal on the QS300 and plug the other end of the cord into an appropriate electrical outlet.

3. Make sure that all volume controls (on the QS300 and the connected amplifier) are turned down. Then, turn on the power of the QS300.

After the greeting display, one of the following displays will appear (depending on the mode last selected):

● Voice mode:

● Song mode:

● Pattern mode:

● Phrase mode:

4. Finally, set the volume control on the QS300 to roughly the 3/4 position, set the volume on the amplifier to a suitable level, and then turn on the amplifier.

TOUR GUIDED

17

Playing the Demo Song

Now that you’ve set everything up properly, try playing the built-in Demo Song. This showcases the high-quality Voices and the AWM2 tone generation system of the QS300.

● Operation ................................................................................................................

1. Insert the included Demo Disk into the disk drive.

2. Press the dbutton.

The following display is shown:

3. Select Load by pressing @.

4. Select “1 All Data” with the cursor buttons or the rotary dial and press

E.

5. Press Eagain and answer the prompt below by using the D (No) and I(Yes) buttons.

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NOTE: During Demo

Song playback, no panel controls (with the exception of the )button and the VOLUME control) can be used.

NOTE: If you wish to playback all Demo Songs continuously, use the Song Chain function by pressing ^(Chain). (See page 95 for details.)

Playing the Demo Song

6. Press the sbutton to return to the Song mode.

7. Select the desired Demo Song number (highlight the Song number and change the value), then press the Rbutton to start playback of the selected Song.

The Demo Song starts playing immediately and repeats indefinitely until stopped (in step 8 below).

8. To stop playback of the song, press the Tbutton.

RECORD		TOP		STOP		RUN

To return to the Voice Play mode, press the vbutton.

Auto Load

The Auto Load function automatically loads the contents of a floppy disk to internal memory when the power is turned on.

		To use Auto Load: ...............................................................................................
		With the power off, insert an appropriate disk into the disk drive, then turn on
		the power of the QS300.
	CAUTION:	An “Auto Loading...” message appears in the display, along with a moving bar
		graph that indicates the progress of the operation.
	• Do not attempt to
	eject the disk or
	otherwise interrupt the
	Auto Load operation
	while it is in progress.
	• Any User Voices
	contained in memory
	will be erased by the
	Auto Load operation.
	Make sure that any
	necessary User
	Voices have been
	properly saved to disk
	before using Auto
	Load.

TOUR GUIDED

19

Selecting and Playing Voices

The QS300 features a total of 954 high-quality Voices, created by the AWM2 (Advanced Wave Memory 2) tone generation system.

1.

2.

Press the vbutton.

This calls up the normal Voice display.

Use the rotary dial, D/Ibuttons or numeric keypad to select the desired Voice.

Indicates the category or general type of
Voice. (Here, “Pf” means Pianoforte or	Program number
Piano category.)

Voice name

Quick Program Change

You can use the Quick Program Change function to quickly select program numbers within a group of ten from the numeric keypad.

To do this: ..................................................................................................................

1. Press vfrom the Voice Play mode, so that the Quick Program

Change indication below appears.

Indicates Quick

Program Change.

2. Press the button on the numeric keypad corresponding to the last digit of the program you wish to select.

For example, from the condition above, pressing 0- 9directly selects Voices 030 - 039, respectively.

Press vagain to cancel the function. You can call up another “bank” of ten (with any data entry method) and repeat steps 1 and 2 above to select Voices in that “bank.”

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Selecting and Playing Voices / Changing the Voice Bank

Changing the Voice Bank

You can also change the Voice Bank of the QS300. Each Bank can contain up to 128 different Voices. There are a total of 47 Banks: XG 001-101, SFX (sound effects), Pre (Preset) and Usr (User). Though not all of the Banks have a completely different set of Voices, there are 954 Voices available in the 105 Banks.

To select a Bank: .......................................................................................................

•Use the Bank </> controls (^and &).

•Press !, @or #to directly select the XG, Preset or User Bank, respectively.

•Hold down the (button and simultaneously press one of the Bank </> controls (^or &) to quickly select the XG, SFX (sound effect), Preset and User Banks.

Voice Bank and number.

TOUR GUIDED

SHIFT

F1

F2

F3

F4

F5

F6

F7

F8

Hold this down and press ^	Press one of these to	Press ^or &to
or &to quickly select the XG,	directly select the corre-	step through the
SFX, Preset and User Banks.	sponding Bank:	Banks.
	• !: XG
	• @: Preset
	• #: User

Press *to call up the Voice directory (see below).

To browse through the Voice directory and call up different Voices in a specific Bank: ...........................................................................................................................

• Press *(Dir).

Use the cursor buttons or the rotary dial to move through the list, highlighting different Voices and then playing them. The highlighted Voice is automatically selected for playing.

Indicates scrolling position of displayed Voice names.

Selected Voice.

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Quick Selection of Voice Variations in Different Banks — Variation Voice Auto-Search

The 47 Banks contain different Voice variations for many of the program numbers. However, for some program numbers, the Voice is the same for many of the Banks. You can quickly skip over duplicate programs in the Banks, to find and call up only those Voices that are different by using the Variation Voice Auto-Search function.

To use Variation Voice Auto-Search: .......................................................................

Select the desired program number, then press and hold down either ^or &, depending on whether you want to skip backward or forward through the Banks. The QS300 searches through successive Banks at the selected program number, and automatically stops at the first Voice it finds that is different (from preceding ones in the search).

Voice Categories

You can also browse through the Voices according to their general categories. To do this, press *(Catg), then use $and %to step through the Voice categories. Remember that you can still use ^and &from this display page to select different Banks, if you wish.

F1

F2

F3

F4

F5

F6

F7

F8

Use these to step through the

Voice categories.

Each press of $or %selects the first Voice in a different Voice category. These make it easy to quickly browse through the Voices, according to the type of Voice you want.

To return from any of the Directory pages above to the normal Voice

display: ........................................................................................................................

• Press )(or v).

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Changing the Voice Bank / Editing a Voice

Editing a Voice

This short section introduces you to some of the Voice editing functions of the QS300. These allow you to change the sound of a Voice, or “customize” it for your own purposes.

The QS300 packs a huge variety of editable settings (also referred to as “parameters”). This section explores but a few of them. In this section you’ll learn how to:

•Change the amount of Reverb and Chorus applied to the Voice.

•Change the Variation effect type.

•Set the amount of Pitch Bend.

•Compare the newly edited Voice with the original.

•Change the Envelope Generator setting (the shape of the sound in time).

•Store the newly created Voice for future recall.

Changing the Amount of Reverb

Built into the QS300 are three separate effect sections: Reverb, Chorus and Variation. Here, you’ll learn how to change the amount of Reverb that is applied to the Voice.

1. From the Voice mode display, press the ebutton.

If the display above is not shown, press !(Overall) to select the Overall page above.

2. From this page, select the Reverb Send “dial” — use the cursor buttons to move around in the display.

Selected parameter name and value.

Reverb Send “dial.”

TOUR GUIDED

23

3. With the Reverb “dial” highlighted, use the rotary dial to turn the Reverb Send parameter down to about 0.

Play the Voice and hear the difference in the Reverb sound; notice how “dry” it is. Note also that the dial setting in the display also changes to reflect the new value.

4. Now, use the rotary dial to turn Reverb Send up to about 110.

Play the Voice again and hear the difference in the Reverb sound.

Changing the Amount of Chorus

The Chorus effects of the QS300 modulate the sound, and are capable either of adding subtle enhancement or creating wild, special effects.

Just as you did with Reverb above, try changing the Chorus Send setting. First (from the display page in the last section), select Chorus Send with the cursor keys.

Chorus Send.

Then set the value to about the halfway point or higher, using the rotary dial. Finally, play the Voice again to hear how Chorus affects the sound.

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Editing a Voice

Selecting a Variation Effect

The third set of effects on the QS300 are the Variation effects. Variation provides all of the effects found in Reverb and Chorus, plus many additional effects such as Distortion, Delay, Rotary Speaker, and others. In this short section, you’ll learn how to change the Variation effect.

1. From the display page in the last section, press #(Effect).

The following display (or one similar) appears:

Current Variation effect.

Effect parameters and values.

2. Use the D/Ibuttons or the rotary dial to select Auto Wah.

Play the Voice and hear how the sound has changed once again. Try selecting other Variation effects and hearing how they sound as well.

For more details on Variation and how to change the Variation settings, see page 47 in the Reference section.

TOUR GUIDED

25

Setting the Pitch Bend

The PITCH wheel at the left of the keyboard lets you bend the pitch of a Voice up or down as you play. With the Pitch Bend controls, you can change how the wheel affects the sound in a variety of ways. In this short section, we’ll explore two of them. For more details on the Pitch Bend controls, see page 46 in the

Reference section.

1. From the display page in the last section (or from the Overall page), press @(Control).

The following display appears:

2. Using the cursor keys, select the “Pch” (Pitch Bias) dial in the Pitch Bend controls.

Pitch Bend controls.				Current parameter and value.

Pitch Bias dial.

Try playing the Voice at this setting, while moving the PITCH wheel up and down, and notice how the Voice sounds.

3. Now, change the setting (with the D/Ibuttons or the rotary dial).

Try a setting of +12. Play with the PITCH wheel again, and notice how the Pitch Bend has changed.

26