1988 (June)
Initially sold for ¥75,000
The Yamaha MB01 MIDI box is a digital playback-only sequencer. It was likely only released in Japan and aimed at the home or entertainment market, although it needs a fairly complex and expensive setup to work. Every operation is controlled by an infrared remote control (the infrared receiver is located next to the LCD display) that runs on batteries. Songs are loaded from the floppy disk and played through MIDI outputs.
It's now hard to imagine how a karaoke setup would greatly benefit from a player that can change the tempo and pitch of a song independently and can be controlled remotely.
The ESEQ format used by Yamaha is also compatible with the QX3 digital sequence recorder, MSX computers using the YRM31 cartridge or MIDI-enabled pianos (MX line with PPC units).
Features
- Built-in MIDI functions allows you to play the data on the floppy disk on any external MIDI synthesizers, rhythm machines or tone generators.
- All operations can be easily performed by using the remote control.
- During playback, you can freely adjust the volume and tempo of the song, or transposing it without altering the tempo.
- You can quickly select songs, fast forward and rewind.
- A repeat function allows you to repeatedly play a specified part of a song.
- Any MIDI channel can be muted so that you can practice with only the active ones.
- The MB01 can play data in Yamaha's original format ESEQ, also used by the QX3 digital sequencer.