Walkstation Explained
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 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
| Manufacturer | Device | Year | | Keyboard | Sequencer tracks | Accompanyment tracks | User accompanyment | Digital Effects | Storage media |
|---|
| Yamaha | | 1990 | Yes | 1 octave | 4 | 4 | Yes | No | No |
| Yamaha | QY20[4] | 1992 | Yes | 2 octaves | 4 | 4 | Yes | No | No |
| Yamaha | QY8 | 1994 | Yes | None | 4 | 4 | No | No | No |
| Yamaha | QY22 | 1995 | | 2 octaves | 4 | 4 | Yes | No | No |
| Yamaha | QY70 | 1997 | | 2 octaves | 16 | 8 | Yes | Yes | No |
| Yamaha | QY100 | 2000 | | 2 octaves | 16 | 8 | Yes | Yes | SmartMedia | |
Other comparable devices:
| Manufacturer | Device | Year | | Keyboard | Sequencer tracks | Accompanyment tracks | User accompanyment | Digital Effects | Storage media |
|---|
| PMC-100 | 1986 | No | 2 octaves | 1 | 5 | No | No | Cassette tape |
| Dr 5 | 1993 | Yes | Fretboard Style | 0 | 4 | Yes | No | No |
| PMA-5 | 1996 | | 2 octaves | 4 | 4 | Yes | Yes | No | |
More recent portable music workstations:
Notes and References
- Trask. Simon. May 1991. Yamaha QY10. Music Technology. Music Maker Publications (UK).
- Russ. Martin. August 1994. Yamaha QY300. Sound on Sound. SOS Publications Group. https://web.archive.org/web/20150607014127/http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/1994_articles/aug94/yamahaqy300.html. dead. 2015-06-07.
- Derek. Johnson. Debbie. Poyser. August 1996. Roland PMA5. Sound on Sound. SOS Publications Group. https://web.archive.org/web/20150402123719/http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/1996_articles/aug96/rolandpma5.html. dead. 2015-04-02.
- Yamaha QY20 Portable Workstation. 2020-12-27. March 1993. The Music Technology Magazine. Ian. Waugh. [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....
