Yamaha MU series
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The Yamaha MU series is a line of Yamaha XG and General MIDI sound modules made by Yamaha starting in 1994. They introduced Yamaha's XG format and competed against the Roland Sound Canvas series among others.
Most MU series devices feature not only XG support, but also unofficial Roland GS support via the TG300B mode, and unofficial partial Roland CM-64 compatibility via the C/M mode.
The MU series was not Yamaha's first attempt at General MIDI sound modules; it was preceded by the Yamaha TG series.
Desktop (half-rack) modules:
- Yamaha MU80 (1994),[1] first MU module and first XG module
- Yamaha MU50 (1995),[1] cheaper version of the MU80 supporting only 16 parts and without the A/D inputs
- Yamaha MU90 (1996),[1] improved MU80 with more presets (especially drumkits) and two insertion multi-effect units instead of a distortion effect unit
- Yamaha MU100 (1997),[1] improved MU90 with almost twice as many presets, XG Plug-in System expansion support, and new per-part EQ support
- Yamaha MU128 (1998),[1] double-height MU100 with 64 parts, 128 polyphony and three plug-in slots; supports General MIDI 2 with a software upgrade
- Yamaha MU1000 and MU2000 (1999),[1] the most powerful models, released only in Japan, with 4 insert effect units, General MIDI 2, and for the MU2000 only, sampling features and a SmartMedia card slot
- Yamaha MU500 (2000), final model in the MU series; only 64 polyphony and lacks the screen and A/D input, but has the same set of presets as the MU1000 and MU2000[2]
Full-rack modules:
- Yamaha MU90R, full-rack version of the MU90 with individual audio outputs
- Yamaha MU100R (1997),[1] full-rack version of the MU100 with individual audio outputs and two pre-installed plug-in cards
Portable (battery-powered) models:
- Yamaha MU5 (1994),[1] first portable model and only MU series model to not support XG
- Yamaha MU10
- Yamaha MU15 (1998),[1] same form factor as the MU5 while supporting XG
(TODO: More notable models?)