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; the MU series was preceded by the Yamaha TG100 and TG300, and it inherits some of their features, but not their appearance or form factor.

Models

Overview and history

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[1]), 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:

Other module variants:

  • Yamaha MU90B (1996), cheaper variant of the MU90 without a screen or front-panel controls
  • Yamaha MU100B (1997), cheaper variant of the MU100 without a screen or front-panel controls
  • Yamaha MU100Bs (1999), same as above

Comparison of major desktop modules

The following table compares the main desktop modules representing each generation/level of capability. Each module may have some other variants, please see each's page for more info. The MU50 is considered the baseline for XG support; many devices with the XG logo have the same capabilities as the MU50's XG mode.

The MU2000 also features sampling and sequencing functions, not present on any other model (including the MU1000).

Yamaha MU50 Yamaha MU80 Yamaha MU90 Yamaha MU100 Yamaha MU128 Yamaha MU1000
Yamaha MU2000 		Yamaha MU500
Image (No photo yet. Please contribute one!)
W × H × D (mm) 220 × 44 × 210 220 × 44 × 210 220 × 44 × 210 220 × 44 × 210 219.5 × 91.1 × 229.5 219.5 × 91.1 × 229.5 220 × 44 × 227
Rack units 1U, half-width 1U, half-width 1U, half-width 1U, half-width 2U, half-width 2U, half-width 1U, half-width
Weight 1.3kg 1.3kg 1.3kg 1.3kg 1.9kg 2.0kg 1.2kg
Release date[1] 1995 1994 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000
Yamaha XG Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Roland GS TG300B mode TG300B mode TG300B mode TG300B mode TG300B mode TG300B mode
(GS with software upgrade) 		TG300B mode
C/M mode Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No
General MIDI Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
General MIDI 2 No No No No Yes (with software upgrade)[3] Yes Yes
Normal parts 16 32 32 32 64 64 64
Max polyphony 32 64 64 64 128 128 64
A/D parts None 2 2 2 2 2 None
XG normal
presets 		480 537 586 1074 1149 1203 1203
TG300B normal
presets 		579 614 614 614 664 664 664
XG drum presets 11 11 20 36 37 48 48
TG300B drum
presets 		10 10 10 10 10 10 10
Expansion None None None 1× PLG 3× PLG 3× PLG None
Reverb
[table 1] 		Yes (12 types) Yes (12 types) Yes (12 types) Yes (12 types) Yes (12 types) Yes (18 types) Yes (18 types)
Chorus
[table 1] 		Yes (10 types) Yes (10 types) Yes (14 types) Yes (14 types) Yes (14 types) Yes (20 types) Yes (20 types)
Variation
[table 1][table 2] 		Yes (42 types) Yes (44 types) Yes (62 types) Yes (70 types) Yes (70 types) Yes (97 types) Yes (70 types)
Insertion
[table 1][table 2] 		None 1× (3 types, Distortion/EQ) 2× (43 types) 2× (43 types) 2× (43 types) 4× (97 types) 2× (43 types)
Multi EQ
[table 1] 		No Yes (4 types) Yes (4 types) Yes (4 types) Yes (4 types) Yes (4 types) Yes (4 types)
Part EQ
[table 1] 		No No No Yes (1 type) Yes (1 type) Yes[4][5] (1 type) Yes (1 type)
Notes
  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 These rows represent how many independent effect units are available, not whether there are effects of a certain type. For example, the MU50 has independent reverb, chorus and variation units, but the variation unit can also do some reverb and chorus effects. Similarly, the MU80 additionally has a multi-EQ unit, but its variation and insertion units can also do EQ effects. The limitation is that each effect unit can only do one type of effect at a time.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 The variation effect unit can be used either as a system effect or an insertion effect; the "insertion" row is about additional, insertion-only effect units.
References [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11][12] [13]

References

  1. ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 Keyboard Instruments & Music Production Tools - Display Collection - INNOVATION ROAD - Yamaha Corporation
  2. ↑ MU500 - Display Collection - INNOVATION ROAD - Yamaha Corporation
  3. ↑ MU128 - Display Collection - INNOVATION ROAD - Yamaha Corporation
  4. ↑ Yamaha MU1000 取扱説明書, page 62.
  5. ↑ Yamaha MU2000 取扱説明書, page 72.
  6. ↑ Yamaha MU50 Owner's Manual, pages 125 and 126.
  7. ↑ Yamaha MU80 Owner's Manual, pages 129 and 130.
  8. ↑ Yamaha MU90 Owner's Manual, pages 10 and 11.
  9. ↑ Yamaha MU100 Owner's Manual, pages 173 and 174.
  10. ↑ Yamaha MU128 Owner's Manual, pages 187 and 188.
  11. ↑ Yamaha MU1000 取扱説明書, pages 154 and 155.
  12. ↑ Yamaha MU2000 取扱説明書, pages 186 and 187.
  13. ↑ Yamaha MU500 取扱説明書, pages 35 and 36.
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