Yamaha TQ5
The TQ5 was an entry level FM Workstation in a keyboardless, sparsely decorated desktop unit. It takes after the smaller line of FM synthesizers like the DX-100, DX-21, DX-11, TX81Z, and FB-01. These featured 4 FM operators per voice, and 8 voices of polyphony. And like the latter three, 8-parts multitimbrality was featured. The TQ5 also had easy "Quick Edit" keys to access some basic parameters for instant tweaks. The TQ5 was capable of many of the good (and the bad) sounds FM synthesizers made.
The TQ5 featured built-in digital effects and an 8-track sequencer (with 8 song capacity) rounding out the "workstation" aspect of this machine. Designed for use as a stand-alone FM workstation or as a MIDI module, the TQ5 was poised to bring high-end FM sounds to entry-level users. Unfortunately it was released at a time when the DX and FM synthesizers were becoming less popular in the market, so the TQ5 tanked. Really low second hand prices help it to retain its original purpose...to provide an FM workstation for entry-level for musicians on a budget.
- Specifications
- Polyphony - 8 voices
- Oscillators - 4 FM operators with 8 waveforms
- Effects - reverb, chorus, echo, distortion
- LFO - One LFO
- Filter - No filter
- Envelopes - ADSR envelopes
- Arpeg/Seq - Arpeggiator: None; Sequencer: 8-track, 8 Songs
- Keyboard - None
- Memory - 100 preset, 100 user patches, external memory card
- Control - MIDI (8-parts)
- Date Produced - 1988 - 1991
- Websites of Interest
- Resources & Credits
Images from The Audio Playground Synthesizer Museum.
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