There are Cubase users who own Motifs, Moxs, MoxFs Montages, Modx, and other Yamaha synthesizers who prefer to use Cubase because they need a larger screen, or they like to work with a mouse, or they have FOMO ”(F)ear (O)f (M)issing (O)ut” of the DAW revolution. 

But after many years of using Both Cubase and many of the Yamaha hardware sequencers, e.g.  QY100, QY700, Motif XF, Mox 8, I would like to vanquish some of the rumors and misconceptions I’ve heard over the years:

The Cubase sequencer (as nice and fully functional as it is), is no match for the Yamaha hardware Sequencers.  While it is true that the Cubase sequencer which was launched somewhere around 1984 is older than Yamaha’s 1990 origin of the QY,QS, and the sequencers that are built into the Motif family of synthesizers (including the Montage).  Cubase is a software thing. On the other hand the Yamaha sequencer functionality including the song modes, pattern modes, utility modes and 25 - 50 sequencer jobs(depending on which sequencer you own) has been tightly integrated with hardware since 1990.

Yamaha’s sequencer functions integrate tightly with AI knobs, faders, transport buttons, assignable function buttons, pedals, mute, solo, track, pattern, song, buttons, arpeggiator functions and buttons, cusror buttons, enter, exit buttons, etc.  The Yamaha sequencers are a hand-in-glove fit with the hardware they are associated with.  The Yamaha sequencer jobs have been designed to closely map to the architecture of the instrument they are associated with.

On the other hand Cubase has a generic sequencer that works with any and everything midi.  Cubase is synthesizer and keyboard agnostic.  It doesn’t care where it gets its midi from and where it sends the midi to.  (while this could be a good thing), the problem is Cubase has it own vocabulary for instance it doesn’t know anything about my Motif Patterns A thru P.  It doesn’t know about my Motif XF phrases, or my Motif Arpeggiator whereas the built in Yamaha sequencer has intimate knowledge.

Cubase has its own metaphor, and vocabulary for sequences, where as the Yamaha Sequencer uses the metaphor, and vocabulary of the synthesizer or device its connected to.

For the most part, if you can do something using Yamaha Sequencer technology, you can accomplish that same task in using Cubase’s Sequencer (For the Most Part) But using the Yamaha Sequencer in Yamaha hardware is a thing of beauty for those of us who have to do serious sequencing.

I realize that Yamaha’s thinking when they purchased Steinberg was they could let Cubase fill the sequencer functionality for its synthesizers, but this was a mistake.  While Cubase did succeed the QY/Motif style of sequencing it is not a legitimate replacement.  It is not as effective or efficient.  The learning curve is considerable when moving from QY/Motif style of sequencing to Cubase.  And the large screen potential and privilege to work with a mouse at the end of the day just don’t cut it.

I would like to see Yamaha go back to their QY/Motif style of sequencer and develop it further for Midi 2.0.  Midi 2.0 should allow us to have more resolution, and possibly 32-48 tracks of midi.

While Cubase can function as a fallback, or temporary stand-in for native Yamaha sequencer, it is by no means a full on replacement.

Yamaha please give us a fully functional QY/Motif style Midi 2.0 compliant sequencer.  The Sequencer in the Montage is a good start, but it only has 8 Pattern Sections in contrast to Motif’s 16 Pattern Sections