It's bad enough not having a pen and paper for those inspired lyrical couplets; what about the melodies that suggest themselves at inopportune moments? Rob Green looks at Yamaha's new saviour for the creatively over-fertile, the MU5 tone module.

Having a GM module can be very handy, and is excellent for producing music that is universally transferable to GM-compatible synths. But to produce more individual, professional results, many people feel the need for different sounds from the digital and analogue domain.

GM sounds have many practical advantages. They are excellent for arranging ideas, as you have them all in one space, for ease of access. And practically all MIDI accessories these days are GM-compatible. The GM idea looks even better when you can cram the sounds into a smaller space, add some comprehensive drum kits and battery power, to allow use absolutely anywhere.

Measuring up

This is what you get with the Yamaha MU5. Nothing more and nothing less. This low cost unit is similar to the QY10 and 20 in its sounds, keyboard style and portability. But for the MU5's lack of an internal sequencer, it could be a repackaged QY, with its 16-part multitimbral synth, and unusually full-blooded selection of 128 onboard sounds. Amazingly enough, it's about as small as a Filofax.

It's an excellent way of sequencing on the move. Link it up to your laptop computer with the relevant sequencing software, and you've a veritable workstation at your fingertips. The sounds are highly impressive for a unit of this size, and good for more than just arranging purposes.

Imagine the scenario. You're on a 125 heading for London, and all of a sudden you receive divine inspiration for a new track, and don't want to forget it. What better mobile platform than a Power Book running your favourite sequencer, and the Yamaha MU5 as a multitimbral sound source?

Not only would you have a method of recording your valuable ideas, but also a sound that's pretty damn professional. With a lap-top and a pair of earphones, this is serious sequencing on the move, and a lot more productive (and fun) than listening to a Walkman.

Facilities

The MU5 also boasts eight drum kits, and is 28-note polyphonic, and 16-part multitimbral. The voices are all pretty competent, and you will be amazed at the quality of the sounds for such a small unit. Some didn't quite cut it for me, but some sacrifices must obviously be made for a tiny synth in this area.

The drum sets are quite comprehensive, with standard, room, rock, electronic, jazz, brush and classic configurations. Whatever kind of music you're into, the drum voices will come somewhere near your visions.

This minuscule machine is not amazing for dance music, but as I said before, the odd sound layered on top of other units can prove quite powerful. The strings are some of the stronger elements in this sound set, in my view. The samples are good, and you're provided with several different versions of each sound.

"With a lap-top and a pair of earphones, this is serious sequencing on the move"

Strings One seems to have more attack than the second, and is slightly sharper, but not much else separates them. Two versions of the synth strings are also supplied, the first being nearer to the straight strings with a touch of flanging, and the second being more like a synthetic strings pad.

Other strong voices are the organs, with a drawbar organ, a percussive organ, a rock organ, church organ and reed organ provided. Most of the voices are pretty acceptable in terms of sound quality. Some of them sound a bit weak, and start to break up slightly at the lower frequencies, but most hold their own pretty well throughout most of the frequency range.

User's guide

You'll find the MU5 simple to work with, as all the utility modes and part edit parameters are clearly labelled on their relevant buttons. All you do is select the mode of your choice on the top panel, let's say it's velocity in this case. You then simply refer to the large LCD screen, and using the value button, change the velocity (1-127) to the required setting, and press enter. It's as simple as that. All of the functions are this easy to edit.

The program numbers for the voices are clearly listed above the controls, for quick reference during sequencing. Below are the part select buttons, the value buttons and the mute and exit buttons. Under these buttons is the small two-octave keypad. This can be something of a bitch to use, but on the other hand, it does allow you to reach some rather odd chords that would be nigh-on impossible with conventional full-sized keys. Despite the MU5's two octaves, you are allowed a ten octave range, by using the select/octave buttons next to the keypad. Some sounds do suffer at the lower and higher pitches, however.

On the back panel, there are MIDI out and in sockets, DC in, power on/off switch, host socket and host select switch. This is one of the MU5's selling points, because it allows you to plug straight into the serial port of your PC or Mac, thereby bypassing the need for a costly and inconvenient MIDI interface. The host selector allows you to choose between IBM PC and clones, NEC PC-9800 series, and Macintosh platforms.

Verdict

This will be great for multimedia types, especially if they don't have a sound card installed in their computer. It also means, of course, that you can run your multimedia presentation on any Mac or PC, using the MU5. Its host socket will supply you with exactly the same sounds, and allow you total control over your production.

For the range of sounds provided, the MU-5 does not represent bad value, especially for the first-time buyer. If you don't need effects or other parameters, there may be little benefit in buying a larger sound module for twice the price.