Just to show I’m alive!
One of my favorite projects is mining and reclaiming “lost” content from vintage beat boxes and such. I’ve shared results here — free downloads:
I spent some time messin’ with Yamaha Mobile Music Sequencer (MMS), searching for pleasant chord progressions. [Yamaha have discontinued the MMS app — bummer.] The MMS patterns are based on the Yamaha MM6/MM8 quasi-synths, quasi-arrangers. I reclaimed a bunch of MMS patterns and converted them to Genos/PSR styles.
As much as I like MMS, the patterns are missing that je ne sais pas. Some might say they are missing verve; let’s say they are missing vibe.
Vibe is the feeling of excitement when we hear music that moves us emotionally. The opposite of vibe, I guess, is “flat”, like beer, champagne or sode which has lost its fizz. The stuff may taste OK, but it’s missing the bubbles that tickle our tongue and nose.
Thus, I haven’t been motivated to polish and release the MMS-based styles. It takes energy to convert and create content — energy to get through the slog of production. Sad to say, the factory styles in my beloved QY70 are kinda flat, too.
Extrapolating a bit, lack of vibe may affect the way people feel about arranger workstations. Yeah, early arrangers had a certain cheese factor. However, today’s tone generators and effects are fully professional and contemporary mid- to high-end arranger keyboards are capable of polished results.
A lot of arranger folks prefer Korg arrangers over Yamaha saying “Korg has a live sound.” Part of that liveness is vibe. Yamaha are trying to move the needle with their newer styles. The new Genos2 R&B styles, for example, have a lot more vibe. They are well-played and Yamaha need to hire those style developers again!
The DJX-II has some of the best vibe-y patterns produced by Yamaha. That’s why I had fun converting DJX-II patterns to SEQTRAK. These patterns groove. As of this writing, the original DJX (PDR-D1) remains untapped. The DJX patterns (styles) are shorter than DJX-II with fewer variations and no cooked-in chord progressions. Still, the DJX (1998!) has more vibe than a typical arranger.
If you would like to learn more about contemporary music, I recommend the book “Switched on Pop” by Nate Sloan and Charlie Harding. The book is based on their podcast of the same name. It’s a popular musicology book that should appeal to musicians, songwriters and listeners alike. If you want to know where popular songs get their vibe and mojo, it’s a good read.
Copyright © 2026 Paul J. Drongowski