Yamaha SEQTRAK Is €299! SEQ and Ye Shall Find
Leave your teenage years behind with this affordable, portable instrument.
4,6 / 5,0 | 
[21 November 2024] Got those OP-XY too expensive blues? Soothe your malaise with the Yamaha SEQTRAK, now discounted to €299 for Black Friday.
Teenage Engineering’s OP-XY looks like a lot of fun – but it all costs a lot of moneys! Do you have that kind of cash on hand? I certainly don’t. That doesn’t have to mean that all is lost though, as Yamaha‘s also gorgeously designed and fun compact instrument SEQTRACK is now discounted to €299 down from €399.
Had your eye on one? Now is the time to commit. I like the orange but if you’ve got OP-XY envy, the Yamaha SEQTRAK also comes in black.
Yamaha SEQTRAK – The Teenage Engineering Killer? Now available!
[19 January 2024] Yamaha drops the mic with the SEQTRAK, a very exciting-looking groovebox with DNA from its DX and AMW2-powered instruments. It’s also sleek as all get out. Is Yamaha coming for Teenage Engineering’s market share?
Yamaha SEQTRAK
NAMM is still a week away but things are already starting to heat up. One of the first big announcements to bring the fire is the SEQTRAK, a sleek, all-in-one groovebox from Yamaha with a drum machine, synthesizer and sampler sections plus a sequencer. Not the release I was expecting from Yamaha, to be honest, but I have to say I’m very intrigued.
The SEQTRAK is a portable device with a rechargeable battery in two different colour schemes: all-black and a very fetching grey and orange combo. It comes across a bit like a Korg SQ-64 meets a Teenage Engineering OP-1 and feels very modern. It’s great to see Yamaha stepping out of its comfort zone here.
Four Sound Sections
SEQTRAK is meant for quick song creation and so has four different sound-generating sections to play with. There’s the sample-based drum machine, with seven sound slots available: kick, snare, clap, two hats and two general percussion sounds. More can be loaded from the sound library, which has over 2000 sounds for use across the instrument.
Sounds continue in the synthesizer sections, which include DX, a four-operator FM synthesizer inspired by the company’s FM heritage, and two with the AWM2 engine (with 128-voice polyphony!). Lastly, there’s a sampler, which can record (16-bit/44.1kHz) from an external source, via USB, the built-in microphone or internally via re-sampling.
Sound Design to the Right
SEQTRAK allows you to tweak preset sounds via the onboard sound design section, which is located on the right of the unit. The knobs grant you access to functions like pitch, volume, pan, attack, decay and filter, while the SEQTRAK app (iOS/Android/Mac/PC) lets you go deeper into the synthesis.
SEQTRAK also features an effects section, with delay, reverb and modulation plus distortion, compression and more. There are effects for individual sounds and the entire mix. As with synthesis, the app opens up effects editing. The app even has a visualizer.
Of Course There’s a Sequencer
With a name like SEQTRAK, there has to be a sequencer involved, and indeed it’s a pretty big part of the package. There’s a step sequencer with up to 128 steps. You can capture synthesizer note information monophonically, polyphonically or in chord mode, with the step sequencer turning into a seven-note chromatic keyboard. There are different scales and keys available plus an arpeggiator.
Connectivity includes Bluetooth MIDI to connect to the app, Wi-Fi for wireless sample transfer, MIDI in/out, USB-C, an aux-in, and a headphone out. There doesn’t seem to be a dedicated audio out although there is an onboard speaker.
SEQTRAK Thoughts
Yamaha’s SEQTRAK looks like loads of fun. I love that it has four-op FM and an on-board sampler. I also really dig the look of it, especially the grey and orange model.
More information
- SEQTRAK product page
- Yamaha’s homepage
- All about Yamaha
- All about synthesizers
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4 responses to “Yamaha SEQTRAK Is €299! SEQ and Ye Shall Find”
WTAF happened to good UI’s…..a few companies are chasing this minimalist design(s) but seemingly forgoing the actual experience of making music…I thought the SQ-64, Tenori ON, Modwave, OP-Z etc. would have at least inspired better design choices….alas, form over function we go again.
That’s harsh. guarantee the build quality is good and it’s got better functionality than the TE (let’s not discuss the build quality with KO etc, faders failing on 1st use.
Looks like a nice sketch pad kinda device to me.
Won’t be replacing my Elektron kit but I am intrigued with it’s onboard capabilities and how it will play as DAWless option with my synths
could you play this with the KO ll ?
Mom, can I have a OP XY?
No, there is OP XY at home
(Insert image of seqtrak) at home…