zarkon wrote:

I've just bought a MU2000EX (Or at least I hope it's an EX 🤣, guess I'll find out when it arrives).

Mine won't come with a power adaptor (not that I could use the Japanese adaptor in the UK anyway because of the voltage differences).
It looks like it's supposed to use a PA-6, so would something like this - https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/12V-Yamaha-PA-6-PS … ly/192526461237 - power it ok?

For posterity in case it's of use to someone, the "MyVolts" power supply did power the MU2000EX fine. And it did turn out to be an EX, one of the factory pre-done ones. 😀

Has anyone opened one of these up to remove the battery? I'm crap with a screwdriver (have threaded a fair few screws in my time 🤣), so I'm not looking forward to it. Is it straightforward?

With the help of the MU128 service manually, I found out how to open one of these up and change the battery! I'll be uploading a video on it soon, but here's the gist:

1: Follow this guide here and remove exactly the screws shown: https://i.imgur.com/qsWFWVy.png
2: Remove the remaining screw by the Digital Output jack and remove the screw holding the PLG card door in along with the door it self. PLG cards do not need to be removed as the bay is separate from the rest of the unit (and you can't thread the connector out without cutting a zip tie anyways).
3: Gently push the bottom plate away from the inputs and outputs.
4: The bottom plate will eventually lock up and refuse to go further. From this point, lift it up lightly and with the front panel facing you, move it to the right. It will pull off.

With the front panel facing you, the battery is located to the top left near the MIDI ports.

SpeedySPCFan wrote on 2019-07-02, 17:19:

With the help of the MU128 service manually, I found out how to open one of these up and change the battery! I'll be uploading a video on it soon, but here's the gist:

Thanks for sharing the instructions! Did you ever get to make that video? Would appreciate a link to it. Thanks again!

holaplaneta wrote on 2020-04-10, 05:27:

SpeedySPCFan wrote on 2019-07-02, 17:19:

With the help of the MU128 service manually, I found out how to open one of these up and change the battery! I'll be uploading a video on it soon, but here's the gist:

Thanks for sharing the instructions! Did you ever get to make that video? Would appreciate a link to it. Thanks again!

Sorry, I wasn't able to get to making a standalone video x_x I do mention it in my review though and show it there https://youtu.be/PF9ul5JFAH0?t=484

SuperDeadite wrote on 2019-01-23, 13:07:

The XG board is basically an MU80 on a PLG board. It was meant for adding XG support to keyboards. In an MU2000 all it really adds is more polyphony if you plan to make some very complicated music.

Can you confirm if this is the case with all PLG boards? I've read the PLG manuals and understand that, for example, two DX cards in expansion mode will allow 16 x 2 = 32 notes of polyphony. But can expansion mode be used to expand the overall system polyphony? If you were to install a PLG150-AP in an MU2000, would that necessarily increase the total system polyphony to 128 + 64 = 192 notes of polyphony, even if none of the patches in use were from the AP card itself?

(Hope what I'm asking makes sense.)

koitsu wrote on 2020-06-05, 17:56:

SuperDeadite wrote on 2019-01-23, 13:07:

The XG board is basically an MU80 on a PLG board. It was meant for adding XG support to keyboards. In an MU2000 all it really adds is more polyphony if you plan to make some very complicated music.

Can you confirm if this is the case with all PLG boards? I've read the PLG manuals and understand that, for example, two DX cards in expansion mode will allow 16 x 2 = 32 notes of polyphony. But can expansion mode be used to expand the overall system polyphony? If you were to install a PLG150-AP in an MU2000, would that necessarily increase the total system polyphony to 128 + 64 = 192 notes of polyphony, even if none of the patches in use were from the AP card itself?

(Hope what I'm asking makes sense.)

The polyphony of the boards only applies to the patches contained on the boards themselves. Basically, each PLG board is a self-contained synth engine that uses a host for the rest of the electronics.

So for your DX example, that gives 16 x 2 = 32 notes of polyphony (16 per board, DX patches only), plus the host module polyphony for the host's patches.

Ah, I see. Thanks.

Hey all! I'll ask here instead of starting a new topic (because I'm afraid I know the answer anyway). I just got a PLG150-DR for my MU1000EX, and I think it's defective. Thanks to SuperDeadite's help in a reply on YouTube, I figured out what I was doing wrong when it came to setting the PLG's part to 10 (hit "select," not "enter"). However, it still doesn't play. Part 10 isn't silent, it plays the internal sounds just fine, but it won't play anything from the PLG when I play a GM file (it's not resetting to part 1 The MU recognizes that it's there because it appears by name in the menu, but whether I use USB or MIDI, it doesn't look like it even tries to use it (no flashing PLG light, though it is steady on). I was going to try to access it through XGWorks, but my version is too old and doesn't even show the DR as an option. I thought I might be able to spoof it with another PLG by telling it that such and such a PLG was actually on part 10, but not much luck there, either.

I just think my card is a little defective (or maybe I am). Everyone who has one seems to have a pretty easy time setting it to part 10 and playing a file or even a game that doesn't send out an XG or GS reset command. I'm kind of bummed because it's not like people are giving these away 😀 Thanks!

When you map the PLG to part 10 you push Enter. I usually hit Enter twice to see the sysex code flash on screen. Next get out of the menus and return to main screen. Now use the Part buttons on the panel to highlight Part 10. Lastly push the circular SELECT button on the bottom of the panel next to the PLG led lights. First push should give you a red flash and selects the A/D Inputs, push SELECT again to activate the PLG.

You must be in XG mode, PLGs are disabled in GS mode.

SuperDeadite wrote on 2021-01-11, 23:35:

When you map the PLG to part 10 you push Enter. I usually hit Enter twice to see the sysex code flash on screen. Next get out of the menus and return to main screen. Now use the Part buttons on the panel to highlight Part 10. Lastly push the circular SELECT button on the bottom of the panel next to the PLG led lights. First push should give you a red flash and selects the A/D Inputs, push SELECT again to activate the PLG.

You must be in XG mode, PLGs are disabled in GS mode.

Well, I think the board is dead. When I turn the MU on now, the screen stays "stuck" in the quick flicker that it does when first powered on and just flickers continually. The only way to fix it is to unplug the board. I really dislike buying used electronic parts 🙁

Could be bad caps, not heard of it happening on PLGs before, but all of them die eventually. There is not much else that could go wrong on them. The MU could have a dead battery which may cause junk data in memory, a factory reset should fix that. Are you using the original PSU? Lots of used MU units come with replacement ac adapters that don't have enough amps for running PLGs. Original yamaha psu is 2amps.

SuperDeadite wrote on 2021-01-12, 00:08:

Could be bad caps, not heard of it happening on PLGs before, but all of them die eventually. There is not much else that could go wrong on them. The MU could have a dead battery which may cause junk data in memory, a factory reset should fix that. Are you using the original PSU? Lots of used MU units come with replacement ac adapters that don't have enough amps for running PLGs. Original yamaha psu is 2amps.

I wanted to blame the PSU! That totally makes sense. It's not original and is only 1 amp. That might explain a few things. To the shoppes!

Thanks!

Glendower wrote on 2021-01-11, 16:34:

I was going to try to access it through XGWorks, but my version is too old and doesn't even show the DR as an option.

No versions of XGWorks will show the DR as an option straight out of the box (or any PLG board really). You need to install a separate editor for each board. Those editors usually can run in a standalone mode or as a plugin in XG Works.

You can download them from the Yamaha website.

XGWorksST probably supports PLG, but it is basically SOL-Light (ST = SOL Technology), so may as well just use SOL.

Thanks for the feedback!!! I got my 12v 3A PSU today and I had a chance to mess with it tonight. It's working! I haven't had much of a chance to fiddle, but it's working in Doom 2 and The 7th Guest on my DOS machine. It really adds some weight to the latter, that's for sure. I'll mess with it some more.

I think that my problem with XGWorks 3.07e is that I have a SW1000xg in that system along with the MU1000, and that might be causing some issues with it seeing anything other than the Santa Cruz MIDI out... further prodding is necessary now that I know that the module and the PLG are functional.

SuperDeadite wrote on 2021-01-13, 11:21:

XGWorksST probably supports PLG, but it is basically SOL-Light (ST = SOL Technology), so may as well just use SOL.

I just checked with my boxed copy of ST, but no, even with ST (and likely SOL/ SOL2) you still need to install the various PLG-board editors. They are, however, included on the ST CD-ROM.

Glendower wrote on 2021-01-14, 06:14:

Thanks for the feedback!!! I got my 12v 3A PSU today and I had a chance to mess with it tonight. It's working! I haven't had much of a chance to fiddle, but it's working in Doom 2 and The 7th Guest on my DOS machine. It really adds some weight to the latter, that's for sure. I'll mess with it some more.

Glad to hear it. For DOS games, one of my DR favorites is Chex Quest. CQ E1M2 is basically all drums, it's a perfect demo for the DR. For full effect be sure to use the digital toslink output, as the analog output on MU is a very noticeable downgrade.

SuperDeadite wrote on 2018-02-21, 22:56:

Still available on Yamaha's Japanese site: http://download.yamaha.com/search/product/?si … oduct_id=624481 […]
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snakecoils wrote:

Hello to you all, I did a net search about MU2000 and I really hope someone here can help me. I just purchased an MU2000 unit from eBay Japan, the seller told me that it was already upgraded to Extended (EX) version but I discovered, once the package arrived, that sadly it wasn't... the download links provided on Wikipedia does not work anymore, so is there a known alternative location where I can download the MU2000EX updater?

Many, many thanks in advance...

Still available on Yamaha's Japanese site:
http://download.yamaha.com/search/product/?si … oduct_id=624481

In other news, I found a fully boxed PLG100-SG at my local junk shop for about $40.
A real oddity, wacky, and fun to play with. Came with the original floppy too, so here's all the
official demo songs:
https://youtu.be/4ebITb69igk

OK. I know this is an old thread but my MU2000 is new to me. And it's the same old story. Seller on Ebay listed as EX, even posted picture shows EX on display. But it doesn't seem to be. I've read the threads on upgrades and followed the link like the one above but I can't read Japanese.

In my searches I came across a YouTube video that mentions the upgrade, however, the video shows actual software that has the upgrade as an option. If it's part of the document linked to please someone direct me to which line I need to pick. The software is shown in "Yamaha MU - The Ultimate DTM Tone Generators! (Sound Profile)" at 22:43. Can anyone help me on this.
This hasn't been a good week for me as I 'had' a TG100 and a Roland MT32 that both went toes up, leaving me with the MU2000 and a TX81Z and a plethora of soft synths. I'd really like to use the MU.

Second question...if that is permitted. Has any person effectively written or produced a YouTube video on operating this beast? And is there any .ins files for the MU2000 to use with DAWs?

Thanks in advanced. I'm new to this forum; or any other Yamaha forum...which is strange considering all the Yamaha musical products I've used over my many years.
John

Hey John,

Sorry to hear about your failing synths. Don't get rid of the MT-32, it's probably worth something for parts, assuming it can't be cheaply repaired which is possible as well.

The Yamaha page still exists at the Wayback Archive:
http://web.archive.org/web/20180102071839/htt … oduct_id=624481

You mentioned not reading Japanese, but you'll notice many links have English titles. The relevant one is from the top 3 downloads (MU2000 Extended Edition), depending which OS you're using.

The GUI is in English, so once you actually use the instrument, you won't have any language issues. Refer to a MU128 manual and it will be accurate for most options, there'll just be more instruments, effects and a few other scenarios unique to the 2000/2000EX.

As for INS, Googling hit an INS file someone made, so try that and see if it works.

Be very careful with the update procedure. I was very happy to discover my MU128 already had the V2 OS, because upgrading the OS has the risk of bricking the unit if:
- there is a power failure
- any of the transfers fail
- you make a mistake with the order of the files or do anything else not according to the upgrade instructions

The problem is that there is no way to reset a bricked unit to its previous state.