I think everyone has come across a solo keyboard player in any small caf� or pub. He/she normally plays the keyboard alone or only accompanied by singer or guitar player. All other instruments are played by the keyboardist. This is one example of style-based hardware sequencer that has a ready-made bass, drum, string, etc tracks built in for various musical styles. The arrangements are sliced into some logical building blocks like Intro, Verse, Bridge, Ending, transition/fill, etc. Other examples of hardware sequencer of this type are: Yamaha QY100, QY700, Roland MC909, etc. Some software version of these are also available in the market (e.g., Band in a Box, Jammer Professional, etc.) Most of them actually provide a way for you to create your own style, although some through a painful process.
When to use it and when not to use it?
Good question! This style-based sequencer is good for live performance, provided it has an acceptable sound module/tone generator. If the sound of the instruments suck then just forget it.
It makes it possible for you to play alone without any other band player and you can loop at certain part of the song if you want to prolong your solo or improvisation. It is not good for recording compelling basic tracks without major improvements (in my opinion). But I�ll tell you some tips to make it more convincing in later part of this writing.
Why is it not so popular among guitarist?
Another good question! (complimenting myself for coming up with the question, laugh!). The answer is: I don�t know, and I don�t understand, really. This style-based sequencer is not so popular among guitarist (at least in Indonesia) while it is actually a handy tools for practicing and live performance. It gives a way for us as guitarist to keep up with the tempo, cheap alternative to playing with the whole band, etc. Maybe some guitarists just feel intimidated after knowing there are steps required to program the sequencer or maybe because some guitarists are lack of musical theory since the tool requires some level of musical aptitude (triads, harmonic, measure/tempo, syncopation, etc).
Which sequencer do you recommend?
I recommend the Yamaha QY70 or QY100 or Roland Jam Station for live situation. They are quite portable and fit in your guitar bag so you can drag it along anywhere you go. Yamaha QY100 allows you to store your songs in smartmedia card so you can load/unload your songs for different performances/gigs without a computer. For software, use Band in a Box (BIAB) or Jammer Professional. Jammer professional has more realistic styles, however the variety is somewhat limited compared to BIAB and it�s not so �real-time� or �on-the-fly� as it requires you to render before you can play any update you make to the arrangement. The Ableton Live provide the best of both world, we can build the arrangement using style-based and then render the overall arrangement into contiguous MIDI sequence.
How can I create my own style?
I suggest that you only create your own style if you are going to use it a lot. Creating a style should only be done by a real professional musicians since it really needs a good musical sense when dividing a full arrangement into multiple part to ensure seamless integration of those parts into arrangement later on. All the styles in the keyboard and sequencers are created by experienced professional.
If I still want to use them for recording, what should I do?
Here comes my generosity, sharing what I have learnt by myself (by reading books, articles, trying it myself day and night) to you guys :-)).