Yamaha Portasound: The amazing evolution of the PSS series
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- Опубліковано 24 лис 2018
- I love Yamaha's PSS series of the late 80's. "Portasound" underwent a rapid and fascinating evolution during its lifetime. This video draws on some old and low-quality video, but I think you'll enjoy watching the miniature PSS series grow from toy-board into competitive FM synths that will be coveted well into the new millennium.
PSS 470 connected to a
Zoom G1Xon multi effects pedal with built in looper, and a Tascam 4 track cassette recorder, gets the job done on a super low budget!
Very versatile 😎👍
Yeah I'm getting right into the cheap keyboard/multi-fx thing :)
My first keyboards for years 480, 560 and 680. I also had (still have) a VSS-30 Yamaha sampler and a VSS-200 that was given to me. I created choirs and orchestras on my VSS-30! Fond memories of those friendly Yamaha sounds, and trying to make them sound bigger with my bucket brigade reverb from Tandy! I still miss the 680 (the wedge) with its fantastic quantizing sequencer, drum pads and intuitive layout. Never did get used to the tiny keys though.
Totally, agree, with, all, comments! Thanks for watching my video :) #gearfacts
Recently I got PSS 390. Great feature with sliders for changing the sound in a real time.
Yeah I like sliders better than knobs
a year ago I had the PSS 480 sold it for rent money during the pandemic, and just bought a replacement PSS 680 for $80 goodwill sale on ebay, untested and everything is working and in great shape. Its unbelievably in great shape. Better looking than my old PSS 480. Secret is that Goodwill never test their keyboard.
Yep you got a good deal there! The 680 is timeless IMHO :)
@@gearfacts Yes, got a perfect one on eBay not long ago, hopefully getting a PSS 51 this week ( 790,795 two years later ) ... 🙂🙂
I found a PSS 480 at a Goodwill for 8.00$ Works great except the power connector.It needs a new one.
I got a Yamaha PSS 130 from goodwill for 5.99
The man who invented midi and the prophet 5(polyphony in synths), dave smith, passed away recently. Rest in peace you important soul. ❤ your inventions will always impress, the beauty only being surpassed by how useful and easily it is to take for granted.
Thanks for your comment :)
I had the PSS-680 - great little keyboard! It was fun messing around with the FM sounds. It was the best portable keyboard I owned.
I still have mine
I got the pss-560 from my father still in great condition for its age i think around 1980s.
I picked up a $20 PSS560, it's a fantastic little synth that has some surprising features for the form factor.
Great price there!
From PSS to PSR to Motif to Modx yea I've had a pretty exciting journey with Yamaha since childhood.
Yamaha, they've been with us all the way! :)
I have a 480 and I love the two op noise on this keyboard. The dirty bass it's very harsh and peaky. It can fit in the mix very well.
:) Gearfacts
I have a PSS-790. I must have bought it around 1990. Fun to goof around with
Today I picked up a PSS-570 for £20....This thing is pretty sweet...It's like Jeckyll & Hyde and I love it, one minute it's a Yamaha KB from the 80's, one push of a button and it becomes something else. : )
Good deal there :)
I'm lucky enough to own the PSS 460 , 470 and the 480 . Along with a PSR36 . Great review !
Always a pleasure, Kim :)
The PSS-480 was amazing! It had 12 note polyphony, 49 mini keys, Full MIDI In-Out-Thru. Full 16 midi channels! Drums were on channel 16. For a little unit, it has a lot of professional features. It was a good controller, and it could be used as a sound source! I was able to make some crazy synth sounds using the built in synth-section. I made many songs with it using the QX-21 two track sequencer! I really loved it!
Literally my first keyboard and I agree, it had some pretty special sounds :)
Thank you for the sound time trip！
And thank you for watching :)
I own a PSS-780, it was my first synthesizer. I purchased this from a school friend in the early 90's.
It's great for sound effects, great leads and bass sounds can be achieved with it and they can be pretty fat sounding but does have it's limits.
I also have a PSR-630, also contains great sounds but obviously more hardwired as this isn't a synthesizer.
All machines have their limits, it's what you do with it and getting enjoyment from it that counts.
Yep, 'enjoyment' is the key word. I think people get too tied up in specifications and features, often losing sight of what's fun. Thanks for watching! #Gearfacts
I love so many the the PSS keyboards, but I have to say that my faves are the PSS-100 and 790. The 100 has nice synth capabilities and almost feels like you're playing the synth card of a Nintendo NES. The 790 is such a zany beast and the vector joystick makes it a blast to play.
Totally agree! I've reviewed the 790 but have never tried the 100.
@@gearfacts You definitely need to get your hands on one. It's small, basic and old school, but a lot of fun.
I enjoyed all of them one day I might add some to my collection.😁😁
In the 90's I Had the PSS790. Wonderfull keyboard 😍
Yeah it was really quite amazing. One other viewer was saying it's about time Yamaha re-released it. Good idea I think :) #gearfacts
Most of my semi pro songs were recorded using the dear Yamaha PSS480. The 5 track sequencer and 5 custom tone bank as well as the one custom rhythm allowed me to record a full song with live punch in/out of tracks and even controlling a Casiotone CT670 and MT240 for added realistic sounds.. But the real treat is when I used the DX21 as my BASS track! Oh the simple days of LOOK MUM, NO COMPUTER!
First compositions I ever made were on that PSS 5-track recorder. Talk about 'experimental'! :) gf #gearfacts
I have a pss-80 now had one similar as a kid as well.
The PSS-390 is one of the first Yamaha keyboards I owned in the 90s! The synthesizer is quite pro and you can make almost DX7 like sounds with it! Also the styles and sounds are quite cool, great keyboard! :)
Couldn't agree more, The PSS580 is my personal favorite
@@gearfacts Oh, very nice the 580! The 480 is also very nice with the gritty FM engine! Gotta love the Portasound series big time, and the Portatone series, as well!
I still have my pss 795 and it works perfectly
I have a PSS 570 coming in a few days, and I'm going to do a few videos of it
Awesome, send a link I'll check it out :)
@@gearfacts subscribe, you'll catch my videos every time I upload a new one
Pss 790. Un superbe clavier, des sons géniaux pour l'époque, le joystick qui mixe 4 sons en temps réel et enfin le séquenceur 8 pistes. Il était complet. Je l'ai adoré...
100% agree :) Gearfacts
Had a pss 790. Which in addition to the vector joystick had an 8 track sequencer and when controlled by external hardware was 16 part multitimbral.
Not sure if anyone gives a damn but if you guys are stoned like me atm you can stream all of the new movies on InstaFlixxer. Have been watching with my gf during the lockdown xD
@Bodie Hayden yup, been using Instaflixxer for months myself :)
damn that 580 was sweet, kinda sounds like the same kinda futuristic sounds inside my hybrid 3 program that came with my akai mpc studio software in the year 2015, i see yamaha was ahead of the game especially when it came to new tech and innovation
The 580 and 680 were my faves, with that awesome FM envelope filter. Still sounds great today.
Ohiorichkid Ohiorichkid Beats Absolutely
Proper synths as the 480 (same synth engine than 580 and both MIDI equipped)
My first keyboard was a PSS-280 which I replaced with the PSS-680, in the early 90s, mainly for its little synth engine. I think I did manage to coax a few interesting FM sounds out of it, and the (pretty basic) song memory banks where useful for multitrack recording of sorts. The timbre sounded tinny without proper effects and the mini keys where dreadful, but I'm still fond of this thing :-) Despite moving on to proper synths since.
In fact, your videos made me think I might take the 680 out of storage!
ha! I did exactly the same thing in the late 80's. 280, then 680.
my pss 790 sounds rock! coz its sample based already and its record sequencer option is good,except for lack of memory
It's a classic. The 680 is my personal favourite but I wish it had that 790 joystick feature. GF
I just got pss-380 as a present and I'm like a kid again
Soooo much fun, these old PSS Yamahas :)
Pick of the series were the 390, 780 and 51. Quite a heady arsenal of FM goodness. Throw in the now incredibly expensive vss30 and you have a lofi set up from heaven.
Agreed. The one I kept was the 680 for it's nifty FM synth ;)
Hello! Thank you for posting this informative video. Would you mind giving me a more detailed list of information about the differences between the PSS-480 and the PSS-580? I’m trying to decide on which one to get myself.
I could be wrong but one pretty sure the 580 had more synth options, and the ability to save 5 sounds. There are so many similar PSS models though, I’d really have to look it up :)
I remember playing with a couple friends' Yamaha synths growing up. The feature that stood out was it had the ability to sample from a built in microphone. But I can't for the life of me find a review of this feature on any Yamaha keyboards from the 80s. Style wise I seek to recall something like the PSS 360, with the sliding vertical knobs.
Was is one of the Yamaha VSS series maybe? I’ve reviewed a few of those and they’re great fun
@@gearfacts That's it! Thanks!
MY first was a pss-270 when I was 10, then a pss 795 at 16 and later a DJ-X, all three gives me an amazing experience. Now I probably buy a W410
Four great keyboards there :)
hey...thx for all ur videos they've been helpful ...think theyve steered me towards yamahas ...but i have a little portasound pc 100 that has just stopped turning on...tried different adaptors ..still nothing ...what do u think might have done this ..a surge? i have no idea but would like to get it running coz ive been writing with it... thx heaps:)
All I can suggest is to try it with batteries and see if that works. Surges are very rare, it might just be a loose power input which is much more common. Thanks for watching btw :)
I had a PSS-780 until replacing it with a PSR-280. Now I have a Motif-6 and looking to get a MODX-6
which pass and per has midi? Thanks for your videos! help a lot!
Only the models 4** and up have midi. I'm glad you like my channel :) #Gearfacts
Very Good Vídeo.
I Need Look This Key Board. Thank You From Brazil.
Thanks for watching Gearfacts - Thank you from Australia :) #gearfacts
Hi...do you know the diference betwen PSS-790 and PSS-795 ?
It's only the color of the buttons that is different between those two.
I have a pss-450. Before I buy some batteries for it, could you remind me if is polyphonic? I'm not sure of the correct term but I forget if it is limited to only a limited number of concurrent keys that it can voice simultaneously. Thanks.
I have a bigger, nicer one to use but this size works best for me now and I'd like to use it again. 😏
I think it is 16 note polyphonic ...would have to check. But polyphonic, yes defintely :) Gearfacts
I have a 680 really cool,
Yeah I think that's the best one in the series :)
I have a PSS-790. Can I connect it to sound card with the converter?
Yes that should be possible
PSS580 was my first kbd. Random purchase. Without that I'd never have discovered MIDI and thus end up producing music; for what is now approaching 30 years. #1990 :))
oh and I guess I must have sold my 580. Cant recall. I just know I want another one now! :D
haha, great comment! Yeah a 580 is indispensable if you like FM tones
Also I'm guessing they didn't use PCM. Sounds for piano until after the 480 though because these earlier ones didn't do piano very well .
Yes, no PCM as far as I'm aware.
@@gearfacts The PSS 590 and 790 both have PCM sounds. But there's a lot of lower caliber PSS keyboards that are PCM too
I had the PSS480 and I've always wondered how the presets were made. Even though it uses 2 op FM, the sounds can't be replicated with a DX synth. Maybe the waveforms aren't sines
Yep, I haven't seen the PSS 580 or 680 sound repliacted anywhere either. There's something unique about their architecture ...we may never know... /Gearfacts
@@gearfacts It should be possible with the latest 4-OP-Models such as the DX11 or TX81 Z when you turn off 2 Operators. They also can change the Waveforms of the operators.
Dale Husbands It has 8 sine derived waveforms for both operators (including the original sine)
I have a couple of PSS390 and a PSS780. They are great. Also have a Roland Juno G, a Roland D10, and a KAWAI KC20, but the style of the PSSs are way more wacky than these more "professional". I would like to see more PSSs models, like the PSS390, PSS470, PSS570. These are more primitives in a charming way. Thnx 4 the video!!!
Yeah it's the 'wackiness' that thrills me about these old boards :)
PSS 680 : what do you mean about dual envellopes to filter ? and you forgot to mention the Midi thru, chorus, and pitch wheel !
There is one envelope for volume and another one for modulation, and they progress simultaneously. There's more about the pitch bend wheel and the various sockets in my full review of the PSS-680. This video is more of summary of all PSS models :) Gearfacts
@@gearfacts Env 02 and 03 ... they're the same as in the 480 / 580 ... and the exact same presets also, so ... no difference. Am I right ?
sounds not great ,but is a GREAT part of my beginnings... cool video actually i had the pss470
Very nice video. I see the PSR story video also but i didn't understood the difference beteween the two series... Anyone can help me? TKS
The main difference was the size of the keys - small on the PSS, standard size on the PSR
@@gearfacts nice... It works!! In this way the last letter seems mean small or regular...
can I get an Instruction book for the pss-560
Search online for the model you want followed by “PDF”, it’ll usually give you a link to the manual.
You forgot The last PortaSound in the collection that was the pss51 (little brother of the psr400/500)
a shame that there is no real subsitute to this range nowadays , iT was my intro into playing keyboards, and they where really good for a toy keyboard
Yes true, there might have been a few more PSS models than that even. These are just the ones I've owned. My faves were any of them that could modify FM parameters. Great fun :) GF
ah okay, i an now looking for a good pss780 for my little daughter (and a little bit for myself ofcourse) because she like to play with my tyros but its way to big for her.
Interesting. I am not someone who can play even a keyboard but I assumed that the pss-470's 5-position sliders was as far as customization went in PSS keyboards. I thought the rest were just preset machines. I got a pss-470 from a car boot sale for 4 gbp the other day and think it is quite nice. A good amount of variation is possible for something so cheap.
At the end of the day I don't really understand why it is considered normal for only high-end synthesizers to allow custom settings? I think there is supposed to be like one model of Casio subtractive synth that is consumer grade and then these PSSes but they all seem to be and seem to be treated like exceptions to the rule. Of course now you can't really complain because it is easy to set up a soft synth on a PC and use an affordable midi keyboard or even a non-midi keyboard with some kind of pitch detection PC software, but still, why is it law that every low-end synthesizer has to be some boring preset machine. I hope I am missing something big. I'm sure it must be practically possible, especially with digital synths, especially modern ones.
Would that really cut into professional sales that much? I'm sure you could have customisation without having to include every feature and level of quality that a "professional" would demand? Not exactly the same but they sold consumer videotape recorders and they didn't cut into broadcast recorder sales because they are lower quality and don't have all the features broadcast requires such as genlock and the required connectors for interfacing with other broadcast stuff. Surely music has equivalent reasons to that, that would mean there would still be space for high-end equipment even if the low-end equipment performed the same basic function?
I'll have to look out for these other models and hopefully I can commit properly to learning to play. My only other experience of a PSS is a PSS-9 which was originally my cousins. It is not noteworthy in anyway afaik, just a preset keyboard with auto accompaniment and PCM drums, but it has a few cool presets I suppose. It is also 2 op PM like most of them. It has a cool demo of "Venus" as well which is cool. But basically I assumed that every PSS was like that, other than the PSS-470 and 570 which I knew had the sliders, which was the only reason I bothered buying one.
I have a pss-160
You forgot the PS1-3, pre-FM keyboards like the PS55 and MK-100, and the 1989 square wave keyboards such as the PSS-80 and 100.
Couldn't fit them all into one short video, had to stick to the most significant ones :) Gearfacts
no pss-51? That thiing was basicly a cut down sq16. Was briliant.
must have slipped through my net... :) #gearfacts
450?
What's the difference between PSS and PSR? Can't wait for you to make this video for PSR... I'm dumb, you did make it
I thought I did ...didn't I? I might be wrong ...I did it for Casio's CTK series... I'll check anyway :) #gearfacts
@@gearfacts You did, but I didn't see it until now.
Just bought a Yamaha PSS 470 for 30 bucks out of Cash Converters looking forward to experimenting with it......
I had the PSS-560 🙂 (in fact, I still have it, although it doesn't work and the official technical service tells me it's not worth it).
Yeah it's always hard to decide if it's worth keeping things like this when they're faulty. Could be quite collectible one day though, they do sound genuinely good and quite unique.
✌ i have pss 110, 190, 470, 480
I god my pss680 fo 60 bucks month ago and it's really good
Diefinitely! I'd pay more than that to have one again :) #gearfacts
PSS - 480 and 580 are proper synths
And the 680 :) #gearfacts
Gearfacts Right :)
So sad they do not have sensitive keys ...
you forgot the pss 270
Crazy coincidence, I only just got a psr270 and created my review of it a few days ago :)
My first synth ever was PSS-270 and i replaced it with the legendary DX-7 . This was in late 80s
Ahh the golden age!
When ever people shit on the Yamaha PSR models, I just point them to the PSS line and say, "You haven't reached bottom just yet."
PSR is like an ocean, there's a lotta stuff down there... :) #gearfacts
jackdeath Except you’re wrong
In what way? I'm not dissing the PSS series, I've done a similar video about them
@@gearfacts I don't know who designed the PSR-6, but it must have been the same person who designed the much smaller PSS-170. The aesthetics of both machines is nearly the identical, with almost the exact same features. Although the PSR-6 voice bank had better quality sound, the PSS-170 came out two years earlier and had the same 100 voice bank using the same FM chip synthesizer. The PSR-6 replaced the portamento button for a memory button that only recorded 40 or so keystrokes. otherwise, all the functions were the same. The PSS-170 had 44 mini keys with 9 key polyphony, used the same power supply as the PSR-6 but required 6 c2 batters instead of D size, and used a min-RCA headphone jack.
The one annoying feature of the PSS-170 over the PSR-6 was its lack of meaningful volume control. The instruction cautions you to turn the volume 3/4 of the way up before turning it on. Any position below this produced very little to no sound at all. Only the top three positions on the volume slider produce any sound at all.
Gearfacts I was answering the first comment ^_^
you forgot the pss 370
Oh man I forgot lots of them. Those are just the ones I've personally owned. Would love to try them al!
would be nice if you actually played something
Yes this comes up a lot. I was shot in the ribcage when I was in law enforcement. Nervous system all messed up. Can't play anymore.