Yamaha PS-200

Portable Keyboard


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Yamaha PS-200

Description

The PS-200 is a very pleasant-sounding keyboard from 1984. By this time, Yamaha had stopped supplying their PortaSound keyboards with hard carrying cases, and the case for the PS-200 had to be purchased separately as an optional accessory. It looks to be very similar to the earlier PS-300 model, but with sliding switches to select voices and rhythms instead of the PS-300's push-button selectors.

There are seven voices and eight rhythms with auto accompaniment, selectable by sliding switches. Each rhythm has two selectable variations, and there is a switchable two-level Sustain effect for the voices. Piccolo, Trumpet and Violin sounds have a delayed Vibrato effect, which is not user-switchable. The rhythm consists of "blips" and metallic-sounding noise pulses, but the "blip" is a very low frequency, giving a nice deep bass thud when played through a good speaker. Master volume and Tempo are adjustable by analogue sliders, but the accompaniment volume slider is a 6-position sliding switch.

Polyphony is 7-note, dropping to 3-note when the auto accompaniment is switched on, and there are three built-in demo tunes (dubbed "Programmed Music"): "Sur le Pont d'Avignon", "Beethoven's 9th Symphony" and "Chopin's Nocturne".

Without any "Sustain" effect, some the voices cut off rather abruptly when the key is released, but the PS-200's auto accompaniment and rhythm patterns do produce a rich, warm bass when played through external amplification. Even the small built-in speaker produces a surprising amount of bass.

Some of the auto accompaniment patterns do the bass lead-in to the next primary chord when playing a seventh, like the PSS-160, except on the PS-200 the third built-in demo actually makes use of this feature.

Audio Samples

The three built-in "Programmed Music" demos:

Instruction Manual

The Operating Manual for the PS-200 can be downloaded from the Yamaha Manual Library.