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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.