Yamaha PSS-A50: Difference between revisions

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| manufacturer = Yamaha
| manufacturer = Yamaha
| releasedate = 2020
| releasedate = 2020
| standards = None
| standards = None<ref group=infobox>Partial [[General MIDI]] and XGlite compatibility.</ref>
| maxpoly = 32
| maxpoly = 32
| numparts = 16
| numparts = 16
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| drumpresets = 2
| drumpresets = 2
| effects = Reverb, Chorus
| effects = Reverb, Chorus
| notes = <references group=infobox />
}}
}}
The '''Yamaha PSS-A50''' is a portable keyboard by Yamaha. It was launched in 2020 together with the closely related PSS-E30 "Remie" and PSS-F30, effectively relaunching the Yamaha PSS series, which had not seen any new products for many years prior. It has an entry-level price point, retailing for circa 100 US dollars new (though as of at least 2024, it is no longer sold in the US; it is still sold in Europe).
The '''Yamaha PSS-A50''' is a portable keyboard by Yamaha. It was launched in 2020 together with the closely related PSS-E30 "Remie" and PSS-F30, effectively relaunching the Yamaha PSS series, which had not seen any new products for many years prior. It has an entry-level price point, retailing for circa 100 US dollars new (though as of at least 2024, it is no longer sold in the US; it is still sold in Europe).

Revision as of 22:21, 13 November 2024

Yamaha PSS-A50
Type Portable keyboard
Keyboard 37 mini-keys (velocity sensitive)
Manufacturer Yamaha
Release date 2020
Standards None[infobox 1]
Parts 16
Max polyphony 32
Normal presets 40
Drum presets 2
Effects Reverb, Chorus
  1. Partial General MIDI and XGlite compatibility.

The Yamaha PSS-A50 is a portable keyboard by Yamaha. It was launched in 2020 together with the closely related PSS-E30 "Remie" and PSS-F30, effectively relaunching the Yamaha PSS series, which had not seen any new products for many years prior. It has an entry-level price point, retailing for circa 100 US dollars new (though as of at least 2024, it is no longer sold in the US; it is still sold in Europe).

Notable features:

  • 37-key velocity-sensitive mini keyboard, same high-quality keybed as the (much more expensive) Yamaha Reface series
  • Can be powered either by USB or by 4× AA batteries
  • USB MIDI functionality
    • MIDI out: can be used as a MIDI controller, sends all performance data including arpeggios and motion effects
    • MIDI in: can be used as a tone generator (32-poly 16-part multitimbral)
  • Single speaker and mono 3.5mm headphone output
  • 40 normal instrument presets and 2 drumkit presets (Standard and Dance). These seem to come from the Yamaha PSR series.
  • 16-part multitimbral, 32-poly tone generator
  • Does not claim General MIDI support; this is probably because it does not have the full 128 GM1 instruments and only has mono audio output. However, it seems to be partially GM1/XGlite-compatible, e.g.:
    • Normal instrument presets use GM1-compatible numbering (with Bank Select MSB = 0)
    • Drum instrument presets use XG/XGlite-compatible numbering (Bank Select MSB = 127)
    • Typical Yamaha XGlite Control Change support: Attack, Release, Brightness, Harmonic Content, Reverb Send, Chorus Send
  • Various convenient performance features:
    • Arpeggios (not an arpeggiator exactly, more similar to a "styles" system with reharmonization of pre-recorded phrases stored in ROM)
    • Phrase recorder/looper
    • Motion effects (pre-recorded filter/pitch/modulation patterns stored in ROM)
    • Sustain and portamento buttons (no pedal input)
    • Metronome

Quirks

  • There is no analog volume control, only a digital one. This means the audio output can be quite noisy at a low volume, because the noise floor is constant at all volume settings. If your headphones don't have their own volume control, you may want to use an in-line volume controller cable.
  • The audio output is 2× unbalanced mono on a TRS (stereo, three rings) 3.5mm jack. This can interact badly with audio equipment expecting balanced audio: if you use a TRS cable to connect it to a mono input on your audio interface, you'll get silence. You need something with a TS (mono, two rings) connector, either a splitter-/Y-cable or a simple mono cable.

References

TBD

External links

TBD