So I currently have the chance to pick up a Yamaha V50 workstation in mostly good working condition. Looks like it might be a cool 4 op FM synthesizer though I do already have a Digitone. The unit has 2 keys that don’t spring back but other than that seller is saying everything works fine and I can test it before purchase. I don’t really have any room for it but the seller is only asking $50.
Thoughts? Maybe I can resell it for profit? I was a little underwhelmed by the demos I heard on YouTube.
My mate I was in a band with had one in the 90’s , can’t remember much about it, I know it had drums and a sequencer and we used it on a few tracks, nothing special
50 bucks is like a meal for two that lasts, what, a couple of hours tops? If you think you’ll get more than a few hours out of it and maybe one indispensable sound for a track or two, why not? I’m terrible with money fwiw
It’s essentially a workstation built around a TX81Z (4-op FM, but with eight waveforms rather than just sine waves). A multi-track MIDI sequencing and loads of drum samples. It didn’t make much of a splash, as FM was a bit old-hat in 1989. But if you like FM, you might find it worth $50.
I keep telling myself, “less gear, less gear” but $50 is hard to pass up. This thing is huge, don’t know where I’d put it. If I can talk him down, perhaps…
IIRC the V50 utilises “Easy FM” as found on the YS100/YS200/TQ5 if so then I remember that incarnation of FM being sufficiently different from the rawer gritty FM of the DX/TX series, but still very useful nonetheless. $50 seems like a steal.
Ahh, seems I was slightly inaccurate about the Easy FM implementation, it is compatible with the YS/TQ range but seems to have the more traditional editing, this review seems to confirm this, as well as being overall quite positive about the synth:
This is a great synth and $50 is a fine deal, especially if you manage to fix the keyboard.
It has the same FM engine as the DX11, which is a slightly upgraded version of what’s in the TX81Z module adding a pitch envelope. It’s one of the easiest to program of the old FM engines.
It also adds sampled drums, a sequencer, and some decent effects.
I actually own a V50 and use it as my primary keyboard synth. It is pretty big, but it’s a great synth for $50. My experience with it is that it has a whole lot of features but can be a little difficult to navigate sometimes. I keep wanting to use the sequencer on it but find it too annoying to really dive into. Sound design-wise though, fairly straightforward and lots of potential. You can program individual patches with a lot of flexibility which is what I do, beyond that there is a performance mode which allows you to layer different patch sounds together for even more sonic possibilities. The fx on it are pretty loud but you can dial 'em down for decent reverb and distortion options. The keyboard has aftertouch as well! Honestly not the synth I’ll stick with for 10 years, but right now it does the job.
I do think you could probably resell it for a profit. Most go for I think ~$150? But I don’t know how long the turnaround might be.
has what looks to be a fairly powerful sequencer.