2005-07-02
thrift score!
i biked downtown only to find that the library was closed, so instead i visited the new Habitat for Humanity thrift store in town, where i found what i always hope to find when i go into those places; some nice musical toy that someone else finds valueless.
in this case it was a Yamaha Portasound PSS-460 for seven bucks, a vintage toy polyphonic synth with a set of modulation sliders.
the sound of the thing is sweet, with stereo speakers, and a fuller sound than any other toy synth i've heard, quite full and deep bass, nice sounding rhythm section... and the modulation section allows for a huge variety of sounds, some quite incredibly nice and unique sounds are possible... nothing TOO weird, but i put out some sounds that wouldn't at all be out of place on an Autechre or Coil recording. it's one hell of a better synth than i thought i'd bought when i walked out of the joint. left and right RCA outputs on the back and a stereo headphone out too, along with its dual speakers.
a few reviews here:
SonicState gives it 3.6 out of 5
and Harmony Central has a typically stupid review, but helpful in its way.
not the greatest synth ever, but a very useable one, especially in tandem with other sounds, or processed slightly... and for seven bucks, hell yez! looks like they ebay for 20-75 bucks.
in this case it was a Yamaha Portasound PSS-460 for seven bucks, a vintage toy polyphonic synth with a set of modulation sliders.
the sound of the thing is sweet, with stereo speakers, and a fuller sound than any other toy synth i've heard, quite full and deep bass, nice sounding rhythm section... and the modulation section allows for a huge variety of sounds, some quite incredibly nice and unique sounds are possible... nothing TOO weird, but i put out some sounds that wouldn't at all be out of place on an Autechre or Coil recording. it's one hell of a better synth than i thought i'd bought when i walked out of the joint. left and right RCA outputs on the back and a stereo headphone out too, along with its dual speakers.
a few reviews here:
SonicState gives it 3.6 out of 5
and Harmony Central has a typically stupid review, but helpful in its way.
not the greatest synth ever, but a very useable one, especially in tandem with other sounds, or processed slightly... and for seven bucks, hell yez! looks like they ebay for 20-75 bucks.