Back in 1988, this little powerhouse brought FM synthesis to the masses in a portable package, letting bedroom producers tweak sounds like a pro synth without breaking the bank.
It packs 100 voices and 100 rhythms into a lightweight 49-key board with full-size keys, powered by Yamaha's FM tone generator for everything from lush pads to gritty leads. Dive into the synthesizer section to edit voices—adjust operator levels, vibrato, tremolo, and more, then store your creations in five banks. Controls include rhythm and auto-accompaniment buttons, intro/fill-ins, synchro break, custom drummer for building beats on the upper octave percussion keys, and a 5-track song memory sequencer for recording melodies or chords. Effects like vibrato, sustain, reverb, portamento, and duet add polish, with 12-note polyphony handling layered parts. MIDI in/out makes it a 16-part multitimbral controller, though limited to 12 voices plus drums at once; there's a 1/4" headphone out and mono audio jack, all in a compact body under 8 pounds.
Players dig its hands-on editing and surprisingly versatile FM tones for chiptune vibes or demos, though some note the fixed velocity and basic build show its age—still a gem for vintage enthusiasts hunting affordable creativity.
