Yamaha has introduced the SHS-300 Sonogenic Keytar, a consumer-focused design, that offers 37 keys, USB MIDI and the ability to run on batteries.
The SHS-300 uses AWM Stereo Sampling for sound generation and features 12 preset voices. It is capable of 32 voice polyphony.
Details on pricing and availability are still to come at the Yamaha site, but some retailers are listing it with a street price of £230.
*generic comment about no analog, will wait for Behringer*
Behringer already makes a keytar, but they miffed it by not allowing for battery power.
Winner for weird promo video of the week!
“She’s never played a keyboard before” … immediately plays chords… classic roland weirdness
Yamaha, not Roland.
“Within two hours of practice, you can play before anybody.”
No, really? “All you have to do is press the right keys at the right time, and it plays itself.” — J.S. Bach, commenting on the pipe organ.
Yeah, its an eye-roller, but toys like this are there for either casual goofing around or whetting a newbie’s whistle for bigger things down the line. Its a modern version of the old Casio era. Weird Al could do a Pete Townshend guitar-smash gag with one onstage and it’d work.
keytars are kind of dumb but part of me has always wanted one
Yamaha just stick with making instruments and fire your marketing department.
Not sure what decade we live in, this sounds like an 80’s thing.
I get that this is a toy, but Yamaha has really made sure it remains that way by not including serial (DIN) MIDI. Really dumb. On controllers it’s a must.
A dumbed down SHS-500?
Embarassing video, please stop making things like these!
I like it, I’d use it with a Bluetooth syncing synth or soft synth. It’s a fun instrument… Is that so wrong? I like that it’s fun and I like that it has a speaker.