Yamaha PSR340 61-Note Touch-Sensitive Portable Electronic Keyboard

by Yamaha

Product Features

• Portable keyboard with built-in floppy-disk drive
• 61 full-size touch-sensitive keys
• Abundant MIDI functions for sequence recording and other applications
• Hundreds of instrument voices and accompaniment styles
• Can be hooked up to a Mac or PC

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 25.3 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S. and to APO/FPO addresses. For APO/FPO shipments, please check with the manufacturer regarding warranty and support issues.
• ASIN: B00002JV63
• Item model number: PS340
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #61,446 in Musical Instruments (See Top 100 in Musical Instruments)

Product Description

Amazon.com Review

Yamaha packs more features into its lightweight PSR-340 Portatone keyboard than anyone is likely to use during the life of the product. But the diversity and flexibility inherent in this surplus should invite the novice and tease the seasoned. The keyboard's battery power offers portability and is a welcome feature. And you don't even need an amplifier--the keyboard's onboard powered speakers play loudly and cleanly.

Setup of the PSR-340 is a cinch using Yamaha's handy quick guide (which precedes the in-depth portion of the keyboard's 123-page manual). Though not always as clear as it could be, the manual does have helpful graphics, special hints, and discussions of piano basics and the whys and wherefores of MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface). In a matter of minutes we were up and playing along with one of the PSR-340's three demos, "My Heart Will Go On (Love Theme from Titanic)."

The keyboard's four main buttons guide you to the sounds, or voices, of hundreds of instruments, including myriad drums and sound effects. You have the option of using these voices with over a hundred styles of backing music, available at the press of the Auto Accompaniment button.

Among the numerous features to choose from while playing and recording are: metronome assistance, dual-voice performance, variable split point (the place where the keys switch from one voice to another), and MIDI inputs and outputs. Using MIDI and the PSR-340's sequencer, you can "record" up to six tracks for repeat performances of, say, a jazz piece with piano, organ, bass, and drums. You can adjust the volume for the musical accompaniment and sound effects such as reverb (echo), chorus (a layering of the sound with slightly different timings), DSP (digital signal processing), and others.

Three special chord functions make Auto Accompaniment especially easy. The onboard digital dictionary can teach you the notes for the chords you request (an F# minor M7 flat 5, perhaps?), or you can select Smart Chord to inform the keyboard what key you'll be playing in. If you're new at this, EZ Chord lets you line up a series of chords in advance; all you'll have to do is press the same note whenever you're ready for the next chord in the sequence.

One aspect of sequencer operations that puzzled us was the fact that, upon editing a note, subsequent notes are deleted from your recorded track. Say, for instance, that you recorded 10 notes on Track One and 10 notes on Track Two. If you want to edit the sixth note on the second track, you'll have to redo notes six through 10 rather than simply note six.

As long as you leave the PSR-340 plugged in, it's never truly off. (When you power down, it goes into standby.) So, if you change any of the settings--tempo, volume, split, metronome, etc.--the keyboard will retain those settings for next time.

If you want to reset the settings to Yamaha's factory presets, the PSR-340 offers global as well as individual defaults. Under global default, holding down a designated key when you're turning the keyboard on or off will return everything you've changed during your last session--tempo, volume, split, metronome, etc.--to the factory preset. Individual default lets you return any one setting (just the tempo, just the volume, etc.) to the factory preset.

Given its price, the PSR-340 is clearly aimed at a family audience and keyboard neophytes, though it's sophisticated enough that professionals can just as easily appreciate its innovative features.

--Michael Anderson

Pros:

• Lightweight, portable
• Display remains clear and bright in direct sunlight
• Easy returns to global- and individual-setting defaults
• Multiple ways to select same feature
• Standby mode allows low-power usage while retaining user selections

Cons:

• Accessories sold separately
• In sequence editing, the keyboard deletes subsequent notes from the edit point in your recorded track
• Panel display gradually dims over long periods of use

Amazon.com Product Description

The Yamaha PSR340 portable keyboard features 61 full-sized keys and a floppy disk drive. No matter what styles of music you enjoy playing, this keyboard includes hundreds of sounds for you, including a stereo-sampled grand piano and a general MIDI voice set as well as 100 musical style accompaniments to back your performance. The built-in floppy disk drive allows you to play back MIDI song data in a variety of formats--including SMF 0 and 1, DOC, and Disklavier formats--and gives you the benefit of unlimited storage for your original musical compositions.

For the piano student, the Yamaha PSR-340 features the YES music tutor system and The Yamaha Education Suite, a collection of functions that make it easy for anyone to learn to play the keyboard. Yamaha's Chord Dictionary shows you how to play any chord as well as display the names of chords as you play on the LCD display. By programming chord changes into the EZ Chord memory, you'll be able to play back the proper chords with the press of any left-hand key.

One hundred panel voices, 128 general MIDI voices, and 10 drum kits give you a wide range of musical possibilities. You also control tuning, tempo, an array of digital effects, and volume levels. An easy-to-use six-track sequencer and three user song locations are provided for you to record performances or compose original songs. Both real-time and step-recording modes are available. The Yamaha PSR340 plugs into any standard outlet with a PA6 AC adapter or uses D batteries (neither included).

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Delighted, December 28, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Yamaha PSR340 61-Note Touch-Sensitive Portable Electronic Keyboard (Electronics)

I purchased the PSR340 as a Christmas gift for my retired parents. They both have a history with full sized organs and piano's and they simply love the Yamaha keyboard. I was particularly pleased with Amazon.com's ordering process. I was promptly notified via email of the exact status of my order and received it right on schedule.

Yes, I was rather disappointed that Yamaha chose not to include the power supply but Amazon.com DOES in fact sell it.

Yamaha PA6 Power Adapter for Electronic Keyboards and Drums

27 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars no power supply, December 21, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Yamaha PSR340 61-Note Touch-Sensitive Portable Electronic Keyboard (Electronics)

This is a fine keyboard. Unfortunately, Yamaha does not include the power supply, and considers it 'optional' ! So, be aware that you will have to wait up to 30 days for a backordered 10 v power supply, or buy a pallet of D batteries. Amazon does not appear to carry the power supply.

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome Keyboard!, December 12, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Yamaha PSR340 61-Note Touch-Sensitive Portable Electronic Keyboard (Electronics)

This Yamaha keyboard does everything! I can hook it up to my computer to write music. The disk drive makes it easy to record music and it acts almost like a player piano.