The Synth Yamaha Wants You to Forget | The V50

My sound patches: https://espenkraft.com In 1989, while Korg's M1 and the sampling boom were rewriting the charts, Yamaha reached into the parts bin and handed us the V50 — a 4-operator FM workstation synth almost nobody asked for. The V50 wrapped Yamaha's 4-operator FM engine (the same one in the DX11 and TX81Z) in a full workstation shell: an 8-track sequencer, a PCM drum machine, dual digital effects and a built-in floppy drive. On paper, a tidy package. In practice, in a year that wanted fat organs, realistic pianos and new dance sounds, it landed as a warmed-over fossil. I disliked it then, and I dislike it now — but I'll show you what it can and can't do. All effects in the video are from the V50 internally. No external processing. Yamaha V50 — key specs: Released 1989 4-operator, 8-algorithm, 8-waveform FM synthesis (DX11 / TX81Z engine) 16-note polyphony, 8-part multitimbral 100 preset + 100 user voices Built-in 8-track sequencer — 8 songs, 16,000 notes PCM drum machine with 61 sampled drum sounds Dual digital effects (reverb, delay, distortion) 3.5" floppy disk drive 61-key keyboard with velocity + aftertouch US list price when new: ~$1,895 00:00 M1 ruled the world 00:35 Yamaha's answer: the V50 01:23 What you got for your money 02:14 FM Pianos again 02:52 PCM drums 04:18 A flop 05:00 Various sounds from the V50