Yamaha PSR-640: A 90's keyboard that's still strong in the new millenium!

[@yayoradin7518]

My first keyboard in 1999... Until now it was still running well

[@BalitskyMedia]

Got one at age 11. 28 now and still use it

[@gearfacts]

Still totally usable :)

[@Deep-Sea-Dream]

Still have lots of love for mine. Will never sell it. It's an authentic piece of keyboard history.

[@gearfacts]

I agree, it is indeed 'historic'. The XG sound set was such a leap for performance and home recording at the time. True, CG has held on well past its due date, but the PSR-640 was among the first and it comes from an absolutely golden age!

[@pascalvandermaten160]

still have it (and working) to this day. Awesome keyboard!

[@gearfacts]

Rock on!

[@DynamteKid316]

same here! Love it!

[@larryramos5718]

Mine, i gave to my nephew last year ,bought in ksa in 2001

[@ranahan2458]

Was my uncle's, then my sisters and now its mine. Loved it for years. Basically just googled it to see if it was worth a lot at the time or now lol

[@danshredwards3794]

posting one on reverb later today, it's in good condition. fully functional.

[@manishjadhav1331]

Old is gold

[@maskoen69]

yamaha psr 640 setiap hari aku pakai untuk kerja. luar biasa style dan audionya

[@gearfacts]

Yeah it still sounds like a modern keyboard 👍

[@heroknaderi]

I enjoyed it the sounds are amazing. And a lot of them sound like today’s psr e line. And it’s still a masterpiece from its time I would love to get one one day 🤩🤩😍👍😉

[@freddiet3676]

I sold my 640 a few years back and regretted letting it go. I bought a S770 but have never got on with it. I’ve just bought a like new 740 and am chuffed to bits with it. I won’t be letting this one go. There’s a lot to it without being over complicated and being a guitarist and not so much of a keyboard player.....life’s too short!

[@gearfacts]

Yep I know what you mean ...I've been keyboarding for years and I'm still pretty bad :)

[@gearfacts]

@@Sedyon I never had any lessons

[@gearfacts]

@@Sedyon definitely not, haha

[@ironfront9573]

The pitch bend dist guitar gave me flashbacks of 90s TV, Australian kids TV in particular.

[@gearfacts]

Really? Any particular one?

[@ironfront9573]

Well I'm actually British but we have always had a few Aussie shows. Possibly round the twist or even heartbreak high? It's the kind of music played when something "bad" happens or dangerous happens , worthy of a cliffhanger ending.

[@vageliskomninos2723]

Bought the 640 back in '96 and had some fun back then. Still the only one i posess but ill get a sx900 soon. Its vintage gear but still works great and i love it. Hard to find disquettes these days but if you dont intend to save files only just play its ok.

[@DynamteKid316]

I currently have this board, love it! 🙂❤

[@SaturnineXTS]

My music teacher at school had a 740, always thought it was a pretty dope keyboard and even considered buying it, it goes for peanuts now and still looks like it's better than the PSR-E's.

[@gearfacts]

Yep. XG sound system + effects = just about all you need for most music

[@byCampo]

I have a Yamaha PSR4600 from 1990...not quite as fancy as this one, but still goes as good today as it did in 1990.

[@gearfacts]

Oh yeah those things are huge if I remember correctly :)

[@blueterminal7495]

The 640 and 740 actually changed the Arranger Workstation scene in Yamaha's Arranger Category, but they're not credited with it. Yamaha actually removed the Simple Intro and Simple ending on Yamaha PSR-1000/2000 which wasn't a good move. imo the 640 and 740 were completely different from the other Arranger Workstations from Yamaha, like totally on the other corner.

[@gearfacts]

Yep, and they brought XG to hardware which was awesome :)

[@HuseynMemmedov]

Techically, PSR-1000/2000 still had Simple Intro because, you could have up to 3 intros and 3 endings in one style. Intro A and Ending A are simple.

[@ababababeebababa]

I have the psr-630 and psr-640 currently. When you take them apart, the identical battery compartment is in both, but the 640 threw a cover over it so I think its disabled or not intended to be used with batteries on the 640 but the cover looks like a diy mod, guess yamaha decided it was best to leave out battery power and did a quick and dirty to eliminate it. This also seemed to make the 640 a lot easier to open up as my 630 wires between battery and top cover board makes opening very limited without cutting the extremely short battery ground wire. Both have similar sounds and polyphony but the UI on the 640 is better overall but the backlit single screen with huge text was easier to read on the 630/730.

[@sahilhiramanlakhraj7508]

My first Yamaha keyboard

[@gearfacts]

Wow, a great place to start!

[@sahilhiramanlakhraj7508]

@@gearfacts true bro it's still pristine no scratches or any dents still brand new I use it mostly for shows and I have a music show lined up as well

[@erichkohl9317]

Ah, bought one of these back in the early 2000's from a local piano/organ store. Used it for several projects. My niece/nephew have it now, but the last time I saw it, it was in their basement collecting dust. :-(

[@gearfacts]

Grab it and re-live the experience! It's amazing how often I get messages from people saying that a keyboard or guitar is 'gathering dust' in their house. I'm not judging them or being critical, but hey if you're not using it then sell that sucker. There are people out there praying for the day they find a working PSR-640 :) :)

[@erichkohl9317]

@@gearfacts I agree it's tempting. When my niece and nephew were with me, they loved to tinker on the PSR-640 I had. So I figured I would sell it to my sister so I could hand it down to them. Then it seems like they just lost interest. Perhaps it should be salvaged while it still has some life.

[@gearfacts]

@@erichkohl9317 I do love the re-use thing, as a preference over selling or recycling, and certainly over dumping :)

[@thatboydave5071]

CAN SOMEBODY PLEASE SHOW HOW TO CREATE STYLES ON THIS MACHINE im having trouble knowing what the defferent sections are and how to rerecord a section without having to abort the whole thing

[@sonicaids]

could that be an expansion port for a HDD?

[@gearfacts]

Possibly, yeah. Or maybe an upgrade slot. Not sure, and nothing in the manual :/

[@Jimmy-rd5ig]

Hey mate. Do you remember which sounds you're using around 10:30 ? Cheers

[@gearfacts]

Not ure (too long ago) but they'd be from the Synth Pad category for sure.

[@joelbeenieclassic8304]

Pls how can I register voices on my PRS 640

[@gearfacts]

I don't have it anymore but I think you hold down STORE and press one of the registration buttons at the same time.

[@geraldwagner8739]

I've got a PSR 740.

[@angelserrano3655]

¡Que buena música has puesto al final del video! Es tuya ¿verdad?

[@gearfacts]

Yep, that's one of mine from about 1995

[@angelserrano3655]

Hazme caso, Glynn, tienes que seguir componiendo y dibujando. Gearfacts es el instrumento ideal para dar a conocer todo tu potencial artístico, que es enorme. ¡Animo!

[@ZZKJ396]

Artwork link?

[@gearfacts]

I put the caption link in a few seconds too late in the video! Here it is: kzbin.info/www/bejne/d5nVmJ55htCtf9k&ab_channel=Gearfacts

[@ZZKJ396]

@@gearfacts ok, thank you.

[@tristan6509]

You can get a floppy drive emulator on eBay and replace it with a USB flashdrive

[@gearfacts]

Yes, that's been known to work :)

[@amanshingguitarists4394]

Yamaha psr 740 transpos freeze ragistar bank

[@ernesteinmeister9639]

Are keys responsive to pressure?

[@gearfacts]

Yep

[@edsknife]

Is it PCM?

[@gearfacts]

Yes

[@SynthGrooves]

I used to have one !!! Loved it but polyphony sucked

[@gearfacts]

Yeah, it doesn't compete now :( But it's something that everyone should try once