Yamaha PSS-480 - Part 3: The Synth Editor

[@bobanspasic5276]

Dunno why exactly, but my previous post got deleted. So, once more - I am the author of PSSEdit. I wrote it as a teenager (I am 45 now). Because of a lot of requests, I decided to update it (the old Visual Basic version does not work well or at all on the Windows versions after the Windows 98). As it seems I can't post links here, the new program will be available on Github, under the name PSS-Revive. Bug-reports and suggestions are welcome. Thanks. Boban (Bobby) Spasic

[@KeenOnKeys]

Good to know. I will have a look at it. github.com/BobanSpasic/PSS-Revive

[@mikea683]

Nice one dude! It's looking slick!

[@izzzzzz6]

If only people had this info and these tools in the 80's. Amazing how it's making the comeback of these keyboards so impressive.

[@EZARTALL]

This guy's video feels like a discovery channel. Hope he did more modern Synth too.

[@JeffWok]

I have had this keyboard for 30 years and had no idea what it could do. Thank You Very Much. Great content.

[@stephpicher]

I found a PSS-480 on marketplace and wanted to know it before deciding. I’m sure buying it now! As well as your album. Thanks a lot!

[@mattaaron6142]

Lmk if u change ur mind ;)

[@Lavalle.mp3]

Got my PSS-780 today, and now I see this! Couldn't be more happy, thanks for this series.

[@chriswareham]

This is the perfect introduction to FM synthesis. I had a Yamaha SY22 that combined sampled waveforms with two operator FM - despite being a professional synth, it's FM implementation was far less featured than on the PSS-480!

[@squishmusic]

yeah I have the SY35 and they improved nothing on the FM side :/

[@kuhpfau]

Half past 12 already? Who cares, this video made my day. Fantastic!

[@quarryqwerty]

please don't ever stop. i am addicted.

[@marcinmuller6367]

"The Golden Years Return" form your bandcamp album is the best track i've heard this year. Great job!

[@SAerror1]

Wow the PSS-480 album is by far your best one yet, I love it!

[@KeenOnKeys]

Thank you very much! I'm glad to hear that, because this album took me by far the most time. Endless possibilities...

[@DiscoCitizens240]

I agree. It’s awesome

[@fremax6946]

You must spend a lot of time to make this definitive serie, and the result is excellent ! Thanks for this !

[@alfonsemusic]

Aah, thanks for the tip on Ctrlr - by coincidence I'd just been making some patches with my 780 today using PSS Wave Editor, but now downloading Ctrlr + panels instead. Glad this popped up! Another comprehensive and super-useful video!

[@-Deena.]

I'd never even thought about an editor for my CSS 680. I only ever use it to try play John Shutleworth songs and sing along. 'I'm up and down like a brides nighty' etc 💙

[@5argetech56]

This was a Toy, that was not a Toy.. Lots of features found in units costing hundreds more even thousands more.. I should know I bought it when it first came out in 1988!!

[@glenesis]

Thank you! Great video full of wonderful information. I am happily surprised to see that Martin is still supporting our FM synthesis community in heroic manner! Have a happy new year :)

[@YounggPrimat]

Thanx a lot for this series! Looking forward for pss 780 videos 🥰

[@unsoundmethodology]

Thanks for showing off these editors! I got Ctrlr and the panel running on my Linux machine and have been playing with the settings - so much fun!

[@escortmarius]

Where did you download the panel? I cant find it.

[@escortmarius]

Never mind. :) YEAH!!!

[@travellogger5080]

Just bought the album. Great work, also singing was amazing. I hope to hear more of that vocal!

[@Piggsvin4]

Great video! 👍 Can’t wait to try out these editors. I have the Pss 680.

[@ruscular]

Me too, and I feel your joy! Thank you so much for this demo!

[@VostoxVI]

What an awesome review of FM keyboard functionality! I literally just brought my Yamaha DX7S back from the dead just yesterday by replacing the internal battery which was a bit tedious but, not as difficult as some videos have implied here on KZbin. I was SO lucky to buy my DX7S back in the mid 2000's in very good condition with the Data Cartridge included. If not, I would not have been able to download all the original sounds which were erased when the battery died! (Phew! lol) I REALLY wish I had you as an instructor to learn how to really open up the capabilites on my DX7S. The manual is "o.k." but, I think I would enjoy and learn a lot better and faster by watching someone like you actually explain and go through the features and functions of my particular keyboard. So far, I have used my keyboard mainly for soundscape and background work in my past musical projects but, now that it is up and running again (thankfully), I really want to open up it's capabilities to the maximum, which I don't think I have really done before. These videos you have done with the PSS-480 have been a treat to watch! You make it all seem so effortless and easy! As I watched, I could really hear so many cool sounds I could make with the PSS-480 simply by hooking it up to some of my pedals. Thank you for all your hard work, not only by playing these keyboards and showing their features and functions but, by recording and editing which is quite a lot of work in itself as well!

[@KeenOnKeys]

Thank you! I am sure you will find a lot of nice videos about the DX7 here on YT. Maybe I will also have a look at it one day, but I will definitely review a few other FM devices in the near future.

[@VostoxVI]

@@KeenOnKeys Thank you for your reply! I am looking forward to more FM synth/keyboard videos! I have watched quite a few excellent videos on the DX7 but unfortunately, very few on the DX7S, which is the model I have. It's somewhat similar to the DX7 but, with a few differences here and there, not to mention a different control layout. Most of those videos focus mainly on demo-ing the factory preset sounds but, hardly any of them go in-depth as to the functions of the keyboard like you do, which is exactly what I am looking for. I would like to see how I could play around with and change those preset sounds to something more custom and personalized. Your viewers actually LEARN something by watching you go through the many functions and features of the keyboards you review. THAT'S what makes your channel stand out and be totally awesome! Keep up the great work!

[@mCKENIC]

Thank you! This was a fantastic series.

[@h2o1969]

I am so loving the PSS 480 album. I need to go back and study these 3 vids.

[@starchild3369]

Hello - thx for your series - I really love it. These days I bought a PSS-580, and put it over my AWE-soundcard to my old PC with Win XP. By this 580er version its so, that the changing parameters are automatically transmitted to the PSS-580, what makes controlling the Keyboard very easy - even by live-sessions.

[@mattaaron6142]

Can anyone implement a hardware upgrade to unlock all the options :)

[@festivitycat]

Thanks, I would never have expected you could get so much out of this 'toy'. I got lucky and picked a 580 up for under £30 and have been having a lot of fun creating patches in Ctrlr!

[@ChrisFotopoulos]

Very nice video series. It will be nice to make a video for PSS-790

[@directionlessstudios7210]

Incredible series! So cool there’s computer parameter editors, like PSS-480 CTRLR Panel. Picking up your album now. Thanks!

[@travisguide4516]

These videos absolutely blow my mind

[@pingudroid]

Hey there! I'm a huge fan of your videos. Thanks a lot for sharing your knowledge, your music and your collection with us! Lately I've started collecting toy keyboards and minisynths and learning how to make music with them, and your videos have been a huge source of inspiration and information. I'm not sure if you know, but your collection of 100 PSS-480 synth banks seems to work perfectly fine on the PSS-680 as well (I guess because both models have very similar or identical FM synths). Just letting you know. These synth banks are awesome, thanks! Best wishes.

[@seuck1870]

Great videos, these! That pad is lovely indeed. Getting your album now.

[@thejrcitizens]

Bravo and thank you for this. Now I just have to get my keyboard repaired so it will turn on. I believe the plug has broken free from the board, as I have seen several videos on the subject and it seems my plug does have some wobble to it.

[@francescobarrali637]

Great video as always :)

[@jroseme]

Amazing level of detail and editing skills Sir.

[@AltusNoumena]

You're an incredible teacher and your videos are really professional! I love old fm keyboards like this. Just got this one at the thrift store! Thank you so much. Subscribed

[@WalyB01]

Thanks last time I was into this was 3 years ago so really happy this video came along

I wonder if I could build hardware panel using arduino which would send control change messages to keyboard. I guess it should work, right? Could as well store and load presets on SD card 😁

[@dendord]

It's here! Just finished watching and wow I had no idea the hidden parameters were that flexible, ordering a set of midi/usb cables right this second

[@dolomighty74]

great as alwasy! the final track reminds me of orbital bombardment from ultionus ost

[@johntammaro]

Great video thanks. Very educational

[@stevereid5944]

Very cool! That’s what I started with before proper gear in the 90s, then got a couple more cheap later on . Once had a wee chat with Richard James (aphex twin) about them Outside a club. If you set transpose to -48 they start making some pretty cool weird noises , kinda acidic squelches and hisses . Like it doesn’t quite know what to do , or maybe it’s the fm modulator harmonic overtones coming down to hearable audio rate, as you lost the main pitch tone by that point. Not sure I’ve described that right! - but try it if you have one and run a sequence through it , trying different patches at -48

[@DiscoCitizens240]

Your PSR 480 album is amazing. How did you get the pcm drums to sound so full?

[@KeenOnKeys]

I loaded them into my sampler and pitched them down a bit

[@DiscoCitizens240]

@@KeenOnKeys Brilliant. They sound really good. I almost thought you used alternative drum samples. LOL. Excellent job as always.

[@squishmusic]

Simply brilliant resource for these -X80 Fm synths. I have a 580 hopefully on its way to me from DE. So which editor was for Mac? Of only there was an iOS editor for these PSS synths.....

[@telecomboring]

fantastic, I'll have to try ctrlr, tried to get pss edit to work with my 680 last year with no success.

[@marcbrasse747]

FANTASTIC! I recently bought an ELKA EK 44 which is a bit at the other end of the spectrum. It can porduce 4 4-operator sounds at the same time (So one could say it is 16 operator) and fully programmable. This simple "preset"-keyboard however covers all the basics perfectly and when used this way already has all the versatility one needs. So if I understand correctly you can basically build your own panel surfaces in that editor and then control the instrument via system exclusive? That is a great find anyway. Thanks for the tip and for these beautifull video's. They are the perfect antidote against the "it's only a homekeybaord" preconception I suffered from for years. In a way that is a humbling experience! :-)

[@ruscular]

Nice job on this! I just pick up a PSS 480 today for $40, and its in pristine condition with a custom bag. No scuff and everything works. I was going to turn around and sell it, but I haven't seen any in this condition. Even tho I already have a good PSS 680. Since there is little difference between all 4 of these 2ops, what would it take to add a pitch bend wheel to the PSS 480?

[@mikea683]

This is a fantastic video! I got a PSS-680 for Christmas in 1988 and I absolutely adored it! Sadly, It fell off a wardrobe in the 2000's and stopped working (I was heartbroken) but I recently bought another on eBay and using it again has been like riding a bike. Did you ever get around to making the PSS-780 video? I had a look but couldn't see it on your channel.

[@KeenOnKeys]

Not yet. But it's on top of my list.

[@javiceres]

Beautiful

[@EBHawellsGames]

Wonderful video! Can u please explain the benefit of midi mapping a pss-480 to a pss-680 for example? Why did yamaha include this feature? Any examples of 2 pss-x being an advantage somehow?

[@KeenOnKeys]

I am not quite sure if I have understood the question correctly. Do you mean the SysEx data transfer between two models? Or do you mean controlling one PSS keyboard with another via midi?

[@henrikgustav2294]

The real time editing means it is possible to use external knows/sliders/pad/etc while playing

[@izzzzzz6]

Did you never make the 780 video? I couldn't find it. Guessing it was not repairable?

[@TeslaDanser]

Still waiting on that 780 video haha

[@m.schmied1714]

Thanks!! What a great Video! Wow!!

[@sssyntax]

Excellent!!!

[@listenin007]

Are the 480 presets that come with your album also applicable to the 680? And does the 680/780 include any additional editable parameters on these softwares shown? Enjoyed the video, thank you!

[@KeenOnKeys]

The 480/580/680/780 all have the exact same synth section. No additional parameters with the 680/780. And the presets work with all 4 models.

[@listenin007]

@@KeenOnKeys awesome! Will you also be including or sharing the drum presets you showed in your video?

[@KeenOnKeys]

​@@listenin007 No, but I included a couple of FX voices. The drum sounds work best in combination with a sampler. Maybe I'll add some to my PSS-780 album which I hope to release in a few weeks.

[@squishmusic]

@@KeenOnKeys wow mucho good news!

[@h2o1969]

My 480 was having issues with the power plug. I took it apart to see if reflowing the solder would fix it. Turns out, the poor machine is all Frankensteined on the inside. I am afraid that I am going to have more issues down the road. A friend has a 680 for sale. Is it as good as the 480. It looked similar to me but with a few extras. Thoughts?

[@Big_Red_Dork]

Did you ever get that PSS-780 repaired and go through its additional features?

[@KeenOnKeys]

No, not yet. But it's on my schedule for this year.

[@Big_Red_Dork]

@@KeenOnKeys that's awesome! I appreciate all your hard work, incredible musicianship, and video production skills that you've put into this series , it was like a masterclass on understanding how to get the most out of my PSS-680. I've got the PSS-470 which I really like too, brings a bit more of that sound blaster sound where the x80 series really feels like an actual synth under the surface

[@BellXllebMusic]

You inspired me to buy one:D what a great machine

[@dankro279]

Excellent review. I've already been using the Cntrlr Software for my Alesis Micron, looks like I need to get a PSS 580 now ;-) Can the 580 accept your 480 presets your generously offer with your album on bandcamp?

[@KeenOnKeys]

Yes

[@starchild3369]

Addition to my comment - I naturally mean the PSS-680 - its the greater model with 61 keys and drum pads - this you can control while playing, without pressing the PUT button in the App.

[@KeenOnKeys]

Interesting. Haven't tried it with my 780 yet.

[@popcycles]

Will the reface dx, Elektron cycles, or Opsix, be able to replicate the sound and experience of the old pss-480? In other words, will I be able tomreplicate the two ops and architecture that the pss-480 has, through one of the mentioned synths? Or is there another newer synth that can? Thank you.

[@ArrowFox89]

I found mine in a flea market. Boy am I lucky

[@fernandobocadillos]

If you have a video on the Casio PA 81 let me know :)

[@KeenOnKeys]

Unfortunately the PA 81 (or PT-580) is hard to find in Germany

[@dankro279]

Why is there a dedicated Cntrlr Panel for the 780 ? I thought it was more or less the same as the 680. Or is there a major difference?

[@KeenOnKeys]

It's just because of the preset browser. The presets of the 780 have a different order.

[@dankro279]

@@KeenOnKeys I see. Thanks for your answer. Is it possible to assign functions to CC messages? I really would like to tweak this machine with some midi automations.

[@KeenOnKeys]

@@dankro279 You can control the parameters of the editor via Midi. But the PSS-480 itself only recieves Note on/off, velocity, pitch bend and sustain on/off .

[@dankro279]

@@KeenOnKeys that would be great. Does it work in real-time or do I have to use the "put" button each time I make an alteration?

[@KeenOnKeys]

@@dankro279 unfortunately yes

[@freddyfischer]

Guten Tag

[@genivos]

I must be missing something but I can't get it to work. I see something on the midi monitor when I press keys on the keyboard but to receive a dump or send something back, no way. I need to read the manual from the keyboard I guess. It's a PSS-680 so it should work.

[@RWL2012]

What are the minimum PC specs and operating system for this program? I Googled but couldn't find them.

[@55Wasert55]

Hello Sir thank you for making this awesome videos! i have this exact model since early 90s, it was my sisters keyboard but now its mine. I didnt had the chace befor to extract the full potential of it until now watching your videos. Is there any way to connect it as midi controller in ableton? do i have to download a driver? i cant find the correct way to use it as midi.

[@KeenOnKeys]

You need a Midi interface with a Din socket.

[@55Wasert55]

@@KeenOnKeys i have an audio interface with Midi ports, its the Behringer U-Phoria UMC202HD should this be enough?

[@KeenOnKeys]

@@55Wasert55 no, as far as I know the uphoria has only USB midi

[@johnny5805]

It would be awesome if there was a VST, or an emulator app, that had access to the bass loops, and drum loops too. Google metaphorically laughed at me when I asked. 🙂

[@guillermogutierrez2671]

Heyyy nice vid, i bought this synth the last week, can i use Ctrlr with a Midi cable In Out - USB Out? I don't have interface with Midi In Out - Midi In Out ):

[@KeenOnKeys]

Sure!

[@guillermogutierrez2671]

@@KeenOnKeys thanks 🎉

[@MatyBsAs]

@@KeenOnKeys I bought one of those cheap USB-MIDI controlers and when I quickly press a key, the "key up" is not sent. Also if I press more than 1 key or one or more keys quickly it just don't send anything to the PC. I was wondering if this is the cheap interface/cable fault or maybe, since it's an old MIDI keyboard, just don't work well with a MIDI-USB interface. Thanks and great videos!

[@XHALE303]

I wonder if you can record changing parameters & frequencies real time with this. I discovered a trick that if you saved in the user banks (repeatedly) while changing the frequencies you could do awesome filter sweeps while playing the sequencer, it just didn't record it so you could only do it live.

[@mdfacp]

How did you get that appregio sound?

[@ForthAnten]

Blake's 7 in the detume section

[@popcycles]

So these envelopes are same as adsr envelopes?

[@sergiomax1607]

comment ça marche ? how to host pss480 in daw ???

[@chennakesavaraobadisa9601]

I want PSS 480 Yamaha keyboard, Any one sell , please let me know

[@simoncrabb]

So D2R is actually a rateable S?

[@KeenOnKeys]

You could say so