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Description
The Yamaha TYU-40 is an interesting little keyboard with several
unusual features.
It offers 4-note polyphony, but the first unusual feature is that there
is only one voice available for manual play, which sounds the same as
the "Piano" sound on the
PSS-160. There is
a choice of four rhythm patterns, again sounding very similar to the
PSS-160, but no auto-accompaniment (except
with Music Card tunes).
The second unusual feature for a keyboard of this size is the provision
of a pitch bend wheel. Interestingly, this not only acts on the main
voice, but also affects the pitch and tempo of the rhythms. The wheel
itself looks and feels identical to the pitch bend wheel on the much
more sophisticated
PSS-780. The TYU-40 also
has a transpose function, which is quite rare (but not unique) on these
small keyboards.
Another unusual feature is the microphone input, which is simply
amplified and played through the built-in speaker. You can't add any
effects to the microphone sound.
Possibly the most interesting feature of the TYU-40 is the "Music Card"
system. Supplied with the keyboard are three so-called "Music Cards",
each of which purports to contain six pre-programmed music tracks. In
actual fact, the cards contain no data at all, and simply have small
spikes on the underside which push against sensors in the keyboard to
select a different range of tunes from the set stored in the keyboard's
ROM. Thus, it is impossible to add any additional tunes by purchasing
extra Cards.
Tunes are selected by simply holding down the numbered key for the tune
you wish to play, then press and release the Start/Stop button. It is
not as complicated as
WarrantyVoid seems to think :-)
The tunes themselves are quite nicely-orchestrated arrangements, with
accompaniment, "obbligato" and main voice channels. The same training
modes as the more sophisticated
PC-100 Playcard system are provided, except the
LEDs for each note shine through holes in the keys themselves, instead
of being mounted above the keys as on most other keyboards.
The "Music Card" slot looks superficially very similar to the
Casio ROM Pack slots on Casio keyboards, and is
clearly an attempt by Yamaha to copy the appearance of the Casio
system.
The TYU-40 is a lovely-sounding little keyboard, but it's a shame the
Music Cards are fake, and unfortunately my example is quite badly
out-of-tune, with no obvious external method of tuning.
It retailed for £29.99 in a 1986
Argos catalogue.
Audio Samples
Here are recordings of
all 18 of the Music Card tunes:
Music Card I:
- Beat It
- Just
The Way You Are
- We've
Only Just Begun
- Days
of Wine & Roses
- Flashdance
- Endless
Love
Music Card II:
- Michael,
Row
the Boat Ashore
- Oh,
Susanna
- La
Paloma
- When
The Saints Go Marchin' In
- Frere
Jacques
- Londonderry
Air
Music Card III:
- I've
Been Working On The Railroad
- Twinkle,
Twinkle
Little Star
- Auld
Lang Syne
- Joy To
The World
- Jingle
Bells
- Silent
Night
Instruction Manual
The Operating Manual for the TYU-40 can be downloaded from the
Yamaha Manual Library,
but
unfortunately this excludes the sheet music for the Music Card
tunes.