Yamaha MP-1 Portasound Synthesizer

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The MP-1 is a polyphonic synthesiser and a note printer that can transcribe melodies from playing. In most respects, the MP-1 is identical to the PC-100, with which the printer function was introduced. The series of Portasound PS and PSS synthesisers were produced in the 1980s and 1990s as mostly inexpensive models. The first series, the PS-1, PS-2 and PS-3, was launched in 1980. The name Portasound refers to the portability of the instruments, which are battery-operated. Some were designed for children and are equipped with small buttons and simple preset functions. A card reading system was introduced in 1982, allowing players to learn and play along with sequenced songs. Some higher-end keyboards have advanced features such as programmable synthesiser controls, midi capability and sampler functions.

The MP-1 has ten 8-voice polyphonic sounds, ten rhythms, automatic arpeggios, automatic bass chords with one-finger chord function, transposition over an octave, synchro-start of rhythms and a 4-beat variation for percussion and bass. The duet button adds a harmony note to the melody line. The chord and melody sections have memories. Each section has a play, off and memory button. Every piece that has been programmed in Play & Print mode is automatically stored in the memory.