Yamaha Yamaha PSR-1500 / PSR-3000 Review

Overall Rating

Excellent sound quality
Can actually call this portable
Feature rich
Medium price
Score & lyrics display
96 key polyphony

Not battery support
Screen attracts dust easily and is hard to clean
Monochrome (blue, black & white) screen

The Yamaha PSR-1500 is a rather new addition to the PSR series in Yamaha keyboards. This arranger workstation comes in a small package but with big features. You can actually call this keyboard portable, being about to pick it up and be able to walk about with it without braking a few bones.

It may look disgusting when you first look at it, but don't let that deceive you. This keyboard comes with everything that would make everyone happy, like being able to play MIDI files through to editing them or making them from scratch. It also comes with a great truck load of features including pitch bend, modulation, multi-pads, song & voice editing and (for the experienced) editing the controls of the keyboard.

You can use storage devices with this keyboard like a USB device or (only) an SM (Smart Media) card, so that you can store your songs, custom made voices and more.

Yamaha have truly put lots of effort into the sounds/voices of the PSR-1500 / PSR-3000. Like when you play the note softer on the keys, instead of the sound just being quieter, you can hear that it is like playing the instrument softer. It boasts a 793 database of sounds/voices and you can make even more using the sound editor. You also have Sweet! Live! and Cool! voices which enhance the specific instruments in it's own way.

Unfortunately, being a portable keyboard, I would have liked it to have battery capability, but unfortunately, it doesn't. Also, compared to it's brother, the PSR-3000, it doesn't have a colour screen. Instead, it has a Monochome (blue, black and white) screen, which attract dust easily and is a real pain to clean.

Thankfully, the keyboard is very easy to use. If you wish to change the sound/voice, just press the desired category and search. The same which the styles. All of the buttons are clearly marked, and there's a small light on a most of them.

There are quite a few other features, including 96 key polyphony, a score & lyrics display (for those who wish to learn), and a new feature to keyboard technology, a IDC (Internet Direct Connection). Unfortunately, I haven't had a chance to look at this new feature as I do not have a USB adapter so I cannot connect.

The price for all this isn't one that'll leave you bankrupt or penniless, either. So you can enjoy a great experience with money left in your wallet.

Overall, this arranger workstation has everything you need, plus more, at a reasonable price.