Yamaha SHS-10 Keytar

[organsymphony]

DO NOT BUY ONE OF THESE.

the prices people are paying for these toys is absolutely effing ridiculous.

up to and in excess of £250/$450?!


its really annoying me... how can people pay so much for one of these?

is it because its the cheapest keytar out there, so theres a huge demand for them? its just rediculous.

/rant

[Spleg]

Agreed!

My friend has one, and if you want a cheap Casio sort of tone and can put up with minikeys, it's great. But a decent keytar it is not, and it's definitely not worth much more than £50!

[Ashe37]

Have one, gigged with it years ago using it to control my EPS. Dunno why people want them so much, but if i can find my power supply... hehehe

[madtheory]

Yes, it is a terrible thing. Total waste of money. But I was glad to be able to make a profit of over €100 on mine!

Didn't it get popular initially because the guy from Gnarls Barkly used one at gigs?

[killedaway]

i currently own one. it cost me $8. i had another (came with the box and everything) which i bought for $5 and sold for $250+! (this was way before the whole Gnarls Barkley thing too). i'm tempted to sell my current one just to buy something more fun, but i love having a keytar around.

[madtheory]

(this was way before the whole Gnarls Barkley thing too)

Any idea what started the craze?

[killedaway]

(this was way before the whole Gnarls Barkley thing too)

Any idea what started the craze?

i don't know. for a few years now, people have been pretty hot for any sort of keytar. i think it's just the whole ironic hipster thing that's been brewing.

[devetron]

There's really nothing else like it out there -- a tiny little keytar with a midi-out and some FM presets. I think M-Audio or somebody could make a KILLING by producing a controller with a similar form factor -- with or without any onboard sound generation. Seriously -- throw a couple of knobs and maybe some drum pads on there too.

I too have found a few of them for $6 - $10 and sold them for $250-$300 each. I guess I'm part of the problem, but if I see a little stack of $100 bills up for grabs... I'm grabbing.

I firmly believe that keytars should not be used under any circumstances, however.

[madtheory]

Yamaha and Roland made excellent keytars, but they sold in very small numbers. Maybe that's why M Audio haven't done one yet. IMO it's a great idea!

IMO the CS01 is a much more playable instrument. It has slightly bigger keys with a nicer "action" and controls are well placed. The SHS10 is garbage, the keys are just too small and have little or no tactile feedback.

[killedaway]

IMO the CS01 is a much more playable instrument. It has slightly bigger keys with a nicer "action" and controls are well placed. The SHS10 is garbage, the keys are just too small and have little or no tactile feedback.

i've got both, and while i agree about the fatter keys on the CS01 (i like their size much more than the SHS10's), i actually like the deeper, more clunky throw of the SHS-10. the CS01 feels sorta mushy to me. of course, the factory CS01 lacks midi, which is a big downside compared to the SHS-10 -- it kinda leaves you locked into using its inbuild sounds, which aren't bad, but obviously aren't as versatile as a pile of outboard synths all MIDI'd up.

[Mateusz]

I would like to have a keytar, just to show off and shine

[madtheory]

I think the CS01 is a far more expressive instrument. It has just enough of the real time modulation facilities you'd need for gigging, and nice portamento/glide. Actually, it IS an instrument, the SHS10 is a toy.

[logicalhippo]

But it plays "Last Christmas" by WHAM! What could possibly be wrong with that!

Seriously, though, prices of keytars are completely out of control. It's not just the shs-10. Roland AX7s go for literally $1500. Roland was really smart to come out with a new keytar this year, but I think what people want is something cheap and with usb or bluetooth.

[minime123]

keytars are rare. price is a matter of supply vs demand.
personally, i think the shs10 is cool for what it is.
most keytars dont have built in sounds or accompaniments.
if you dont like the sounds, use the midi out.
we're gonna put one of these on the market shortly and i suspect its gonna sell for a respectable price as, surprisingly, we get lots of requests for keytars.
mini

[killedaway]

personally, i think the shs10 is cool for what it is.
most keytars dont have built in sounds or accompaniments.
if you dont like the sounds, use the midi out.

that's how i feel. the SHS-10 having MIDI is what makes it so versatile.