Buying tips a non-musician?

[Jjemig]

Hello. I am looking to buy a used Yamaha synth (MO8) for my wife for Christmas and know absolutely nothing about synthesizers - how to test them, what problems to look for, etc. I am looking at one today and wondered if someone had tips for quickly testing the main functions of the unit. Thanks in advance for any pointers!

[pflosi]

I don't know much about the MO8... But it's a relatively new keyboard and it should be fine I think.

Definitely make sure that all the keys trigger a sound reliably.

[Jjemig]

Thank you for that reply.

[meatballfulton]

Jjemig,

Ask the seller to perform a factory reset. This is done as follows:

Press UTILITY
Press JOB
Make sure the PowerOn Auto box on the screen is NOT checked
Press ENTER

This will set the MO8 to the state it left the factory....then everything below should work.

The MO8 has four MODES. There are buttons you will see on the front panel marked Voice, Performance, Song and Pattern.

Press the Song button and the data wheel next to the display should let you scroll through the songs that are loaded. Select a song and press the Play button (marked with an arrow like you would see on a CD player or tape deck), it should play. Press the Stop button, it should stop.

Then press the Performance button. Most performances have drum parts that will start playing automatically....hold down a large number of keys across the board and you should hear some drums starting, perhaps a bass line as well.

Then press the Voice button and confirm that it plays a single sound properly.

To the left of the keyboard are two wheels. The leftmost one controls PITCH. As you hold down some keys, turn the wheel and you should hear the pitch change. The wheel next to it is called a MOD wheel. Turn this and you should hear some change in the sound.

Press the cursor buttons, yes/no buttons, the buttons below the screen and see that they all do something.

Print this out and take it with you

If it's a private seller (as opposed to a store) the seller should be able to demonstrate all this for you.

Good luck! The MO8 is a great keyboard.

[Jjemig]

Meatballfulton, that was incredibly helpful. Thank you so much. I went through each of the steps you suggested and everything checked out perfectly. I can't tell you how much I appreciate your help on this. I just bought the unit.

All the best to you...