Yamaha PSR-18 Home Keyboard Information, Specifications and Resources

Author: Andy Merrett / Data Driven

Overview

The Yamaha PSR-18 is a home keyboard released in 1990. It is marketed primarily to home musicians.

The PSR-18 has 61 synth/organ style full sized keys without touch sensitivity or aftertouch. It has nine notes of polyphony. It has 100 on board sounds but no acoustic piano sounds. It does have other real world sounds though, accompaniments and rhythms, and no pedals.

The PSR-18 uses Yamaha's FM sound generation. Frequency Modulation is an iconic digital synthesis for metallic, bell-like, and evolving tones. It also uses PCM, a classic wave-based synthesis offering basic sampled sound playback.

It has no built-in learning system. It has a built-in amplifier and speakers. It can run from both AC and battery power.

The keyboard is a decent choice for children. It's very much an entry level model, making it cheaper but also with fewer functions or lower quality sounds than more expensive keyboards. It's a part of the PSR family of instruments, whose models span from 1984 to the present day. Its release year of 1990 makes it a relatively early PSR model.

Description

The PSR-18 was a fairly entry-level keyboard from 1990. With 61 keys, it had no touch sensitivity but did have a number of on board sounds, accompaniments and basic effects.

Somewhat unusally, the default voice when switching on the PSR-18 was that of a trumpet (most often keyboards default to their acoustic piano sample). There's a harmony mode which, used in conjunction with the auto-accompaniment, can produce two or four part harmony from a single played note.

Although Yamaha claims 100 voices on the keyboard (which is quite standard for this kind of instrument) in fact some of them are either splits or combined voices. There are 40 single voices, 10 ensemble sounds, 30 combination sounds and 20 split sounds.

The metronome is also rather fixed, with just 16 tempos available between 40 and 240 bpm.

Voices include trumpet, horn, trombone, tuba, saxophones, clarinets, oboe, piccolo, flute, recorder, ocarina, piano, electric piano, toy piano, organs, harpsichord, clavichord, accordion, guitars, bass, cello, banjo, mandolin, harp, violin, and various percussion.

There's headphone/aux out, and power from either AC or battery, but no sustain or other pedals. The keyboard predates USB, and also had no MIDI connections.

FAQ

What year was the Yamaha PSR-18 launched?

This instrument was launched in 1990

What other models did Yamaha release in 1990?

• KB-100
• MIE-1
• PSR-19
• PSR-2
• PSR-3
• PSR-38
• PSR-4600
• PSR-48
• PSS-16
• PSS-190
• PSS-290
• PSS-390
• PSS-50
• PSS-590
• PSS-790
• PSS-9
• SY22
• SY55
• YPR-20
• YPR-30

What models did other manufacturers release in 1990?

• Casio CT636
• Casio CT680
• Casio PT-22
• Casio SK-100
• Korg T3
• Korg Wavestation
• Roland E-30
• Roland HP-2700
• Roland HP-3700
• Technics KN3000

What other home keyboards were released at a similar time?

• Casio CT370
• Casio CT460
• Casio CT470
• Casio CT636
• Casio CT640
• Casio CT647
• Casio CT650
• Casio CT655
• Casio CT657
• Casio CT660
• Casio CT670
• Casio CT680
• Casio CT700
• Casio CT770
• Casio CTK-200
• Casio CTK-500
• Casio MT-540
• Casio MT-640
• Casio MT-750
• Casio SA-21
• Casio SA-35
• Casio SA-5
• Casio TA-10
• Technics KN720
• Technics KN920
• Yamaha DSR-500
• Yamaha KB-200
• Yamaha KB-2000
• Yamaha PSR-100
• Yamaha PSR-150
• Yamaha PSR-16
• Yamaha PSR-200
• Yamaha PSR-2500
• Yamaha PSR-27
• Yamaha PSR-300
• Yamaha PSR-300M
• Yamaha PSR-3500
• Yamaha PSR-36
• Yamaha PSR-37
• Yamaha PSR-400
• Yamaha PSR-410
• Yamaha PSR-4500
• Yamaha PSR-47
• Yamaha PSR-500
• Yamaha PSR-500M
• Yamaha PSR-500M
• Yamaha PSR-5700
• Yamaha PSR-6
• Yamaha PSR-600
• Yamaha PSR-6700
• Yamaha PSR-7
• Yamaha PSR-73
• Yamaha PSR-75
• Yamaha PSR-SQ16
• Yamaha PSS-100
• Yamaha PSS-101
• Yamaha PSS-102
• Yamaha PSS-103
• Yamaha PSS-104
• Yamaha PSS-11
• Yamaha PSS-125
• Yamaha PSS-140
• Yamaha PSS-20
• Yamaha PSS-21
• Yamaha PSS-280
• Yamaha PSS-31
• Yamaha PSS-380
• Yamaha PSS-480
• Yamaha PSS-51
• Yamaha PSS-580
• Yamaha PSS-595
• Yamaha PSS-680
• Yamaha PSS-780
• Yamaha PSS-795
• Yamaha PSS-80
• Yamaha PSS-80R
• Yamaha SHS-200
• Yamaha VSS-200

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Resources

• Yamaha PSR PortaTone Models 1984-2026
• Old Yamaha keyboard models: an overview of vintage

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Purchase Links

Buy the Yamaha PSR-18 on Reverb

Find Yamaha PSR-18 Deals on

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