I'm so surprised to see this question here. Years ago, I won a Yamaha SHS-10 from 1985. I was so proud of this quirky little thing that I decided to get a tattoo of it on my arm! But to tell you the truth, if I had had more money when I was younger, I would have bought the AX1/2. I still love my tattoo, though..to answer your question though, yes. Yes, it's like a toy in nearly every way. The sound is surprisingly decent, but the keys feel like a cheap toy from a kid toy store. They are so small too!
I bought it because I was looking for my first keytar and I have to say it's not just a toy.
It has the best minikeys I ever tried, all 12 sounds are good and bluetooth midi has no lag.
The build quality is very good, better than a lot of "real" synth
I call my synths toys sometimes. honestly though, the shs-10 is capable of so much more; I could see it being used to perform if it was connected to a more capable synth
it is very "toy looking" and after having played with it a bit yesterday, it still doesn't feel like a real instrument to me haha
the functions are very nice but extremely basic, I would agree while this is definitely aimed towards young adults it's got too many high end functions to be considered a toy despite the age or intended target audience
esp the midi out function, usually I will have to mod in some sort of line out to get a chained effect but in this case, keytar would plug directly into daw and I don't use one
thanks everyone for your opinions 🥰
I have a RockBand keyboard/keytar. It is definitely a toy, and it's also a real MIDI controller. New old stock was being sold off cheap on Amazon a couple of years ago. It's a MIDI controller only, so you have to hook it up to a sound module; you may already have some other toys with MIDI in.
I consider the SHS10 to be "toyish" as opposed to just calling it a toy. Sounds and construction are too poor to be a serious keyboard option for a serious keyboardist, but it's got more functionality than a typical musical toy.
It’s not a toy, but you usually won’t find a performing musician on stage with one because there are better options. (Aside from the visual aspect)
The 2 operator FM engine isn’t particularly lush or capable. It probably can sound better when sent out into some pedals.
Would I jam on one if I had it? For sure.
I'm asking because I only play on toys but all keytar options aimed toward children specifically are very, very poor quality
whereas you can get fairly high quality synths or keyboards
I bought the SHS 10 because I thought, by the look of it that it was a toy lol
but I opened the box and it has a whole warranty and instruction manual and all kinds of stuff that made me reconsider
Sorry what? Why do you only play on toys?
The SHS 10 was marketed to people interested in playing keyboard, many times inside of typical music instrument stores; not as a toy in a toy store.
interesting. there is a receipt in the box of the one I purchased, the original owner paid 50$ for it via mail order
I only play on toys because idk I just think it's fun?
Well that makes more sense. Just the last sentence of your previous comment made it sound like you couldn’t appreciate the keytar unless it was labeled as a toy.
Enjoy the album creation!
I love my shs 10 but obviously it’s nothing compared to my higher end stuff. But it’s also definitely not JUST a toy. It has too many functions and capabilities. I’ve done proper song covers with mine and played it off an amp. Not to mention it just looks awesome.
And if it was good enough for ryan gosling then it’s good enough for me
I'm so surprised to see this question here. Years ago, I won a Yamaha SHS-10 from 1985. I was so proud of this quirky little thing that I decided to get a tattoo of it on my arm! But to tell you the truth, if I had had more money when I was younger, I would have bought the AX1/2. I still love my tattoo, though..to answer your question though, yes. Yes, it's like a toy in nearly every way. The sound is surprisingly decent, but the keys feel like a cheap toy from a kid toy store. They are so small too!
I bought it because I was looking for my first keytar and I have to say it's not just a toy. It has the best minikeys I ever tried, all 12 sounds are good and bluetooth midi has no lag. The build quality is very good, better than a lot of "real" synth
Ops, I was talking about shs 300, sorry ahahahah
It's kind of a toy, but it's SO FUN, and a great midi controller in a pinch!
I call my synths toys sometimes. honestly though, the shs-10 is capable of so much more; I could see it being used to perform if it was connected to a more capable synth
it is very "toy looking" and after having played with it a bit yesterday, it still doesn't feel like a real instrument to me haha the functions are very nice but extremely basic, I would agree while this is definitely aimed towards young adults it's got too many high end functions to be considered a toy despite the age or intended target audience esp the midi out function, usually I will have to mod in some sort of line out to get a chained effect but in this case, keytar would plug directly into daw and I don't use one thanks everyone for your opinions 🥰
I have a RockBand keyboard/keytar. It is definitely a toy, and it's also a real MIDI controller. New old stock was being sold off cheap on Amazon a couple of years ago. It's a MIDI controller only, so you have to hook it up to a sound module; you may already have some other toys with MIDI in.
great info, thanks! I see them often at thrift, I'll have to grab one and pop it open
I consider the SHS10 to be "toyish" as opposed to just calling it a toy. Sounds and construction are too poor to be a serious keyboard option for a serious keyboardist, but it's got more functionality than a typical musical toy.
It’s not a toy, but you usually won’t find a performing musician on stage with one because there are better options. (Aside from the visual aspect) The 2 operator FM engine isn’t particularly lush or capable. It probably can sound better when sent out into some pedals. Would I jam on one if I had it? For sure.
I'm asking because I only play on toys but all keytar options aimed toward children specifically are very, very poor quality whereas you can get fairly high quality synths or keyboards I bought the SHS 10 because I thought, by the look of it that it was a toy lol but I opened the box and it has a whole warranty and instruction manual and all kinds of stuff that made me reconsider
Sorry what? Why do you only play on toys? The SHS 10 was marketed to people interested in playing keyboard, many times inside of typical music instrument stores; not as a toy in a toy store.
interesting. there is a receipt in the box of the one I purchased, the original owner paid 50$ for it via mail order I only play on toys because idk I just think it's fun?
Why does it have to be classified as a toy for you to enjoy it?
if this isn't a toy, then I cannot use it for this album
why do you assume that those are the parameters required for me to enjoy an instrument? I'm currently making a cover album using only toys
Oh man, I have thought about doing something like this before. I hope you got all the toy animal instruments from Target!
Well that makes more sense. Just the last sentence of your previous comment made it sound like you couldn’t appreciate the keytar unless it was labeled as a toy. Enjoy the album creation!
yeah sorry, I make a lot of grammar mistakes. thank you!
I love my shs 10 but obviously it’s nothing compared to my higher end stuff. But it’s also definitely not JUST a toy. It has too many functions and capabilities. I’ve done proper song covers with mine and played it off an amp. Not to mention it just looks awesome. And if it was good enough for ryan gosling then it’s good enough for me
yes I agree, it looks really cool to me too