That $5 thrift store keyboard turned out to be a goldmine

I grabbed a busted old Yamaha PSS-480 for 5 bucks last weekend just for laughs. Hooked it up to my interface and those cheesy preset drum loops are insane for lofi beats. The auto-accompaniment sounds like a drunk robot falling down stairs but somehow it works. Anyone else found hidden gems in dollar bin keyboards?

2 comments

2 Comments

sullivan.elliot16d ago

My buddy found a Casio SK-1 at a garage sale for 2 bucks a few years back. That thing has the worst sounding synth brass you've ever heard but it's perfect for horror movie samples. He made a whole EP just using that keyboard through a broken distortion pedal. The floppy disk drive on those things is useless but the mic input lets you sample garbage can lids and it sounds incredible. I'm pretty sure half the underground hip hop producers are just hoarding broken Yamahas from the 80s at this point.

troykim15d ago

Garage sale keyboards are a goldmine for people with more time than money. My Casio collection sounds like a dying fax machine but that's exactly the vibe I'm going for.