Yamaha PortaSound: History and Key Facts

Yamaha PortaSound (and PortaTone) were a series of consumer-grade electronic musical keyboards were produced by the Yamaha Corporation thoroughout the 1980s, 1990s and the early 2000s. The name suggests the instruments' portability, with battery operation and integral speakers being a consistent feature across the line, and were generally aimed at hobbyists, home users and for educational use. The instruments almost always featured some sort of built-in drum machine with an auto accompaniment (arranger) function. The most prolific of both series have been the dynasty of PSS (mini/half-sized keys) and PSR (full-size keys) numbered models which continue to form the basis of Yamaha's home keyboard offering to the present day.

Yamaha's closest competition was from Casio was their corresponding Casiotone series of instruments, although other major rivals Roland and Korg later entered the market with similar products.

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