Yamaha PSR 550 Synthesiser Keyboard (Needs repair)

Please read ad carefully before submitting an offer!

Yamaha PSR 550, in very good exterior condition. Works very well but has some major issues, so would be more a restoration project for someone. Several keys were dead (not playing) or had velocity issues (too loud) but since I cleaned it up two entire octaves (fourth and fifth), with the exception of one or two keys, went silent. However after a day or two hitting them a few times each seems to have “woken up” most of them, which surely indicates that the problems simply lies with dirty contacts, which would necessitate opening the machine and cleaning it. I’m not confident enough to do that, but if you are, it should be a relatively easy job. From two full octaves dead I have now recovered 18 keys (and from what I can see, none of the accidental or black keys are affected) so the rest should come back relatively easily once cleaned.

In addition, the floppy disk drive has long been dead, so recording of any kind is currently impossible. However I am including in the sale a GOTEK OLED emulator, which, once installed, will give this machine new life. I can even throw in a USB stick and a stand if required.

When working, the Yamaha PSR 550 has over 700 voices, hundreds of rhythms and a 16-track sequencer. In its day it was a real powerhouse, and can be again. I do not have the original power adapter as it split (as apparently is a known issue with the large, transformer-like supplies) but the one I have runs it fine. The speaker grilles will also need a bit of a clean, but otherwise the outside is now next to pristine really. The synth has MIDI IN, OUT and THRU and a headphone jack as well as an input for a sustain pedal.

Anyone interested is welcome to come see it, but please bear the above in mind. You will NOT be getting a ready-to-play keyboard. It WILL play, but some of the higher octave keys remain dead. However, if you are handy with electronics and willing to spend a little time on the internals, this synth can be brought back to life and is well worth over twice the asking price. Collection only, for obvious reasons.

Please note: this is not something you buy your child as their first piano, or to mess around on. This is - or will be, once restored - a very serious piece of kit. In its day it was very close to top of the range and state of the art. It’s also fairly heavy - about 8 Kgs - so don’t call expecting to carry it home on the bus. I can’t courier/ship it, unless you’re prepared to pay what would be a pretty hefty charge, and I would advise against that anyway, due to its age and current condition, not really suited to the postal or courier system’s tender mercies. If someone agrees a sale with me I WILL hold it for them to arrange transport. If you REALLY need it couriered then you take all the risk upon yourself of it being intact when it arrives.

Serious offers only please. Can be viewed on appointment and tested. Any questions you have, fire ahead.

Oh, in case anyone's confused, it's the top keyboard on the left of the picture, the one with the blue screen.