Great video, I discovered your channel recently and I wanted to ask you in the video where you test the Yamaha ps3 keyboard at 9:59 I feel like I know this melody but I can’t find the name back, what are you playing ?
What I love about these videos is that, even if I have no interest in the keyboard itself, the talent you have coming up with great music out of them is just magical. Most people would just say ''this is crap, can't play with it'', but you clearly prove them wrong. Love all your Final Performances!
That happens all the time, not just with keyboards, and not just with music. You can give these people a whole week for free in Abbey Road Studios, and wait for their masterpiece... or you can give a 'toy keyboard' and a normal cassette recorder (not even a 4-track) to people like Keen On Keys and many others, and REALLY get a masterpiece or close to it. Those are the kind of people who would have whined and waiter for the Concorde to fly to America vs. Columbus ;)
PROTIP: DO NOT use superglue (cyano acrylate) (especially the gel kind) near electromechanical parts like switches, potmeters and contacts! It gasses off acrylic plastic (can be seen as a slightly grey, matte haze on dark plastic nearby), and this is basically a layer of electrical insulation, making especially switches and potmeters unreliable! Even if fairly well enclosed! Try using epoxy instead. ❤❤
That's the best I have ever heard a Bontempi organ played! I remember as a young kid our local Carefour hypermarket in the UK had a Bontempi stand at Christmas. The sales person though couldn't play any of them so enlisted me to have a go whenever a customer showed interest. Saying that even for that period I could not get any interesting sounds from those organs, just muffled organ thin waves and puffy drum beats. I do though now feel a certain nostalgia and charm for these!
Had to pause the video at 5:44 as I thought I'd misread the title of one of the chord organ music books. No, I'd read it correctly - that smiling family are playing "Easy Funeral Hits"!
This was the series I badly needed. The ES-4800 was my very first keyboard ever. Still have it and it even works, flawlessly. What I like about the sound - back then I found they were horrible compared to the Yamaha PSS. But later I found out they sound pretty much like Farfisa organs. So sounds I know from albums like Piper at the Gates of dawn are pretty well reproducable (scarecrow e.g.). And also the bass isn't that bad, on some registers the pulse wave sounds pretty beefy. I do remember in a store there were the bigger models of Bontempi but I wasn't allowed to play them. I would have liked to know what they had to offer in advance.
I had an HP-545. It really did look like a Delorean. And the sequencer and analogue drum machine were actually quite special. If it had had MIDI I would have kept it in my studio. It's also worth noting that the speakers were HUGE and very loud. Clearly it was designed to fill a church hall without additional PA equipment.
Hey my 545 pal i got one recently too, it does sound UGE, especially through some distortion and delay, the thing that's bugging me is the chord computer thing, it seems to have big potential as a sequencer but i dont fully understand
This one definitely has it's charm, though as usual your talent helps with making it clear. What makes this keyboard rather limited is that it only produce variations on a 25%/75% Duty Cycle Square Wave. I guess there are probably better terms for the waveform but all I have as reference is modest knowledge about chiptune. To give an idea, I refer to 30:23 as white noise and 30:28 as periodic noise. Meh. Also about that one waveform, retrospectively, I wonder what is used on Hame, hame, hame by Silly Wizard, it uses the same waveform for a piano. I can't help but doubt it's a Bontempi though. Anyway, thanks for the historical content on top of the review and, as usual, I'm definitely looking after what's coming next.
Wonderful film about Bontempi! I had couple Bontempis. Now i own the mentioned in video Bontempi Europa series - ES 5500 with 61 keys, stereo, with some additional features (vibrato, slow vibrato etc.) but it's still the same analog (is it fully analog btw? Im not sure - definitely analog sounding) engine as in master series. I also own the Bontempi basic BK 32 - extremely simple and portable, but sweet. To be honest i think the most negative opinions about bontempi comes from awful chord organs and these late, bad quality keyboard for kids. This one is quite honest piece of gear for it's time. Decent build quality, in sound a little bit inferior to early 80s Yamaha or Casiotones, but stil OK. The problem was they stopped development. It was good for early 80s, but just a few years later FM and even samples started to occur in home keyboards.
Wow, I heard these sounds sooo much when I was a kid to the point of getting sick of them. Boy was I glad to replace my Farf FK58 with a brand new, shiny PCM-based arranger, at the time. In retrospect, though, those sounds do have some charm. Pretty sure those strings would shine with a big chorus or phaser behind. Anyway, I never knew my very first keyboard had such a lineage, thanks for sharing !😁
I have been following electronic musical instruments since 1977, but unfortunately I have rarely heard the name Bontempi in Japan. The first portable keyboard I saw was the CASIO CT-201 released in Jan. 1980 (YAMAHA PS-3 was also released in Dec. 1980). Thank you very much for your introduction about the history of Bontempi company.
I just stumbled across your channel and am really digging it. You take these cheap and relatively unimpressive instruments and show what they can do when the player leans into their limitations instead of trying to bend them to his will. I'm kind of a midi music enthusiast, let's say (old games etc.), and one thing that has bugged me is when composers try to get even the nicest midi and FM home computer modules to 1 to 1 sub in for real instruments. Where these compositions really shine is when they're written to take advantage of the synthy nature of the hardware. The height of MIDI and FM music in games was squandered by people who really wanted to have recorded music and were just trying to get to approximate that. Not everyone, of course, there are some great soundtracks from the era or I wouldn't have so much hardware just for the fun of it. I just kind of wonder what some current synthwave composers would write for an MT-32. Oh well. TL:DR, it's amazing hearing you make these Casios and Bontempis sing.
I worked in a piano store in the later eighties, and we had an X-202 (sliver version) for sale the entire time I worked ther - Never sold the darn thing! But I got to know it pretty well. Thanks for the great video and a stroll down memory lane for me!
Bontempis and Farfisas were always underrated, considered cheap plastic boxes producing crappy sounds. But they were not bad at all, and they could compete with the Yamahas and Casios. Great video content, as always. 👍
7:39 what in the trump is this accent? Clearly "bloke" screams British guy, not new jersey... Strangest thing I've ever seen on KOK... Btw I own two of these, which I scored for $1 & free XD They for sure have charm... I've many other Good times keyboard too. 14:03 "that's what she said" said my 11yo XD 15:30 just like some 70's organs... Crumar / univox etc.
i found another "Bontempi" keyboard designed by Giugiaro: the Melodian, a keyboard for the Commodore 64 that appears to be built from the HB-414 shell but in beige and with the control section filled in. It doesn't seem to bill itself as a Bontempi (mine is missing all of its stickers and a print ad i found doesn't credit them at all) but it definitely has the Design Giugiaro embossing on the bottom. I apparently bought one in 2020 and forgot about it until finding it again today =P Can't try it out now, though; maybe one day soon.
What puzzles me is - what’s the use of slightly redesigning the keyboard and making a dozen versions that differ only a little? Yamaha did it as well with their PSR and PSS range - add 10 to the model number, use differently colored buttons and change nearly nothing.
Great review of Bontempi. I get a HB444 model I need to restore. Some instruments make a wired sound. I think I need to change some electronic parts and done some cleaning.
Great video! I think you are one of the only sources of info on the Europa ES7000 on the entire internet. I found one recently and could not find any mention anywhere! I'd love to learn if there are any tricks to its MIDI, it seems to be extremely crude.
I kinda feel like that unusual launch on keypress accompaniment synchro function would open up a lot of possibilities for modern grooveboxes. It certainly sounded nifty as demoed here
Dang. I wish I could get more information on those sound generators, that’s really cool. Keep the videos going, your channel is pretty bare. Thank you and God bless.
Just yesterday i looked if i missed a video, but there was non ... so what a surprise the today anoucemaned of a new video .... i enjoyed every minute - thank you! I like your stile!
Really enjoyed this, surprisingly. Enjoyed the bontempi history section a lot too. Sure it's not the history of ARP or something, but fascinating nonetheless. I used to have a Bontempi fan organ with chord buttons, unsure of what happened to it. I am located in Australia so we don't see too many older european made keyboards, I have a few General Music GEM keyboards thought - an Equinox Pro 88 which I bought new and was a bit of a disappointment as I loved their earlier WX2+ which I bought used in high school. I later found a WK4 and upgraded it's software - that's one of my favourite instruments, just great sounds and edibility. I know General Music / GEM also made little home keyboards, I wonder if these are floating around cheaply in your region. Could be worth a look. I no longer have a bontempi, but I do have a farfisa and a crumar multiman, so that's my older italian keybaords taken care of. :)
GEM keyboards are not really cheap here in Europe. I haven't tried one yet, mainly because there are no small keyboards in their range and I am running out of space...
I find so many things truly amazing about this channel. I mean, the appreciation for these basic musical instruments, it's truly humbling. And foremost, the keyboard playing is first rate, in terms of musical knowledge, keyboard playing technique, and everything.
I just recently sold my Bontempi MemoPlay. It could clumsily recall 26 keys pressed and only had one (!) sound: a terrible sawtooth, obviously just taken from somewhere on the pcb. The manual was a must-have... to mute the speaker! 😅 BTW: what's that demo song played at 5:15 on the record? It's the jingle used in "Slalom" on the Commodore 64. Good memories ❤
I had a Bontempi X-301, bought new in 1986. It was my first full-size keyboard instrument. I kept it for 5 years, finally giving it to my Dad in exchange for $$ I owed him. We’re so spoiled today. Considering what I paid at the time for the Bontempi, you can buy some really nice sounding instruments nowadays.
Welcome back, with a tour de force no less. Amazing. Imagine working / having worked at Bontempi and seeing this video. Now.. I will not start buying portable Bontempi keyboards.. I will not start buying portable Bontempi keyboards.. I will not start buying portable Bontempi keyboards....
I think I had the Alpha, it sounded great through guitar effects. Why does the guy from Wolverhampton sound like he comes from New York? I now have the brown one showed at 6.44. Thanks for this great video, giving us the history of BonTempi.
As always, amazing playing and demonstrating! I loved all the side stories along the way. Great film making! Thank you for making such fantastic videos, they keep getting better.
I smashed that like button... Bontempi truly discovered talent, i mean...if you still wanted to play after playing one of these then you really had it!
Yes I have to agree with previous comments, superb playing at the end of the video. Just found your channel so I have subscribed, I love your content from what I have seen so far. I have probably had some of these keyboards in my time, I am 75, I definitely remember owning a Farfisa and that was terrible for the polyphony, it had a dual manual with pedals and half the time notes did not play I ended up with a Yamaha after that. I will be looking through your video list now to see if I can find something I once owned.....lol. Chris .
Thank you very much for the video and especially the history. The Bontempi Minstrel Alfa was my first musical instrument back in the day. Sadly this particular keyboard didn't survive but I was very happy when I found a NOS Beta a while ago and it fits my adult fingers much better anyway. It is still a fun little gadget and it has a lot of family memory attached because the Christmas I got it was very special. The device itself is a bit dated but I sampled the sounds and the piano is actually very nice when used with a proper envelope and a few effects.
OMG, it's awesome to see a video on the old Bontempi keyboards. I still have my HB414 stored in my closet ♥ Wish the video had more detailed info about the key mechanism though, as some keys sometimes don't register (or take more effore than needed) on mine :( Also, the "Intro/Fill-in" button (absent in the 404... figures) stopped working AGES ago.
I own a Musicpartner MS40, a very basic model with only three sounds (named 1, 2, and 3) and no sustain. I have extended the range of the pitch control to be able to tune it down a few octaves, it does a pretty good bass. Thank you for the video, great as usual! It was interesting to learn more about Bontempi.
In each example you play the catchiest little tunes to demonstrate it and I greatly appreciate that! I loved the video so much it made me subscribe for more! You have amazing style!
Impressed by your incredibly comprehensive review! Brings back a lot of memories of the little Casio Casiotone MT-35 I was lucky enough to receive as a birthday (or Christmas?) present as a kid.
Hey, if you get your hands on the 545 at some point you should really make a video with it, that dude has 2 sequencers and sounds awesome and i want to learn more bout mine
I just realized, with Memory off, you can use Synchro Start to play in other time signatures! Just hold down the key(s) for as long as the measure would be. You could get multiple chord changes per bar if you play legato in Single Finger mode.
