Espen Kraft vs. Yamaha V50: The Workstation Yamaha Hoped You’d Bin

Let’s set the scene: 1989, Berlin Wall about to hit the deck, rave culture surging, and everyone’s losing their minds over the Korg M1’s sample wizardry. Yamaha, not wanting to be left behind, lumbers in with the V50—a synth so overlooked, it’s practically an endangered species. Espen Kraft wastes no time telling us how the V50 was outgunned from day one, as sampling tech and fat new sounds left it stuck in the past. If you wanted a revolution, you were in the wrong shop—Yamaha was still flogging yesterday’s tech while the world was ready for tomorrow.

Here’s the roast: for your hard-earned cash, you did get a synth built tougher than a bricklayer’s lunchbox. The V50 arrived loaded with a 16-voice polyphony, 8-part multitimbrality, a sequencer that could hold 16,000 notes, and a pair of digital effects units. There’s even a built-in floppy drive—because nothing screams cutting-edge like a 3.5-inch diskette.

But don’t get too excited. Espen lays it out: the sequencer is more cryptic than a Soho back alley, and you’ll need the patience of a saint to wrangle it. Sure, the keybed’s got velocity and aftertouch, and you could sync the sequencer to external gear. Yet, in a world hungry for new sounds and innovation, the V50 just felt like a relic. All these features couldn’t distract from the fact that the market wanted something fresh, not another reheated FM casserole.

If you were hoping for the V50 to redeem itself with its drum machine, prepare for a letdown. The built-in PCM drums are short, lifeless, and about as inspiring as last week’s takeaway. Espen demonstrates just how bland these samples are—no amount of onboard effects can save them from mediocrity. And let’s not even get started on sharing those meagre effects across all eight parts; it’s like fighting over the last stale crisp at closing time.

The video is a masterclass in showing, not just telling: Espen runs through the V50’s sounds, and if your idea of excitement is a house piano that gets steamrolled by the M1, you’re in for a treat. To really get the full flavour of this synth’s lacklustre presets and anaemic beats, you’ve got to hear them for yourself—the video’s honest demos say more than specs ever could.