This video demonstrates the Philips PMC 100 Portable Synthesizer – a Dutch microcomposer/walkman made in the year 1988.

Nightwaves describes the Philips PMC 100 Portable Synthesizer like this:

It has some very thin, laughable beats. There are 100 voices, but to my ears they all sound the same. It’s FM synthesis, which I was never a big fan of, and to my ears many of the sounds are the same.

There is a built in tape deck so you can record your compositions. There are no actual keys, just pressure sensitive “pads”. There are different accompaniment styles, much like those offered by many of the Casio home keyboards of the time. You can also do different things to your compositions such as pitch shift. It runs on 9V DC power, either through adapter or AA batteries.

From what I understand, this thing was a flop in terms of sales, and after listening to it I can understand why. Even by mid 80s standards, this thing is comical. However, it is still a great curio to add to the collection if you are the least bit interested in archaic synth technology. Plus, I’ve used it as a “sling on” keyboard at some of my live gigs, which has gotten some very surprised looks.

via fuckingharpsichord