ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 9 ก.พ. 2025
- It's one thing to make a keyboard that doesn't quite tick all the boxes... But it's another thing entirely when a manufacturer unapologetically imitates, deliberately deceives, unforgivably omits or brazenly doesn't even try to be any good. This video is a compilation of the WORST keyboards I've ever reviewed in ten years of Gearfacts.
These keyboards are great, especially considering you can use them as doorstops, bookends, speed ramps, a way to annoy the neighbours, a way to annoy yourself, a way to become poor and a way to lose all your friends if you persist with playing any of these in their company. BTW, the Whipping Horse survived to annoy others on another day 😃😂😱
yep they certainly never leave you bored, that's for sure... Gearfacts
@John. That's really funny John I completely agree with you. I told Glynn. And also since for some reason that you can microwave cheese with them, plenty of cheese lol🤯
You knows it's a toy if...
1. It has a Mandolin sound.
2. Has a simple "Record" option.
3. Has a section for animal sounds.
4. Has a vibrato setting.
haha true :) GF
My Yamaha PSS-100 has three of those qualities, and it is the greatest toy by Yamaha ever!
But as long as it has a decent piano sound, I'll gig with it
But vibratio is so cool
5. Whipping Horse moving food
You know, when you feel love, hate and sadness about something at the same time, that´s what I feel for these keyboards!
Yeah I think I feel the same... hard to describe ...but generally negative...
As bad as that Livingstone keyboard is, I’ve been trying to find that exact horrible organ sound on a keyboard for years. I had a similar keyboard as a teenager and I haven’t been able to find one with that one sound.
This video was both informative and a laugh. Thanks for sparing us and our wallets of these abominations... but I did find the "Play+On" kyeboard at 6:30 so hilarious that I wouldn't mind getting one...perhaps to make sure it never has another owner :P
Nope, it was completely overshadowed by the KAWASAKI SOUND OZ! *_XD_*
I actually want one of those. has some interesting demo songs. its the same as a keyboard we have in the UK called the carousel light and sound keyboard and the rock tunes 37 key keyboard which I own and still love to this day
It's a shame how the quality of amateur keyboards just dramatically declined during the 90s! I have a bunch of what at the time were considered amateur to beginner keyboards from the 80s before digital samples and seriously they are amazing!! Yamaha PSR-36 is my favourite I use it to record songs all the time!! FM synthesis all the way!!
My favorite keyboard, which I own, is the Yamaha PSR-E383
7:19,didn't expect my piano to be here😂
Eyeshadow, awkward for me! Gearfacts
@@gearfacts hahaha
Btw,you're hilarious
I honestly can’t stop watching this video. I watched it ever since the day it came out, but I didn’t have an account back then so I couldn’t comment. But I am going to now and I have to say this is honestly the funniest greatest video I have ever seen.
Ha ha so that’s where all these views have been coming from. :-D
@@gearfacts yes, honestly I can’t count how many times I have watched this video.
This video was a truly hilarious experience for me and my father. Laughing hysterically, especially at the whipping horse moving food song.
My Dad liked it too!
A lot of companies make super cheap keyboards just to make quick money and they don't care when there are complaints from parents or unknowing adults
True. Makes me feel sorry for broke parents who don’t see the trap.
I just stumbled on this channel.. what the.... LOOL this is amazing; thank you for putting this together. hahaha
Thanks KH, I'm glad you liked it. Please share!
This video was amusing, That's why I stick to Casio keyboards myself. Most of those keyboards are probably in the land fill adding more plastic junk to the earth.
Yes it's a tragedy isn't it :(
Wasn't "Whipping Horse Moving Food" the working title of "Hey Jude"? Great review of these Plastic Ear hole Nightmares!
0:34 the memories with my Bontempi toy keyboard, it had the same piano sound❤️🎹
The Meike MK-928 keyboard was my first keyboard, though I remember the brand being called “Base”. I remember it was a second hand keyboard given to my dad by a workmate of his who was about to throw it out. A couple of years later I received a Casio CTK-3500 keyboard as a present for Christmas and I kept the old MK-928 keyboard, until it began falling apart from the inside and then I threw it out. I had some great memories with a fairly subpar keyboard 😂
When I was a kid back in 1986, my "toy keyboard for kids" was a Casio MT-210.... Draw your own conclusions.
Those old Casio keyboards are a guilty pleasure for me! Love them
Man this was highly entertaining.
Glad you liked it, I'm not the best at making funny videos but this one did turn out alright I think :)
@@gearfacts I almost bought the Ashton so you also helped me dodge that nerf gun bullet 😅
I almost bought it solely based on the pitchbend function. I think I'll just buy a casio and use my whammy pedal.
I searched youtube for worst piano ever and this was almost exactly what i was looking for.
haha cool man, I hope it was useful information :) #gearfacts
Every keyboard in this video makes the Microsoft GS SW Synth (the default MIDI sound when you play a MIDI file on your PC) looks like a saint
No, actually the make the HS-3260A toy keyboard look great, and that is saying something, a great deal of something.
i am really feeling bad for those children those who get these types of keyboard in there birthday 🤣🤣
haha I agree. If only their parents had watched Gearfacts...
I got one of these types of keyboards when I was 8 or so. I actually got a lot of entertainment out of it. Obviously I dont use that piece of junk anymore
I had a keyboard like that, rebranded as "Elton". Elton what?
@@EmiPianoMX Elton John?
The Play On (? Not sure that’s what it’s called) I could even tell myself was no good. Those colored button played samples from my toy piano I had when I was literally 2 years old
already a thumb up at the first seconds haha. i love you vids man, keep them coming
cooool thanks Danny! GF
THANK YOU!! Much needed laughter during the stressful task of keyboard research and purchase :)
No worries!
Meike's name is on some pretty good photography accessories. The same can't be said for this Meike keyboard. Thanks Gearfacts some great comments, having subbed I'm checking your back catalogue. I've not said the words 'video nasty' in many a year, but...lol.
Nice message, I’m so glad that my channel is worthy of extended browsing!
First keyboard demo that makes me laugh out loud. (Although many demos make me weep :) )
Stefaan Himpe Glad you enjoyed it! It was fun to make this video /Gearfacts
Ah yes, whipping horse moving food... the quintessential children’s tune
Mother-dearest used to sing it to me at bed time. Ah childhood...
1:30 w/ invisible fill in 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
9:04 the sound is sharpened, when he press C, it will sound C# 🤣😂 LoLMAO
My first keyboard was the Technics KN1400 and was ahead of its time when I brought it new all those years ago.
Yeah Technics were great!
The "play on" keyboard has My music center hardware
Looks like these are circuit bent already. I don't get the circuit bent sound.
Whipping Horse Moving Food is my all-time favourite song.
Let’s just dismiss all of these as noise making devices to circuit bend
They just make a lot of noise in there mostly generic brands and some of them would end up in the back of the cupboard somewhere or in the trash
bad piano sounds have an appeal to them that mediocre piano sounds just don't do for me
I agree, if you want “bad” sound for its character then it has to be genuinely BAD :)
Whipping horse moving food lol
crazy eh!
Mr G you should be given an award for services to music, protecting the public from damaged eardrums
haha well maybe ...I have a bad feeling I've damaged a few eardrums in my time...
@@gearfacts I feel like after this yours would have been. Thanks for taking that auditory torture for us, haha
most of these keyboards are made by a company called Meishing/Yongmei! the MS and YM prefixes give it away. the kawasaki keyboard I had on of those I hated it lol
Hey! Thanks for making me laugh while being quarantined. This video really was a breath of fresh air! Thanks for poking fun and educating me on what not to buy. I am trying to decide and sort through the name brand ones. I guarantee you it won't be one of these. LOL! These are worst sounding keyboards that I have ever heard.🎶
Glad you liked it. Funnest video I've ever made :) #gearfacts
This video is so criminally underated
haha thank you sir! Please share it with anyone who has a sense of humor :) #gearfacts
Hi, does anyone have the full manual for the MK-939 that i can download?
Have you tried searching the net for “MK - 939 PDF”? Adding PDF of the end is a really good way to find manuals and other documentation :-)
Hi, Yes, tried that and also emailed the company in China and Zip! If you can find a link or PDF, i would be very appreciative.
weird. it seemed to be a nostalgic feeling for me, even though I've never owned any of those keyboards. there better than the keyboard I got for christmas of 93. well, not really, it was at a christmas party. they gave us keyboards with only 2 sounds, that sounded the same. the only difference between the piano and the flute, was the piano was mor echo, and it only played camptown races, happy birthday, etc. I liked it at the time though. but to be honestI've never heard of these companies til now. only had casios all my life, accept for that christmas season in 1993, but I've only had casios. my first was a pt1, then 2 years later I got the sk1, then either the ca110, or the ma132, as don't remember the key size. but, I well anyways, like the other poster commented, love hate, and sad all at the sametime. sad thing is, I actually wouldn't mind one of these keyboards. I'm also blind, so I don't know all the brand names, as they weren't mentioned, only the meike, and the base, and I think I read livingstone.
Thanks for watching, Bob. Yeah these keyboards are certainly terrible but I can't deny there's a certain charm to them, it's weird :)
"Factory Circuit Bent" puts a positive spin on these keyboards.
Yep, that's the one thing these boards ARE good for :)
Damn... what a waste of plastic.
Now THAT I do agree with.
WOW. But where's the Yamaha Montage 8?
7:37-7:44 that's actually not a bad piano sound
Yep, to be fair :)
I like the humor of this guy
haha I didn't even realise this was funny until I watched it with my family the other day! GF
@@gearfacts hahaha
The reason why I decided to save for a Yamaha keyboard because these “budget” keyboard sound really awful. And I can’t learn piano with those awful piano sound 😅 not even close to reality. Not even 5%
I completely agree, it's well worth the extra for a decent one.
I found this hilarious. These make the Yamaha PSR-12 look like it was made by Stratovarius. I love the YM3438( and ym2612) Yamaha chip, But the PSR-12 is the worst Keyboard I own.
All the keyboards you demo'd here are perfect candidates for circuit bending.
Almost every sound on the Yamaha PSR 12 is usable, no sound on any of these keyboards are usable
The interesting thing is that there are entry level Casio and Yamaha keyboards and other manufacturers, that have decent sounds and functionalities and those low level keyboards are in the same price range. A Casio Sa-46 is under 50 euros and has decent sounds.
These horror keyboards could cost more and for some strange reasons people are buying them.
I think people buy them because they are in big deparment stores, giving the false impression that they are a cheaper alternative. Personally I think second hand is the way to go for keyboards. They don't usually develop faults and even if they do it's usually a maintenance thing that can be easily addressed. Hope you found the video enjoyable though :) GF
I'm pretty sure adults are buying these for kids...
@@gearfacts The first keyboard I got was something similar to these and that was because these were the only kinds of keyboards we could buy within a 5km radius or so - all the good instrument stores are located about 90km away from us. I was about 9 then and it helped me learn a lot of the basics :)
After some years I started to abuse that keyboard in fits of frustration unrelated to what I thought of the keyboard or to what I thought of my playing, and my dad bought a slightly better keyboard online - I was about 15. Bless his heart but I think he bought it for reasons similar to what you wrote down. The music stand broke about two weeks ago and I want to make it an excuse to get a better one xd
I have MK -2069 it is even bad for me
I was just making sure mine wasn’t there
haha :) Gearfacts
Craigslist is awash with these toys.
Better than in landfill i suppose...
I'm Laughing so hard 😂😂
It was a fun video to make! Share it on your social media pleeeease :) :) :) #gearfacts
11:20 I know, I've already commented about it, but I still think this instrument here sounds interesting... Any direct recordings of it?
No, I have nothing. They still appear for sale here sometimes though so you never know, I might be reviewing it again soon.
Crappy as the keyboards may be, the manufacturers do seem to have correctly read the market demand for bitchin’ frog tones 🐸.
Yes, they all must be frog-core engineers :)
My ears oh my lord z.z kinda glad the mk962 isn't in this, though noticed some similarities to the base mk series at the end there and honestly kinda makes me not want to use it e.e
Good decision
@@gearfacts As I figured lol I recently had a huge inspiration, but mainly a reminder music is what I wanted to do my whole life from a really young age. A little girl that did AGT and GTW named Celine Tam had made her own original that sparked it back, ever since I have been trying to polish off the rust and refreshing my memory what I already knew besides being in a heavily multi talented family thats loves music (though could say they all are over serious about music 🙄). Though being 28 now I hope to be able to set it in stone though kinda lost at the moment
My son had one of them base things he didn't use it so I took it used it once then gave it to my nephew...it's lying in the bottom of his mum's garden so that sums it up...
Theres keyboard beat are kinda sick tho
These keyboards are really good. Really good for a barbecue!
I think there should be a keyboardist at every barbecue
Looking at these bad keyboard videos to find best synths for raw black metal
Well, if you’ve got about $200 then it’s definitely worth looking at the M-audio Venom. But sometimes trashy is more fun :-)
I started on a Yamaha PSR 170
I started on a music time keyboard that is kinda the same sound quality as these. And not gonna lie, i kinda feel nostalgic about these keyboards lol
Hey mate
Amateur here
In fact a beginner...
So there aren't many music shops around here...
And literally no website ships into my country..
So i found a store selling a 61 keys "MK-935 Keyboard"
Is it good? Or should i trash it?
They also have a 69 keys Yamaha One.. So which would be better?
Definitely go for the Yamaha if you can :) #gearfacts
@@gearfacts thanks man
These are the keyboards we had in primary school that we thought where the coolest shit back then
Totally. I started on a Yamaha PSS580 ...but to be fair it is actually still pretty cool even today :) GF
@@gearfacts It was one of the cheap "Soundblaster" keyboards, they used the same chip used on sound cards for PCS, so they sound the same. The factis that Yamaha and Carso are make cheap toy keyboards but these are decent toys.
At leas the Ashton keyboard has a house music piano sound.
You're really funny. I subbed :D
Nice to have you here, Krishna :) #gearfacts
maybe your best video EVER. hilarious!
Thanks so much Eugene!
When a pro playing a kids keyboard
Also the sound hardware is a ripoff/clone of older Bontempi keyboard hardware.
Yep that's true
Keyboards for some reason that can microwave pizzas, plenty of cheese!😆 2 minutes 30, ouch my poor ears. lol
I was surprised the Yamaha psr6 wasn’t one here
I hear what you're saying ...but at least the PSR-6 didn't over-promise then fail to deliver. It was ok for its time :) Gearfacts
When you see cheap keyboards like this you got to remember these are made in sweatshops just like they do with clothes there Are places overseas that make cheap electronics
Yep, These countries have had unfortunate people working in sweatshops for decades, providing developed nations with cheap electronics. As they accumulate wealth, their patience will be rewarded as their economies align with, and even surpass the large economies of the last century. I guess Jesus was right - the meek really will inherit the Earth!
A lot of gimmicks and most of these sound like they’re coming through a transistor radio with the quality of the speakers are very poor. I’ll stick with my Yamaha Genos and the others I proudly own as my small collection of music keyboards are fantastic.
WTF was that? I guess I just heard whipping horse moving food
You did indeed my friend!
Lots of junk keys on the market! Unbelivable!!!!!
Those pieces or crappola make me miss my Yamaha PSR-7.
haha!
I love all of these abs wish they had midi ins 😡
Circuit bend 'em!
:-)
:) Gearfacts
0:56 Is that faint sound supposed to be a "guitar fret noise" as MIDI commonly calls it? Almost reminds me of the creepy Jam Sessions A6 chord, where holding that chord out allows you to hear a faint Japanese man whispering for barely any reason. This isn't at all like that but kinda reminds me of it.
1:12 Wow, I can hear the sample LOOPING! I guess I can be thankful they didn't just steal Roland's SFX for that but at the same time, Roland's seashore loops better.
1:25 Yeah, that's something a kid's toy keyboard would include.
2:35 It either becomes a guitar or a banjo! I guess they thought General MIDI was nothing but string instruments...despite making a keyboard with *piano* keys...
5:39 Strangest title I've ever heard. Was this made in another country then badly translated?
5:48 No, you have it all wrong! Guys, those bells are only to be used in stereotypical Christmas music!
7:16 Mandolin...is that that weird one that repeats really fast then fades out? If so, why do they think that instrument does that? i've always wondered that with toy keyboards.
8:01 Oh no, sounds like the Sound Canvas piano... Deep down I feel having a Roland keyboard with Sound Canvas samples like the SK-500 would be ironically interesting (because then it isn't some other company stealing their samples) and...I like the SC-88 Fantasia. I'll leave it at that.
8:58 Heh.
9:44 Wow, it can't even record correctly...
10:12 AGAIN, THE SOUND CANVAS? Companies love stealing Roland samples...should someone report them?
11:20 I swear, I've heard some creepy tune in the past that had a sample like that but...I don't know what it was...I think...I could use that sample for stuff, if you could send a recording of it.
These are a cross between a real keyboard and a toy
You have these obscure brands and these outside casings that look like a real keyboard but when you turn it on then you can tell
They might look like real keyboards but they have these toy sounds
They look like real keyboards but they have these toy like sounds
Even if it’s a bontempy it doesn’t mean it’s going to be good and sounds good some of them are bad
Well anyway I like the seashores sound on the first one because it sounds like an old a bit video game
I enjoyed the video. yeah these keyboards were poorly made. but still little kids will enjoye them in a way, But now if we bring a yamaha psr e333 for example it will beat all the keyboards you showed in the video.😇
All true!
A Casio VL tone will beat every keyboard in this video
I will never diss casio boards again, i like their CZ synths, and their keyboards are good for what they are.
Yeah the CZs are great. They should re-release them GF
@@gearfacts i wish, same with the spectrum dynamic synths.
*Cries in ht 3000 and cz-1000*
Need a Burger to go w/that cheese!
1:19 moo infinity and beyond. :D
Floor keyboard impressed me
Floor is my venue :) #gearfacts
hi, 10years ago i've bought an MK-908 (meike) lol that's the worst keyboard ever.. now i've a Korg B1-SP (yeahhhhh)
That's quite an upgrade! GF
Even the Casio CTK-500
Did I put that one in there?
Nope, sir. You didn't put, but I confess that you would put.
The CTK-500 isn't really that bad...
I like the animal sounds on the first one
I want a review of Every Day Happy Keyboard!!!
all I can say is: HA HA HA HA HAAAA HA HA HA HAAAA HAAA HAAAAA cough cough cough hack hack.. HA!
:) #gearfacts
Anybody try that MK-939 "pro" keyboard?
haha "pro" .. what kind of pro, I wonder.
They are the ideal gift to give to kids when you don't actually like their parents.
the worst keyboard i think that was not in your list was the big fun keyboard because it's so cheap and it does not even get recognition and the build quality is so so bad
I have to know, what model was it???
@gearfacts bigfun 430 A1
I agree these keyboard’s are just garbage
I suppose the year these things were made, and the price matters.
I have a Casio CTK3200 that I have used A LOT this year. It's a really cheap keyboard. I've been, to some extent, forcing myself to use it this year with some other gear to avoid patch shopping and just make *something*. It sounds cheap by modern standards. However, if I would have had one 30 years ago, I would have been floored.
But, yeah, kiddie toy sounds :-) There's only so much you can do with a square / pulse wave.
I think the 3200 is pretty good and is priced suitably. It's not pro gear but it doesn't 'fake' anything like many of these keyboards do :) GF
Hook it up to a fender rumble bass amp and the realness in the sound will definitely be there
base.
Kmart!
@@gearfacts The Casio SA-76 has the same piano sound as the base keyboard
I would buy one of these just to say.... I owned one of the worst keyboards! 😀
haha cool thought there :)
I heard much MUCH worse. Bontempi. Laughable.
So I've heard! I don't think we get that brand here in Australia.
The Livingstone DRM 650 once acquired is best and more than ready than a Korg Kronos or Roland Fantom will ever be..........................is best and ready to throw it into a trash can that is.
haha!
Whipping horse, moving food???????? WTF kind of talk is that???? Me suspect Cino-translation issue.
I'd say so. But oh what a classic :) Gearfacts
I had similar issue with 12V DC power timer. One sentence was compretery opposite to what really should have been.
Turn frown upside down... and all is well!!
Love your stuff, GF... keep the wit coming.
That was also on another Chinese keyboard. Burnswood
Mate, ya forgot to mention these crapboards or CLOWN keyboards come from Mainland CHINA.. nuff said..
True ...the western market's gotta take half of the blame though, shoppers here want it cheaper, Cheaper, CHEAPER ...Demand and supply, basic economics ...getting in the way of good gear and good music :( But yeah it does make for some pretty funny messed-up keyboards haha #gearfacts