keytar

This Philips Personal Music Composer PMC100 is pretty awesome: Launched in 1986, it had a nine-channel FM synth with a 100 presets, a membrane keyboard, 8k of ram, a built in cassette recorder, ~~MIDI~~ and buttons for a strap. It's hard to imagine just how fly you'd look bouncing around a stage wearing one of these. It was designed by British PC music pioneer Lyndsay Williams, who claims to have designed the first ever PC soundcard, for an Olivetti in 1987 (this powerpoint presentation tells ~~his~~ her full story). If you fancy a PMC100, this one is currently £45, or there's another one here in Germany...

Posted by Tom Whitwell.

Comments:

Erm Lyndsay is a lady, not a dude and also I don't think the PMC100 had midi.

# posted by

Anonymous : 10:54 pm

...is there a link to the actual ebay auction? The headline just links to an image.

# posted by

Anonymous : 11:13 pm

Hello,
Correct it does not have MIDI, my error. If I remember correctly it used a 6803 processor, which did have a serial port. I think timescales stopped us putting MIDI on it.
Lyndsay Williams
www.research.microsoft.com/users/lyn

# posted by

Anonymous : 7:09 am

I have two of these: love it or hate it, the PMC100 is a wonderfull little box with surprising sounds; just put one of them on ebay..........

# posted by

Anonymous : 3:46 pm

Hi! My name is Bill Hewlett. Interesting to see that people still find my product interesting! I worked for Philips in the Netherlands for may years and I was responsible for this product concept, developing the business and marketing plans and obtaining funding from Philips for this project. It was based on a music cartridge application for MSX home computers (remember them?!) - I was confident that for the same price (99 pound retail) I could develop a complete music composer that would incorporate a cassette recorder for recording data and musical compositions. It was designed by Philips Industrical Design (thanks Gavin!), engineered by Richard Watts Associates (Lindsay was lead engineer) based on a Yamaha FM sound chip, and I had the unit manufactured independently in China. We sold around 50 thousand products worldwide (Spain was a big market) before Philips pulled the plug. Yamaha liked the idea so much they went on to produce a similar (cut-down) product.
If anyone is interested in getting more background on this product then get in touch with me at hewlett@planet.nl (I still have a few units here, plus collateral, manuals, accompaniment tapes, music books, etc.). p.s. Midi was not included on this unit.

# posted by

Anonymous : 4:06 pm

Hey! I really like your site!!!! Such a nice and useful blog... really!!

# posted by

Sitora Nekto : 4:39 pm

I have received a lot of requests for the PMC100 User Manual in English. I have now scanned a copy and can make it available in pdf format upon request to hewlett@planet.nl

# posted by

Anonymous : 4:22 pm

Hi everyone,

I just picked up a PMC 100 today at a second hand store. It was in it's original box, with original data tape and caring belt. Is there someone here who has an English manual. Tries to contact mr. Hewlett, but his email does not work

Thanks,
Mellotone

# posted by

mellotone : 8:30 pm