The Yamaha EM-90A is what happens when Yamaha throws a cocktail party for an organ, a rhythm box, and a 70s lounge act—then accidentally records the whole thing to 8-track. It’s a combo organ with auto-accompaniment that’s so unhip it somehow loops back around to being cool. Think plastic sliders, preset rhythms with names like “Beguine” and “Disco 2,” and the kind of basslines that sound like they’re wearing flared trousers. It wasn’t built for synth nerds—it was built for your uncle who wore turtlenecks unironically and played “Girl from Ipanema” on Sunday afternoons. But sampled or run through a juicy pedal chain? This thing slaps in the weirdest, funkiest way.

FEATURES & PROS:

• Built-in Rhythm Machine – Latin, swing, and funk presets straight outta the waiting room at your dentist’s office in 1976.

• Auto Bass Chord System – One-finger chords for when playing actual harmony is just too much effort.

• Spring Reverb Vibes – Not real spring, but has that boxy, haunted-casino feel we’ve grown to fetishize.

• Tone & Percussion Sliders – Slap those drawbar-style sliders and feel like a budget Jimmy Smith.

• Built-in Speaker – Lo-fi gold. Put a mic in front and call it "vintage saturation.”

• Perfect for Sampling – Run it through a sampler and boom, you’re Madlib with a hip replacement.

• Retro Aesthetic – Looks like furniture, sounds like funky furniture. Pure vibe for your studio corner.