Light years? Me no think so. Me thinks you are exaggerating things a bit Ian.

The proof is in the pudding they say. So here goes.

This song was made on a Tyros(1). No SMF, it was sequenced exclusively on Tyros' onboard 16 track sequencer. It is a slow Jazz ballad called "There's No You" made famous by singer Frank Sinatra.

Here is the song:

There's No You

I invite anybody with a Tyros2 to record a song using only the Tyros2' onboard sequencer (no software sequencer and no external sounds e.g. .wav files, etc.) and post it here for evaluation. Then I will give you my honest opinion about the Tyros2' "light years ahead" claim.

PS: I recorded the sequenced song directly to my computer using Sony Sound Forge 7.0 and converted it to an .mp3.

Another PS: I cannot truthfully state that the Tyros2 is even a 'notch' above the Tyros as far as most sounds go in my opinion. Granted, there are some sounds such as the SAV voices that Yamaha has demonstrated very convincingly, yet in terms of the real world i.e. first hand experience playing a Tyros2 live with none of Yamaha's expensive demo producing techniques such as ultra sophisticated recording equipment and sequencing software, I really didn't notice much of a difference compared to a Tyros. I did like a few of the SAV voices such as the SAV Tenor Sax and a couple of the SAV strings and one or two of the SAV guitars but other than that the SAV's didn't excite me that much. And as far as the keybed I did like the Tyros2' keybed but the Tyros' keybed is no slouch either in my opinion. In fact if you play mainly Organ you may indeed prefer the Tyros' keybed over the T2's. But I also find the Tyros' keybed quite sufficient for playing Piano as well as all the other over 1,100 voices on the Tyros. Weighted Hammer Action would be the preference of choice for playing Piano of course but the Tyros' keybed is acceptable in my opinion as is the Tyros2' keybed since it is a little firmer than the Tyros'.

But I do commend Yamaha for coming up with the SAV concept and I'm sure they will continue to further enhance the SAV technology as time goes by. >> If they make a 76 key T3 I will definitely consider getting one.

The SAV's are going to get better and by then there will probably be a lot more of them included in the T3 or whatever they end up calling it.

Two or so more years is a long time to wait though. But patience is a virtue I've been told. Although you never know what's going to come down the pipe between now and then either. Yamaha who?? Enter Korg, Roland, GEM, etc. The field is wide open and competition is the spark that flames ingenuity and is the mother of invention.

It will be interesting to see and hear what the other keyboard manufacturers introduce in the next couple of years or so. The Roland E80 sounds great but only has 61 keys and it weighs a ton (figuratively speaking of course ). Korg is overdue as well as Ketron and GEM. So let the games begin!

My 2¢

Best regards,
Mike