I had not been to my "local" music store for quite some time, so I was in for quite a surprise when I went there and saw both a PA1x ( speaker version ) and a G70 on display. No T2 though, and no 3000. The highest end Yamaha entry was the 1500.

First I went to the PA1x, since I had thought about the possibility of replacing my PA80 with one. There are some new features and perhaps a few new sounds and styles, but a majority of the soundset and styles sound similar enough that it didn't take me long to realize that there isn't really enough of a difference that would make me spend that kind of money. Just like my PA, I still like the styles, perhaps on the PA1x they are even a bit more "alive", though I still find fills that don't quite match. I still like the same sounds ( organs, synths, drums, strings ), see some improvement in the Pianos and perhaps a little in the sax sounds, still dislike the guitars and electric pianos. All in all a great arranger to be sure, but not quite enough there to make me upgrade. Perhaps the VH is the biggest improvement, but I don't use very much vocal harmony in the first place.

Then I tried the G70 ( version 2 ). I thought the styles were ok but a bit weak overall, and while I really liked some of the soundset ( guitars were much better to me than on the PA ), I was unimpressed with major portions of it as well ( ac pianos, lead and poly synths to name a few ). It's a beautiful looking board btw, and maybe with some tweaking I could have gotten much more out of it, but first impressions do mean a lot to me.

Above it sat a PSR1500. There was also an older 2000 nearby. I had a couple of 2ks in the past, so I know that board very well. I walked away from the 1500 somewhat surprised to say the least, considering it's supposed to be a lower end version of a 3k. Perhaps I was imagining it, but the keys felt better on the 1500 than on the 2k. Maybe it's because the 2k was used and the keys were worn a bit. I still don't really like the way the 1500 feels, but.... I liked the overall soundset ( panel voices ) a lot better than on either the PA1x or the G70, and surprisingly enough, the styles sounded more alive and musical than I had remembered them sounding on older Yamaha arrangers, and I thought they compared favorably to those on the PA1x, perhaps not quite as "alive", but with much better transition from variation to fill.

It was a good experience for me, because if and when I do look for a new arranger, I've now eliminated all things not Yamaha from consideration except Ketron, which I hope to see somewhere in the near future. Still, if I decide to go the new arranger route, the T2 is looking like by far the best choice for me at this point.

I don't want to start a my board is better than your board fight here, because I'm sure that some folks don't have the same ears I have or the same wants in an arranger, and that's ok too. For me, the whole point is that I was very pleasantly surprised to find all of these boards on display in my local store, and I finaly got to A / B a few different types at the same time. My local store is a very good store btw, but it has never been known for having a big selection of arrangers, so I was delighted at having this opportunity.

AJ