I honestly don't see the point of comparing this arranger to Yamaha. Let's face it, if you LIKE Yamaha's sounds and styles, you are going to get one! The whole POINT of this is to be different. I really loved the comment about the drums being TOO real! That pretty much nails where the reviewer is coming from...

His ne plus ultra is Yamaha. I'm honestly a bit disappointed. I would expect a review like this from Ian, but someone who's JOB it is to do a review, you are supposed to be a little less biased. There are plenty of us out there that want a punchier, more lively, more upfront, and dare I say, more REAL drum sound in our equipment. Many of us play quite a lot with real drummers, and only feel comfortable, if we HAVE to use auto drums, etc, that it sound as close to a real drummer as possible. We don't play in our living rooms, playing ALW or light pop. We ROCK! We ROLL! And we want to sound like our drummer does, too..!

Let me just help everyone out there sitting on the fence.

If you like Yamaha, don't get anything else... Guess what? THEY ARE DIFFERENT! Now, if Yamaha's leave you feeling like you are listening to Muzak, then a Korg, a Ketron, even a Roland (that BK is a sleeper!) may be just what you are looking for. But if you LIKE the Yamaha's, very little else sounds like them. And, I'm sorry, but in MY book, that's a GOOD thing, not bad! But if that's the sound you are after, just buy one. Make Ian happy!