I finally got to play a 76 key Tyros5 yesterday at Guitar Center. I fiddled around with it for a good two hours and I have to admit I was generally impressed with the sounds and styles. The audio styles add a new dimension to the sound quality which is rather interesting when you consider that the PSR-s950 audio styles don't really add much to the overall sound. Apparently Yamaha has improved the concept which is a bonus to anyone thinking about getting a Tyros5. The key feel is the same as the Tyros4 and quite acceptable for an arranger keyboard in my opinion. The layout is also quite nice but I wish the physical draw-bars had the traditional draw-bar look which would be more of an incentive to utilize them if you ask me. The power button is on the back which is an inconvenience because of its location. Yamaha also needs to get on the bandwagon with a touchscreen interface on its next generation of keyboards. Touchscreens make sense because they eliminate some of the hassle of navigating the various menus. But I digress.

After messing around with the Tyros5 for a good two hours I can readily admit I barely scratched the surface. If you live in Europe the organs will likely thrill you. But if you live in the U.S. you will likely be saddened by the mediocre B3 organ sounds. For whatever reason Yammie seems unable to replicate a decent B3 organ sound and I'm not sure why that is. Korg and Roland are both head and shoulders above Yamaha in that regard. Yamaha should invest a little R&D in that department (hire someone from Hammond Suzuki if need be) because in the end they would more than make up for it in overall sales down the road. Musicians want authenticity as much as possible and that also includes B3 organ sounds. The acoustic pianos are pretty good but the Concert Grand might be a little dark for some people's taste. Drum kits have also been improved which is a bonus.

The Tyros5 is a worthy effort by the folks at Yamaha and some of the sounds are simply breathtaking. The Lush Strings is one such example. I really like the Choir section too by the way. There are also some actual human voices added to the mix which is nice to see. The acoustic guitars are for the most part excellent and so are the electric guitars. Brass has been improved somewhat and there are even some nice electric pianos. Although if a person is going to fork over $6,000 they would expect excellence in every way possible I would think. But the Tyros 5 has a few drawbacks that people need to consider. One is the price for what you are getting quite frankly. My personal opinion is the Tyros5 is probably worth $3,000 before taxes. At twice that amount Yamaha is making a killing needless to say. The B3 organs are still kind of cheesy and here we are in 2014 already. No real sampler either and there is still no micro editing capability. Sadly, I expect some Tyros5 owners will experience the infamous note drop off scenario because of the limited amount of polyphony. Some Tyros4 owners had also complained of note drop off and sadly Yammie refused to address the issue on the Tyros5. 128 note polyphony is no longer sufficient especially if you compose complex arrangements. I've spoken about this many times before as you already know. Multi-layered voices, Left, Right 1/2/3, multi-pads, Style auto-accompaniment and let's not forget the polyphony draining sustain pedal that, when combined together, could potentially bring a keyboard to its knees in surrender. Just like what happened on the Tyros4. 256 note polyphony would give the up and coming Tyros"6" some much needed 'breathing room' but only time will tell if Yammie finally addresses the issue. If history is any indicator then don't hold your breath. Although kudos to Yamaha for finally reversing their decision on a 76 key high-end arranger. And the 76 key Tyros5 seems to be even more popular than the 61 key version. Go figure.

All the best, Mike