I guess we have to have one of these little "damn Yamaha" discussions now and then, but I'm altogether certain they are doing no good except to make us feel like we're having our say.

I get the impression that the 9000 Pro may have been something of a Yamaha market test to see how well a pro-level arranger would sell and if they could package their arranger technology in a way would appeal to pro users. Reportedly the 9000 Pro sold ok in the European markets but far fewer were sold in the US. Many Yamaha keyboard dealers didn't even stock or display it because they weren't sure how or who to sell it to. It became more of a specialty item, which is another term for "only used by a few weirdos".

IMHO Yamaha didn't really push the 9000 Pro at all, other than to send out some press releases and build a website for it. It got lukewarm reviews by studio musicians who weren't sure what to do with it, and it was never advertised in any major way that I ever saw (ie: no ads in Keyboard or Electronic Musician). Even today when I mention the 9000 Pro to other keyboardists or if they see it on stage with me I usually get a "wtf is that?" response. I've also noticed that 9000 Pro's have been struggling price-wise on eBay both new and used... so there isn't a great demand for these keyboards even now. That all adds up to a failed product in the marketing sense.

The biggest tragedy may be that Yamaha seems to have accepted the failure of the 9000 Pro as a failure of the pro-level arranger concept in general. 9000 Pro owners and potential owners of a replacement model are such a small minority of keyboard owners that we've probably fallen between the cracks of Yamaha's marketing vision. They figure we'll either go with the Tyros or the Motif in the near future. But I think we've made our point and Yamaha's rep have gotten the message that 9000 Pro owners are angry at being disenfranchised... and that's as far as the subject will likely ever go. I predict we'll never see another upgrade or any other acknowledgement from Yamaha that the 9000 Pro ever existed - in fact, I think Yamaha wishes this market segment they've created would just go away.