Mike :
Are you hi-Z or lo-Z ?
I would not dare to say Yamaha put 'crappy electronics down the line' .... It's not my favourite instrument but still a nice good sounding machine.

Twonuts :
Please translate your comment ! (I'm a dutchie)

Now more serious :
Mike has a point. A keyboard is a keyboard and not a hi-Q microphone preamp.
I myself never used the MIC-in's of keyboards I owned. None of them performed well enough to use in my homestudio or on stage :
Too noisy, almost no headroom, gain-adjustment very poor, clipping, complex to change parameters as EQ's and effects... etc.

For stage use I purchased a VERY inexpensive Behringer 6 channel mixer that has :
Two BALanced XLR inputs with Phantom-power.
Good EQ's that can be adjusted within a second.
Enough headroom and clip-warning LED's.
2 stereo line-inputs with full EQ's.
The Behringers' price was about 60 USD.
The tiny nanoverb (Alesis) has a much better reverb for singers than most keyboards have.

In the homestudio there is a 1202VLZ Mackie that costs 6 times the Behringer price... and has Balanced I/O YESSSS !!

Roel

Roel,

Is the SD1 Mic-output taken before or after the harmonizer? Thanks,

-- José.

MIC-1 output is taken after the harmonizer.
Unfortunately this implies the harmonizer sounds in MONO.

Roel

[This message has been edited by Roel (edited 02-18-2003).]

Roel,

Last night, it was no-Zzz's. Stupid dog, keeps jumping into our bed around 2:00 AM.

Now hang on there buddy, I didn't mean to imply that the Yamaha in particular used crappy electronics in their mic input stage (although I can see where one would think that) Nope, my comment was meant to be more of a "food for thought" kind of a thing. If they're going to do it right, then do it right all the way!

You did follow up very nicely in the next paragraph.

I can certainly understand Don's point and I agree. XLR connectors for microphones (and other inputs and outputs) would be a good reflection of the manufacturer's understanding of the business.

With that said, are we to assume that because of the lack of those type of connectors coming out of the factories, that this indicates the manufacturer's lack of understanding?

mike

"With that said, are we to assume that because of the lack of those type of connectors coming out of the factories, that this indicates the manufacturer's lack of understanding?"
That would be a logical assumption. Either that or it's cheaper to build.
Elaborating a little, I generally use an external mixer, Mackie 1202 or Behringer, and run my mic(s) into that. I then use a Send to route the mics back to the keyboard.
This way I can use the keyboard effects and harmonizer on more than one mic, in case of a guest singer. Also, it allows me to use phantom power mics when I want to.
However, on the small jobs such as nursing homes, I often want to take as little gear as possible. In these instances I run the mic directly into the keyboard, and the keyboard out to a small p.a. or powered speakers.
I find the mic sound and the harmonizer in the PSR2000 more than adequate for most jobs. It is crisp and clear with virtually no noise, when adjusted correctly. If you use the harmonizer properly it works fine for my applications.
I sometimes use the compressor/limiter on my mic, and I find the onboard effects and seperate mic e.q. easy to access and use.
The XLR input is not a life-or-death point, it would just seem perfectly logical to have one.
DonM

Mike :
It was sooo easy to 'misunderstand' you !!

Roel