Can someone that knows very well these keyboards, tell me a comparison concerning, quality of: sound, voices, styles and general features?
Thanks
Carlos Rodrigues

Hi Carlos

I cannot say I know these keyboards very well, but I have played both of them. The first thing you need to know is that there is a lot of information on the web regarding these two arrangers. In this forum there is an earlier thread that details the CZ-2000 and compares it to the PSR-740. The later keyboard is reviewed in detailed at www.svpworld.com ](which also has free and commercial styles for they PSR-740) and at Jørgen Sørensen 's PSR-740 site : http://home7.inet.tele.dk/js/musik/740pages/ . Casio has an excellent animated review of the CZ-2000.

Rather than try to be comprehensive, I will point out one important feature each keyboard lacks, but the other has. The CZ-2000 has aftertouch, but the PSR-740 does not. (Generally, the real-time controls on the CA-2000 far exceed those on the PSR-740). The PSR-740 has vocal harmony, but the CA-2000 does not. Both keyboards have access to huge free style sets. Most styles are available in Yamaha PRS format and Roland format; Casio accepts the later. One final note: the CZ-2000 is one of the few arrangers with an arpeggiator.


[This message has been edited by Clif Anderson (edited 11-28-2000).]

[This message has been edited by Clif Anderson (edited 11-28-2000).]

In my opinion the MZ beats the 740 in several areas...... The sound quality
is unbelievable! It's hard to believe that those sounds are coming out of a Casio.
My suggestion to you is this. Go the Yamaha's site and print out the specs on the 740,
then go to www.mz2000.com This is a full interactive tour on this keyboard. It's got to
be one of the best demo sites I have ever seen. All the info on the casio is there including full
lists of sounds, styles ect. One big thing to keep in mind is that the 740 lacks a true sequencer... It
lacks most of the features needed like copy, paste, and many others... Also the sounds on the 740 are as is, meaning
that you are stuck with them and no room for editing. The Casio has a synth engine on it so you can edit the voices.
There are just so many good features on the MZ, Go check it out and make a comparison. A friend of mine did a side by side with
the two and said the MZ in his opinion was the better of the two. I value his opinions too because like me he has been playing for over
20 years and knows a great deal about synths...

Hi,
Thanks very nuch for the information. I have visited the sites you have recommended and also Simon William site http://www.svpworld.com/tools.htm. I have downloaded the mp3 files from the two keyboards, with sounds, styles and I have heard them through the same sound card in the P.C.
Indeed the MZ2000 has much more features and it's more atractive. But, it seems that the quality voices imitation is a little better in the PSR740. Am I wrong in this conclusion?
Thanks,
Carlos Rodrigues

Rodrigues,
Forgot to tell you one thing about the demos on the MZ site and that's that they don't do the keyboard any justice. They were not recorded at a high quality, I beleive they were recorded at 28 Khz, and are not of MP3 quality. The keybaord itself sounds 100 times better than the demos. There's a woman on this site names LindaFus who has an MZ2000. She can tell you all about the sounds and how much better they are than the demos on the interactive tour....

Squeak

PS: I agree with you that the MZ does have more features and has a better cosmetic appearance too... OH keep in mind that one REALY BIG downside to the 740 is that THE BUTTONS ARE ALL PAINTED! I've heard many complaints from users of this board that the paint is rubbing off the buttons along with the numbers and letters.. Some people say this is no big deal, but as far as I'm concerned, if you pay $1000.00 and up for a keyboard, the thing should look nice down the road.... The MZ has a more solid construction of the body, and the buttons aren't painted...


Squeak

I'm a happy owner of a PSR 740. I use the keyboard professionally and play an average of three hours a day. I've never had any paint come off the keyboard.

The PSR 740 has a lot of limitations. I would rather do sequencing on the computer, so I don't care about sequencing. The ability to only have three added styles on board at a time, is a big disadvantage. I have found a quick way to load styles from the floppy, but it isn't ideal.

On the other hand, the vocalizer is an excellent feature, and I wouldn't trade it for any keyboard without a vocalizer. No way!

The PSR 740 is pretty light, and as I do a lot of lugging around this is a major advantage over the more expensive arrangers. If the Casio were about as light, and if Casio put a vocalizer on their keyboard, I would go out and buy it right away.

B-bird,
What is "the quick way" to load styles from floppies, that you have found? Please explain. Also, thanks for the info on the RS headset. I got one and it's pretty good - but I only play at home and don't sing very well, either They're on sale now for $39.99.
Tom

My advice, Shop Around.
Now, you can buy a more profesional board like a Roland G1000 or EM2000 for almost the same price.
(checkout zzsounds and 8thstreet)

Be careful when you order something from zzounds.com. I ordered an EM2000 from them, and after almost 2 months, they still kept telling me that it might come when the next truck arrives. I had to cancel my order, and put in my order at 8thstreet.com. I got my EM2000 five days after. I am very happy with sound and style quality of the keyboard. It is much better than the psr740. I have not tried out the mz2000, so I can't comment on that. By the way, I paid $US 1,195 for my board shipping included plus a free dual midi cable. What a deal!

[This message has been edited by BrianV (edited 11-30-2000).]

Brian,

The price of Roland EM-2000 has dropped significantly to around US$1,300 or less lately. When I visited George Kaye's shop not too long ago, he mentioned that he sold EM-2000 at about $1,200.

Paul Ip
from Texas