I have a question regarding operation of one function on Yamaha (and other) keyboards.

On my Roland G1000 I am able to split the keyboard and play the left hand voices together with my arranger accompaniment - this helps me "funk up" the accompaniment with pseudo-manual bass (slap-bass or very bright piano works great). This is different from Manual Bass, which mutes the accompaniment's bass line altogether.

In my short experience with Tyros and PSR2000 (trying it in the store for 15 minutes) I was left with the impression that I could not have the arranger's accompaniment and the left hand voice playing together. Is it true?

How does this work on other keyboards (Ketron, Technics, Korg, others?)

Thank you in advance,
Alex

No. On the Tyros & PSR2000 it is possible to have the arranger's accompaniment and the left hand voice playing together.


Alex: I'm a little confused over your question, but in 'split mode' on Yamaha Arrangers (PSR2000, Tyros, etc) and with the chord recognition set to 'fingered' (full chords played) mode, in addition to selecting the left voice played & heard, (chords played to trigger the auto accomp), you can also also play any subsequent note(s) (up to a two note interval played at the same time) in the chord recognition area (left side of split) without fear of the auto accomp chord recognition changing unexpectantly. This works great when you want to add additional funky fills/rifts with the left hand voice (chord recognition area) while the right hand continues to play (melody or fills) freely as well. I hope this helps answer your question. - Scott

Alex. don't get rid of your G1000. You will be sorry,,..

On the Y2K, to get the left hand voice playing at the same time as the accompaniment, press the "Left" button which is found to the right of the third button down at the top right of the screen (!) and check that the appropriate LED is then lit.

When I first got my 2k I kept pressing the button immediately next to the screen, which lets you change the voice, but which doesnt turn the voice on!

Thank you all for your replies.

They certainly clarify the issue for me.

Fran, I am not yet ready to let go of the G1000. I find that it excels in sounds, styles, and midi files. I love being able to lock the style or transposer on the fly. However, my eyes are not as good as they used to be, and combined with the fairly small screen, this is causing me serious problems.

Recently I had a rare outdoor gig, playing with a trumpet player in front of nearly a thousand people. While the audio engineers were doing a sound check for us, I made a couple of adjustments to the preset for the first song (normally I use generic performance settings, but for situations requiring tight timing I will set up individual perf. memories). In the bright light I could not see that Melody Intelligence was turned on and that it used a wrong type of harmony and a different voice. Fortunately, my friend the trumpet player carried most of the song, once I realized that that it was me making those out of whack sounds. Still, this was my worst performance since the the time when at the age of 11 I had to play a short clarinet solo in an orchestra and started half a bar early...

I can't help but think that had I had a more user-friendly instrument, I could avoid this happening. Hence, every so often I like to evaluate my options.

Thanks again,
Alex

Hey Alex if you get rid of your G-1000 get
VA-76, on VA 76 most knobs Light when rhey are activated, in this case you`l see if melody intell is on, unlike G-1000`s little lights.

Vadim,

Thank you for your suggestion. There is a store here in town which has had a VA76 on display for over a year. Several times I went in, hoping to convince myself that the upgrade was worthwhile, and yet every time I had left the store feeling that the VA76 was not really an instrument which I can use for playing live.

While many of the buttons which are there do indeed light up, there is a number of function whose buttons have disappeared. For example, a Transpose Lock button is extremely useful - it allows me to set up performance memories in different keys, then start from the one in a desired key, hit Transpose Lock, and the perf memories will change sounds or styles, but keep the key transposition. Similarly, I often use Accompaniment Lock button. Many arranger control buttons are also missing, and I often considered building a FC7-type switch. Still, every time I try the VA76, I leave with the feeling that the big LCD screen was put there to make the demoing of the instrument easier. Unfortunately, the sluggish response and the low screen density make the vA76 not very worthwhile for me.

Regards,
Alex

I don't think the VA7 is the answer for your "playing live" needs. It is an extremely difficult instrument for that purpose, everything is buried several pages down. The main display doesn't show much info either.

Marilyn

Marilyn,

I agree. All too often you will find an instrument with big screen which shows you very little information. With the buttons and lights (when you can see them in ambient light), you can get an idea of what is happening with your insrument's setup very quickly. I think this is the key to performing live - seeing what the current setup is and quickly making changes to match the performance's mood. When the screen replaces the buttons, it should be able to convey the same information. Unfortunately, most instruments today will not only display a voice's name in nice big letters, but also draw a fancy picture. This, IMHO, is a waste of valuable screen space. I think that Roland arranger designs are particularly egregious examples of this screen waste, as well as other non-performer-friendly features. I was impressed by the clear, informative screen of the Fantom, but it is designed by a different part of their company. The nice thing about the Tyros is that much information can be visualized by glancing at the button lights.

Regards,
Alex