I hope you guys will help with this. Are there lots of useful styles available?

I only have experience with a Yamaha psr740. Which has 160 styles. A couple of blank style spots for user styles you can upload to the keyboard.

As a songwriter (who doesn't play very well), an arranger is seriously cool. It's just amazing to me what I can do on even a 740 versus me and a guitar.

Of the 160 styles, many are unusable for me, either because I don't like them or because they are almost the same as another. So, out of 160, I might use 30 or so often.

Point is, having access to lots of styles, that would really help me as a songwriter. And I did find a couple of styles that I downloaded and they are really cool.

Question is, are lots of good styles available? How many? This is pertinent to any arranger. I am not locked in on Yamaha, although I do like Yamaha. Doesn't matter... whatever way I could get access to the most styles. Or maybe software is the answer?

I'm just asking are there loads of good styles out there? I have about 30 that I use. If I had access to a hundred or two (that I like), that would be very cool.

Take a look at http://psrtutorial.com/Files/GD_gary.html and you'll find all the styles you need. However, be sure to download those with the OTS settings removed or they will lock up your PSR-740. Each style has been renamed with an appropriate song title, thus the name Gig Disk.

Good Luck,

Gary

Gary, I'm kinda dense. If I download one of these, then what? I could upload one of the styles to the 740 as a user style? I mean, I can't just access all of the styles via the floppy can I? Don't they have to be loaded into the 740 as a user style? And it would replace whatever user style I already have in there? I wish I could just play the 740 off of the floppy but I can't, can I?

Bill,
Break down and get a used PSR2000. You could read and play styles almost instantly from floppy. If you search around you can find some real bargains. Gary has one, but his "new" condition.
Don

What about a 2100 versus a 2000? What does a 2100 have over a 2000?

And still, anyone... the styles Gary mentioned... once I unzip them, with a psr740, I can't access a file from a floppy can I?

The 2100 has 100% more wav rom than the 2000. Thats the main difference between the two.

Phil

The main improvements of the PSR2100 are 1) 20 extra onboard styles, 2) some new voices, 3) fade-out button.

Of the new voices, the piano is the main improvement. There are a couple of cool organ voices and a sweet harmonica voice that you will like. None of the 160 or so old styles that were on the PSR2000 are revoiced on the PSR2100, so if you want to take advantage of the new voices within the PSR2100's styles, you have to revoice the styles manually and save them as registrations.

Overall, the PSR2000 and PSR2100 are almost identical. When I moved up from the PSR740 to the PSR2000, my excitement lasted a couple of months. When I moved up from the PSR2000 to the PSR2100, my excitement lasted about two days. When I moved up from the PSR2000 to the PSR3000, my excitement lasted a couple of months again.

I also highly recommend moving up to the PSR2000, PSR2100, or if you have the bucks, the PSR3000. You will have a lot more fun.

Beakybird

Semi...
The lack of User Memory in the 740 is a serious hinderance to your goal. Any PSR from the 2000 up will be much more useful and satisfying. Plus, you can name your songs in the registration rather than having to punch in the codes like you have to with the 740.
Eddie

OK, after downloading the file, unzip it to a new floppy disk, then you can load three of them into the 740s user style slots, which if I recall were the last three slots in the style memory. Again, be sure to download only those with the OTS removed or they'll lock up your keyboard and you'll have to a master reset to restore its operation.

I agree you should seriously consider an upgrade to the 2000/2100, which will provide you with lots of wonderful features.

Good Luck,

Gary

. . . and the 740 may not hold 3 styles. It depends on how large the style files are.
DonM