my local in Sydney still has them on order... they should be arriving within 2 weeks now...

the RRP AUD is about $4,500.00 inc Tax for XS 6. that works out to be about $3,960.00 USD

they said they will be able to do better pricing on that.. does that kind of pricing sound right???

to spalding...its not just an arpeggiator, its four, yes 4 of them all playing there own arps at the same synced time..the es has only one arpeggiator...add chord recognition and its essentially a quasi-arranger..another benefit is you could change the feel of a piece simply by changing the drum arp, and the new arp is played in perfect sync with the existing arps...same goes for any of the other arps too...then add the SA voices to the already superb ES voices, vocoding harmoniser built-in, bigger brighter colour screen, there is more, but thats for another place...imho the hype for the XS is well justified...as soon as it hits Oz i will be demoing one, with a view to trading my s90es for it..
to nick...that price is high..U.S. prices are marked at about $2900, so out here about 3300-3500 i would imagine, my rep at music store where i shop at called yamaha and they said they had no firm pricing for Oz as yet...prob early may..
cheers
dennis

Thanks for that Miden. doesnt the Es have chord recognition too ?

Also with the XS can you programme your own Arps/styles that will follow your chord changes just like an arranger ?? This would make the XS very much different to the ES.

hi spalding, actually the es does have a sort of chord recognition, in that the arp follows the chord you are playing, but from what i have read, the XS improves on this...for example check out the demos of the MM6 (i reckon the chord recognition will be the same as that)i believe it also adds that ability to bass, so you get intelligent basslines to go along with the chords you are playing,you know, with bass voice leading and fills to the next chord etc etc, i can say more when i demo one in may...as for programming chord changes, it has its "pattern mode" which is where i guess you could program chord progressions..i am trying to interpret these things from the information at other forums, and again once i have got my hands on one, obviously i can provide a more "informed" opinion....on paper at least, it seems like a big step forward,,,
cheers
dennis

Yamaha sent one of their best keyboard guys out to my store today and I really learned alot about the XS today.
First, yes you can make your own arpeggios and these can be used just like the ones from the factory. And all the arpeggios except for the drum type allow chord recognition.
Next, I learned that the Effects processor in this new XS is of the latest and highest quality Yamaha offers. Way more powerful than the ES. Also, the ES only had four elements per voice and the XS has up to 8. The acoustic grand piano for example now has 8 elements including key off sample and a 1/2 damper pedal function and it's own sample.
The user interface is also way more intuitive than on the ES.
You can also copy a performance with 4 arpeggios to tracks 1 through 4, then copy another performance from 5 -8 and so on up to 16 tracks so that you can compose by using nothing more than performances with all arpeggios. Or you can record each track with different arpeggios, one at a time.
I also tried out the vocoder mode and it's really great. There is an insert effect you must assign to the vocoder presets or one you make and once assigned I could play keys and my voice would be assigned to the pitches I played and sounds were mixed in as well.
I also got a preview today of the new PSRS700 keyboard. It looks and feels great and although this is not the 900, it has mega voices and 96 notes of polyphony. The speakers were loud and I was really impressed with the looks. It looks more like it should be in the Tyros type price range rather than the PSR3000 range. It was also really light for how big it is. The buttons are now rubber instead of plastic with little lights in the center of the switches. Unfortunately, this was just a sneak preview as it was still a prototype and these products will officially make their introduction here in the USA at the summer NAMM show and should be available for sale in August.


------------------
George Kaye
Kaye's Music Scene
Reseda, California
818-881-5566
www.kayesmusicscene.com

Thanx for the update George....I still think Yamaha has to make it simple to understand for the new XS buyer or Arranger converts before its a Hugh success.....many people have NO idea what the XS acually does and how it does it vs an arranger KB....

Yeah Donnie.. IF I get one of these and if it is like the motif I will be knee deep in the manual for a good month...

George, How is the interface?

Thanks

Beach Bum....And WAY beyond that if they dont offer some serious easy to understand media instructional material for newbies and pros alike...those silly funkasized Bert XS demos just dont cut it for the general masses at all...let us know if you get an XS I'd love to hear your thoughts.

I've sold the Motif, the MotifES and now the MotifXS. Of course, since Yamaha is aware of what consumers have been asking for, this new interface is the easiest of them all. The large color screen and the number of controllers and sliders make this the easiest of all.


------------------
George Kaye
Kaye's Music Scene
Reseda, California
818-881-5566
www.kayesmusicscene.com