I've had two of these keyboards for three years now, and they are wearing out. Both of them need button replacements where switches have become unresponsive. One might need a new strip under the keys.

One keyboard is having dropouts on the left channel. I am going to have to hope that the aux outs work. That keyboard is also having an intermittent problem with the pitch bend wheel. It has stuck a few times.

With the music rest slot on one keyboard the plastic has bent, so the rest falls off with a moderately heavy music book. On the other keyboard, the plastic slot is broken on the edge. For both keyboards, I had to create a makeshift solution - an excellent one, with velcro.

Anyway, one keyboard is in repair while the other one is giving me problems. I urgently want to get the PSR S900.

Beakybird

Do you have reason to think the S900 will fair any better?

That is one of the reasons[quality] , I sold off my PSR's..I knew what was ahead for me to keep them..

Fran makes a good point. Although I'm interested in the new S line, it would strictly be used at home.

The PSR's aren't designed for road use (regardless of what others here say who gig with them). Sure they're light, but they're light for a reason. I read a review the other day regarding the 3000 and the owner had to replace to strip under the keys twice in 18 months.

Yamaha sure does pack in a lot of features, but you really take a hit in build quality with the PSR line. Hopefully the S-900 will be different.

Squeak

The 3ks have withstood rigorous gig conditions without a problem, but lets face it ...its plastic!!!.....& for a pro who uses it daily what more can you ask for in reliability?........just think of what you earned with it at the 3k price point vs replacing, upgrading or what ever .....these are all tools of the trade that need to be changed.......I have no qualms & no regrets with the 3k it has served me very well......


[This message has been edited by Dnj (edited 06-04-2007).]

Go figure..Donny had to replace his key contact strips every 6 months on his PSR9000.....yet..he stayed clear with the problem on the PSR3000...I call it lucky

Gotta love those all metal Ketrons. I'm going on 14 years at least 5 jobs a week, 6 months a year outside...no problem with my MS-60 and expect the same ruggedness out of my SD-5. I bought a PSR 3000, was wary of the quality and didn't like the sound. Gave it to my granddaughter.

Hope they hold up for those who use them.

Good luck"!

R.

george kaye says he is impressed with what he has seen
of the build quality of the s900 v. the psr3k.

the complaints re reliability and wear may be well-taken,
but that has nothing at all to do with the fact the shell
and buttons are plastic, does it? as far as the music stand,
yes, but that is more likely due to poor design in relation
to the materials used. the low price point of the 3k may
have affected the quality of the interior parts. the s900
comes at a time when more quality can be built in at the
same price point.

and if you drop a plastic kb it can crack, whereas a metal
one won't..but a cracked shell is not really a problem
except cosmetically. it's what happens inside the kb from
the impact that is the problem. the plastic cracking vs
the metal actually absorbs more of the force so the
insides are less impacted..like crumple zones in autos.

------------------
Miami Mo

Yep, the 9k was real bad design with keystrips at $60.00 a pop + labor.....but the 3k is a different single rubber cap design which held up pretty well.

My experience with the 9000 and 3K is identical to Donny's. I loved the 900...but it was heavy and the contact strips had to be replaced at least once per year.

The 3K has been a Godsend. I have two (including one of Donny's). After almost 3 years, I encountered my first problem with one. It was, according to the tech that worked on it, an electrical converter that went bad.

Other than that...no problems with the 3K.

Eddie

Well, I was kind of sanguine about the repairs needed on my PSR3000s, attributing it to normal wear and tear. I do over 500 shows a year, and they are 3 years old. I feel like I got my money's worth.

Nevertheless, it is obvious that there are more sturdy keyboards out there. I'm really into the Yamaha sounds and styles, and the Tyros series has two drawbacks for me - price and lack of internal speakers.

I have a friendly acquaintance who is an engineering student and gifted with fixing gadgets. I dropped off one of the keyboards - the one with the sound cutting out - for him to look at.

I do hope that the PSR S900 is better built, or that the replacement doesn't take three years to come out.

Beakybird

Beaky good luck with the two s900's keep us posted on your experiences.

Well i must step forth and PROCLAIM loudly from the mountain top: i have bought my Psr9000 in july of 2002(yup even as the floor demo model!) and my contact strip has Never been replaced as of yet!!so take your "bad design: lingo and dipose of it into the urinal please!

So basically, you are saying that because YOU have never been mugged, no-one else has been, either? Interesting logic...

I must admit i really bash my buttons and keys hard. hard enough that paint starts chipping off them, never once have I had a problem with a button not working or anything like that? other than on this Forum, I have never heard of anyone having an issue anywhere else...

The Yamaha products are so cheap compared to their competition so to have a problem like this hear or there really doesn't matter, since you have already compensated by not spending as much as if you purchased a Korg or a Roland or anything else for that matter.

you cant really say they "aren't designed for road use", because that is where it starts to get broad. what cases are being used? Hard / soft? do they get dropped? do they get bumped around and things like that?

Its like the cheap Dell Computers. sooooo many of these get sold around the world and everyone always hears of them failing or things going wrong. that is because of the ratio of how many dells are out there...

you might not hear of Rolands / Korgs breaking down as much for the simple reason there aren't as many out there...

There aren't many Rolls Royces but then again, they never "break down."

Its not lingo my friend just pure fact not once but twice!

I have no doubt they would break down if they were used just as much as a normal everyday car...

most cars break down because of the lack of care by their owners

remember a Rolls Royce costs over 20 times the amount of a standard car, and about 10 times the amount to keep it on the rd, so end of the day its going to balance out...

A Rolls-Royce does not break down. It 'fails to proceed.'

hehehe well that could very well be so

There is a;lways thois compartisson with cars l;ike rolls royce. People dont use rolls royces in the same way thatordinary cars are used and they most certainly do break down !

I only wanted to make the point that the touch sensitive strip under the keys on the psr models according to my repair man is the most common problem expeirenced with the psr range as they tend to split. I had the psr8000 prior to my pax and i replaced the strip twice in 4 years. cost �20 for the strip and �20 forlabour so not a major problem.

[This message has been edited by spalding (edited 06-05-2007).]

Its only plastic striping ...once a key penetrates the strip and makes raw contact that's it.....you'll know right away because when you press down a defective key it will BLAST at full volume!! Very embarrassing when performing on stage

Interesting discourse.

Luckily, my engineer friend was able to fix my PSR3000 last night. There was a loose wire.

Now I have to wait for my other one to get out of the repair shop. I might take it out and have my friend repair it as he charges me 1/2 of what the Yamaha authorized repair center charges - with much faster turnaround. He also seems to be more knowledgeable. With both keyboards that the repair shop technician fixed, he attached the Smart Media card drive wrong, and I had to go back for him to fix it. This happened twice!

Beakybird

Plastic is fine with me.......lightweight to haul around as much as 4 gigs per day.

What do you guys do? Heave your organ out the window like Lorraine Bobbitt

Really though i suspect it was more than probablly "hammered at"..it's like a customer saying these toyotas are garbage,the engines keep dying,yet he uses it for 4x4'n.Point PSR line was intended for in home use,not gig'd and hauled around,with the exception of the "pro9000 maybe,though i still think it is to delicate for roading.
I watched people play the demo models and man why the heck do humans think keyboards will last any amount of time punching buttons,banging away on it as though they're in some sort of swim stroke or something..just take care of things and reap the rewards is all my point is.

If the key contacts are failing, how is this in any way the fault of gigging it? Moving it around doesn't stress the keys, PLAYING it stresses the keys.

Are you suggesting that it just needs to be played less, and everything will be fine? ROFLMAO...

Maybe we finally have a definition of the difference between a 'home' arranger and a 'professional' one.... 'Home' arrangers are not meant to be played on for any length of time.

It's not so much that 'it's like a customer saying these toyotas are garbage,the engines keep dying,yet he uses it for 4x4'n' it's more like 'it's like a customer saying these toyotas are garbage, the engines keep dying, yet he uses it for driving to the next state instead of just around the block'....

Even a 'home' user should expect to get YEARS of trouble-free operation for something he payed for that has no label that says 'Don't play this too much'!

this topic of the key beds and other parts failing is definitely interesting but I think everyone here is forgetting the point that most Yamaha owners don't really care (its not such a big issue)...

We are extremely happy and proud of our instruments that its not the end of the world if a $60.00 key strip fails once a year or in some extreme cases twice a year... ( I have yet to see one of mine fail)

I mainly see people who don't own Yamaha's to be the ones complaining about it more often

there is absolutely NO difference to playing a keyboard in a hall in front of people than playing it in your bedroom.. you aren't going to be hitting the keys or pressing buttons any harder just because your on a stage??

I spend at least 3 hours a day on my keyboard enjoying playing music and what not (more on weekends), how is that different to someone who plays a few gigs a week or even per day?

so this nonsense about a keyboard only being made for gigging purposes or home use is meaningless.

i believe the only aspect being beneficial of a metal casing over plastic is that when it gets bumped around or dropped it wont be prone to break as easy or crack...

heres a tip - don't drop your keyboard and swing around hitting brick walls!

If a Roland's key bed or button strip wont break as easy as a Yamaha then yes thats a great plus and a good assurance of quality, it is obviously deterring people from purchasing Yamaha products. But every board no matter what brand will have something that another board does not have (mine is the superior sound quality of Yamaha).

Nick

Nick , i have to clarify a few points..First of all the PSR series have always had key contact problems..They are not as durable as competition in the same class..[Ask any honest technician]..

Playing for your own enjoyment in your bedroom and playing on stage..is different..it is called energy level, and believe me..the keys are subject to more abuse..

And 3rd..Superior sound is only one's opinion..I for one do not like the sound of Yamaha, even Tyros2..It is just preference and not demeaning..I prefer the "live" sound of Ketron, Roland, and even Korg ..over Yamaha..[Yamaha is too compressed sound for my taste]..

Fran,

I am not at all disagreeing with you on the point of durability. I am more of less saying, it really is nothing major for most people who own Yamaha Keyboards...

as for playing on stage being more energetic compared to in the bedroom. I have to disagree with you there because that entirely depends on the style of music you are playing...

if i play some songs at home and then the exact same songs on stage, there is no reason for me to press the buttons and keys any harder?

Nick, on stage Adrenalin takes over..

Pretty easy thing to check, Nick...

Press Record on your sequencer while you play normally at home, then do it at a gig... Then look at the files in a sequencer. Pretty easy to see if you are playing harder or not...

Now , maybe you are NOT playing any harder at the gig, but I'm fairly sure that MOST players (including myself if the audience is pretty!) do, so a general comment about playing live stronger than at home was a reasonable generalization.

Maybe that's what's happening here lately... someone makes a general comment, and then the one person that disagrees with it thinks it is a specific comment. All anybody is saying is that, IN MOST CASES (in their opinion) such and such is the case, or this or that.

Have we all got to start prefacing our sentences with some kind of disclaimer, or is everyone adult enough in here to start realizing that when someone gives their opinion, they are just giving their OPINION, not laying down the law, not saying you MUST do it this way, just stating an opinion. That's what forums are for.... to listen to other people's experiences and opinions, and to offer yours, if you want.

That's all... Unless a person is specifically addressed, all ANY of us are doing is making general comments and stating our opinions. Anything wrong with that?

Fair enough yes we are all entitled to our opinions, BUT it does not mean its appropriate that we can say whatever is on our mind.

thats where common courtesy and basic social skills come into place...

MY opinion your ugly, the worst player i have ever met, you stink, don't know anything about music.. bla bla bla.

my opinion, but does that make it okay?

we just need to discipline ourselves to stay on topic. "You stink, he stinks , she stinks " are opinions but i guess they would have nothing to do with the topic ! so stick to the topic and i guess ALL opinions are welcome !

I agree, it is only personal opinions,and as a yammie lover i easily took offence over the "bad design" thing.Only reason i was startled over it is:not only does my 9000 still have the original strip, i only came accross two boards that required the strips.Mabey some of you heard of more cases i did'nt,but i am on alot of keyboard sites.I know of tyros1 that needed them.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by mr9000:
[B]I agree, it is only personal opinions,and as a yammie lover i easily took offence over the "bad design" thing.Only reason i was startled over it was that not only does my 9000 still have the original strip, i only came accross two other keyboards over the years(forums) that required the strips.Maybe some of you heard of more cases i did'nt,but i am on alot of keyboard sites.I do know of one or two tyros's(1) that needed contact strips.

So the question is, do three year old Rolands, Korgs, Ketrons, and GEMs that are used heavily for gigging ever have to go into the shop?

Beakybird

Hey Beaky sounds like your gonna try something new?

I have gigged TOTL Rolands for over ten years now. Five to ten gigs a week, 4 to 8 hrs a day, during the season (March to October). Usually outdoors, often next to the Gulf of Mexico on the beach... Basically, close to the worst environment you can be in.

NOT ONE PROBLEM..... EVER.

Mind you, I NEVER let it sit in direct sunlight, and use a full ATA flight case for transportation. But, all in all, my experience is that build quality does make a difference if you play a lot in hostile environments (other than Baghdad)...

(Disclaimer... SOME others may not have had this good fortune, your mileage may vary, objects in mirror closer than they appear, it's just what happened to me...)

Diki, exactly my experience also[over23 years of top Roland models..]..

I have had my pax for nearly two years. I had a problem with one of the speakers about 4 months ago and the sound was just wrong . The repairman messed around with it and it is fine. I dropped the keyboard once and broke the joystick ( its sa blooming heavy keyboard fellas) and had that repaired. Other than that i have had no mechanical/electrical problems. The OS system is very stable and obviously the keyboard is vastly improved since i purchased it thanks to Korgs very gracious OS update policy. In fact i still have not fully explored potentially 40% of the keyboards features because i have just been having such a good time playing the instrument and korg nicely keep supplying new features !

[This message has been edited by spalding4 (edited 06-08-2007).]