I'm looking for a beefed-up replacement for my dear psr530. I'd like a more powerful sequencer, a disk drive for loading custom styles, etc and storage, a good-sounding amp/speaker section. Voice harmonization, if it really works, would be great. Can anyone let me have their opinion in regard to the psr2000 vs. the psr9000? What are the main differences and is the extra $1,000+ for the 9000 money well spent? I plan on performing rather informally and doing some composing. Thanks.

It depends on what you plan to do with the keyboard. The PSR-2000 is a good board, but users are finding that it's not really suited for heavy performance. Its construction is not up to par with the PSR-9000. If you have the money for the PSR-9000 you won't regret getting it. The PSR-2000 is a cheaper alternative, but again the construction quality is no where near that of the PSR-9000. Also take into account that the PSR-9000 is a big keyboard and it has some weight to it. Of course you'll get more features with the 9000, but there are a lot of people out there who don't like the size and weight. That's why some have chosen the 2000. The 9000 has more poly, way better speakers, sampler, more mb's to the sounds, and a few other things. The 2000 is a great alternative to the 9000, but if you have the money I'd suggest getting the 9000...

Squeak

I have to chime in on this one. I am one of the guy's that has gone from the 740 to the 9000. I loved the 740 for all its great features. But it lacked some of the flexability of the 9000. So I caved into my lust for bigger and better. I went right past the 2000 to the 9000. It was a great choice for me. Better harmonizer, better keybed, sampling, hard drive, UPGRADABLE OS. The list goes on and on, not even getting into the better sounds. ONE HUGE DRAWBACK!!! is the weight. It is more than twice as much as the 740/2000. That doesn't seem like a big deal until you want to take your 9000 out and about for the fun little get togethers that go on all the time. It used to be like grabbing a guitar and heading out the door. Now it feels like a grabbing a large bass guitar Amplifier whenever I want to go. The 9000 dwarfs to 740/2000 keyboard. I had a hard time finding a softcase that fit it to my satisfaction. Swinging 50 pounds plus any accessories you may have in the case, gets a little awkward with one hand. Not to mention you can't squeeze it into all the little places the 740/2000 would go. SO! If your looking for the most funtional board and the afore mentioned weight issues aren't that big of a deal to you, get the 9000. If you want a 24 pound board to slip under your arm and go have a great time jammin' every other night, get the 2000 and save yourself some frustration. The ONLY thing I miss about my 740, is the weight...or rather the lack of it.

Regards,

Dennis

And here's my two cents from a dealer's prospective......
What I haven't heard anyone else post is that the 2000 actually has better styles than the PSR9000. The session styles (some of the new ones) are not in the 9000 and they can't be loaded in because the 9000 wasn't made to accept this new extension type. Also, the sequencer in the 2000 is just like that found in the 9000, so for composing, you have a major upgrade over the 740's rather lacking sequencer. Except for the acoustic piano in the 9000pro, the sounds are pretty much the same in the 9000 and the 2000. Unless you need a hard drive, using the 2000 is great for playing styles from disk and playing midifiles from disk. It is also faster and easier to record songs when you need to quickly. I won't argue with the fact that the psr9000 is built more heavy duty, however most custsomers will be very satisfied with the 2000 for most situations.
George Kaye
Kaye's Music Scene
Reseda. California

Dennis...
The PSR 9000 is one terrific board. I used it on my one nighters for a year. One of the main attractions to the PSR 9000 for me was the registration memory which could be programmed to hold 512 registrations internally.

But, the weight and size issue became a real problem. That's when I realized I had to find something more manageable.

Before the introduction of the PSR 2000 I got the 740 and it did the job, but I still had to have a hard copy of the codes to get the registrations I had saved to disc. When the 2K was introduced I jumped at it to get the new operating system. And I am glad I did.

Using floppies, there is no limit to the number of registrations you can program. A single disc can hold at least 170 registrations, any of which can be accessed super fast as the OS stores them alphabetically. Plus, you can create folders (just like in Windows) to access certain areas of the alphabet without searching around. You will find other players here who set up their registrations differently or punch them in on the fly. It is a matter of personal preference and the PSR 2K gives you the option of doing it any way you want.

It has soooo many features it is hard to believe it is priced so low. UNTIL you read some of the posts here which point out that it is not built as well as some of the other boards and has the potential for malfunctioning under heavy use and transport.

Yamaha came very close to fulfilling my dream of perfect arranger. I baby mine and, so far, it has rewarded me with good service.
The jury is still out on its durability.

Eddie

I would still choose the PSR2000 over the PSR9000 even though my PSR2000 broke down after 6 months. One of the contacts under one of the buttons isn't responding well.

My other PSR is damaged due to my negligence. I must have hit it against something in the trunk of my car, and I cracked the LCD. It still works, but what a drag. I'll have to get it fixed and who knows how much it will cost me.

I had a false alarm on the same day with this keyboard. The system hung when I was turning it on, and all of my user memory got erased. It turned out that this was due to a defective floppy being in the keyboard. I guess a pants pocket isn't a good place to store a floppy.

I agree with George. The PSR2000's styles are better than the PSR9000's, and the PSR9000's styles load effortlessly into the PSR2000. I like that the OTS settings are embedded in the style.

I weigh 135 lbs., and the PSR9000 while it has certain considerable advantages over the PSR2000, is simply too heavy for me and too large to fit in my car. If I were twice as strong and had a bigger vehicle, I would probably get the PSR9000 because it has the hard drive.

You can load the PSR 2000's styles into the PSR9000. There is someone who altered them so they can be loaded. Even though Yamaha made us take these styles off the web, I and other people have them, and can email them to whoever wants them.

When I go to most gigs, I take the PSR2000 on my luggage carrier and I have an 18lb duffle bag with Advent Powered Partner speakers. These speakers deliver 35 watts per channel, and point diagonally upward towards the audience.

My audiences are really responding fantastically to this keyboard, and my business is doing very well.

If you are heavy handed, and are going to use the PSR2000 a lot, it is going to break faster than the PSR9000. So you better have a backup if you are doing professional work. But even with the PSR9000, you'll want a backup, because everything breaks.

Larry

I'm 6'5" and 250 pounds and I STILL got tired of lugging that 9000 around. As George says, the new styles really make the 2000.
I like the 2000, but I'm still mad at Yamaha. Just think, thousands of Japanese losing all that sleep because I'm mad at them.
The above replies pretty well sum it up. What features do you want and need? And how much are you willing to carry? Or you could get a Ketron or Korg.
DonM
P.S. You mentioned the vocal harmonizer. Works great in both. BUT if you need the Karaoke Girl or Speedy Mouse presets, they don't work right on the 2000 and Yamaha will not admit there is a problem. They did come up with a semi-usable workaround. That's like saying "There's no problem, but here's how to get around it."
Go figure.

Pashmee,
I think I need to follow up with this by saying, my personal preference may have skewed my view of your original need. As quoted above: Your looking for a "beefed-up replacement for your 530" without a doubt puting that in the proper context, your best bet would be the 2000. Its a huge step up with all that you will need for the use you described. Although you read alot of complaints from people who are somewhat dissatisfied, I believe many are using their machines in a professional manor. I have enjoyed the limited time I have had to play the 2000. While it's not the same keybaord as my 9000, it will probably meet all your needs.

Regards,

Dennis

I wish to thank all responders to my 2000/9000 question. You have given me very helpful information.
It's unfortunate that the PSR 2000 doesn't include a 76 key variant as I'm sometimes frustrated by my 530's 61 key limitations and may have the same frustration with the 2000. Is there a keyboard comparable to the PSR 2000 that is available in 76 key configuration? I like the PSR series and will probably stay with it, but I wonder whether there's a decent alternative.

Of course the 9000 Pro has 76 keys, but no speakers.
Ketron SD1 the same.
Don