Yesterday I received my first PSR2100 keyboards from Yamaha USA. I called Yamaha on Friday and found out there are no more PSR2000s left at Yamaha for dealers to buy. I now wish I would have bought several more to sell when I had the chance. My inventory of PSR2000's is now gone. The retail price of the PSR2100 is the same as the now discontinued PSR2000.
The first thing I noticed was the color change. The speakers grills are now a light color compared to the PSR2000's dark paint and the color around the display screen is now a shade of copper rather than the darker color on the 2000. Major buttons such as Registration, One Touch and Multi Pads are all now this lighter copper color. The keyboard looks good although the layout is exactly the same as on the PSR2000 with the exception of the USB jack on the back and Yamaha has taken away the "to host" port on the back for the USB replacement.
I had just sold my last PSR2000 which I'm shipping out this morning, so I took the opportunity to set up the two keyboards side by side, so that i could compare exactly, rather then from my memory. The live grand piano was noticably more natural sounding in the upper octaves. The 2 new live harpsichords were more natural sounding and the new Sweet Harmonica sounding just like I was watching the movie Cinderella Liberty, which featured the most beautiful sounding harmonica melody I've ever heard throughout the movie. The Cool Electric Organ and Jazz Organ offered much more "tube" B3 sounds. Next I listened to the new Brass sounds and fell in love with the new Sweet Flugelhorn. There is a lot of "air" in this sound compared to the original flugelhorn. The original comes accross as sounding a bit more like a mellow trombone where the new one sounds just like Chuck Mangione. The Live Hyper Brass, Live Pop Brass and Live Octave Brass all sounding much better for big band sectional voices. A major improvment has to be the Sweet Violin which has the sound of the Rosin on the Bow if you play it hard and a beautiful legato sound when playing softer.
My favorite new sound winner has to be the Jazz Guitars. The is a new Cool Jazz Guitar and Cool Jazz Solo Guitar. Both of these sounds make you feel like Joe Pass is in the room with you. I was never very impressed with Yamaha's Jazz Guitars compared to Generalmusic's Genesys and Roland's VA7 guitar. These two new guitars are wonderful and there is a new Sweet Mandolin which unlike the old one, when you play one note it pics the string like a mandolin player would do with much practiced technique. The Live Nylon Guitar features velocity changing where when you pick soft you hear the full body guitar sound and when you strike the key hard you hear the harmonic. The previous Nylon guitar in the 2000 didn't have the harmonic and didn't have as beautiful a classical sound.
The styles that were added are nice additons, especially a few of the new Jazz styles such as Jazz Pop, Dixie Jazz and Med.Jazz. In the past models, Yamaha didn't emphasize the Jazz styles much, instead they chose more swing and big band. Adding some new styles, Gospel Live, Bubblegum Pop and several Schlager styles all makes the 2100 an improved product.
The improvements on the PSR21000 might make some PSR2000 users want to upgrade. The changes on this model are much like Yamaha did with the PSR550 compared to the PSR540. Those of you with critical ears will want the new model if you really need the most realistic acoustic instruments available on a moderate priced keyboard. Owners of models like the PSR740 and before will really see the benefit of the PSR2100. For those wanting USB computer connectivity, this will be a driving force for buying the PSR21000. For those who love their PSR2000, you still have a great keyboard......the PSR2100 is just somewhat greater!
George Kaye
Kaye's Music Scene
Reseda, California
818-881-5566

[This message has been edited by George Kaye (edited 06-10-2003).]

Thank you for that great review. Your description of the voices is provocative. Your description of the sweet violin, "the rosin on the bow", I can hear in my minds ear the rasping of the bow when it hits the string. Beautiful. I've got GAS.
Not sure why you would want more PSR2000 in stock when they are discontinued and selling at the same price.
Starkeeper

How about the drums?
Did they fix the Arabic Drumkit?
Did they improve the other kits, or still the same as before? specially the dance and analog kits?

Thanks George for the review. Unfortunately, if I upgrade one more time I'll either being singing saprano or have to chage my marital status on the income tax return--not good options. Hopefully, someone will post copies of some of the new instrument sounds that can be downloaded and used in the 2000.

Thanks again,

Gary

Hi George. Thanks for the great initial review.

Are these new PSR2100 sounds the same as the ones already included in the Tyros or are these completely 'new' sounds?

I had read that the PSR2100 USB transfer rate is extremely slow (2 kb/sec?). Can you confirm what the actual USB transfer rate is? Also, does PSR2100 USB support OPT 'Voice Editing' via the PC?

Regarding those 'new' PSR2100 styles. I've audtioned them on both my PSR2000 & Tyros and personally feel that these new styles alone (though good), do not substantiate the cost of upgrading (from the PSR2000) to the 2100. On the other hand, the BIG advantage to upgrading to the 2100 (from the 2000) is gaining more USER memory, improved (Tyros?) sounds, and gaining USB connectivity.

Scott

Im with Shakil on this one.. How are those drums???? I'd love to hear that violin. Maybe it's me, but I love the solo violin on my PSR-550. It works so nicely for those smooth solos. I can only imagine what the new one sounds like on the 2100. However given Yamaha does have great sounds on the PSR's it would be a shame if they still included those dated drum kits from the previous models on the PSR-2100. I'm not sure how it is on the PSR-1000/2000, but trying to write dance, techno, hip hop, and rap on the PSR-550 thru PSR-740 was damn near impossible. The drum kits are way outdated.

Squeak

Also, did they change the stupid SEQUENCER from PSR 2000? Or is it still the same?

It's a shame that such high resolution sequencer can't do the basics.

I think it's safe to say that it's the exact same sequencer...

[This message has been edited by squeak_D (edited 06-10-2003).]

I was wishing for more PSR2000s because we were buying and selling them at a reduced price last month and even though the current price of the PSR2100 is the same as what the PSR2000 had been MAP priced at, $1195.00 and I was enjoying being able to offer the PSR2000 keyboards I bought last month at a substantial discount from the MAP price. Oh well, they didn't have many left and that's why the PSR2100 came out in June instead of the estimated ship date of July.
Scott, the new sounds are right out of the Tyros, and that's why I love them so much. To be able to have a keyboard costing less then 1/2 the price of the Tyros and still gaining the beautiful acoustic voices of the Tyros (minus the mega voice guitars and bass) is a good value keyboard.
I haven't listened to any of the drum kits to compare to the 2000 because in looking at the names of the kits, I didn't notice anything different and so I didn't actually compare individual drum voices from one keyboard to the other and now I've shipped the PSR2000 up north and can't compare them.
I would also think the sequencer is exactly the same.
George Kaye
Kaye's Music Scene
Reseda, California
818-881-5566

Hello George

Great review. Is there an owners manual on line yet? I guess we gained about 25 new styles. Did we loose any from the 2000? If so I hope it was not any big band or swing. Did I see someplace the user styles section will take about the same amount of information as a floppy disk? How about the other voices, are they new and improved also? The drawbar organ has another foot drawbar. Is the tone better than the drawbar organ on the 2000? How about the key touch. Any improvement there? So you are saying these new sounds are as good as the Tyros and perhaps better than the 9000?

Inquiring minds want to know.

Thanks George

Scott Langholff