Hello everyone,

Currently I own the Yamaha DJX keyboard. I have been using it over the past year to create my own songs and to produce demo tapes of dance-oriented material.

I would like to go the next step further in production, as well as achieving a higher-quality sound, and having more flexibility with more styles than those aimed for the dance market.

However, since I write mostly in the dance genre anyway, I have considered going for a CS2X/6X, but I fear that this may be too complicated to use and too much of a pure synth than I am looking for.

So, the PSR-740 would seem like an excellent choice in terms of what I would like to do. But still I have a few questions:

STYLES are very important for me. Picking a style, and running with it gets my musical aspiration flowing. I need LOTS of dance styles, and the DJX serves me very well in that area.

1. Now, if I wanted to use the SAME styles as the DJX in the PSR-740, can I send them over via MIDI or sequencer and record them individually as a re-creation? In other words, I'm assuming I can 'play' the individual parts of the style into the PSR-740 in Custom Style File mode, and with a few minor tweaks, have a virtual DJX style running in the background. Is this sort of thing actually possible?

The ability for me to run BOTH the DJX and the PSR-740 would also be important, since there are many features of the DJX (like cutoff, resonance, specific sounds, ribbon controller, sampler) that just aren't available on the PSR-740.

I understand the PSR-740 has the "TO HOST" port available on the back so you can connect a simple cable from the keyboard to the computer and this serves as a controller without the need for a MIDI interface.

2. If I connnect both the DJX (currently connected via MIDI), -AND- the PSR-740 together (via the 'To Host' port) to my computer sequencer (Cakewalk), can I run the two together simultaneously? How would I go about setting up Cakewalk to do that?

Any thoughts or comments on this post would be greatly appreciated.

Bryan Nicalek
email: ptshpboy@hotmail.com

Hi Brian!

I may be wrong here, but why the PSR-740??
I think there are much better instruments!
I mean if you want to stick to Yamaha that's super, but there are yamaha's 10.000 times better than that one with more functions you are looking for. What I mean is that you probably forgot to mention that you dont want to spend more than $500 or something??

Otherwise I cannot understand why the PSR740 !

Ilija

I difer from Ilija. I own a PSR-740, and it is not a $500 keyboard but a $1100 keyboard. It has hundreds of very realistic and great sounding tones (many are the same as the PSR 9000) including drawbar organ sounds. It has 160 styles most of which are very very good. It has two intros, four style variations with drum fills, and two endings. It's got one touch memory and sampling pads, a decent vocalizer, modulation and bend wheels, a very large lcd display and many other goodies. One other great feature is that the buttons are well placed. It is also very light to carry around. Disadvantages are that it doesn't play very loud, it is very difficult to play additional styles in a live setting, and the one touch settings cannot be edited. But for a little over $1000, I don't think there's anything as good. At the very least, I think it's the only keyboard with a vocalizer in that price range.

Thanks, Beakybird, for your comments.

Although I haven't had much answers to my specific questions (I'm sure I will in time), just the fact that I'm in contact with someone who owns a 740 is great!

I am thrilled to hear that there are several sounds adopted from the PSR-8000/9000. I am definitely looking for a professional quality sound.

Can you talk about the vocalizer? I'd like to hear more about it. As I said originally, I lay down the tracks in Cakewalk, and then add my own vocals to my own compositions. Having a vocal effect processor (via the 740) sounds terrific... especially the 'harmonizer' and 'pitch correction' functions.

To add a separate vocal processing unit (which I was planning on doing anyway), would cost at least $300 for anything decent. Sure, I can add reverb, chorus, etc. via Cakewalk to my vocals, but I'm curious if I can sing through the 740, add the harmonizer/pitch correction functions, and then record that back into Cakewalk as new vocal tracks.

What I'm thinking here is that I play the MIDI from Cakewalk to the 740, then that output goes back into the computer and I record that as a separate audio track. Then I would mute all the MIDI tracks, play only the audio track (that I've just recorded) back listening through headphones, and then record a NEW track on top of that while singing into the 740. Sounds complicated, doesn't it, but I'm thinking this might be possible. Any suggestions?

Bryan Nicalek
email: ptshpboy@hotmail.com

Another thing:

Price. I've been reading in the "Musician's Friend" catalog that the 740 is going for $1,099.99. List price they advertise as $1,449.95.

The $1099 deal includes a footswitch, headphones, an extended warranty, and the power adapter. Also, there is no tax and the shipping looks to be around $30.

Any comments about buying keyboards via mail order? Is there any difference between buying from my local dealer (other than customer service and paying a higher price)? What if I have problems with the unit after it is shipped or if it arrives damaged or something? I'm assuming a dealer would be better in this case -- correct?

Bryan Nicalek
email: ptshpboy@hotmail.com

Hi Bryan

I dont know much about DJX; but I think a know a lot about PSR 740 in general and styles in details.
Take a look at my Unofficial YAMAHA PSR 740 Home Page http://home7.inet.tele.dk/js/musik/740pages

There is lots of information. Check the "Articles and FAQ" page.

Styles are actually short MIDI files, so I think that someway it must be possible to use (play / record) styles at your DJX.

If you get some usefull experience in this matter I will gladly present your findings at my page. Just drop me a mail.

The very best wishes
Jørgen

The PSR-740's harmonizer gives you quite a few harmonizer options - like 40 or 50, but with not too many editing capabilities. Of course you can edit effects like reverb, chorus, and how loud the harmonies are. I haven't tried the pitch correction. It has it. To record your voice and harmonies separately, I think you would have to first record your voice, and then send the recording through the keyboard input and turn the lead vocal down to 0 volume. I think that's how you would do it, but I haven't been doing any recording lately. I just use the harmonizer live, and it does a pretty good job. The only problem is that I can't get enough volume out of the speakers when I play in larger rooms. If you wan't to purchase the PSR-740, I recommend Sweetwatersound.com. You can tell them of Musiciansfriend.com's price, and they'll beat it. They're also very very nice people too. Guitar Center sells the unit for cheaper too.

Regardless of the opinions of some of the others, I feel the PSR740 is a professional keyboard and worth many times its cost.
I used one for a couple of months before getting the 9000 and loved it. I love the 9000, but I wish I'd kept the 740 also.
Nothing wrong with getting one from the internet, like Sweetwater, but don't forget George Kaye. He has helped us in so many ways, and is one of the most knowledgeable store owners I've come across.
He always has time to help, even if you are NOT his customer. IF he charges a little more (I doubt it), it would be worth it. He would probably throw in software to more than compensate.
Don

I must agree about buying from George Kaye. If I had known that he sold the PSR-740, he would have been my first recommendation as well. He is very kind and helpful.