I have been wanting to purchase a keyboard to replace my Roland Em2000. I also have the ketron X1, which I want to keep. What are your feeling about the Tyros and the SD1 keyboards. May be Dano, Scott and Andrea (or any one else) can help me point out there best features. It does not matter to me about the keys. (61 vs.76) I am more concerned about the styles and voices. More so the latin styles (samba, bossa, merengue, cumbia, etc) Which I know my roland lacks any good latin styles, the X1 makes up for it) I thank you in advance for anyone's feed back and comments.

Also are the styles of the PSR2100 anything like the Tyros styles?

[This message has been edited by mc (edited 08-21-2003).]

MC,

I owned a VA-7, PA-80, and now a SD-1, I play alot of italian gigs and the styles, sounds, and ease of operation made the SD-1 my first choice

I do miss the in your face rock type styles and great drum sounds of the PA-80, but hated the navigation

I was going to ad the Tyros to my SD-1 set-up but I think I might wait to see how the new PApro turns out

If you have any simple questions you want ansered about the SD-1 let me know, I'm sure I've mastered about 20% of the keyboard by now ( 2years and counting)

Got the board for Dano and he has been a great help with questions of any sorts on the board

Frank

Pick up a 9000Pro at the right price. You can always load in the Styles from the Tyros. That's what I do. The 9kpro 76 keys with a brilliant feel and response.
UD was right, the 9Kpro is a great board, plus you will also get the scat Voices.

Graham UK

I would rate the styles as

1 Sd-1 overall winner for best mix
2 PA-80 real close to the SD-1
3-4 Roland and Yamaha, both have great styles and both have alot of sleepers, not very long either, they seem to stick to 4 bars rather than doing 8 and more which korg and ketron use

( Boy do I think I know alot, I better tell myself to shut-up )

mc,
talking of styles:
samba and bossa: better on the Tyros
merengue and cumbia: better on the SD1
(the SD1 has also a greater number of latin styles, including some unusual ones).

Speaking of sounds, the Tyros has much better electric pianos, acoustic and electric guitars, strings, pads and synth sounds.
The SD1 has a good acoustic piano, a good vibraphone, good organs and good brass. Speaking of drums, both keyboards have great snares and kicks, but when it comes to sounds like cymbals, cabasa, agogo, etc, the Tyros sounds more realistic.
More in general, if you compare the two keyboards side by side, you will notice that the Tyros has a greater content in high frequencies, while the SD1 seems to "die" at about 12 KHz. I think that this is due to the fact that, to save memory, the sounds of the SD1 have not been sampled at 44kHz.
Good luck with your choice.
Andrea

Dreamer,

Makes sense to me, I've always like the Yamaha sounds, they seems to shine more, but also noticed they seemed to lack the bottom end warmth, the only thing I can compare it to would be the diffierences from a total digitla signal to a analog, but I know that its not that close.

I love the distorted guitar sounds on the yamaha stuff, does anyone know if they are going to make a pro version?

Hi mc: Perhaps I'm biased , but since you asked:

If (as in my case), having 76 keys or onboard sampling capabilities isn't a must, I recommend going with the Tyros over the SD1, as the Tyros styles are recorded at a much higher resolution (1,940 ppq), which contributes to making them sound more lifelike & alive (unquantized) than the styles in either the SD1 or Yamaha 9000pro.

In addition to concuring with Dreamer's observations, the other advantage (imho) of the Tyros over SD1 is it's very user friendly user navigation, OS interface, and Yamaha's excellent reliability record. I found the SD1, with its identically sized shaped buttons lined up in idental rows, a lot more difficult to navigate, especially in a live performance situation, and that Ketron's product reliability (especially the SD1) far below Yamaha's.

I auditioned both the SD1 and Tyros (and even the 9000pro) at GREAT lengths before finally deciding on the Tyros. After 9 months with the Tyros, I'm still thrilled with this keyboard. Need I say more. - Scott

Officially , the SD1 uses 44.1kHz .


I agree with Dreamer on most observations about sounds , however the SD1 does have much more natural string sounds . Violin , Viola's and Cello's are all better imo .

The real time advantages with the Ketron products ( hard drive , editing , drum bass feature ,remix ) are all very handy tools .

Do you sing alot ? I do .......I prefer the harmonizer on Ketron products .

In regards to drums , to me, the Tyro's drums are better than with past Yamaha keyboards . But Ketron's drums still sound "LIVE" .

That's it for now . Gotta Go ! Dano



[This message has been edited by DanO1 (edited 08-21-2003).]

Very interesting discussion. I really appreciate the contribution from all. Thank you mc for asking this question.

I've found that over the years we get used to the sounds we've been playing. I have played the SD1 for two years now but have heard so much about the Tyros that I was anxious to hear it. Finally a G.C. near me got a Tyros in and I tried it but was thoroughly disapointed with the sounds except for guitar. Also the feel of this keyboard is like far less expensive keyboards. In my opinion, there's no comparrison. I have never heard a sax sound or orchestral sounds as good as on the SD1.

Dan, I think that this statement is true re. the sampling ability of the SD1; however, I am not so sure that Ketron says anywhere that the internal sounds were also sampled at 44.1 kHz.
BTW, I agree that the SD1 has great (albeit "dark") strings, and the "viola" is a sound you cannot find on many keyboards, Tyros included

Hello:
I had an X1 and...then I got the SD1. also where I work we have the Tyros, Va76, PA80, and there is nothing like comparing side to side......still, the SD1 is ahead of the buch......perhaps no color screen....but in sounds, all types of styles (in latin styles, are great, I am mexican, so I know ), some styles are good in Tyros like Gipsy, besides the bossas, Tyros has also a style that is insulting, the so call "mexican dance", nor is spanish, sudamerican, or anything even close......in my opinion, I grade them like this:
1.-SD1 Ketron (no flash, but DASH)
2.-Pa80 Korg happy medium
3.-Tyros Lots of flash....

Remember that the so call INTRO 1 in Tyros, in MOST of the styles, is only a count in....if Ketron would consider "that" an intro, then the Ketrons will have 4 Intros....and the "to end" as 4 endings...is not about quantity, but also the quality....and after almost 2 years with the SD1, still a very happy owner that I will recomend this Kb....... I hope it helps...