Now that there are some owners of Tyros 2, I would like to repeat my request for some audio demos of country styles. I want to hear how the S.A. steel guitar works, as well as get a feel for how the style programmers think country music sounds. It's plain that the focus of Tyros 2 is the sax and the nylon stringed guitar; oh, and the trumpet shakes, but I'd like to hear the fiddles, banjos, mandolins, and pedal steel guitars.

Thank you,
Rory

Me too!
I think we country boys are left behind in favor of trance dance, hip hop, world etc.
I know we are a small group but the styles offered are the pure cheesy hillbilly or modern bubble gum country types. If there is no memory left how about some good 50-70s country styles we could add to a flash drive?
Just my rant.
Smokey

Now there's an idea. If this holds a gig of sample ram, users or 3rd party venders could release not only styles, but super-articulated fiddles, harmonicas, (Charlie McCoy type, not Stevie Wonder), and create custom styles with these voices which can be loaded into Tyros 2. There are sample libraries of these kinds of instruments already, but it would seem like the sounds and styles would need to be packaged together so that the programming of the super articulated multisamples would trigger the correct sounds. What sample format does the Tyros read? Can it read samples created for the Motif line?

Maybe this is where the software arranger users could chime in. Are there any samplesets that also contain arranger styles especially designed to make use of the samples? I always hear about you trying to make your software libraries match to your converted Yammy or Roland styles. Is there any integrated sample library/styles package?

Rory,
I am not a country expert, but I will try to record something nonetheless.

OK, I have just uploaded two short demo's, called "Bluegrass Demo" and "Country Rock Demo".
Here is the link:
http://andrearotolo.tripod.com/dreamer/id16.html

Enjoy!

Dreamer, I think you do well at any and everything you do. I have really enjoyed all your demos. Thanks so much for sharing this fine talent you have on the keyboards.
I am getting more anxious every day for that T-2 to get here. Best to you and yours,
Bebop

Bill, thanks!
Hope that all is well with you, Jann and Rocky!

Hi. thanks for the demos. I honestly must say that the styles didn't impress me too much. I think they're doing great on jazz and Latin rhythms, and even some of the soul and pop styles are good, but the country styles do not capture the sound. the strumming patterns on the acoustic guitars are wrong, the pedal steel is doing licks a real steel guitarist wouldn't do. I think the capability is there, it's just that the styles I heard are stereotypical country styles done by programmers who don't really like country and think they understand enough about it to create some hokey styles.
Thanks again Andrea for providing these demos. I don't care if your not a country expert, neither is Yamaha! LOL. Besides, I was more interested in the sound of the styles than the performance anyway,. I appreciate your willingness to help.

I received a great offer one day in the email to buy some C & W syles from my KN7000. I did need some better and didn't want to program them, so I did order them.
I couldn't believe what I got. They were so far removed from what I expected that I just filed them and haven't seen them since. I did write the programmer and was told that it was their British interpretation of Country Styles. DUH!
BEBOP

Rory,
I hear what you are saying; however, please note that the Tyros 2 has a total of 23 country styles and I really don't know if among them there are some that would fit your bill.
Usually, when I play a style, I am able to guess the title of a song that would go well with that style; however, not being a country expert, I was unable to do this with these styles. I am afraid that I too have a stereotypical idea of country music (to me the quintessential country song is Tammy Wynette singing "Stand by your man"... ), but I guess that today there are artists like Shania Twain who would fall, more or less, into the definition of "country", and even Michael Buble's "Home" could be labeled as a country ballad.
So, the conclusion is that maybe you should try a Tyros 2 yourself and see what you think of it. By the way, I have tried to choose sounds that weren't too bad to my ears: the T2 has some really mean guitars (both acoustic and electric), and even the solo violin wasn't too shabby, was it?
Regards,
Andrea

It's interesting that you say that, because FM country stations here in Canada were playing a country mix of that recording. All they had done was to add a steel player and upped the acoustic guitar track (these were absent on AOR/Light Rock stations) and left it at that.

It isn't unusual to hear songs 'tailored' for different markets - maximizing the bucks, that's all it comes down to.

Hi Renig,
I agree with what you say; what made me label "Home" as a country ballad was especially the accordeon you can hear later on in the song, that reminded me of some Ry Cooder atmospheres. Anyway, good music is good music, labels aside.
BTW, the Tyros 2 has two "Modern Country Ballad" styles... too bad I don't have the music sheet of "Home"...