Hi.
I'am a new owner o a PSR2000 and here is my quick review. I sold my three years old Roland EM2000 few days ago and bought new PSR2000 (staying with 2000's) for the same money. I have really enjoyed playing EM. It is far more professional oriented keyboard, with excellent sounds and styles and unlimited storing capabilities. I simply wanted something new to have more fun. Now about PSR2000:

Look and layout: it is far from profi look – the look and feel is plastic, but the layout is excellent and very simple to use. Also command keys have a good feel. Everything is preprogrammed to play instantly. Excellent screen - I think even more clear than on PSR9000. Do you know that the new Clavinovas have the same but color screen with double dots (looks great). We will see this on the new PSR10000!?

Sounds: I miss my superior Roland sounds, but I'll get used to new sounds. Piano is too artificial for my taste, but some sounds are really great (some sweet voices, guitares etc.) – some are even better then those on Roland. Amplification and sound from the internal speakers is ok, but not on the level of Roland. Sound editing is very basic. Is there a chance that Yamaha will upgrade OS with the evenlope editing like it was done on PSR9000? Big sound drawback: when you switch a voice or One Touch Setting the previous voice stops playing. This is a serious problem. Is there a way to overcome this?

Styles: in general majority of styles is very useful. Changes in variations are subtle, and thats good. We need »boring« styles. I think It is far more important for arranger keyboard to have good accompaniments – a band playing which is only supporting you as a center of show. A lot of styles on other keyboards are not like this, their sound is too rich – in reality have you ever seen a band on stage with 8 members (channels)? One of the reasons why I changed the keyboard are break fills. So if I summarize: I love the styles. In this couple of days I have found a lot of additional styles on the net. I would like to have few styles from my Roland back. Anybody knows where to find Roland styles for Yamaha with 4 variations? What I have found only have 2 (probably from the times of PSR 8000). Style editing is really simple and effective. I enjoy tweaking the parts with more obscure sounds to get more hype accompaniment.

There are a lot of different settings on this keyboard. I like this, but the manual is very minimalistic although good. Some options are not described at all. For example I was trying to change the style sounds and save it as a new style. In the style editing menus you can only change a sound for one variation (or a fill, intro etc) separately. On PSR 9000 you have a nice PART COPY command. Nothing like this here. I suggest Yamaha to add this on the next OS. Finally I have found it - It is not obvious, but is very simple. You can change style sounds from the main screens and then enter style editor where you save the style. Nothing like this in the manual.

Vocal harmony works well, still when playing loud there is a problem of microphony(?) – whisteling sound? - if microphone is too close to the keyboard. Does anybody have some experience which type of the microphone is good for home use?

Memory: storage for about 20 styles will be enough for me because one of the best thing about this keyboard is direct disk loading. When you put your floppy in you have a list of the styles on it in few seconds. If you want to load a style you just press a key for it and you play it in one or two seconds. Style list stayes there all the time and in practical use It is almost the same as internal or user style handling. I can dare saying that this is very close to hard or zip disk (which I had on my Roland). And after all I was collecting styles for Roland instead of playing them. Who needs more than 50-60 styles which can fit on one floppy? While I am impressed with the disk handling there is a serious drawback: you can not save disk style to performance memory. Yamaha, please add this.

This is all for today. I would appreciate some comments.

Marko

Hi Marko

Congratulations with the PSR 2000 !

Converted Roland styles can be found in the Spectromatic Arhvive and in the Files area of Yahoo Group "Yamaha PSR Styles".

Link to both and many other style sites from The Unofficial YAMAHA PSR Resource Site at http://home7.inet.tele.dk/js/musik/740pages

Follow menu "PSR Links" -> "Style Sites"

Good luck
Jørgen

MarkoDra.....Your quote: Big sound drawback: when you switch a voice or One Touch Setting the previous voice stops playing. This is a serious problem. Is there a way to overcome this?

When I played the PSR2000 I found when changing to another voice whilst holding down a note, the voice did not stop playing, but unfortunately it immediately took on the effects of the new voice selected. This was bad when switching from piano to say a guitar with vibrato etc:

Graham UK

Double congratulations.

As far as mics go, I strongly recommend a wired headset mic, because it
1. Keeps the mic close to your mouth so that the harmonies are always right on
2. It gives you the ability to make eye contact with all of the audience all around you.
3. It gives you the ability to sing and look at the buttons you are pressing on the keyboard
4. It's lighter and you don't have to carry a boom to gigs.

I keep my headset mic in my keyboard gig bag, and with my monitors in a bag slung around my shoulder I go to all my gigs with one trip with my keyboard and stand on a luggage cart.

Larry

And yet, others have praised the vocal harmonizer on this keyboard. That's why these things are so objective. As several Forum friends have said, the 2000 IS an excellent songwriting/composing keyboard. Only knocks have really come from gigging musicians, IMO.

Hi,

Yes you are correct a pro gigging musician is very subjective to his tools of the trade, whereas a nonpro views it in a different way for his uses at home.I just gave my straight up, honest, no bull, opinion hoping people would read and take what they can from it.

Good Luck

donny

Can't agree with you more Donny on this matter.
What surprises me, is why someone would want to trade down from a Pro Keyboard like the EM2000, to a Yamaha 2000? Just because the Yamaha 2000 is "New Blood" - doesn't mean its better - not one bit.

About 2-3 years + ago, I had a Technics KN5000, and was pleased with it. However, at that time, the Roland EM2000 was also out, and I just couldn't afford this model (it was £2000), And had a KN5000 instead. I would have sooner had gone for the EM2000 (which my friend had - to my envy) which had better sounds (IMO) than the KN5000, with more Wave rom allocated to it (24MB).

There was also 1169 top quality sounds, and would have loved this model at the time over the KN5000. It was only when the KN6000 came out that I found a keyboard to surpass the EM2000, but the Roland EM2000 still sounds good to me, even today.

A swap from a EM2000 to a Yamaha 9000 might have been a better Idea (with a few cash adjustments here and there) but to go from a EM2000 to a Yamaha 2000 makes little sense to me to be honest, Unless marko, you yourself think it was worth it...

Your loss may be someone else's gain.....

J5



[This message has been edited by Jupiter5 (edited 11-08-2001).]

Depends on how you are using it. I've been a full-time pro for 30 years and the 2000 does everything I need.
I never used the sampler on the 9000 or 8000 except to play around with. The on-board memory of the 2000 hold everything I need without having a hard drive.
I have no problem with the harmonizer.
The sound continues after I change it. Yes the keys are light, but I have no problem with that either.
The only input I've missed is the 3rd footswitch, and that's not a really big deal either.
The only way I can make the speakers distort is turn the bass up too high.
Most important--I can carry it under one arm. I don't like the external power supply, but at least it is a new, better design that the old ones.
DonM

Thanks for your opinions guys. First of all I'm not a pro. I only play at home having good time (and for my kids and khmm, my wife). Like I sad EM2000 was far better machine, but If I'm honest it was simply not used enough - It was too expensive and too pro keyboard for my tipical use from the begining. I was of course happy to have such machine, but after three years I wanted to try something different. I was thinking a lot and It was difficult to admit myself what kind of a keyboard I REALLY need. I am not prepared at the moment to spend double money for the things I don't need. I'm more clever now so I bought a keyboard for home use. Plus It is far more user friendly, I can change styles in a minute (even simple revoicing was a pain on Roland), have much more funny options, vocal harmony, break fills :-)), score display etc. What I only really miss are piano sounds and aftertouch. But that's life. From my perspective It was a good deal. PSR2000 is better for me.
And I wish new user of EM will take all advantages from it. I wish him good luck. So it is a double gain.

DonM,
Sound on your keyboard continues after you change it. Do you think I have a problem with some settings? Does anyone else have the same problem?

Beakybird,
thanks for the idea, what would be the price for a headset mic? Which one do you use?

Jørgen,
Thanks for the link. So far I have found some converted Roland styles but only with 2 variations.

Nice to talk to you.
Marko

Marcodra...
You has the new PSR2000 and you likes it except piano sounds... You writes: "What I only really miss are Roland's piano sounds..."

It is always the same problem: piano sound.
Some PA80 owners say in similar sense: a piano sound too bright...

But, why? What is the problem? What is the problem that makes so difficult to do a good piano sound on kbs?

Perhaps Korg or Yamaha makers do not know to make better piano sounds (ex. Roland)... or perhaps it is a "money" question, or what??.