My PSR-S900 has a bug that I'm sure would have been discovered by other people with the keyboard if it wasn't peculiar to just my keyboard.

My keyboard is unplayable. When I turn the DATA SELECT wheel, the keyboard starts toggling between part select, upper octave and other parameters. The data wheel is basically broken. As you probably know, this is an essential part of the keyboard.

What a drag.

Beakybird

Beaky sorry to hear that .......amazing that a new KB has these problems ....hope you can rectify this in a timely manor.....keep us posted.

I was going to bring this keyboard to work with me tomorrow. I'm glad I didn't. The keyboard is in self destruct mode. It had buttons going on and off like bonkers. Now I cannot turn on and off Right hand 1 & 2 buttons. What a disaster.

Yamaha had three years to work on this keyboard which pretty much has the same operating system as the PSR3000 with a few changes. I hope this is not indicative of other PSR S900s that they have shipped.

Beakybird

Hi Beaky,

Sorry to hear of your problem.

Did you try a reset?

Ian

Tried a reset. Keyboard is messed up. At least I've gotten it back where I can practice it. I just can't use the data wheel.

Beakybird

Wow....sorry to hear about this. Did UPS ship the thing?

zuki

It was shipped FedEx, from Indiana, less than 100 miles from my home. Box was in perfect condition.

Beakybird

I hope this is not indicative of the whole line of these new PSR "S" series arranger keyboards. I happened to play the PSR S900 today at my local GC and in a nutshell I was un-impressed with it for the most part. There are no Bass ports for the speakers and you really have to crank the volume waaayyyyy up to hear the sound at a decent level. My PSR 2000 speakers are much louder by comparison.

I didn't like the key feel as the keys felt a little mushy to me. There is a little more resistance than my PSR 2000 keys but depressing the S900 keys felt a little like poking a stale marshmellow with your finger. It's kind of hard to describe but that's the sensation I got when playing the S900 keys.

If you want to use the PSR S900 for mainly Organ sounds then you might want to look elsewhere for your Organ sound needs. I found the PSR S900's Organs lackluster at best. It is only my opinion of course and you may find them suitable enough for your needs.

I did like a lot of the Styles and many of them had a fresh sound to them. The LCD is bright and the text crisp and very readable. There are 23 SA voices and many of them are excellent sounding in my opinion. But sadly there are no SA String voices or SA Brass voices (other than the Trumpets). The Grand Piano is also pretty good but nothing surpassing the PSR 3000 in my opinion.

Also, no word from Yammie on how much WAV ROM is on the PSR S900. Maybe they're hesitant to post it because they just don't want to "confuse" people with facts and other technical things.

Conclusion >> If you have a PSR 3000 there would be no real reason to upgrade to a PSR S900 in my opinion unless you want the few cosmetic changes they've included on the S900 and you also want the SA voices. But I found the build quality on the S900 somewhat lacking and Beakybird's episode with the Data Select wheel right off the bat is rather unsettling to say the least. I hope this is not a token of things to come for the PSR "S" series. Let us hope it is not..

Best,
Mike



[This message has been edited by keybplayer (edited 07-13-2007).]

Mike thanx for the review.......what the heck is going on with the S900....so far things are questionable. Hope to hear more in time good or bad.

I have a PSRS900 at my store which I have been playing for two days.
You are wrong about the bass ports. The ports are right under the grills on both sides.
The volume of the speakers on my unit are also loud and clear. Actually, louder than the 3000. I'm guessing the one at GC you played probably had he volumes down at the mixer level of the screen so that if ou turned up the master volume you were not hearing the full volume.
In fact, I thought my stagepass 300 volume was up loud today when I was trying to talk to a customer and when I walked over to the 900 I was surprised to see that it was all coming from the internal speakers.
To say the only upgrade is the SA voices and some cosmetics is just not true.
First, you have USB audio recording. Yamaha has added a dedicated button for controlling the leslie speed. You also get a brand new effects processor in this model and a new , just realeased Rhodes piano voice. The styles are more plentiful, better with the use of the SA voices. There are also alot of brand new multi pad setups featuring acoustic guitar loops, etc. There is also now the ability to load text files into this model, like the Tyros2 can do but the 3000 couldn't do. I'm sure there are more things I'm missing.
I have a lot of experience with all the arranger keyboards and I'm very excited about this new keyboard. As in the past, Yamaha doesn't usually reinvent the wheel when they come out with new models, and I think they did a great job here for anyone who doesn't already own the 3000 or tyros2 and for many who like to upgrade, I think you will be quite impressed.
I'm sorry there was a problem with the one Beakybird received, but in no way do I think there is a built quallity issue here. I think it's just a misfortunate thing that happened probably in transit.


------------------
George Kaye
Kaye's Music Scene
Reseda, California
818-881-5566
www.kayesmusicscene.com

I agree with almost everything George Kaye has said.

You know it's the tendency of a consumer to notice the things they don't like, while it is the tendency of even the most honest salesman to accentuate the positive.

The PSR S900 has a very good volume output. The keys are superior to the PSR3000.

When the PSR3000 came out, there were a lot of folks with PSR2000s who balked at getting the new model. The main improvement of the PSR3000 was merely the ability to store stuff on usb and smart media as opposed to floppy. The floppy shuffle problem that the PSR3000's predecessor posed made the keyboard almost unlivable for live performers.

Outside of that gargantuum improvement, the improvement of the PSR3000 over the PSR2000 is the same as the improvement of the PSR S900 over the PSR3000. The main thing that the PSR3000 brought were the Mega voices. The main thing that the PSR S900 brings are the S.A. voices.

I don't think that the problem I am having with my keyboard is due to transportation. This keyboard shipped in only one day, and there was hardly a nick on the box. I am very happy that no one else has reported a problem with their keyboard. Let's hope that my problem is isolated.

Beakybird

Beakybird,

Keep us posted on your fix. I am very interested in keeping with the Yammy line and subsequent models to build upon from my current 3K. It looks like I'll kind of follow in your footsteps but for now the 3K is serving its purpose.

zuki

Thanks George. I looked around for them on the S900 but I guess I didn't look good enough. My apologies.

That's also good news that the volume levels are not a problem. Someone must have indeed turned the volume down in the Mixer apparently.

I guess we all have our own opinions and what one thinks is not necessarily what someone else will think regarding the PSR S900. I have always recommended for people to try out firsthand every keyboard they are interested in because someone elses experience or view about a product might not reflect significantly on another persons decision to get it or not. I can share my thoughts but a person has to decide on his or her own merit and conclude for themselves regarding the PSR S900 or any other keyboard.

PS: I think Yamaha will sell plenty PSR S700 & S900's by the way. .... Now if only the PSR S900 came in a 76 key version. Oh well. Maybe next time..

Best,
Mike

[This message has been edited by keybplayer (edited 07-14-2007).]

Originally posted by George Kaye:
_______________________________________


"...just realeased Rhodes piano voice. The styles are more plentiful, better with the use of the SA voices. There are also alot of brand new multi pad setups featuring acoustic guitar loops, etc."
________________________________________

Anyone know who we need to contact at Yamaha to find out why they are not releasing these new voices, styles, and multi-pad setups for the Tyros and PSR 3K owners?

R/I

Go ahead and try and contact Yamaha. But most likely they wouldn't release them themselves for the PSR 3000 or Tyros because they want you to buy the PSR S700/S900.

Best,
Mike

While a person can use the new styles in the Tyros1/2 and PSR2000,3000, they will need to be tweaked to use the onboard voices on each individual kb.

As far as voices, you get what you got and can't transfer voices that one doens't have.

Scott

Guys - thanks. The way I read the S900 reviews, it appeared to me that the S900 uses the same SA and voices the Tyros already has. So the styles should be importable without too much tweaking I would guess. Also, I was under the impression that Yamaha put the ability to import sampled voices on the Tyros to support stuff like this. You'd think you should be able to import the new Rhodes sound and multipads if they're already based on Yamaha sounds.

But I agree.... more than likely they probably won't even post the new styles on their "for sale" site.

R/I

Most often when using a Yamaha style on another Yamaha, it will pick a decent alternate voice if it isn't on the kb.

I just spoke with the salesman who sold me the keyboard at Sweetater. He told me to call their customer service dept on Monday. He told me that his computer shows that they won't be getting another PSR S900 in for a couple of months. He better be wrong, or I am going to go nuts!

Beakybird

If worse comes to worse you could always get a refund from Sweetwater and find a PSR S900 at some other establishment that has it presently in stock. The Guitar Center in my area presently has them in stock. I called them and the guy said they would be glad to send you their PSR S900. You would do a credit card over the phone and the person I spoke to said he would even waive the shipping charges. And they will ship it anyhwere in the U.S.

If you are interested Larry send me an email (in my profile) and I would be happy to give you Guitar Centers phone number and the name of the person I spoke with.

Best,
Mike

Oh, and George Kaye has the PSR S900 still in stock too I think.



[This message has been edited by keybplayer (edited 07-14-2007).]

Yes,
I still have a new, not out of the box PSRS900, but I don't include shipping from Ca. to the East Coast.
According to Yamaha it could be several weeks before any more PSRS900's will arrive.
I'm closing in a 1/2 hour and I just had one of my regular customers in who has was very excited to find and try the 900. He had been reading the posts here and agrees with me that the internal speakers sound clear, full and loud. If he doesn't come back before 6PM, I will still have one to sell.


------------------
George Kaye
Kaye's Music Scene
Reseda, California
818-881-5566
www.kayesmusicscene.com

I got word from Sweetwater. I'm going to keep my defective keyboard until they get two new ones for me. Unfortunately, that won't be until around September 12. Joe Martell at Sweetwater told me that when the new ones come, I can return the one that I'm playing and they will return it to Yamaha. That's cool.

Beakybird

I just received my second shipment of PSRS-900 keyboards today. It's only been 1 week since the first one. 6 more arrived. I have some available if anyone is interested. I didn't think they would come until September, according to what beakybird heard from Sweetwater. You might want to call them and see why they haven't received more.

------------------
George Kaye
Kaye's Music Scene
Reseda, California
818-881-5566
www.kayesmusicscene.com

George,
not sure if you read my post on the s-900 lan port. If you have any info, or can obtain it from your connections it would be appreciated. I am set up with my wireless in a seperate room from the router and main household pc. Would really not want to run a lan cable. But not sure if there is a wireless connectable to the lan port versus a USB wireless adapter? Would rather not tie up the (one) usb to device on the s900.
Maybe that's why the 2nd usb to device on the 3000. For the adapter.

Yamaha is sending me a wired adapter but I do not think it is what I want/need and would like info on what I should buy. What does yamaha recommend? The board is so new it's hard to find the info.
Thanks George,
Jim

ps If Ian or anyone else with close yamaha contacts could spare the time to help also?
It is greatly appreciated

I read this post and called Yamaha and I have answers for you.
You want to go to a store and buy an ethernet wireless adapter for your particular router. This way you don't have to use up your one USB device port. Just like the 3000, you can plug a USB adapter in here but then you have USB speed rather than ethernet speed and you give up your device port for thumb drives, etc.
If Yamaha is sending you an ethernet cable/adapter which they use to give 3000 and tyros customers, you don't want to use this because it will still go into the usb device port.
Either use a long ethernet cable or buy the ethernet wireless adapter for your router.


------------------
George Kaye
Kaye's Music Scene
Reseda, California
818-881-5566
www.kayesmusicscene.com

George,
Thank you very much for the help. I am still pretty confused however. It seems the only ethernet wireless adapter I can find to go with my linksys wrt54gs broadband router is the kind to plug internally into a pc. I find nothing that could/would connect to the lan port on the s-900.
Then again I could be completely mistaken.
I really feel technically challenged on this one. Well, Back to the web searching. Maybe there's something to find out there.
Jim

After speaking with customer support at linksys...they tell me the lan port is only used to hard-wire with ethernet cable directly to my router. They say the only way to be wireless is via usb.
George, can you double check and verify if this is correct or not?
Thanks again,
Jim

[This message has been edited by OldNewb (edited 07-20-2007).]

Thank you for info on these keyboards for sale. I appreciate it.

The gentleman I'm working with at Sweetwater is giving me an attractive discount, partly because I'm purchasing two PSR S900s, and partly because I told him about a bad experience I had with Sweetwater five years ago when I last bought from them.

He's been unusually nice, so, even though it is a real drag waiting until September, I feel indebted to the salesman. I am still able to gig with the keyboard, and in September, I will be getting two new ones.

Beakybird

Beaky Wish you all the best and lots of trouble free fun till you can get the replacement.

According to page 171 of the manual, you need a wireless game adapter.

Beakybird