miden....before you purchase sit down & really think and write down YOUR personal needs for a arranger KB....after research all you can on the Internet, email other users & get opinions, listen to demos & watch videos if possible, then go out and do all you can even if it means talking a day trip to do so to find them and play them yourself before you make a decision...new is not always the best...there are many great deals on used units out there also where you can get more then you thought!

Good Luck

Like I said earlier, when a PSR-S900 shows up within 100 or so miles of my home I'll hop in the van and let my ears and fingers be the judge of whether or not it's that much better than the 3000. There is only so much you can garner from the specifications--the final decission must still depend upon what your ears hear, what your eyes see, and what your fingers feel. Until then, it's just a guessing game. If you don't believe this is the case, there were a huge number of individuals that said "there was no way you could perform using those tiny speakers that logitech makes for computers and home theaters." Whoops! Same statements were made about the Bose L1 (PAS)--those tiny speakers just can't provide enough sound to please audiences. I guess some folks are just pleased a lot easier than others.

Cheers,

Gary



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Travlin' Easy

I think the text viewer and the usb recorder could be a huge step forward. Record all your performances, play wav files, lead sheets. Could leave the laptop home.

I was impressed with the video demo of the s500 so if the 900 holds true to that.
But like Gary said we're all just guessing.

Well sure, but by then everyone will be whining about it not being just like the T3....it's like saying that the PSR-3000 was closer to the Tyros I than the PSR-2100 was..... [/QUOTE]

Only the completely deluded are expecting Yamaha to make a $1500 arranger with most of the capabilities of their $4000 arranger. Once their $4000 arranger has capabilities far beyond current specs, THEN we'll see the mid-line get current TOTL features. Yamaha ARE trying to make a profit..... and they really don't seem to like adding new capabilities to existing models to ease the pain, unlike Korg and Roland (et al).

I still think that the SA voices (especially if they include the guitars and saxes) more than compensate for other, missing TOTL features. They really are THAT good.... (if you can learn to 'play' them).

I Agree 100%

Regards,

Dennis L. Almond
aka...TwoNuts

Hi Miden,
are you still looking for a keyboard?
If you're considering a Roland, I've noticed an occasional VA7 pop up on local ebay. There's one going at the moment, also a G800 ( they're a bit long in the tooth by now). Even noticed a Ketron X1.

If you after something better quality I'll sell you my Ketron SD1+ haa haa.

Seriously though, at the moment I'm happy with my psr1500, I do like the Yammie styles. I bought it as an interim between deciding whether to get a T2 or the PSR3000 replacement. Figured I'd lose less in resale buying the 1500 rather than the PSR3k.

Before you dash out and buy a Roland, make sure you like the styles, I had a VA7 for a while, unfortunately the KN7 came out shortly after me purchasing the VA7 from a friend, the Va7 sat in the corner for months, virtually unused.

You may find the occasional PSR3k pop up on ebay, even though pro's may be reluctant to upgrade to the new s900 from the 3k , crazy hobbyists like myself tend to upgrade whether there's a huge difference in features or not, we just like to have the latest.

best wishes
Rikki

Even though I'm unhappy with the sparse improvements on the PSR S900, I will be purchasing two of them.

I make my living performing. This is how I support my family. The two PSR3000s that I own are getting a lot of wear and tear. They'll be three years old.

So first, I cannot afford to have a keyboard fail on an important job. A newer keyboard is less likely to fail. Right now, I have a PSR3000 in the shop because one of the style variation buttons is failing.

Second, I am competing against a lot of great performers here in the Chicago area. If the PSR S900 will bring me any edge that can translate into $$, then it's a necessary investment.

I had decided against getting the Tyros II because it is 1) too expensive and 2) doesn't have onboard monitors.

The reason I am going to buy two PSR S900s is that I need to have one in my office/studio and one in the trunk of my car. This way, I can transfer settings and registrations that I create in my studio via a pen drive.

If the PSR S900 is missing any other important things, which I doubt, then I might change my mind. I might consider another keyboard brand.

Some of the questions I have about the specs are

1. What are the names of the new voices.
2. What are the names of the new styles?
3. Is the flash drive larger than the PSR3000's? If not, that really sucks as the PSR S900 will not have a Smart Media drive.
4. Did Yamaha bring back the Vocal Harmonizer On/Off, Effects On/Off, and Voice Harmony On/Off buttons?
5. As I recall, the PSR3000 had a 90 warranty on labor! Will the PSR S900 have a better warranty?

Beakybird

Hi Beakybird,
is the Smart Media drive all that necessary.
I have a usb card reader connected to the usb port on my PSR1500.
I have access to 4 different types of memory card at the press of a button. ( my card reader has 4 slots)I've got my cards divided up between styles , registrations, pads & songs.

When I need to do any editing, I just unplug the reader & plug it into the usb port on the pc.

I would imagine the S900 would have the same usb ports as the PSr3k.

best wishes
Rikki

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Beakybird

3. Is the flash drive larger than the PSR3000's? If not, that really sucks as the PSR S900 will not have a Smart Media drive.

Riki,

The Smart Media card is similar to having a small, built-in hard drive in the keyboard. The USB drive projects out the back, and it must be disconnected when the board is transported. A substantially larger onboard memory capacity would be highly beneficial in that you can store more 3rd party style files in the onboard memory, which makes them directly accessible to the keyboard's Music Finder Directory (MFD) which is a great tool that many of us frequently use during liver performances.

Cheers,

Gary

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Travlin' Easy

thanks rikki and dnj, all good advice...i have actually played with the e50, and the drums and rhythms are quite good..the 3000 seems to offer more as a "complete" package...sounds are not critical as my main board is the s90es, but good rhythms and basslines are critical for me..and just as an aside, that guitar mode on the e50 is pretty cool too...would be great for programming some new styles..
thanks again
dennis