I was wondering if a few owners of the PSR 9000 could answer a few questions for me. I think that the features on this keyboard are incredible, but I've heard A LOT of negative remarks about this machine. I know the first OS was terrible.. I see that they now have 2.11 out. Has anyone loaded this one yet? If so what problems does it fix. Do users still have problems with notes hanging, going out of tune, and is the aftertouch still messed up. Also are there still a lot of bugs?? I've also heard stories about some people having problems with the display flickering and half of it just going out. I've been considering this keyboard for sometime now, but the horror stories have prevented me from buying it. I see they now have the 9000pro out but that's not much different than the original. Also what's with the gooseneck lamps on the pro? That's a little overboard if you ask me. Most people complain about a keyboard not having a backlit display or it being too dim. We all know that once you've had a board for a while you find that you're able to navigate the thing without having to look at the buttons. I have a yamaha EX-7 and I can run that thing with my eyes closed. I've played in some REALLY dim lit areas too and never had to use lamps to see the buttons.....

Squeak

Hi Squeak_D

I can't answer your questions, but I have a couple of comments. I think your knock on the gooseneck lamps is well taken. I wonder if this feature will be useful.

While in many ways it is true that the 9000Pro is a repackaged PSR-9000, I think many people are underestimating the significance of the small improvement that have been made. I think many people would find the increase of wave ROM from 32MB to 48 MB very significant, since it brings a much improved piano, drums, and vocal sounds. In addition, new styles are available that take advantage of these new sounds. Finally, the quality or playability of the keys themselves have been improved. None of this is revolutionary, but I think these improvements will make a big difference in one's enjoyment of the 9000 Pro.

Squeek,
The aftertouch sensitivity was addressed several OS's back. I play the 9000 on the job every night, and have never experienced any of the other problems, even with the prior OS's.
The latest update repaired a couple of minor things such as the placement of an up and down arrow on the Data Base page. The other things each OS updated can be found on the Yamaha PK Club page. One previous update repaired a minor problem with the Registration Memories making errors with DSP on some voices. I also heard that part of the polyphony problem (that I never experienced either) was caused by some errant midi messages and that was repaired.
The bugs on the 9000 were very few in comparison to those of other keyboards, and to Yamaha's credit, they react quickly to repair them when they become apparent.
They did probably release the 9000 a little prematurely because it didn't even have Style Creator fully activated on the first OS.
Oddly enough, the gooseneck lights are one of the features I look forward to. I now carry around two clip-on lights to all my gigs. Yes, I can navigate it in the dark, but I would rather see it, just in case.
The one feature they still need to address is making the thing load medleys of midis. Even the "lowly" PSR740 does this. (Are you reading this Yamaha?)
My opinion is, I wouldn't worry about any remaining bugs.
Please email me or visit my web page and leave a message if you have any specific
questions. I'll try to help.
DonM