It looks to me like this new keyboard is gonna have less sounds than the VA series. I dont mind as long as the MB is more than the VA 7's 48mb...

It looks like the controversial touch screen will be remaining.

Any comments ?

What's controversial about the touch screen? I was able to test it at NAMM on one of their superduper AT-90S Atelier Organs. Wow! Loved the sound! Loved the styles, too! And the touch screen seemed to work real well on that one at least.
ev

Evangelical,
Most of the pros on this board feel it's to cumbersome for live playing, were you need to go thru to many screens to access functions. I don't play live, but still prefer buttons to touch screens. The more separate function buttons the better.
Starkeeper

Starkeepers is right.... A touch screen is nice to use when you're playing with a band or group, but if you're a solo musician, a touch screen can really get in the way especially if functions you use that should have a button on the face panel, have them within several menues on the touch screen. I know a lot of people who have korg Tritons, and they all say that they never use them on solo gigs where they need to do a lot of realtime changes...

Squeak

I love my touch screen and I'm going to experiment to determine how difficult it is to use in a live setting. I went to Walmart and they used a touch, I checked in at e-ticket at LAX via touch, my friend's lathe has a touch, I went to Office Max and they used a touch, I came home and microwaved and now the local store incorporated a touch......and everytime I watch, it reminds me of my keyboard...and that is a good thing.
Zuki

It's a good thing till you have a split second to make an adjustment "on the fly" during a performance and you take your fingers off the keys just long enough to reach up and "STAB" at the screen ..... you just "slightly" miss your intended destination, and instead of turning the volume of the bass down, you've changed the rhythm from a slow bossa to a quick disco beat.

You've confused the dancers, raised your blood pressure, and you STILL don't know what's wrong!!! You frantically retouch, and retouch and now, the saxes are flutes, the strings are gongs and the room is befuddled!

In a panic, you have to shut down to regroup. You apologize, blame the gear, and reinforce the fact in everyones mind that we don't even have control over the intrument. It controls US, and we just follow the bouncing ball, like trained animals.

Now, of course I'm making this all up, but this is a blueprint for what KIND of disaster is prone in a live setting and why the touch screen is more likely to harm, than help.

At K-Mart, they have ALL DAY to push the right spot on the screen. At the airport, there is a convienient "BACK" button for when you screw up ..... there is NO back button that works fast enough to save your butt in a live situation. You have to fly, baby. It's all about ease and options.

Just something to think about from someone who LOVED the sound, but hated the navigation of the VA series arrangers.

That can happen with buttons too..

I had a gig few months ago, where I wanted to change the master EQ in my PSR2000 while the song was being played.

Rather than pressing the mixer setting button, I pressed the Demo button, they right next to eachother... and you can guess what happened.

I think the Demo button should be all the way on right or left as separate function.

touch screen is good for studio work, but for Live it is not so good, if there are NO physical buttons or knobs. look at the Roland VSynth for excellent use of touch screen and physical controls.

Also, the KORG i30 was pretty good too...

Shakil,
At least twice, I went to press the fill button and pressed the ending instead. There is no way to stop the ending. You have to stop and restart (no back button, just thinking would pressing exit help?), fortunately I was not playing live.
Starkeeper

Starkeeper, on all the Yamahas that I have had, pressing a Variation button twice quickly will stop the Ending and immediately go to the Variation. If you press the Variation button once, the Ending will finish and then will go to the Variation.
DonM

That's right, Shakil, it's exactly why I love my Korg i30. Yes, it has a touch screen, great for inital set-ups, etc., (all of which I have stored in C and D banks) but you can't beat the sliders for on-the-fly adjustments. I've never had a disaster on gigs in three years with it.
That's why I think Korg missed the boat somewhat when they brought out the Pa80. By itself, it's a better sounding board than the i30, but why they didn't keep the sliders is a mystery and a major gaffe.