Does Roland, Korg, Technics, Ketron, Gensys, etc., have a competitive product matching Yamaha's PSR2000/2100 (price, quantity, value)?
Starkeeper

My experience has shown me that the psr2000 is in a class by itself. Unfortunaly, it is also made like a toy,has virtually NO upgrade support, and is already obsolete(by Yamaha standards) and therefore, cannot be directly compared to similar offerings by other manufacturers.
For about the same money:
Korg PA60 - equal sounds & styles, not as musical in fills, no mic input.
Ketron XD9 - a little more $ - similar in most ways PLUS it has a hard drive and a better harmonizer
Gem - nothing compares to Gem arrangers. IMO, everything is better(not trying to be mean)
Roland - still asleep at the wheel. Nothing worth a $1000 at this time. The cheap stuff won't cut it, and the VA series is much pricier.

If your budget is $1000US .... the psr2000 will give you the most features, but the construction and longevity is in question. It's definatly a home oriented keyboard, and although it sounds very good ..... it's NOT made very well. At least, not up to the rigors of Pro usage. Baby it, and it might last for you, but mine was giving up in it's infancy. The keys and buttons are horrible.

The KORG PA60 is only £200 pounds more here in the UK. It is of a better build quality than the PSR2000.

Graham UK

Dave, Ya gotta stop smackin them keys and buttons with a balpean hammer--it really wrecks them. I'm only playing out two nights a week, but I play a couple hours every night just to keep the gnarled digits on my hands a bit more limber. So far, the 2000 hasn't hiccuped once, all the keys are still as good as the day I opened the box, the buttons are all still functional and operate cleanly. I've heard of a few folks that have broken keys on the 2000, but those same individuals have broken keys on every keyboard they've ever owned.

Though I believe most keyboards are manufactured pretty much the same, mechanically, there are vast differences in the quality of the sounds and versitility, especially for those of us who play for all or part of our total incomes. When it comes to bang for the buck, I'll stick with the Yamaies--I've only had one keyboard failure in more than a decade, and it was nothing more than a cold solder joint that I was able to fix myself.

Good Luck on trying to find something better than the 2000 or 2001, especially in that price category.

Gary

The Ketron XD9 without a hard drive brings the price down by $350.00 to $400.00 .


So ...if a Yamaha PSR2100 is around $1200.00 and an XD9 w compariable features is very close in price .

YOu can add the hard drive later !

Dano

PS....how are the BLUEJAYS going to do this year ?

I like organ sounds and Bluezplayer says the PA80 has excellent organ sounds. Will have to try a PA60. I never tried a Korg arranger, because I always thought they would have techno/dance sounds only (like the Triton), no acoustic/real instrument sounds.
The Yamaha PSR2100 is not obsolete yet.
Ketron dealer in Toronto??
Starkeeper

I'll ammend my statment about the poor key quality on the 2000 to include this:
Of all the keyboards I have EVER tried in ANY price range, INCLUDING cheap, plastic toys ...... The psr2000 is by far, the worst.
If you only play bad feeling instruments, or never have played an acoustic piano or a Rhodes, or a well made, pro keyboard - then this may not affect you, but I really was surprised at how bad the keys were on an instrument that sounded so good. I was very disapointed, and so far .... my decision stands. There are none worse yet.

I have an inexpensive Roland keyboard and the keys feel much nicer than my Yamaha. This affects my playing. I tend to be sloppier, miss notes, or slip off the keys on the Yamaha and not so on the Roland. I believe it has been discussed here before that Yamaha keys are marginally samaller.
Starkeeper

DanO1,
I'm not much of a sports fan so not sure how the Blue Jays will do this year.
Starkeeper

Keep in mind the price of the PSR2000 keeps dropping. You can get one for $925 and up!
Got mine at Christmas time for $955 from music123.com


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I don't steer the ship, I bail out the water.
DJ
http://www.chipos.com/beachbum/