Hi everybody!
The miracle really did happen...it was on Saturday, the 16th of 2002 when Yamaha came to my family's front door and actually donated a PSR740...so, here is how it all came together...
First of all, I don't know where to begin...I am honestly speechless. Truly, I cannot express myself with words alone, you all have touched my heart deeply and impacted my life...basically, you have given me a future filled with hope, truth, and true wisdom. How could this possibly happen? How could my family and I receive such gifts in such a short amount of time? It doesn't even sound humanly possible, does it? Well, it's not! There is a bigger picture behind the miracle that took place this Saturday...and it all comes down to God. If someone would have told me 4 months ago that I was going to receive a keyboard, keyboard stand and keyboard bag, microphone and mircrophone stand, laptop (with carrying bag), and sound module all for FREE...I simply would not have believed them. But, it happened...I actually did receive all this stuff for free! But, I keep on asking myself how and why we received this gear...and the only thing that truly comes to mind is God. Remember that! God is real...He has always provided for my family in the roughest of times and supported us when we needed Him most! But, God's people were the performers of this miracle...they made it happen. Thank you everybody - Yamaha, Uncle Dave, George Kaye, and synthzone members - who performed this miracle! You all are special people who have given me a gift that I will always keep in my heart...so, I will go ahead and tell you about the keyboard since we have all waited so patiently for this moment and I'll go ahead and express my thanks as well:
THE MIRACLE OF SATURDAY, MARCH 16TH!It all took place on Saturday, March 16th, 2002 - a day that I will never forget! In the afternoon, Yamaha arrived at my family's front porch. He was a Yamaha representative named James. He was a very kind, generous man and he treated us with great respect!
He pulled up in his van and carried the keyboard in its original packaging right up to our front door! He had gone out of his way to find the time, organize all of this into his schedule, and then even personally deliver it to out front door! What a special guy...THANKS JAMES!
He than carried it into the bedroom, where our studio was setup, and set the big, brown box down that said "Yamaha PSR740"! I cannot describe how I felt at that moment when I saw that big, brown box that James carried! I was excited, grateful, thrilled, happy, anxious, etc!
I couldn't believe that it was real, it was the moment that I had been waiting for...so, my family and I enjoyed every moment of it! Robby, my twin, and Mom, whose name is Shawn, were there to celebrate the moment. Ricky, my older brother, couldn't be there since he was unavailabe...but he finally got to see the keyboard when he came home from work!
Anyway, after James set the box down in the bedroom, we all got the chance to introduce ourselves and tell how we felt about the entire thing. He then opened the box and let Robby and me pull out the keyboard ourselves! As we grasped the keyboard that was in the box, we were so thrilled! We then slowly pulled it out - WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! IT WAS BEATIFUL!!!! IT WAS HUGE TOO!!!!!!! IT WAS A MIRACLE!!!!
I coudn't believe what I was seeing as Robby and I set it on the keyboard stand (that George Kaye had sent us)! James was a nice man, I could tell that he was enjoying our happiness - I realize that you guys wanted to be there too...and I wish I could have shared the moment with you guys as well! Don't worry, we'll try to take some pictures of our studio setup and show it to you guys! After all, this happened because of everyone who contributed and you deserve to see what you have done!!
Again, Robby and I set the YAMAHA PSR740 up on the keyboard stand. It was absolutely perfect. I was surprised at how massive the keyboard itself was...it was wide and the depth of it was long too! Plus, it had not one, but TWO LCD displays!!! It had what almost looked like a silver/golden color trimming that enveloped the LCD displays and all the beautiful buttons. The two speakers surrounded the LCD and its buttons on the keyboard's top right and left sides. And, I immediately noticed the pitch bend and modulation wheels, the data dial wheel, the amount of keys (61), the two keypads, and then I remembered something: the Floppy Disk Drive! I looked for it and I found it at the bottom of the keyboard!!!! I had not even seen the full potential of the keyboard yet, and I was just thrilled and I stil am! Mom was there watching the entire thing unfold and she was just so grateful that Yamaha had done this for us! As we secured the keyboard on the sturdy stand that George Kaye had sent us, James offered to hook it up and turn it on! He plugged the AC adapter in and then, as we all watched in anticipation, he turned it on!!!! It was booted up and ready to go within at least a second...I was amazed at how everything turned on so quickly! The LCD Displays lit up and glowed of images that popped up immediately and the lights lit up in a red color...wow! What an amazing moment...I will never forget that moment when he turned it on. YAMAHA'S products are just awesome! Keep in mind, at this point, I had never seen a keyboard or touched one with the overwhelming features of the PSR740! I had never seen a keyboard with an LCD display before! (Only on the internet of course).
James then made sure the volume was just right and then he let us play it! That really meant a lot to me when he let me play it first, again, he was a very nice guy and he represented YAMAHA very well!
THANKS JAMES AND GOOD JOB AT REPRESENTING YAMAHA!
So...I sat down at the keyboard. I looked at the LCD displays that had many images on it, like LVoice, R1Voice, R2Voice, Style, and other things like track and temp settings. Then, I "hit" the keyboard with a gentle tap and a grand piano came out of the speakers! Robby and I gasped and we immediately knew what was in front of us: our dream! I then played one of my songs that I had "composed" on my old PSR3 and it sounded absolutely beautiful!!!!! It was touch sensative too and I found that feature to be amazing, since I could truly express myself when playing the keyboard! So, I played a couple of songs on the Grand Piano and I felt like I was in a dream! Than, I looked at the LCD display and realized that there were, 700 more voices for me to explore! James then showed me how to choose another voice - of course, I picked strings! I had listened to some audio demos on
http://www.svpworld.com/ so I picked classical strings and played it! WOW!!!!! It sounded so real...I felt like as if I had an orchestra right at my fingertips (actually, I did)!!! The entire world of music - from acoustic grand piano to guitars and brass to strings - was all contained within one keyboard and now I finally had the opportunity to explore this world of music! I than let my twin, Robby, play since he had waited so patiently too! I couldn't wait to hear his music, he is VERY talented on the keyboard as well! So, he then played some songs with various voices and it sounded astonishing! Mom was amazed at how real the keyboard sounded and I coudn't believe what I was hearing as Robby played his music! Robby's music is awesome and I have really enjoyed listening to his songs on the brand new PSR740!
After Robby played his excellent music, James then showed us some other features, like the styles that everyone talks about here on the forum. I really love the styles' drum rythm - I think that I will be learning a lot from the numerous styles that are available on the PSR740...and, I really want to learn how to create my own! [img]
http://www.synthzone.com/ubbs/biggrin.gif[/img] I think that it would be so much fun to create my own drum track and have it loop constantly in the back of my composition...that is truly amazing that the PSR740 offers such powerful features such as the style recording - which I have already read about in the thick owner's manual! [img]
http://www.synthzone.com/ubbs/wink.gif[/img] Again, I was very amazed about the styles and I could not wait to explore all the possibilities that the PSR740 offers!
After showing us the basic functions of styles, he then continued to show us how to navigate the keyboard using the data dial wheel and its other astounding features, such as the keypad. Again, he was a very kind and generous man who showed respect towards us and allowed us to explore the possibilities of the keyboard freely. After we all talked, he then took pictures of us standing by the keyboard...he told us that the pictures will probably end up in a music magazine! I'll have to find out what magazine that our pictures will end up in and see if I can possibly get a copy... [img]
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After everything was setup and we had talked to each other and expressed our thanks, James had to leave. He only stayed for a half an hour and then left us with this special gift! Before I go any further, I want to acknowledge what James did for my family and me. He went out of his way to find the time to organize this, come to our house, and actually set it up and make sure everything was working just right! I also want to thank Mark Anderson from Yamaha, who I heard also worked hard to organize this as well. Even though I have not gotten the chance to speak with him or meet him personally, I know that he put a lot of effort into this as well! THANKS JAMES AND MARK FROM YAMAHA! You guys are truly amazing and thank you for giving us the gift of music! You have given us a huge opportunity to explore the world of music...and now, we wake up to it everyday! Yamaha, you are a blessing to my family and you have given many musicians around the globe the opportunity to actually express their talents! You are truly devoted and dedicated and your hard work is honored by those who represent you the best! [img]
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So, after James left and everything was setup, our lives were changed forever! We had been touched by special people and we realized that this world was still full of people who really cared and were willing to go the extra mile to help others in need. So, there is the story of what took place on Saturday! I've been having tons of fun playing the keyboard and reading the owner's manual in order to figure out the numerous, various features of the PSR740! The manual is really thick and it is the best manual I have ever read...it has images, easy-to-read instructions, and offers help when running into problems! Yamaha is an amazing company that performs miracles and gives many people the gift of music! I am really impressed by the way Yamaha organized this all, I cannot find the words to describe how I feel about what Yamaha has done for my family and me! They are truly an amazing coporation that has a big heart!!!! [img]
http://www.synthzone.com/ubbs/wink.gif[/img] THANKS AGAIN YAMAHA FOR EVERYTHING!!!
THANKS TO EVERYONE!I want to thank the following people, including Yamaha, who contributed to this entire miracle. Through their heartfelt contributions, we received:
-Yamaha PSR740 Keyboard
-Laptop with Padded Laptop Carrying Bag
-Sound Module
Dr. Synth DS-330-Keyboard Stand
YKA 7000-Microphone Kit with Carrying Case
Audix CD-11 Microphone-Microphone Stand
Ultra Stand-Padded Keyboard Carrying Bag
PKB 900Obviously, that is a lot of gear!!!!!! [img]
http://www.synthzone.com/ubbs/biggrin.gif[/img] And, I realize it took a lot of effort and money to put it all together...I am just overwhelmed! You all are very special people and, again, you have impacted my life deeply - and I speak for my family too when I say that! So, here is the list of those who contributed:
-Mark Anderson (Yamaha)
-James Hatcher (Yamaha)
-Uncle Dave
-George Kay
-And, of course, SynthZone forum members!
I hope I did not leave out anybody, if I did, please be sure to let me know. I realize there were probably more people from Yamaha who took part in this and since I do not know exaclty how everything came together, I might have left out somebody and I am sorry if I did.
I'll probably post out a seperate topic and put a detailed list of those who contributed, just in case I left out somebody. [img]
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SEE YOU AROUND EVERYBODY!Well, I will update you more about how my family and I are doing! I'll tell you about my experiences with the PSR740 and how the entire home studio works together perfectly! Also, of course, I may have some questions for those experts who are out here on the forum and have years of experience in the music industry! [img]
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Thanks everyone for everything that you have done for us! Sorry if I left out anything, so much has happened in such a short amount of time...You have made our dream into a reality and now we have a promising future full of fun music-making! We will use this gift wisely and spread a good message and give people hope by offering the truth through our music! Obviously, this 'letter' that I have written is long, so I will go ahead and end it by saying...
See you around on the forums everybody and have a nice day,
Ryan [img]
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