I understand that the 2100 is easy to use and has good sounds but the previous PSR models dont seem to have as much punch and presence as some others such as the g1000 and solton. Is the 2100 technically any dofferent or does it have some more features? Also, why do other arrangers have more punch and how much more punch do they have and what do they have that gives more punch? When compared in detail there must be a measurable difference in how the sound is produced in each.

Thanks

Manny

Wow....how does one measure "punch" ? I think the newer psr models are equal to the G1000...maybe better in some ways. The Ketron sounds are very "live" by nature, but aslo pretty noisy. The Yamaha stuff is among the quietest out there.
As for punch......shut off the speakers, and listen to the SAME sound system. Maybe the punch comes from the external amps. Sounds like a very subjective opinion here.

Manny, Give me a few days and I will give you an honest answer. I own both the 2100 and the G.They will be tested side by side, a few more days are needed to be fair to the PSR..Fran

I have the 2000, but I can't say I noticed a tremendous difference in sounds when I compared the 2100 to it. I agree with Dave . This falls into one of those "subjective" categories.

When I define "punch", for myself, I'm looking first at the basic rythym instruments, drums.. bass, etc..I have all 3 of my boards going through the same sound system, and the mixer / eq settings are similar for them.

For myself, and my own subjective tastes, the 2k and likely its successor the 2100, would be my last choice for recording work when I'm looking for instruments that "stand out" or have "punch". Even in a mix, the bass doesn't sound "real" to me. It sounds like a sampled sound.. same with the drums. I choose to work with my Motif here more often than not because many of the sounds in it are velocity switched, meaning a different sample / midi parameter can ( and in many cases does ) play at different velocities.

My PA80 ( an arranger ) is in the middle ground.. pretty good for producing drums and bass that don't stand out a lot but sound fairly realistic. It doesn't employ velocity switching in the way the Motif does, but it employs other midi functions that can add to the realism or punch. One example that comes to mind immediately is it's ability to produce a sound as pressure is released from a key. I can use the raw sample data and make new sounds on the PA80, so what I do is add key click and fret noise samples to an acoustic guitar sound, and have the clicks / frets activate upon release of key pressure. Gives me a pretty realistic sounding acvoustic guitar. The 2k series doesn't have any capabilities to match that.

For live play, I don't necessarily need for the basic rythym sounds to stand out, as I'm trying to feature my own playing and vocals.. so the 2k is a good choice here.. If I'm going to feature a lot of acoustic piano or wind instrument emulations, I usually leave the 2k home and bring along the Motif... Stiffer key action for the piano and breathe controller for emulating wind instruments.

Now some of the other 2k / 2100 sounds hold their own very well vs my other boards. Were it not for the fact that I have a breathe controller and the vl plug in for the Motif, I'd likely choose the 2100's flute, trumphet, and sax sounds every time for rcording. The PA80 has a good sax and decent flute sound.. but I prefer the 2ks better. As far as synth sounds.. very basic and good synth sounds from the 2k series.. I don't expect to get those "unique" custom made noises that can be had from a dedicated synth or even the PA80 ( which can come a lot closer to a dedicated synth because of it's editing power ).

My way of looking at the 2k series is that they are a "safe" choice" for a player in that.. they do mostly everything reasonably well, but they don't have ( at least for me ) a whole lot soundwise that makes them stand out against other arrangers / synths. I guess the one thing that does set them apart though, in my mind, is all of the support available from users in the form of add ons.. styles.. stylemakers, other files..etc. For me, each of my boards has its merits, and I don't want to give the impression that I don't like the 2000. It is a very handy board to work with and an excellent backup to my PA80, but I'm not looking to make cutting edge sounds with it. Again, this is my opinion only. More often that not, I see that people prefer the PSR stuff in a lot of ways...

AJ



[This message has been edited by Bluezplayer (edited 08-14-2003).]

Well said AJ.

Now, about the Motif. Is the Motif ES in your future or are you going to hang on to that Original? BTW, that upgrade offer sounds too good to pass up IMO. Besides, the ES is totally revamped (except the LCD and few other things), so it's almost like getting 'not a successor' to an established product, but a different and new Board altogether.

Best regards,
Mike

Mike,

While I wouldn't say it's definite that I'll upgrade ( only because I'm a real try before I buy kinda guy ), if I were a bettin' man.. I'd play the odds that I'll be owning that ES pretty soon after it comes out..lol..

I usually don't get too excited about future releases, ( I'm definitely a PA80 guy but I'm only mildly interested in the PA1x, and I wasn't in a rush to see the PSR2100 ), but I have to admit I can hardly wait to see this ES and get it in my hands. I jsut hope the OS hasn't changed drastically. It took me quite a while to figure out the Motif's OS.. pretty steep learning curve it was for me.. but well worth it.

Cheers,

AJ