I recently heard from an SVPworld member (Tom Patrick) who supposedly has heard from inside connections, that Yamaha is planning to release another Tyros OS update real soon (in the next few weeks). Can anyone substantiate this, or provide more specific info on the actual release date?

Most IMPORTANT (to me) is finding out whether Yamaha will be implementing (in this next upcoming OS update), the ability to trigger (via foot pedal) a continuously repeating 'fill to self' which is featured on all other current/recent model Yamaha arrangers, yet sorely absent on the Tyros.

I had initially reported this problem to Yamaha (Steve Deming) back in June:
http://www.synthzone.com/ubbs/Forum37/HTML/006671.html

In addition, quite a few other Tyros owners (including Simon Williams, moderator of SVPworld) echoed my sentiments as well, and also sent private emails directly to Steve Deming at Yamaha USA pushing for the re-implementation on the Tyros, of this important part of the 'fill self' feature. I still have yet to hear from Steve Deming or anyone else at Yamaha regarding the status of this issue. I'm hoping someone (Steve Deming or anyone else) will provide an update on the situation.

Scott

When you bought the Tyros you should have purchased it not expecting any software upgrades so you'd better be happy with it the way it is now. From my experience with Yamaha customers opinions means little to them. I made many useful suggestions when I had my 9000 Pro that could have and should have been implemented on the 9000 Pro but that hasn't happened even to this day nearly a year and a half after I brought them up. Many of the things I suggested were things the keyboard was already supposed to do but it couldn't (at least the Yamaha literature said it could). I learned right then that Yamaha cares very little about their customer and from that point forward I won't buy any Yamaha product again that's not tried and tested. If you want to be a software Beta Tester for Yamaha buy one of their new products. I for one am not willing to do that again.

I agree 100% with you. Yamaha doesn´t care of its customers at all. Yamaha makes so poor software that I can not find words to describe it. Yamaha doesn´t have any support for their customers.

I had PSR9000 before and I had to wait for six months for the OS version 2 update that had all the functions what Yamaha promised. Still the OS 2 was full of bugs. I had many problems with the keyboard.

Now I have the Tyros and the same thing is going on. It has less bugs compared to the PSR9000, but still something is missing. For example I would like to have a screen saver on the Tyros and some other functions also. The worst thing with the Tyros is the very very very poor Mac support:

At the beginning you could not update the OS with Mac. You where only able to do that with PC. Now you can do it with Mac, but it is very slow and unpractical process. You need a floppy drive and something like 20 floppy disks to do that. With PC you just use the updater and that´s it. Macs haven´t had floppy drives for years (Macs have much more advanced things) and now you would have to buy one just for the OS update. I am not going to do that.

The second thing are the tools for Tyros. For Mac you only have the Fily Utility, but for PC you also have the Voice Editor and the registeration converter. All those programs should be for Mac also. Not only the File Utility. That also works only with OS 9 and it is also very unstable. I also hate the OMS. Yamaha should have made all the software for Mac and for both operating systems (OS 9 and OS X). They should also be much more stable not only with Mac, but also with PC. My girlfriend has a PC and I have done the updating with her computer. I have also used the Vocie Editor with computer and I have had problems all the time.

Now I try to find a cheap, but a good laptop PC for my Tyros. I don´t have much choice. The first OS update for Tyros was available after I bought the keyboard. I didn´t knew that Yamahas Mac support was so poor. If I had known that I would had let the keyboard in the shop. I haven´t been very satisfied with the Tyros and I haven´t used it very much because of that. I am not going to be a beta tester for Yamaha eather and this will also be my last Yamaha product. I should had bought the Solton SD1.

If Yamaha someday releases all the software for Mac (the OS updater and the tools) and I have bought the laptop PC before that for nothing, then I will be very very very angry.

Micco

Neither of these has been my experience with Yamaha, in fact just the opposite in my case.
I do perceive a wee bit of an attitude on the Motif side of Yamaha, but have not felt that on the arranger side.

About overall support.....hmmm perhaps I just missed the posts. When was the last time we have seen an official post from a company representative from Korg, Techniques, Casio, Kurzweil, Roland, or any other board you can name with the exception of Paul from GEM and AJ occasionally. We haven't but we have seen Steve from Yamaha answer Q's here and the Motif forum is all about the company behind the forum an answering Q's.

Is Yamaha perfect absolutely not, but to what I have seen is much better than the others.

About customers opinions meaning nothing....the Motif ES is all about the remake of the Motif based on what customers were asking for, so your assertion I see as incorrect. As far as o/s upgrades the Tyros has already had 1 in the short time it has been out. As far as all the upgrades we may think are must haves, as Steve has put it, unless there are enough that feel something is necessary, they are not going to spend the time and money to implement something that very few are finding a problem.

So while the individual may think they have the perfect answer to what it is a board needs, that may not suit everyone, so I really doubt any of us would invest the money in programming to suit the minority opinion.

A board comes out and goes to market imperfect, because until it hits the market and the company sees and hears what it is that people do with it and how they really can't refine it. Think about any new software and how many revisions and bug fixes it goes through in the aftermarket....why, easy besides perhaps mistakes here and there in programming, during testing no-one happened to hit the same buttons and keys in the same order that caused a problem or used it in the way that some of the users are going to use it.

Ever look at the code for something programmed? Thousands of lines of just has to be perfect or something goes wrong. Put a period in accidentally....bug. So I think we need to be at least a bit tolerant of there are going to be bugs and fixes and features we just won't get. That's the reality of the situation.

I do agree though, if you own a board and it's not doing what you want, get rid of it and buy something that will. I wouldn't count much on any other company being much if any better though, again just reality.

As far as availability for Mac stuff....walk in any computer store anywhere and notice....pc software fills half the store Mac, 1 small display of software available. It certainly is one of the reasons I never bought a Mac, so it's not just Yamaha, it is the software industry at large that does not support Mac....I would complain to Jobs or Wosniak for a piss poor marketing plan with an attitude.
Terry

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jam on,
Terry http://imjazzed.homestead.com/Index.html



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

I bought a Beta VCR many years ago because it had a better quality sound. THe majority of people bought VHS systems. I now have a high quality, useable VCR in a box,in my basement. There are no Beta movies you can rent. I would never buy a product that is owned by a minority and would not buy a product just because it's different. I would never buy a Mac, no matter how better it was then a PC. It will never be supported as much as a PC. Just reality.
Starkeeper

I think you hit it right on the head!!

I have noticed an unfortunate tendency by Steve to promise but not deliver, and I can bring up several posts to back that up. It's one thing to participate in a forum and of course not every need can be addressed in general upgrades - but when a representative of any company goes on record and says they will do a certain thing within a certain time frame and then doesn't, they damage their credibility. Which is better: a silent company or one that doesn't keep it's promises?

The "disappearing/reappearing OS" of the 9000 Pro is but one example of Yamaha's internal dyslexia. I've personally also had other Yamaha reps on the Motifator.com forum promise to look into questions and then vanish never to be heard from again. So I have to agree that Yamaha treats customers like cattle across the board and perhaps more like the droppings when it comes to arrangers. Moo. If there was better products for my needs for the money, I'd gladly own them. I agree with Ensnareyou: don't expect much more than what an instrument gives you when you buy it and you'll never be disappointed.

I'm amused by all you moaners.
If you're not happy with your board or any other product for that matter, buy something else. That's what UD does, and I think he's happy, 'cause he ain't playing for money!

And that WAS a joke, UD.

Roy-Andrè

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