After many sleepless nights in order to decide what to buy I finally want to ask this forum for advice.Taking my present setup into consideration it would appear that I should well look at the Roland E600 not only for compatibility but also for good sound. On the other hand I also like the PSR 740 as well as the price....I cannot afford more than approx. R12000.00 after discount.(I am in the RSA) I want to use any new keyboard in conjuntion with Cakewalk and my pc. I tried sound modules but feel that my SC88 pro is doing the job.Also the arranger on some keyboards will assist in preparing sequences quicker.Please give me some advice or opinions...Thanks a lot...Hein

You've come to the right place for opinions!
Personally, I think there are better choices than the E600, but I'm not much of a Roland fan. If you read back through the posts for the past 30 days, you'll find a lot of discussion on the current crop of arranger keyboards. Good news is they are all really good. Some are stronger in certain areas, some stronger in others.
I think Yamaha probably provides the most features for the money in the lower-priced keyboards. They also have world-wide support and dealer network.
Good luck,
Don

PSR-740

Hi!!!!!!

This opinion of PSR-740 and E600 is from a 16
year old keyboardplayer but I hope that it
helps you to decide. I think that you should
try the Technics KN1600 and KORG i40 also but
here is m opinion about Roland and Yamaha.
Both are great keyboards but there are some
differences between them.

Roland E600 is more user friendly that the
Yamaha PSR-740. I don´t say that the Yamaha is
not a good keyboard to use but the Roland is
better. Roland has also a bit better internal
speakers and a bit better touch response. The
PSR-740 has better recording and editing
functions. The PSR-740 has also more vocal
effects. Both keyboards work very well with
computers. But what comes to sounds and styles
then? I like the sounds of Roland very much.
Yamaha has also great sounds but some of the
sounds are better on the Roland E600. The PSR-
740 has more and better styles (the sound and
the beat). I like Rolands styles also but
Yamahas styles sound better.

This is only my personal opinion about these
keyboards. You will decide which keyboard you
purchase so I suggest that you go to your
dealer to try them. And remember trust you
ears and you personal taste! So good luck!

And sorry my bad english

Michael

Thanks for the feedback. I did not succeed in finding a E-600 in my homecity...Port Elizabeth.. but found a smaller E-300. To say the least I was very dissapointed in the general quality and features with all respect to Roland.This is however just my opinion. I was told that the E-600 is basically the same keyboard with perhaps a few more styles and sounds,harmoniser etc.. The price of plus minus R12000.00 seems also to be high for the E-300. When I first saw the PSR 740 and played on it I was very impressed and thought it compared well with my Technics 2000 excluding the sequencer .....maybe my stupidity not to get my way easily around the PSR.I thank everyone for inputs received and will go on hunting until I find something that will like me!!immediately. If there is someone who is not tired of my problem please let me have further ideas.Remember I do not want to spend in excess of about R12000.00(about R6-20 to the U.S. Dollar)...Regards Hein

Hein,

I have two children in college and a wedding to pay for this summer. At this point in my life 3 to 4 thousand for a PSR9000 or a Solton X1 is out of the question. I bought a PSR740 for $900.00 US. If it were possible I would have bought the best keyboard available. That seems to be the Solton or the PSR9000. There are a few thing about the 740 that make getting around a little clunky but the one button settings are pretty easy and usually pretty good. No keyboard is perfect and this on isn't either but for what I paid I still think it is the best bargin out there. I do use it professionally in a trio or quintet setting and generally have been satisfied. I haven't done any solo work with it yet. I do feel that the 740 is more than enough keyboard to do solo work. We can't all drive a Mercedes. Some of us still drive Fords. Good luck!

Tom Cavanaugh