I thought this would be an interesting subject for us to discuss. On the G1000 there is a "MARKER A-B" feature buttons that allow you to mark 2 spots in a sequence in real time and then extend the song from those points which is very usefull in the right situation.

Soooooo whats your favorite?

you know those little white and black keys towards the front of the board? i know we don't use 'em too much because we mostly spend out time on the other buttons that have lights next to them, but i like these because they make noise. hee. :-D

The power switch[turn off] at the end of the night,so I can go home...If I am already home the same power switch[turn on], so I don't have to go to bed.....Oh well ,,duty calls...

Until last Saturday, I was impressed that the memory card slot on the back of the PA80 was just the right size to store a stack of business cards! Then I went to take one out and found that they fell in too far to reach !!!!! (I know, dummy me)

I guess the dual sequencer on the Korg is the coolest inovation out there. No one else has one.

The PA80 needs two sequencers, because of downtime reading format0 or is it format1..Am I correct , Korg still takes forever to convert the format before playing? Poor Donny would lose his dance crowd on Thursday nites, waiting 30 seconds or more for a sequence to play[besides his following do not have that much time too waste, average dancer is 92 years old.]

The Yamaha Music Finder !

I often get requests not for a specific song, but by a specific artist, era, or genre/style. With my custom Music Finder, I can almost instantly sort/view a list of the songs I know by just about any criteria I ask for, and then select, load and play the song right away. Very Kool !

Scott, that is a good feature..Donny is taking it to another level writing his own performances and grouping them to meet his needs, on his G1000..This allows you 192 performances and can load additional groups of 192 performances in a few seconds..Maybe we should add this as "KOOL" things..

[This message has been edited by Fran Carango (edited 02-25-2003).]

The Music finder on the 2k was the last straw for me and Yamaha. I was going blind trying to find the songs as I scrolled down the list, then once you hit enter the song comes up ok, but not in the Key you want and you have to change that somtimes, then make sure your in the right Octave, and then the worst thing is that OTS LINK!!!! thats always on. When you got 200-400+ people dancing in front of you almost every gig I can't be bothered with all that stuff. I gotta go bang bang into the next dance song. Theres nothing worst then people standing there looking at you fumbling with your KB!!The G1000 has eliminated all that for sure.
Navagation is crucial!

I would say having access to the hard drive of the SD1 is the most handy feature . Another nice feature is the drum + bass feature . I have a guitar player sitting in for a MArch 15 th St.Patty's Day Gig . I di not have to rework the sequences . All I have to do is hit the "drum + bass" mode and with will take out all parts except drums + bass . Drum + Bass is now assignable to the foot switch with 4.0 !
Dano

Donny, sorry to hear you had all those problems working your Music Finder. Not so for me, especially because the Tyros appears to have corrected those complaints you listed. The Tyros Music Finder letter font size is MUCH larger and easier to read. On the Tyros, the OTS link status will stay OFF (if you choose), while switching between songs in Music Finder. To remember the key transpose setting, I just save it as part of the song title. I'll admit that the Music Finder has plenty of room for improvement (enhancement), like linking a song record to a specific registration file, as well as supporting styles located on the HD), but I still find it useful & intuitive for performing 'on the fly', and I assure you that I never give my audience the impression that I'm fumbling around (dead time) looking for the next song to play. I find the Tyros navigation a big improvement, as it also allows you to call up different Registration files WHILE you're still in Music Finder, whereas the PSR2000 doesn't. In the meantime, keep us posted on how you you're doing with your Roland G1000 (after you've had it for a while: 6 months). A few years ago , I played the Roland RA800 (module version of the G800), predessor to the G1000, and did'nt find it very intuitive to navigate whatsoever, so I guess it's just different strokes for different folks. Hope the G1000 works out well for you. - Scott

Drum Remix on the XD9... and now on the SD1-ver4. It allows you to not only add realism to any SMF, but also experiment with different rhythms very conveniently. Many old SMFs, which sounded drab or boaring have now come to life. There are other ways to punch up drums and percussion, but none as quick and easy as drum remix.

Technics' Composer......

Scott,

Thanx for the update on the Tyros...
I didnt know they had improved some of the MF Features NOT found on the 2k. Will it be improved in the psr2100? Maybe they'll make a 76 key Tyros also. Scott when will you record some new TYROS Demos on your website I'm anxious to hear you on the new KB compard to your Kn5k ones.?

[This message has been edited by Dnj (edited 02-25-2003).]

Tyros - Flip up color LCD Screen!!! Way Kool!

Al

The fact that there is such a thing as an "arranger" auto-accompaniment keyboard so the only musician I have to find, schedule and get along with is myself (that's hard enough to do!).

Fran ..... the newer Korgs have no down time with either format of smf. Also, you SHOULD have all your homework done BEFORE you load the hard drive. (or puny zip in the G1000's case)
Stage is NO PLACE to be playing files of different types .....all that needs to be worked out at home. You should just hit go and be on your way ! That way .... you can devote the last few active brain cells to playing ! (Lazy, whitebearded, checkcashing, old man !)

Each arranger I've owned had different features that were the coolest for me.

The MZ2000: Midi to style creator and detailed synth editing

The PSR740: Instant style groove function

PSR2000: Better mixing section than the 740, very decent decent vocal harmonizer.

PA80: Style morphing, great sounds, excellent flexibility in editing, and the coolest of all, the ability to replace internal styles at will. Honorable mention: A joystick instead of pitch / mod wheels.

Fran, the two sequencers of the PA80 are available so that you can fade from one sequence to another. They can both play simultaneously or you can start one just before the other ends and do a fade..etc. As Dave says, there is no down time between sequences at all.


AJ

I don't know that it's THE coolest but it's among the top 3 for me....the larger tilt up color screen on the Tyros. I also like the ability to channel different channels to the 4 outputs of the Tyros, great for recording to seperate tracks, for the mix.

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

I'd have to say it's the built-in LittleLite plugs on the 9000 Pro. The lights themselves are optional but I couldn't live without them anymore. They illuminate the entire keyboard so it's easy to see all of the buttons/labels for quick access to all the other "Kool" features, and they provide enough illumination that I don't have to have a seperate light on my music. Never saw a keyboard with this feature before or since.

Tempo/Tap button on the PSR550. Just tap out the beat and the style plays at that tempo. Kool.
The Upper 1/Upper 2 button on the Roland EM20. You can switch from two different sounds easily without changing current setups. Does Yamaha have this feature (not talking about a configuration)?
Starkeeper

Yes...actually has 3 buttons for seperate voice changing on the fly.

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

Thanks Terry,
Will investigate.
Jam on
Starkeeper

For me it will always be the sequencer on my i30 having the ability to copy and paste a few measures or copy and paste the whole chorus.

And I still like the swing and jazz styles with the 8, 12 and sometimes 16 bar loops. Still am not impressed with 4 bar loops.

Of course half of my time gigging is playing my tenor. That makes a huge difference from just doing vocals. I comp chords in full keyboard mode and just play some right hand licks on turn arounds and such while doing vocals. I'm no pianists.

for me on PA80, it's chord variations.

Shiral