Let's try it again..besides Scott, who is a proud owner of Tyros here in the house?


After so many useless hours reading ridiculous manuals, posting questions with relatively no understandable replies, fussing around with my keyboard I think I'm almost close to selling my Triton Studio. It has now come down to how I will sell and how much. I'm curious to see how much the price range for an excellent condition Studio 61, soft bag korg carrying case, CDR installed, 2.0 Operating system, original box included with all manual intact, plus a quickloc X style keyboard stand. DEFINITELY I want to sell above 2 grand as this keyboard is in excellent condition and never leaves my living room.

9 hours I wasted today just to figure out how to download the styles, and sounds from the website to my keyboard. Posted my question on a website with almost 2000 members, no reply.

I'm thinking of moving to Tyros or just Yamaha in general at least I hope I'll get more interaction from other members.

I've been very happy with the Tyros for more than a year. As I mentioned before, I am getting a Ketron SD1 tomorrow,and have sold the Tyros--not because I don't like it, but because I'm ready to try something a little different after four straight Yamahas.
You will find the Tyros easy to operate, and the support from fellow users will be plentiful.
DonM

I also have a Tyros and find it to be the answer to a long held dream.
The dream being a great sounding board with enough outputs, and inputs, and styles and hard drive and computer connectivity. Also it's pretty easy to figure out.
I've had Roland hard disk recorder in the past and it took me two whole days plus I had to buy the video shortcut tape just to add effects to a track. So I can understand your frustration with non intuitive equipment.
The thing about the Tyros is, if I don't understand something in the manual there is plenty of help on this and other forums.

Hey KN,

The Tyros has been very, very good to me. I also have the Triton Extreme and the Motif ES 88. Those two keyboards don't come anywhere near the Tyros in terms of usability and quick setup, recording, and registrations.

I only use the Extreme and the Motif for their Sound engines. I'm actually thinking of selling both and getting rack versions and a really good controller.

Al

I am overall pleased with my Tyros after having owned it about a year and a half.

There have been some quirks that I've run into but they eventually were sorted out and everything is copacetic (satisfactory). At least for the time being anyway.

I never experienced the USB problem that a lot of Tyros owners have but I haven't used the USB to my PC since upgrading to Windows XP. And that's been close to a year now.

If you decide to get a Tyros make sure you get the new version that has the USB fix already in place. If you are unsure which is old stock or which is the new stock you can call or email Steve Deming of Yamaha U.S who most likely will be able to tell you if the Tyros you're interested in is the new version with the USB fix or not.

Also, if you're in no hurry to get an Arranger you may want to wait another 10 months or so to get the Tyros II which will most likely be introduced at the Summer NAMM 2005 session and available in time for the holidays. It will be the second generation Tyros with many improvements (hopefully ) and possibly even a 76 key version will be available.

If you need a Board ASAP for gigging, etc. then the Tyros is a fierce competitor with outstanding sounds and is extremely well laid out for Live performance use. And with 128 notes of Polyphony you will have a hard time running out of it (if at all).

OTOH, the Korg Pa1X/PRO is also a very good sounding Board and has many great features plus you have the option to get the 76 key version PRO or the 61 key version with excellent sounding built-in speakers.

Korg is doing a great job of supporting the Pa1X/PRO with OS updates and at www.korgpa.com there is a good resource site for the Pa1X/PRO. If you don't mind it having only 62 notes of Polyphony with no option to add polyphony with expansion boards, etc. then the Korg may suit you better. The action on the Pa1X/PRO is considered one of the best by people who have played it. Although I personally am delightfully satisfied with the keybed action on my Tyros. It is not heavy (the Tyros that is) and has just the right amount of support and action for my taste. The Tyros' keybed action is well suited for playing other instruments on the keyboard besides just the Piano[s]. If fact if the keybed action is too heavy you may find it rather difficult to play fast solo pieces with, let's say, a Guitar patch or Trumpet, etc. If you play mostly piano then the heavier action may be more to your liking.

Another thing I really like about the Korg Pa1X/PRO is the Styles. They sound more like a real live Band compared to the Yammie Styles. The Yamaha Styles can sound somewhat mechanical (too refined) at times whereas the Korg styles seem to have more of a natural real live Band sound to them. The reason I think that is, is because Yamaha creates their Styles using a different 'computer based' method than how Korg creates theirs. Making the Styles sound too refined, i.e. mechanical or too rigid and not like a real Band would sound. That is one of my pet peeves with the Tyros or any Yamaha Arranger for that matter. But the Styles still sound very good even though maybe a little too refined for me. But you may find just the opposite is true for your tastes, where you would like them actually better than the Korg styles. Different strokes for different folks they say.

Of course the new Roland G70 is out but it won't appear on the U.S shores until later this year and I can't really comment on it until I've had a chance to demo it in person. But early reports coming back have been a mixed bag with most of the reports leaning on the negative side I think.

Happy shopping on whatever you decide to eventually get!

PS: My advice is spend inordinate amounts of time with the Boards you're considering to buy. Give them all a thorough workout not only playing them but going through their respective features and functions. If you are big on using Midi files for any reason, take Midi files with you on a Disk, etc. and play them through the keyboards to see how they sound and how easy and extensive the Midi capability is on each respective Board.

Best regards,
Mike

Hi KN - I have a Tyros and a Ketron XD9.

In my opinion, the Tyros is probably the easiest (top of the range) keyboard to learn as you can just sit down and play straight away as the different internal styles can automatically select a range of appropriate solo voices which can also change with each of the 4 variations. The same applies to the new PSR3000 as well.

Also, the music finder database has a big and varied range of songs that you can choose from and it will simply set up the correct rythmn and tempo when you select one of the songs and start to play. This is a good quick way to introduce you to the many styles and voices.

Of course you can also customise or add styles, voices, multipads, effects etc and setting up your own registrations to use these is a also cinch.

Just make sure you like the sounds and feel of the keyboard. Most of the sounds are pretty good, some are great and a few are not so good. Depends what you like to play and hear - you really should try yourself for a while first.

When I first got the Tyros I nearly sold it straight away because it wouldn't do some of the things that the Ketron does especially for pop and more modern stuff. I eventually realised that there isn't a keyboard made that does everything I want (Unless it's the G70 which I haven't tried yet). I regularly play my old dad's KN6500 and his friends KN7000 and there are bits of those that I love and others that I hate.

There are other factors that may or may not affect you. I play out and can just take my XD module and a lightweight 61 note keboard plus logitech Z2200 speakers and I can almost get everything in my pockets (well in my car boot anyway) However, I can also control the XD from the Tyros when I play the types of gigs that require me to use it along with much more powerful amplification if needed.

My set up gives me redundancy (backup) as I have a choice of two different systems that I can take (or both). I know that people like Gary have another 3000 standing by but I prefer the variety that my setup gives

Of course, if you don't gig out then the above is not applicable but I guess my point is that you need to carefully consider what your requirements are as these are generally not just sounds and styles but also things like navigation, learning curve, functionality etc. and if you do gig then it's also weight and ease of set up too.

Have fun choosing a new keyboard.


Regards - KF