Im about to buy a psr s900. Any technical info on choosing the correct usb stick? Should i get 1,2 or 4 gig? Will any brand work? what items do u get in a brand new psr900 besides the manual?

Please note, I'm commenting as a 3k user.

The theory is that any "standard" USB stick should work. In practice we've had reports here that some have not cooperated at all.

I'm using a bargain basement unbranded 1 gig stick with my 3k, no problem. I've also hooked up a 20 gig hard notebook hard drive using a USB 1.1 external case, and that also works fine (drawing power solely from the 3k down the usb wire). However 1 gig is proving more than adequate so I'm using that day to day.

Any capacity should work; however you should always format the media on the keyboard (even if it comes ready formatted).

Also I would steer clear of any sticks that incorporate security features because the one's I've seen tend to appear on a PC as a pair of devices. I've seen that confuse a PC so I'd not be surprised if the Yamaha gave up completely!

So I'd get a cheap unbranded non-secure, non-flashy, no extras stick and see how it goes. If you intend using the "record to audio" feature then get the biggest capacity you can afford. Most "branded" sticks have the same chips inside anyway!

I'd assume that the s900 has the same issue as the 3k / 1.5k keyboards in that you can only have a maximum of 250 (ish) entries in a single directory of the storage device.

The manual cautions that not ALL work. I can tell you what DOES work, because I use the following and they work:
RiDATA
Memorex
Lexar
I'm sure there's many more.

In regard to what ships with the S900 - manual, music stand, power pack, Accessory CD-Rom. When I purchased mine, they also were shipping it with Cubase AI. Not sure they are including that anymore.

Ok thanks guys. Will purchase the cheap one. Will go for 2 gigs. Have a great day.

Rolandfan, see my post titled "Bargain....".

Since it works on the T2, I have to assume it works on the S900.

chas

I suspect that "The manual cautions that not ALL work" because if they explicitly state universal compatability then it becomes Yamaha's problem if a specific stick fails on the keyboard when the same stick will work on a PC.

I cant find your post titled "bargain" .There is a brand i can get called "team fusion" but i never heard of it before. I doubt they included cubase with the south african shipment of s900's

On the other hand, it could be argued that with the prices of memory sticks today, it could be false economy to buy a cheap off brand when a brand name could prove more reliable down the road. Considering your total investment, what does it amount to ?
http://www.amazon.com/SanDisk-Cruzer-Titanium-SDCZ7-2048-A10-Package/dp/B000EWHH7I


Bernie

Corsair makes some of the best Thumb-drives I have ever used....well made & super reliable....they're all I use in my keyboards. Check em out.
http://www.corsair.com/products/voyager.aspx

Be careful of USB scicks that have "U3" on them. Had trouble with one of these in a Tyros2. Was a Cruzer brand, I hate U3!

They come with some files and programs on them. You can delete them and then they are o.k.
DonM

since I have only MACs, I was not able to easily delete the U3 stuff. I did take it to a friend's PC and although I had to download a newer program (the uninstaller), I was eventually able to delete the U3. There is a bug where the U3 installer, if it sees other slots (even if no device in 'em, such as as a multi-slot card reader), the uninstaller fails.

I had to go thru some hoops on this friend's PC, but I finally got rid of the U3 stuff - and now that stick works OK on my S900.

I have 2 San Disk cruzers with the U3 that do not work on my Tyros, though I have not tried downloading the uninstaller that Jim mentions. Glad I read the post and will try to get rid of the remaining U3 stuff.

The U3 sticks are also troublesome on my VR3 FM transmitter that I use to play music in the car over the FM radio. Sometimes they work and then just cut out. I also occasionally have trouble with the store brand Best Buy sticks I have ( both of them with no U3 ). None of my other sticks give me any problems at all.

There are enough inexpensive usb sticks out there that don't have the U3 system. I'd recommend staying away from the ones that do, unless you don't mind the extra work in downloading and using an uninstaller.

AJ

AJ, I use SanDisk Cruzers without problems..of course I do not own Yamaha products, and mostly use the USB drives with computers..
I do use only SanDisk SD cards and Compact flash cards with all my other gear..G70, and Fuji cameras etc..

I use PQI pen drivers (4GB and 8GB) and Kingston 4GB without problems.
Chico