Hey Everyone...

Just want to hear different opinions of what board and WHY you would personally buy with $2000 TOTAL

Thanks Steve

Since Yamaha stopped making the PSR-3000, the PSR-S900 would fit the bill. Could use some improvements, but they all do, even the higher priced spread.

Cheers,

Gary

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Travlin' Easy

A used Roland G70...Great key feel and range..
Great harmoniser..
Great piano..
Great organ..
Great styles..
Great SMF play and edit..

The list goes on and on..like great quality construction..Great exercise..

I have to agree with Gary...get a new Yamaha PSR-S900...great sounds and styles and other cool features like Super Articulated and Mega voices, audio to USB recording...plus you get a warranty.

Best bang for the buck out there.

Ian

Steve what style of music do you play..

DNJ

Gonna use it almost exclusively as a songwriting tool...I don't do many 'cover' tunes..

Most of my "piano" songs are Contemporary Ballads....I also write alot of Praise & Worship tunes on the keyboard...

I'll also use the board as an accompaniment to my acoustic guitar tunes which are along the same vein

Steve A

[This message has been edited by Steve A (edited 03-10-2008).]

Steve,
Get the PSR S900 and you'll be happy. Like Ian said, it's the best bang for the buck. I was playing mine today and am so pleased with the way it sounds. There are several worship styles on the S900 that work great for P&W songs. I realize you write your own - the styles fit current popular worship songs, but you'll still find them helpful. Lots of ballad styles, too - and lots more available online.

Easy OS, realistic voices, useable styles, and way under $2000...got mine for $1399. If you're using it for songwriting, you'll find the recording process quite intuitive. Plus you can combine keyboard sounds with your live guitar and record via the USB recorder and save the entire song as a .wav file on a USB stick...very cool.

Tim

[This message has been edited by CoasterTim (edited 03-10-2008).]

[This message has been edited by CoasterTim (edited 03-10-2008).]

steve,

you should be aware of a (very) important factor: the construction and keybed quality. yamaha is great with styles, if you like the approach, but the key feel can really draw you back...
G70 on the other hand is as heavy as a tank, but quality is different alltogheter.

there are "in between"s:
roland e60, korg pa500, used pa800, used tyros, and some others.

my advice: get into a store, stay there and test for two-three hours, make a decision, go back after two days, revise or strengthen your decision and then buy!

goodluck!

I agree with Adimatis. I just went from a Korg PA800 to a Roland G-70, and it is like night and day. Wheras the Korg is a good players machine, if you don't need 76 keys, the Roland keybed and general construction is far superior. There is 10 lbs difference in weight due to quality construction and 76 keys.

Bernie

Difference in Prices:

YAMAHA PSR S900 Most places RETAIL $1,599.00

ROLAND G70 Most places internet and stores Retail from $3,059.00 To 3,399.00

The Original post by Steve was What $2,000.00 TOTAL could Buy?.




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mdorantes

read carefully...

fran' suggestion was an USED g70. that's why it becomes an option.
i am not posting ebay links, but you can find it for about 2000 $.

[This message has been edited by adimatis (edited 03-11-2008).]

If you have a computer and use software to record your songs then any of the medium range yammies will do the job adequately . If you compose onboard the instrument and sequence then you will need a more detailed sequencer. You cant go wrong with the Korg PA range especially for contemporary praise and worship style music. There are a few used PA1X's out there as people are moving over to the PA2X. In my view this is a great opportunityy to pick one up for under $2000.

Bernie, make that 16 pounds difference...a lot more quality..

Right you are. It didn't seem that much heavier. Oh well, it doesn't bother me or my Rock N Roller

Once again, read carefully...

He is interested in Praise and Worship styles, and songwriting. I think that the S900 is probably the leader in that style, and also its' 'songwriter' styles.

Another consideration is whether he plays guitar himself, or not... Once again, without a guitarist, I would recommend the S900. But he says he plays acoustic guitar, so possibly the drums or piano get more important. Maybe an E60, then.

Finally, no mention of wanting to play live, or needing a 'player's' keyboard, so the 'live' sound of the Roland's and Ketron's may work against him. The Yamaha's sound very compressed, CD-like, which might work better for demos...

So, to wrap up, the two I would have you check out would be the S900, for it's styles and polished sound, and the E60, for it's 76 keyboard and wonderful piano sounds, live drum sounds, and good MIDI integration. Both would leave about $400 over from your initial budget. If you don't already have a good DAW program, Cubase could be bought (at least the middle level) with the remainder...

Don't overlook the Korg PA500 or even a used PA800. Just maybe you'll be an odd duck like me and appreciate the beauty it offers.