It was a joke!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
LOL

G serie is really well made! Compliment Roland for the big display jump quality and interface!
The GUI interface are really amazing and professional, really NOTHING to compare to the all other keyboards.

anyone know if the SEQ there is able also to realtime playback song: transpose, time Stretch and marker loop pointer?

The new Fantom G8 comes with a brand new keyboard that is said to be a DREAM to play!

top-of-the-line PHA II “Ivory Feel” keyboard. This amazing keyboard technology reproduces the real surface feel of ivory acoustic piano keys providing a familiar stability and comfort to the pianist. The white keys have a 2-piece structure which reduces the surface ‘click’ noise when playing. The newly developed keyboard surface material is designed to absorb moisture, ensuring a secure, slip-proof feel that your fingers will love

The specs look really good, but I'll reserve my comments till I try the action myself.

Since it is new, just how reliable it is will be is a factor that must be considered as well.

Yamaha has a similar material on the keys of the high end CVP line...they call it "Ivoryite"...absorbs moisture like ivory key tops used to before they were outlawed.

T'wouldn't be a surprise if Yamaha began using it on their Digital Stage Pianos...like the CP-300's successor.

Competition always improves the breed.

Also, this type of action may not make it to Roland's G-70 replacement(?)...semi-weighted seems to be the preferred choice for the G-series.

Ian

Lets face it people are playing plastic crap out there & enjoying it so what the heck does it matter......too much is being put into this 61/76/88 key thing IMO...
Are you going to sound better with it? willing to schlep the extra weight? Are your fingers aching after a gig due to the key-weight? Can you effectively use the articulated sounds properly with Piano style, or semi weighted keys,..........

what will change in YOUR music if you had 76 or 88 keys?

Donny, there are a LOT of pianists that would LOVE to be able to play with a technique they have worked on for their entire life on an arranger... But I for one feel VERY cramped trying to be pianistic on a 61.

76 is probably the only compromise that gives you this range, while still staying plastic (for non-piano sounds), but for the true pianist, it is still not enough. As the piano sounds in arrangers get better and better, to the point of being competitive with any other WS out there, it is frustrating to have the SOUND, but not the keyboard range to use it.

You all have to remember, an OMB with multiple gigs a day is not the sole purpose of an arranger. It is as flexible as a WS, capable of being used in almost ANY musical situation, at least sound-wise, so crippling its' form factor to the point where OMB technique is the ONLY good use for it is short-sighted. Fortunately, Yamaha are the ONLY manufacturer with this myopic point of view.

I believe that Yamaha are trying to leverage their FAR less popular, and FAR more expensive CVP-like arranger/piano hybrids by NOT making a 76 or 88 Tyros or PSR line. Given their market dominance in 61 arrangers, but lackluster sales of the CVP's (or whatever the acronym du jour is), I don't think this is working out too well as a business plan. The fact that they make ANY arranger keyboard with an 88 or 76 acknowledges that there IS a market for the pianist/arranger player, but they simply think this market can afford the overpriced (and arranger crippled) products they make at the moment. Facts do not bear this out...

In the meantime, all their competition acknowledges that a small, but significant minority of arranger players want a REAL arranger, with more keys. And 76 is the best compromise between weight and key-feel to be able to use as MORE than just a 'piano with an arranger section' and also more than a OMB keyboard you CAN'T play piano on....

OF COURSE, the majority want the 61 (cheap, light, and they probably are not pianists in the first place), but Korg, Ketron, Roland, MS, just about everybody OTHER than Yamaha seem somehow to be able to make a profit (you don't think for one minute that they LOSE money on these, do you? ) from a 76.

I just think Yamaha are clinging desperately to the hope that a pianist who wants a 76 or 88 arranger is going to buy one of the CVPs, rather than take a look at a REAL arranger with a 76, which they don't make.

Or you could simply say that, despite dominating in the 61 arranger market, somehow Yamaha doubt they could do the same in the 76 market....

Not a lot of corporate 'cojones' in that decision, IMO.

Diki good points all valid & make sense.
Choice for the players is all that is needed to satisfy all. We shall see.

Well Diki, it is obvious that Yamaha dominate the 61 note arranger market...but, now that we know the next Tyros will not have 76 keys...what arranger company do you think will dominate that segment of the market? Korg, Ketron, Roland, MS?

Ian the Curious

It seems Korg have their act together quite well, but once again, don't count Roland out yet. There are still many enthusiastic users, including myself, that consider the G70 the best, all around keyboard on the market. It may not excel as a OMB karaoke machine, but it does a FAR better job than most at covering ALL the bases. Which, if you are pro, or adventurous, it is a strong probability you are going to need...

Pigeonholing yourself by a poor selection of an arranger that fares badly at most thing OTHER than OMB functions is not something I'm comfortable with, being one of the few here that actually DOES 'play well with others' as well as enjoys arranger playing. I'd say both the PA2XPro and the G70 are axes I would be happy to take out on just about any gig, sadly, something I can't say about a 61 (of ANY kind)...

And, to be honest, I don't think a 76 T3 is what would help Yamaha get over the 9000Pro blues. A 76 clone of the S900, maybe with the NP30's action would be a strong seller in the 76 market, competitive price wise with the E60, and with some OS advantages (mp3 playback and recording, Mega voice guitars, synced style and SMFs, jazz chord recognition, etc.) and built in speakers.

The only thing Yamaha would need to do is tool up for the case, as buttons, display and electronics could all be shared with the S900 production line. For as little as this would cost Yamaha, it is puzzling to see them ignore a market that others are happy (and profitable enough) to exploit.