Would anybody be able to tell me how long it takes to save an audio file on the PSR s900. I have a Tyros 2 and the file saves almost instantly to the Tyros format but when I go to export it to a USB stick in wav format to make a CD it takes forever. If I have say 5 songs to export to the USB stick It will take proboably 15 minutes. It seems to me that the time of the song, say 2:40, it will take this long to convert it to a wav file. Any answers will be appreciated. The answer will depend on whether I keep the Tyros2 or not. Thanks for your help.

You would sell a great arranger with super sound & features like the Tyros 2 just because it takes a few more minutes to transfer recorded songs to a TD ....whats the rush..? I doubt the S900 is any faster.

Well you are right about sound and feaures. The thing is, right now it's a little overkill for me after I finish the childrens play I'm doing with it. I mainly play in church for a children's choir and a lot of rehearsals are only 15-20 minutes. I have to carry the keyboard and an amp for this short time. i thought I could use the money I got from the Tyros 2 towards a PA system for band use. BTW I have a Motif es7 to use in band situatiosns. If you're interested in buying it it will be for sale after the weekend of 4/25/08. Thanks for the reply.

The S900 records instantly, and it records directly to the USB drive, so it is already saved. It doesn't even have an internal hard drive.
DonM

Disk operations on a lot of Yamaha's are glacial, at best. Try using your T2's sampler one day... Load time is abysmal, but try SAVING samples to disk. Might as well go to bed and wake up next day! Great features are one thing, but without the peripheral structure to be able to use them easily, might as well not have them at all.

This is one area that the T3 had better REALLY improve, because a sampler to an OMB is only as good as how fast it can load up whatever you need for ANY song in your repertoire. If you've got five minutes of dead time to load in a set of loops, or a Uillean pipes sample for a requested Irish tune, you're just not going to use it...

Yamaha apparently sped up sample load time on the new MotifXS's. Let us hope that that technology gets ported over to the T3. I would be VERY surprised if more than a tiny handful of people used the T2's sampler, live...

[This message has been edited by Diki (edited 04-13-2008).]

Diki do many OMB arranger player even use the sampler feature? I never have nor do I know how.

Well, if your arranger has one, there's always the manual, and the forum...

But, like I said, arranger use is usually about improv, requests, and drop of a hat song lists. A slow sample load time can only hinder this. Basically, you are forced to pre-load what you THINK you might need at the start (and the T2 takes HOURS to fully load the sampler if maxxed out). Even just a nice 64MB piano set is probably 5-6 minutes alone, and the RAM can go to 512MB or more. Do the math...

It's OK if you just play alone at home, and have time to burn (or take a shower!), but put an audience around you, and no-one is going to wait ten minutes for a song (while your keyboard is DEAD!). The arranger player's mentality about arranger features is "I want it ALL... and I want it NOW!" (Thank you, Freddy Mercury!)

If I can't have it NOW, I don't want it...!

Thanks for the replies. I think I have my answer now.

I've had several keyboards with samplers, and I hate to say the only things I've used them for are gimmick or joke things. If the keyboard doesn't have the sounds I need, I won't buy it or at least won't keep it long!
I'm probably passing up some technology that I shouldn't be, but that's the way it has been.
DonM

Sorry for getting a bit OT, Prelapse.

Rather than change your arranger, why not consider a Zoom H2 to record the keyboard? Instant, easy to use, immediate transfer (USB2 speeds) to the computer, mikes built-in if you want to record live audio... (MP3 playback if you use tracks)

To be honest, it's FAR easier to use and MUCH faster than the T2's built in recorder (and higher quality, too (goes all the way up to 24/96 .wav if you want!). Rather than trade away a great keyboard, perhaps this under $200 solution is what you need?