Hi all!

After, a very long delay I managed to purchase a S700 keyboard. I was informed by many here to go for the S900 however, I just could not swing the extra $5-600 extra. My new keyboard will be here Monday or Tues and I hope it is superior to my aged PSR2000!

S900 features:
Ariculation voices - I wanted these!
More styles - not necessary
More voices - can live without
Color LCD - does not matter to me
vga output - would never use
text add option - would never use
Vocal harmonizer - would never use
128 poly - 96 should be enough


I found after looking at the added features that the only option I really would want are the Super Articulation Voices. I could not justify the increase in price of the board for that option only. So, I felt confident the S700 would suit my needs.

Questions: How many of you actually use the articulation voices on your S900? Are they used as a normal voice?

How many of you create midi files using the Mega voices?

Just curious as it appears the new keyboards boast features but I never really here of anyone who faithfully takes advantage of.

I listened for months to the samples online of each keyboard the S900 SA voices are without questions remarkable.

Thanks,

-Linda

Hi Linda,

The hype about the SA voices? Believe it...they are remarkable.

Having said that, they do require a change in playing technique and phrasing to sound at their best.

I would have purchased my S900 for just the SA Sax and SA Concert Guitar, two voices I use a lot....the other SA voices were just wonderful extras.

I usually make sure that any styles I create/assemble use the mega voices wherever possible as they do heighten the realism.

I don't use the Mic and Vocal Harmony, at least on gigs, but it is a great tool for trying out songwriting ideas at home, and a real hoot for a party and a bit Karaoke when the occasion presents itself.

I have several friends who purchased the S700 and are very pleased with it's sound and performance, and it is certainly a marked step up from the PSR-2000.

I believe you will be more than satisfied with your new S700, and I'll forward to your comments about it.

Congratulations,

Ian

I got my s700 last week I also owned a psr 2000.

I love the 700 the revoice feature revoices your smf to use mega voices right out of the box, I didn't have to do anything. I thought I would need to use the mega enhancer software but I didn't need to.

I bought it for many of the reasons you mention, I already have a vocal setup and a recording setup so I didn't want to pay the extra money for the inferior harmonizer, although I thought it was great fun on the psr 2000.

The SA voices sound nice but I probably don't have the skill level or the inclination to learn to use them.
I use the board mainly for backing tracks. The sweet, cool live voices and the drawbars are nice. And the styles are better than the older board.
The big improvements for me are the usb stick, no more floppies! And of course the sound



[This message has been edited by mikeathome1 (edited 07-05-2008).]

Each SA voice requires a different skill level to use them with accuracy....you can't expect to just play them correctly out of the box...these voices must be played just like the actual instrument to get the real benefits out of them.....but when implemented right they are simply astonishing. With the new T3 coming out and presumably a New S series behind it used T2 & S900's will be out there for a nice price not too far off in the future also.....enjoy your new KB's Yamaha is on a roll!!

Congratulations Linda. That's a great board and you'll really have some fun soon

The SA are great, but the stock 700 guitars, etc are fantastic on their own.

The mega-voices sound pretty good on my 3000. However sequencing them from scratch on a PC can be very laborious (especially for acoustic guitar tracks) so I usually do the sequencing using a "normal" voice until I'm happy with the notes and then run the midi file through MegaEnhancer.

Another thing to note then using megavoices is that if you later decide to transpose the midi file you have to take care not to transpose any megavoice information held in the upper octaves.

Enjoy!

John

Hi everyone!

I received my S700 late yesterday and proceeded to spend the rest of the day and night trying out everything I could. I am pleased that it is a major update to my PSR2000. Sounds are greatly improved and the features like IDC I will use alot.

Mega voices worked just as reported here right out of the box! It came with the latest OS installed 1.10.

I love the new look and the sleek style of the board and keyboard feel.

I did not like that the USB port was directly behind the music stand however, a usb extender fixed that for me and works fine.

I have just scratched the surface of the board and now need to dig into the ugh! the manual.

Thank you guys for your comments I read this forum almost everyday and value the musicians expertise in this field a great deal. I have never made a keyboard purchase without reading this forum first!

I know I will have more questions soon!

Having fun with my new S700!
-Linda

I'm glad you like the new board. Don't forget to share any tips or tricks with us (me) as I don't get to spend as much time with it as I wish I could.

I have just scratched the surface of the board and now need to dig into the ugh! the manual.

I am so sorry that you scratched your brand new board. I'm happy to hear that despite this scratch, hopefully not too serious, that you are enjoying the board.

Seriously, good luck with your purchase. It is a major improvement over the PSR2000. Now you can save stuff onto a usb.

Beakybird

When I made some BigBand registrations for Ty2 I got a request for the "same" for the PSR S700.

Obviously they can't be the same but I translated them as best I could with the available voices. If any PSR owners would like to add to their collection you're welcome to download them from here:
http://www.box.net/shared/lr94haw0k4

There is a ReadMe file in the Download giving a fair amount of detail.


John


[This message has been edited by jwyvern (edited 07-08-2008).]

[This message has been edited by jwyvern (edited 07-09-2008).]