I have managed to try a Tyros 3 today at a music store in Belgium (where I am temporarily working) and now I have mixed feelings about it.

I've spend about an hour trying the keyboard, which was hooked to the Tyros TRS-MS02 speakers (the same I am using in my Tyros 2 at home, so the sound quality was compared with a similar output).

In my opinion (and please note that I am an amateur, who plays at home for self entertainment and enjoyment after normal working days), the improvement from Tyros 2 to Tyros 3 is not so evident as some have reported here (and I read this forum every single day...).

I appreciated the layout, key bed quality and specially the display (the biggest improvement in my opinion). The new SA2 voices are ok, but sound availability is not a concern for me as I have other sources with good and enough sounds (like the G70, Triton, SY-85 and Sonic Cell).

I was expecting some improvement in the overall sound quality and the new drum sets, but besides the new SA2 and some synth and pad voices I couldn’t see any improvement. I left the store with the impression that the sound was very similar to what I already have with the Tyros 2.

My registrations (saved on a USB stick) worked smoothly, so I don't know what's the requirement for using the Tyros 2-Tyros 3 converter made available by YPKO. All my old styles worked well.

The new multi-pads from Tyros 3 can be used in Tyros 2, but the styles are not compatible (my Tyros 2 reports "Data hasn't been loaded properly").

If the new Tyros 3 had the equivalent to my G70 make-up tools (which allows me to manipulate the styles to a big extent) and the possibility to individually select octaves for the UP1, UP2 and UP3 voices (like in the G70), I would probably trade my Tyros 2 with a Tyros 3.

But now I am not so sure if I will change it.

And here comes my request for your usually honest and sound advice:

The price of the Tyros 3 in Belgium is 3499 Euros and they would trade my Tyros 2 for 1000 Euros. At the end, I would have to pay 2499 Euros.

Do you think this is a good trade, or should I keep my Tyros 2 (which sounds good enough to my ears when compared with the Tyros 3) and save the money to buy a PA800 when I will return to my home country next year (where I have seen a P800 in a store for 1800 Euros)?

Your advice will be much appreciated.

Thanks,

Carlos


[This message has been edited by Swissman (edited 10-25-2008).]

Keep the Tyros 2: 2499 euros to upgrade to the Tyros 3 is WAY too much and not worth the while. With the same amount of money (or even less) you can buy another keyboard and have access to a different set of sounds and styles.

Hi Carlos - I'm like you. Sittin' on the fence and not so sure. I won't stand to lose quite as much as you if I upgrade to the T3, but I expect that I would lose maybe $1000 to upgrade.

I haven't had the opportunity to see the T3 or play one, but the demos I have seen are impressive. Of course, hearing new styles is always impressive, and those SA2 voices are indeed a nice improvement.

In the end, I'd have to agree w/you....that the T2 still holds a lot of value. As a result, it's a difficult decision for sure. One that you will have to make based on carefully weighing what you are going to give up and what you are going to gain, and how much you will use the new features that T2 doesn't provide.

Best of luck w/your decision and keep us posted!

Randy

Keep the T2. If you cannot hear the difference and the differences that are there are not noticeable or needed. There is absolutely no reason for you to buy the Tyros 3.

Feel good!!! You just saved a ton of money.
Pick up a Motif XS or another workstation modu;e if you want something new and different to add to what you already have

In your case $1000 is worth the move in my opinion if you like the Yamaha boards in general.. Double the wave ROM, The sliders, hard drive, TFT screen and 200 plus more voices,100 new styles, the revamped EFX engine allowing separate EFX for each instrument in a style, intelligent guitar voicing...

749 Voices + 20 Organ Flutes + 480 XG Voices + 256 GM2 Voice + 35 Drum/SFX kits
23 mega vs 18
11 SA2 vs None
53 SA1 vs 42

More cool,live....Premium voices and voice pack expandable.


Verses

504 (486 Normal + 18 Mega) + 10 Organ Flute + 480 XG + 256 GM2 + 22 Drum kits + 6 SFX kits


yeah I think $1000 is worth it,The revamped EFX engine is worth 1/2 that alone




[This message has been edited by Kingfrog (edited 10-25-2008).]

Why the urge to upgrade?
Are you not completely satisfied in the Tyros2? If not...what is it lacking?

I buy a lot of boards too, but none to replace my choice (G70)..I buy only as a back up or a new toy...

I do not understand swapping out one Tyros for another....As many have mentioned not a lot of differences...it looks like folks are looking for something they don't have in their current board...

Just an observation...don't slam me , I am not in the mood.. I have to drive a long distance in the rain to my gig....ahh, but there sits my G70.. ..waiting for me..

Hey Guys - don't get me wrong - I LOVE the T2!!! Next year (yeah, when I retire, right?) HA HA.... I am going to record a dozen or so of my original songs. So having the best sounds from that standpoint is appealing to me. And the styles I would love to have too.

It's just like drivin' a car. The new gadgets are neat to have. I eventually may decide to upgrade, but for now, I'm staying w/the T2. And I'm still drivin' a '94 Mazda pickup!


Randy

If you like what you hear from the Tyros2, and you cannot hear a significant difference between the T2 and the T3, there is absolutely no reason on earth to upgrade. Additionally, I can almost guarantee that within the next six months someone will have converted all the new T3 styles for use with the T2, S900 and PSR series of keyboards. They may not be exactly the same because of the difference in sound engines, but there will be enough for you to have fun with.

Good luck on whatever you decide upon,

Gary

You've answered your own questions, it seems. I'd say keep the T2 and add the PA800 (a board I have and absolutely love) and you'll have the best of two worlds

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Faivpz7cjo8&feature=related

why upgrade?

The Tyros 2 has Style Creator and you can change octaves on the Tyros 2 by presseing buttons F, G or H. Press Voice Set>Part Octave>Save. I'm sure the T3 has this also.

Not seen Michel Voncken demo Tyros 3, maybe he's not
a Yammiefan anymore?

GJ

Gunnar,
maybe he is currently demoing another Yamaha product. Anyway, Peter Baartmans is a much better player, in my opinion.
Ciao!

Carlos,
I have a Tyros 2 as well; here in Italy I could buy a Tyros 3 for 3000 euros and sell the T2 for 1300-1500 euros, but even a difference of 1500 euros is not justified to my eyes. Maybe it's because right now I am playing mainly the PA2X Pro, but I would never pay more than 400-500 euros for the upgrade.

Three more considerations:
- if you shop on the Internet you can find better prices for the T3 than 3499 euros
- not all those who upgraded from T2 to T3 are happy with what they have (just check a dedicated Yamaha Forum like YPKO (link here )
- if you wait six months something will no doubt happen: either Yamaha will reduce the price or the first T3s will start to show on eBay.

Good things happen to those who have the patience to wait!

[This message has been edited by Dreamer (edited 10-25-2008).]

Yeah, wise words.


Andrea, if you have SD1, G-70 and PA2X, and for some reason or another had
to grab only one when leave in a hurry, which one would you take?

GJ


[This message has been edited by Gunnar Jonny (edited 10-25-2008).]

Bottom line is... what ELSE could you get with another $1500 bucks or so (T2 used are not exactly the hot ticket item).

A Nord Rack?
An M50?
More lights and some subs?
30 gigs worth of paying a GREAT singer $50 bucks more?
4 Sonic Cells
2 GW-8's
A partridge in a pear tree....

Money well spent....

Gunnar,
I have a G-70 and a PA2X and in the past I had the SD1; if I had to choose just one, I would take the PA2X.
Why?
1- Because I have expanded the RAM to 256 Mb
and put inside all my favorite sounds from the G-70, the Tyros 2, the Fantom XR, the Motif ES rack and my old Akai samplers plus other assorted sounds from libraries like Giga, Zero-G and so on.
2- Because it allows me to play sampled grooves in sync with the style (as multipads or rhythm tracks) and this gives the styles a realism that only the SD1 had.

These are the two main reasons and they are so important TO ME that the only other keyboard I could consider in the future is the Audya, if it ever comes out and keeps the promises.

Ciao!
A.

Are you managing that sampler load for live use, Dreamer, or is it just for home use?

By the time I jack in most of what I'd REALLY want for live use, I'd be spending half the set with a dead keyboard while it loaded...

Diki,
three minutes to load 200 or so Mb of samples is perfectly acceptable for me, especially since I only play at home. I have managed to squeeze all my favorite samples in that amount of memory so don't need to load new sets while I play.
If I had to play live, I would load my samples before the show (of course) and then carry an UPS unit in case of a sudden, short, power failure. For longer power failures (like in case of fire or hurricanes... just kidding ) nobody is going to blame you for having to wait three more minutes while you reload.

Gunnar,
one more reason why I would choose the PA2X is that it makes also for a perfect master keyboard (at least compared with the other TOTL arrangers).
You can control up to four external units (assigned to the Lower, Upper 1, Upper 2 and Upper 3 parts) and send bank and program changes to four different midi channels. The coolest thing is that you can store these settings in your Songbook, so every time you call a different entry or song you have all your modules set up to play the right sounds at the right volumes...and the same thing applies for all the parts of a style: don't like a Korg drumkit or bass? Just use an external one!
This keyboard is so deep that, after ten months with it, I have learned maybe one fourth of what I should have...

[This message has been edited by Dreamer (edited 10-26-2008).]

Thanks Andrea.

I had a feeling that it would be the PA2X, thank's for the "in deepth" explanation of why.

Regarding Audya, yes, I'm also waiting for the real thing. Unfornately I was stupid enough
to sell the SD1 because there was reason to believe the release of Audya now was quite near
regarding to different websites (dealers).
Now I'm more unsure, Ketron sure don't give much information, even if they started the hype
nearly two years ago.
Anyway, if no Audya shows up, hopefully someone going to sell a SD1+, I really regret that
I sold the SD1, and miss the live feeling styles a lot. (Got me a lesson to remember...)
Maybe a closer look at PA2X would be wise as well.

Cheers
GJ


Btw,
Swissman, sorry for "hijack" your tread.
Myself, even if I never going to buy a Yamaha, would wait as several posts say here.
The big question are: Is the different as big as it is worth rush for, specially as
long as you have T2 and more already.

Thank you all for taking your time to give me some advice on this issue. The main issue here was looking for your experience concerning the trading of the Tyros 2 for a Tyros 3 by paying 2499 Euros, as some have trade keyboards on a regular basis.

I think Kingfrog didn’t understand the price I had to pay for the tyros 3. For 1000 Euros and my Tyros 2 I would probably upgrade. But 2499 Euros is way too much for the upgrade.

For Scott Langholff: Yes, Tyros 2 has Style Creator, but the Make-Up Tools on my G70 are so much easier and intuitive use that is almost impossible comparing the two keyboards. As for the octaves issue, the Tyros 2 does not include the possibility of editing octaves “on the fly” like in G70, where his can be done in the main page, without the requirement for opening additional pages for edition.

I am now curious with a comment from Dreamer:

quote:
__________________________________________________
Originally posted by Dreamer:
“The coolest thing is that you can store these settings in your Songbook, so every time you call a different entry or song you have all your modules set up to play the right sounds at the right volumes...and the same thing applies for all the parts of a style: don't like a Korg drum kit or bass? Just use an external one!”
___________________________________________________________

This is something I would like to know more about, as I have some nice drum kits in my Korg Triton and Sonic Cell (and even in the Yamaha SY-85) that could be used if I knew how to do it (I am not an expert on MIDI and any clarification would be nice).

Andrea, could you please elaborate a little bit more on the steps required to do this? Is this possible with the G70 as well? I would appreciate your time if you could give me some explanation on this issue.

Thank you all for your help. For 2499 Euros and my Tyros 2 I will not buy a Tyros 3 for sure (I will save the money for a PA800 or a decent 88 keys controller/stage piano).

Carlos

Carlos,
the simplest thing you can do is
1- connect with a midi cable the midi output of the G-70 to the midi input of the Sonic Cell (I say the Sonic Cell because, being made by Roland like the G-70, should be the most compatible unit, but you could try the same thing with the Triton or the SY-85).
Then you should
2- press the Menu button of the G-70 and the "Midi" field on the touchscreen and choose "Midi" (and not USB) as the preferred output. At this point you should
3- enter the Midi Transmit menu and deselect all the channels except # 10 (which is the drum channel).
If you use the Sonic Cell, you are now more or less set; I don't know this module, so have no idea if it has a choice between Single and Multi modes, but if this is the case, choose "Multi". Start to play a style on the G-70 and raise the volume of the Sonic Cell until you hear the drums playing.
I don't know how the Sonic Cell switches between different drum sets, so it's better if you have a look at the manual, but at least -being manufactured by Roland- there should be no mismatch between notes (in other words you shouldn't hear a handclap playing instead of a hi-hat and so on, like could happen with the Triton and the SY-85).
I think that you should really look up the manual for more details, but I hope that at least now you have a basic understanding of how things work.
Please, don't hesitate to ask if you have more doubts.
Ciao
A.

Andrea,

Thank you very much for your clear and quick response. Apparently, this is a basic MIDI procedure but I am not familiar with MIDI and your help was much apreciated.

I will try this with the G70 and SY-85 (as these keyboards are at home in Portugal while the other equipments are with me in Belgium) and should work with some tweaking.

Thanks again.

Ciao,

Carlos