Hi Guy`s ,

Time to talk about the T-3 !!

After 3 months of playing it , I find the following "Good & Bad "

The Good:

Fast key-bed , I mean ultra fast and smooth , Gr8 action.
So far the best of any arranger that I have played.

Guitar sounds , fun and very realistic.

I`m learning to dig the piano sounds , but still , it is no Roland.

So far the organ sounds are nothing new , at least to me.
They are good , but so is a B3 , and the T-3 is no B3 !
But they work for me.

The screen is very nice and easy to read.

So far all the buttons and sliders still have a solid feel.

The Bad:

Using the T-3 speakers, I find that they are holding me back.
Could sound a lot better with better speakers ! ( of course we knew that already )

The "Power Button" on the rear , bad idea.

Lettering for various buttons and functions are too hard to read to a moderate light setting. ( Sometimes my arms are not long enough either !! LOL , that is what happens over 50 )

Could use a lot more SA 2 voices , no where near enough.
Based on the cost of the KB.

Paint , I have heard that the T-2 had paint issues , I hope the T-3 has a better paint job.

Well that is about it , so please add your thoughts !!

Many thanks !

Later,

Gary 



[This message has been edited by jedi (edited 01-03-2009).]

Disclaimer: Studio use only.

The Good

TONS of Styles
Voices and Voice Pack upgrades.
Screen RGB out
Hard Disk and dual USB device ports one Host.
LAN Port for Direct Internet connect.
Controller options
Sliders under the Screen
EFX
Compression choices
MIX quality
Keyboard feel for a no weighted board. Far better then the PSR900.
Much more solid feel then the PA2x I had prior

The BAd

MIDI implementation takes some getting used to.
Harmonizer (okay sparingly for some BG vocals with lots of precessing, but wouldn't use live)

Its what I expected and does what I need it to do, However it compliments the softsyths rather then take their place in some cases.
Would love another 1/4" foot controller input



[This message has been edited by Kingfrog (edited 01-03-2009).]

I agree KF , "Studio Only" , I could not see the T-3 as a "working - make a living" KB.

I would like to see Yamaha come out with an "all-in-one" A/KB , like the S900 , but with the sounds and FSX key-bed.

That I would gig with !

You are soooo correct , midi files need a lot of work to play right on the T-3 , unless of course you buy them from IDC.

5 bucks for a midi file ???? I don`t think so , unless I didn`t have it already and I really needed it.

Macintosh compatibility should be a must , but it`s not , I don`t think Yamaha will ever release real Mac software.

Still have not picked up a mic yet , but I am not expecting any changes since I had the Y2K.

Later

Gary 

After several weeks now I'm starting to get used to the T3 a bit more.
So far:

THE GOOD;
Screen display nice.

Wind instrument SA2s good stuff.

Guitars are fun.

Organ sounds have much more bite than the T2.

THE ORDINARY;
The over all sound (notwithstanding the new and better voices) is only marginally better, if at all, when compared side by side with my tweaked T2 IMO.

Some of the Music Finder Set-ups and OTS are inappropriate and poorly balanced (a little rushed to market), IMO the T2 was more thoroughly finished.

Quite a few of my registrations have not transferred well to the T3 despite the use of Yamaha’s conversion program and thus I find I’m using quite a number of the T2 styles to manually restore these registrations to their previous functionality.

The layout could have been much better i.e. the "Registration Bank" should have been placed next to the sliders at least and the data entry wheel moved beside the screen on the right.

THE BAD;
The T3 would have to have the worst Vocal sounds of any “top of the range” arranger keyboard on the market.

I really don't like the new "Concert Grand" - BIG let down (mid to upper mid range –sounds cheap) it certainly has not lived up to its promise, particularly when played with clean amplification/speaker sys.
The T2 Live Grand is way better IMO (I'm quite fond of the new "Cocktail Piano" however).

If you use fast registration/preset changes where you need left hand control - it’s not the best. I’ve had to change nearly all my reg’s to single song per bank and have them foot controlled where possible as a work around – needs more foot controller sockets.


NEEDS;
Additional foot controller ¼ “ sockets as “Kingfrog” mentioned above.

Better ergonomics / design.

A really decent Piano voice, although I doubt Yamaha will ever do this, after all they put their effort into better Irish pipes instead of a decent piano, they obviously viewed that as a greater need.


COMMENTS;
Some of the new voices are really good and I’m enjoying them a lot.
I will enjoy the T3 more and more as time goes by no doubt (notwithstanding the obvious annoyances mentioned).

If Yamaha however, wants people to upgrade their T3s to their next machine, be it T4 or whatever, they will really need to deliver more than they have from the T2 to the T3, as I feel many people will not be so quick to upgrade next time around, I know I won’t.
Next time I will, for the first time in a very long time, actually consider other manufacturers for my next upgrade and really do a thorough audition of everything available.

Chris.

As good as Yamaha arranger units are I think that this latest Tyros 3 release & sales wasn't as good as they expected which they hoped would ride the coat tails of the Tyros 2 which did very well. Dont get me wrong the T3 is still an awesome sounding machine for sure...But It will be very interesting to see if they follow suit again with a Tyros 4 or break away and offer something out of the box & ground breaking which I hope they do. Meanwhile I'd like ti see the next S900 upgrade with a few feature changes like front USB, MFD transpose save, Tilt display, all inputs/outputs/midi,AC, pushed to extreme left or right rear as to not be in the middle blocked by KB stands like the Apex Deluxe, seperate mode SMF/MP3 option, increased user Ram,improved VH.
Otherwise yamaha is the one to beat IMO.

Something was mentioned about the Tyros that to me is just odd..., and to be honest this is the only forum I've ever seen this complaint show up and be related to Yamaha.

Of all the things we can complain about on a keyboard it blows my mind that people have gotten so picky now that they're using the location of the power button as a negative. I find that so odd because the location of the Tyros power button isn't in some unheard of place nor is this a location that has suddenly popped up out of no where. Maybe it's just me but if one needs to point out the negative.., lets talk about the age old technology being used on these so called "advanced keyboards".., or why in today's age some of these boards have such slow proc. power, or so little ram, ect.

The rear of the keyboard is the most common place you'll find a power switch. I just think it's pointless argument IMO considering this location of the powerswitch isn't anything new. Again.., the only time I've seen this complaint was with Yamaha's.

[This message has been edited by squeak_D (edited 01-04-2009).]

Squeak agreed....


But to me most Yamaha arrangers eg: T1,2,S900 all have the power button on top deck......by placing it in the rear T3 & then most home users put the unit against a wall etc... which restricts access to the power button, plus they are so used to it on top & change is a negative. Makes sense?

To me it doesn't make sense partly due to one of the reasons the power switch is on the rear to begin with. Sure I can understand some Yamaha users have gotten used to the front panel location..., but this feature is really a rarity in keyboards (outside of arrangers both low and mid end).

Many pro and semi-pro keyboards have their switch on the rear.., and their owners also have them up against walls and have no problem accessing the power switch. In reality how close can you really get your board to the wall to begin with? Especially if you have either audio cables running from the outputs or even a sustain pedal or expression pedal hooked up.

One of the reasons the power switch is on the rear..., is so there is no accidental loss of power (by the user). 99.99% of the keyboards I've owned in my lifetime have had the powerswitch on the rear.., and I've never found it a problem.

Total BOO to rear power switches!I have to dig out my flash light EVERY time i want to adjust my 'Input-gain' from an AUX input device.If,that's if the T4 is a worthy purchase for me and the power switch is on the rear I WILL be drilling&mod'n a more convieniant spot on the FRONT panel somewhere for certainly sure!..Boo to rear..

Well Squeak there's your answer