Merchants voted the Yamaha PSR s910..keyboard of the year...The Retailer trade magazine sent out the voting ballots, and results were announced at the show..

Wow, that was quick, it has only been out for a few months. I had read that there has been a lot of problems with them. Does the problems still exist or have they been corrected? I not even sure what all of the problems were.

Is this.....Fran??? This is Ian, right. Why are you impersonating Fran, Ian?



chas

http://msretailer.com/nammtv/

For those that want to watch the namm show each day via Retailer..

Don't forget ..part of a merchants decision is.."profits"..

The 4 nominees were:

Nord electro 3
Moog Tarus 3 Bass pedal Synth
Yamaha PSR S910
Micro Korg XL

See now why Yamaha won..

I even voted for the S910....

The S900 was a bit dicey when it was introduced...early models had some issues.

The S910 is what the S900 should have been, in my opinion...it has the sounds of the Tyros2, and the accompaniment engine of the Tyros3.

If there have been issues with it, I haven't heard anything from my clients, and there were a lot of S910 sold in my district.

Ian

No, this is Fran, Where is Ian?

As much scorn as we heap on this type of beauty contest award when it DOESN'T honor an arranger as the best keyboard, why are we now taking it seriously when it DOES? It's the same competition, year after year...

Still Diki, here....

True, Diki...thabnkfully most of don't take it too seriously.

We sure sold a lot of S910 on my last tour before Christmas, so it sure seems to be pretty popular...I'm very pleased with mine.

If "O" can get a Nobel Peace Prize...

Eddie

I never heard of an S910 having issues.

Beakybird

Check out day two at Namm..

Amazing how selective our memories can get when it is OUR favorite arranger, eh?
http://www.synthzone.com/ubbs/Forum37/HTML/020542.html

Most of us are willing to read off a litany of problems for everyone ELSE'S arranger. Not so willing to admit anything to do with ours. Human nature, I guess. Thank God for the 'Search' feature, eh, an amnesiacs dream come true (or nightmare depending on your level of fanboy )...

I read the complaints on the thread link.
Two problems reported is not really bad.
Don's board was immediately replaced, while Gary's had a defective power supply.

If you read the thread closely, it was stated that Yamaha was busy with repairs.(and not necessarily repairing S910's)

I'm not saying the S910 is fault free, but thus far I've only heard of two problems...Don and Gary

Anyone else have a problem with the S910?

OK, I made mistake, but overall it's been a pretty solid board. Very few reported problems. I'm not enough of a connoisseur to know if the S910 deserves keyboard of the year.

Beakybird

None other than having to change the original USB stick to one that was compatible.

Never said they DO have a lot of problems. But just like any other arranger, nothing is perfect... (as much as we'd LIKE to think whatever we play IS )

Come to think of it, we have probably heard of as many defective Audya's as S910's. But it's the Audya that gets all the bad press The squeaky wheel may not always get the grease, but it ALWAYS gets our attention!

Back OT, I would have had to have given the Electro3 my vote, but that's one of the weakest set of nominees I can remember. Where is the Korg M50? Where's the Roland V-Piano? Where's the Nord C2? Where's the Kurzweil PC3? Where's the door? I'm outta here!

Nice to see you agreeing with Fran . I also agree (about the weak candidates). But I think the problem with your list MIGHT be;
M50 - heard as many negatives as positives, and few 'rave' reviews.
Roland V Piano - will never be a mass seller because of price.
Nord C2 - got it's media mileage from the C1; only added a pipe organ (which isn't going over too well in the clubs these days)
Kurzweil PC3 - the name makes it feel evolutionary rather than revolutionary.

Again.....JMO.

chas

The S910 has been pretty solid as far as durability and lack of issues, although, as Diki said, nothing is perfect.

I've been lucky in my district with no problems reported so far, although not everyone calls me when they do have an issue...some call the dealer, so maybe there were some and I didn't learn about them.

Considering how many S910 are sold, having a few with issues is a very small percentage, and some of them have been shipping errors (broken) and not problems with the keyboard itself.

The S900 gave some problems early in production, but customers were looked after quite well, and the S910 seems to have benefited from any mistakes with the former.

I prefer the S910 over the Tyros3, and it's not a price issue with me...I just like a light action, and built in speakers, and the fact the S910 doesn't need a HD.

If I want to talk about price, with the S910 I'm getting a nice combination of T2 (sounds) and T3 (accompaniment engine) at a price roughly a third of a new Tyros3(with speakers)...leaves a nice chunk of change to buy another digital piano (Yamaha CP-5), or even a Prelude(if they add style assembly to the OS).

One thing there is no denying...the S910 is a great bang for the buck, and a very powerful mid-range arranger.

Ian

Wish you'd get over the onboard style assembly, Ian... there are quite a few things you already HAVE to use software for on PSR's. This is just one more. Some of the Makeup Tools things need software to accomplish on a PSR. Would you recommend someone hold off on an S910 because it won't do everything in the box that a Roland can do? If it can do it easily using a computer, why wait?

The thing that strikes me is, with two synced arrangers, style assembly could be as easy as Part muting. Guitars from one arranger, bass from another. Reverse them for a completely different sounding style. Rinse and repeat. Might be faster than how you are doing things now, at times...

Thing is Diki, I like creating styles on the keyboard...easier to hear the results, and very convenient.

Re-voicing is a snap on the PSR, especially when you get used to it...just like anything else...the Roland "make up tools" would no doubt be handy, but not as important as style assembly.

I don't use any software on my PSR at all, with the exception of StyleAdjust, which lets me create cut time styles and styles with several time signatures.

Otherwise, I never use my computer...not for recording(other than to burn a CD) or style editing of any kind.

That's the way I like to work...not about to change now.

BTW...just bought a new custom built PC...24" screen...500 Gig HD running Windows 7...lovely piece of work, and a real joy after using laptops for the past 10 years or so.

Ian

Roland will do that in the box. Should I say I won't get an S910 until it DOES do that in the box? I'd probably have a LONG wait. Yours MIGHT be shorter, but I wouldn't bet on it. Apparently, when it is something you really NEED you are prepared to use the demon computer. Except with a Roland...

Sad. I think you are missing out unnecessarily.

Congrats on the new computer. Who knows? Maybe this will get you into all the things that you've been avoiding for so long. VSTi's, for instance. Or synced audio loops with your arranger (under arranger control, with something like Ableton Live). Or style assembly on a Prelude

Whatever reasons you have not to get an S910 no doubt are real enough for you, as are my reasons for not getting a Prelude...it's no big deal...I'm doing fine with what I have, as I'm sure you are too.

Actually, the new computer is for photography...been meaning to branch out into it for some time now...did it for a living years ago....mainly a hobby for now. Just working on what camera to get right now.

Don't have any use for VST's at all, or audio loops...the basic arranger, as it is in the S910, is ideal for my needs.

I'm not surprised the S910 got keyboard of the year...I sold quite a few on my last tour...it's an astonishing instrument for the price, and practically sells itself....retailers would love that last part, of course.

Ian

Yep, we keep forgetting... NAMM is for retailers, NOT users. Those lists are for the product a retailer most wants to SELL, not always what we would like to use

I am definitely going to give the S910 a spin when I get the chance (no dealer anywhere NEAR to me), and have heard enough to know it's a fine piece of gear. Thing is, for me, I need them to work together seamlessly, and the S910's MIDI is still (AFAIK) basically an 'all or nothing' affair. Maybe it's doable (would love to hear someone succeed at it) but if it's similar to the S900, it has issues with being unable to select which Parts get sent/received by MIDI and which don't. OK if you use the S910 as the master, possibly, but it makes a poor slave, and I'm NOT playing my G70's sounds from that keybed!

Not to mention, I'm lugging around just about as much as I can stand with that behemoth G70 But I've always said, should I get a background OMB restaurant gig, I'll probably get one in a flash and leave the G70 at home. My back will thank me for it!

That’s interesting, most Yamaha Arrangers (I haven’t tried the S910 yet) are pretty naff Masters, but great slaves.
So long as you have a good controller, (Which the upper Roland arrangers usually are) the sky’s the limit.

Bill