Let's think about this a minute okay guys and gals? Yamaha is coming out with their next top of the line arranger for the holidays (or so they say - not Yamaha themselves of course - but rumors from the rumor mill) i.e. probably around late November so they benefit from the Christmas shopping season which would help jump start initial sales and also get the buzz flowing throughout the arranger community and the whole keyboard community on the whole. It's interesting that Yamaha has produced such a major upgrade (supposedly ) in just two years but not all that uncommon when you realize they've done it before on their workstation line e.g. Motif to Motif ES in roughly 2 year's time as well.

What is even more interesting is Steve Deming a while back hinting about the possibility of Yamaha going the distance to produce a 76 key PRO version or at least him saying he hoped our wish would be granted from Yamaha Japan. He always seemed to down play the prospect before but his 76 key interjection a while back could prove fruitful when the Tyros4 (or whatever they decide to call it) is officially announced in a couple months (or so the rumor mill says anyway). I won't get too excited of course but I will try and stay positive and hope Yamaha comes through on their end with a 76 key version.

Okay, now that things are beginning to "stir" let's go over a few things that Yamaha might be doing differently in this their latest wonder to hit the market (eventually) shall we?

A 76 key version along with a 61 key version to satisfy both the "50%" preference percentile sides? In other words, it's already been established through online Polls that roughly 50% prefer 76 keys or better and the other 50% are fine with or even prefer 61 keys. So in producing both a 61 key version and a 76 key version it would boost sales and satisfy basically its whole market potential right? USB 3.0 is already out as we know and the new standard is a HUGE increase in bandwidth transfer rates but I really thinks it's far too new for Yamaha to include it in their next beast but we can always hope that Yamaha went the extra mile. SAV 3?? An improvement over the existing SAV 2 technology would be welcome and depending on how much improvement there is sales would be boosted accordingly in my opinion. A better "key bed" would also be nice but the Tyros3's is not too shabby as is and Yamaha may decide to concentrate on other areas instead. Like maybe a more "solidly" constructed outer shell? Light weight aluminum and built like a tank would be nice huh? IF IF IF they can keep the weight down to acceptable levels. If not then keep using "plastic" and pray you don't drop it right?

Better Organ emulations with a better Rotary simulation would be fantastic too. Also, switching sounds in a seamless manner i.e. not "cutting off" the sound when switching and playing at the same time - like my Fantom G7 does right now. A motorized tilt screen perhaps? An even larger LCD screen perhaps too? More outputs?? Inputs??? XLR, or at least "balanced" 1/4 inch connections? A balanced 'stereo' Mic input?? A SUPER high quality (high wattage) external 3 piece "speaker system" to hook it up to blowing previous systems out of the water (to smithereens) by comparison? If so, it would be a HUGE benefit and advantage for gigging musicians in smaller venues or for one's own personal enjoyment and also ease of portability over lugging around other and heavier pieces of sound equipment.

I could on and on... more 'internal' system memory say... 50MB or possibly more?? Also, the WAV ROM increased to, let's say, 1 to 2 Gigabytes?? Polyphony FINALLY extending beyond 128 note?? The Audya has 197 and Yamaha might be feeling the "pressure" to regain the lead by giving their next beast 256 note polyphony perhaps? Or at least equaling the Audya's 197?? We shall see. What else??? Oh... the price. Keep it "under" 4 Grand?? PLEASE?? Okay, okay. The 76 key version $4,500 max?? PRETTY PLEASE?? I'd probably be willing to go that high if, when all other things are considered, it would be considered worth it to me. To my discriminating taste and all, you see. In other words, if it turns out to be second rate then unfortunately I'll have to pass it up and then wait and see what Roland or Korg and/or Ketron eventually come up with. I highly anticipate Roland will be releasing their G-70 successor at Winter NAMM 2011 but you never know. The G-70 is ANCIENT and belongs in a keyboard museum somewhere yet still nothing from Roland's lips as they continue to be mum about a replacement. And then there is Korg. The Pa2xPRO is getting long in the tooth as well and you can be sure Korg is doing everything in its power to keep up with the Joneses i.e. with Yamaha and Roland and/or Ketron, etc. Again, we'll have to wait and see. [img]http://www.synthzone.com/ubbs/wink.gif[/img]

All the best,
Mike

In my oppinion, Yamaha know their market extremely well. The best selling sector is the ex-home organist and its where the Tyros (latin for beginner, first recorded use in english descibed a novice Piano Player) outsells the competition. I don't know how may sell in the states, but they dominate the market here in the UK and Yamaha have done a great job at building the Tyros to satisy their target Audience and making customers feel like they belong to special, cared for group. I know some of you guys use it professionally, but your certainly not the intended customer - just a bonus for Yammy. Introducing professional features would kill it off in a shot and make it too niche market.

What is more important than wavetable memory and pro features is the ability to sound like a pro at the touch of a button, larger clearer screens, big bright buttons, simple easy to navigate controls, a techical list of 'stuff' longer and more impressive than the competitions and when the owner gets bored, extra registrations he or she can buy to keep them going until they buy the next Tyros.

Yamaha marketing team have a strategy that is the envy of all the competition.


-----------------------------------------

I Love the name Tyros...its so cheeky of Yamaha...and they have pulled it off superbly

Noun - someone new to a field or activity
beginner, initiate, tiro, novice
unskilled person - a person who lacks technical training
abecedarian - a novice learning the rudiments of some subject
apprentice, prentice, learner - works for an expert to learn a trade
cub, greenhorn, rookie - an awkward and inexperienced youth
landlubber, landsman, lubber - an inexperienced sailor; a sailor on the first voyage
fledgeling, fledgling, newbie, newcomer, entrant, freshman, neophyte, starter - any new participant in some activity
tenderfoot - an inexperienced person (especially someone inexperienced in outdoor living)
trainee - someone who is being trained

[This message has been edited by Tonewheeldude (edited 07-17-2010).]

It doesn't matter to me if Yamaha comes out with a better feel 76 key-bed..or improves the build quality..I am not interested....The Tyros3 is the most overpriced keyboard on the market...and I am sure Yamaha will continue this pricing ..as mentioned prior ..they are catering to the home organ buyers...and they are use to paying through the nose..

True, Fran. A new Yammie doesn't interest me either. As far as pricing goes (and it's always what the market will bear), I really don't care what a manufacturer's profit margins are. What determines it for me is, is it worth it to me, new or used, no other criteria needed. The key to maximising one's own profit is not to change keyboards every time a new one appears. Whatever you've currently got very likely has more in it than you'll ever use. That goes for the vast majority of people, especially the ex-home organ players that Yamaha rightly goes after.

I have tried several arrangers from Technics, Roland, Gem and Ketron, along with Yamaha.

In my opinion, Yamaha are the best, the only downside is , yes, the Tyros price and the fact that the sequencer is a bit outdated, but I use it because it has a very useful 'Chord track', which Roland and Ketron does not have, which is odd.

But yes the price for the Tyros is too high....

I don't know what you guys are on about. If Yamaha would come out with a new Tyros every YEAR I'd buy it. Considering I've always been able to sell my older models for around $2000, it's a pretty small business expense. And the price is extremely reasonable if you know where to shop. I bought my T3 for under $3200 within a month of release.

Chony

I agree. It cost me only $500 to upgrade my two PSR-S900's to PSR-S910's.

Not bad. If I do an expected 1500 shows in the three year period before I upgrade to the next keyboard, that comes out to $0.33 a show. That's only slightly more than how much it costs to shave my face. It's a no brainer.

Gas and depreciation on my car, on the other hand - at least according to the IRS is around $20 a show. Now that's a big deal. I'll buy a new keyboard in a heartbeat, but I'll never buy a new car again!

Beakybird

Chony..and this is what makes Yamaha smile...

Respectfully....make a list of the "improvements" from one Tyros to the other...and divide it into the figures you used for your personal example...Basically a $1,200 loss..for a few more SA sounds and some corrections that should have been fixed via soft updates..(but not possible, in Yamaha's plan)..
Hey I am all for having a new keyboard, buy an automatic purchase because they released a new model with very small positive changes...nope ..not for me..

If you (meaning anyone) were happy with a Tyros..why the need to sell it off for the hope the newer model will make you happy...this tells me most folks are not happy with their keyboards..


The other side of the equation..guys like Diki..remain content with their keyboard choice (after comparing other boards)...and remain content for 9-10 years..this also tells me about different product lines too..

A $1,200 loss on a keyboard would be something I would expect after using it for 10 years...not a single year...
BYW" even after selling off my 10 year old G1000...my depreciated loss was only $600.. ....and that loss was made up on my purchase price of the G70...

The Tyros price , nearly 3 times the price of the PSR 910..also proclaimed to be as good or better for their needs ..by..Yamaha owners...so how can that bee justified ..to purchase a new Tyros every 2-3 years...the middle model can do the same job...some say better...
Personally I would always take the top model over the mid line model...

Chony you are correct ...buying right makes a difference..I sold my Tyros 3 after 2-3 days...for $2,700...and still made a profit..

Fran makes a good point. The PSR 900/910 are good mid range boards that have many features that the T3 has e.g. SAV etc., at 1/3 the price. I think Yamaha extended the hand of benevolence when they produced the PSR 700/710/900/910 as it gives many more keyboardists access to sound excellence at a very competitive price point. The Tyros3, on the other hand, is the cream of the crop to those who don't mind paying "through the nose" as Fran put it so succinctly.

I also agree that Yamaha is definitely being greedy by demanding sooooooo much for a Tyros3. In reality the Tyros3's real worth is probably around the $2,500 - $3,000 range and even at that price Yamaha would still be making a hefty profit in my opinion. What we can at least hope for is for Yamaha to "rethink" their high priced strategy on the Tyros line and then introduce the Tyros4 (or whatever they decide to call it) at a more reasonable price point - but don't hold your breath of course.

If Yammie does indeed release a 76 key version for their next totl arranger plus adding additional "PRO" features and specs to it then a higher price (than a 61 key version) would be justified. Still, it would be in Yamaha's best interest in my opinion to knock at least a grand off the current $4,695 Tyros3 price. If a 76 key version (with PRO extras) was offered for, let's say, $3,699 then Yammie would sell tons more of them and still make a huge profit and also make many many keyboardists happier at the same time. The question is would they be willing to do so? We'll see... but again, don't hold your breath.

All the best,
Mike

Let them smile. Thanks to them, I can make other people smile and make a pretty decent living at the same time. I find their prices are very fair considering it is the main tool for my income.