The Tyros 4 is showcased at Pakefield, so keep an eye on the YPKO forum http://www.yamahapkowner.com/forum/index.php

Bill

Thanks Bill...will do.

Ian

Quote: "Dealers got to see it yesterday. I've seen the specs and spoken to some 'blown away' dealers"

Interesting!

They haven't made a major leap forward is donkeys years and considering the state of the world over this recession, I bet the dealers would say anything to generate hype and get some sales. Every one of them has felt the pinch for sure.

Sure, Yamaha do produce really nice keyboards and I have no doubt that the Tyros 4 will sound mighty fine. But one thing is for sure, there will be no major leap forward in anything here. It will be nothing more than an incremental upgrade. Just look at the new Motif XF. Enough said.

I miss the good old days. My VL-70m and it's WX-5 controller is still to this day the most expressive instrument I've ever played in my life. That's what I miss from Yamaha. True innovation.

I bet that very soon KORG will show their hand for both the workstation market and the Arranger market.

My 2 cents.
James.

One or two new styles, Vienna Walz and Belgian March ?
And the On/Off button a bit more to the left.

Well said, Jimmy, and feather in your big hat for being so perceptive.

If it was going to be more than an incremental upgrade, it would not be called a Tyros...the name would be different. Trust me.

No one is expecting monumental upgrades...for one thing, they aren't needed...the instruments are pretty well ahead of everything else including Korg's not-so-new arrangers, which are growing donkey ears at an alarming rate.

Let's hope Korg comes out with at least something radically new to stay in the game...they make really nice arrangers, Jim, but there's been no true innovation since the PA-series was conceived...just incremental upgrades, like DNC, and different colored buttons, and new screens etc.

Plus, they have no low end, or entry level arrangers to help support the mid and high end models...a bad plan, one that Roland has discovered, much to their chagrin (see Diki's post about this on another thread).

T'would be nice to see some new Korgs...as you know, competition is especially beneficial to us consumers.

Ian

Ian,
Korg PA500...$1,099.00 Pretty darn nice instrument

Lee S.

I'm sure it is, Lee...I wish I could try out some Korg arrangers, as the dealers in my area will not bring any in.

Only arrangers are Yamaha, and some stores carry the more higher end model Casio.

Only Korgs I get to try are the workstations, and their electronic pianos.

Hopefully it will change, as on-line demos aren't the best with which to judge anything.

Ian

I agree Lee, I still own the PA1X and it's a lovely keyboard.

To be honest, Flash RAM is a MUCH bigger thing than some make out (few have even commented). The ability to custom load the sampler with what you want without worrying about how long it takes to load (Yamaha arrangers have always been glacial loading samples), and then them being instantly available when you switch the thing on is HUGE.

Don't like Yamaha drums...? Well, there's the answer, plain and simple. Don't like the Yamaha piano? Load your own choice, have it all there instantly. This ability is worth more buzz than it's getting.

SA voices in styles? Yep, that's pretty huge too. And a significant increase in Mega Voices, too (hopefully, a lot more guitars).

One thing that intrigues me is this idea you'll be able to get a dumb lower keyboard, and have it integrate to make a 'home organ' type keyboard (or at least a two manual where you don't have to have them separated by a foot just to be able to see the lower keyboard's displays and controls). Now, this might not seem like a big deal, but it is likely that, in order to achieve it, Yamaha MIGHT have had to seriously beef up their MIDI implementation, which will help players that want a 76 or 88 wood integrate it into the Tyros's system.

All in all, if you see yourself wanting to use samples a lot, I can almost see a T3-T4 migration as almost worth it, and it's a definite step up from a T2 or T1. But outside that, it's still a tough call to justify a T3-T4 move.