I recently sold my PA800 (along with a few extra pieces of gear) in anticipation of something new in the near future. Since the near future isn't near enough - I needed something for the interim, so I went back to the psr s-910. here's a short summary of the changes that have taken place in my rig, my performance and my attitude since then. (it's been 3 weeks or so)

First:
The audio power of the Korg allowed me to use it as a stand alone speaker system at many places, but the Yamaha is much, much less powerful, so there are fewer places that I can use it as the only sound source ... even small cocktail parties are a struggle. I miss the powerful monitoring in my face.

Second: of course, the voice processor is no contest, so I had to upgrade to an outboard piece (TC voicelive touch) In some ways, this has become a surprise - almost an upgrade from the onboard unit in the PA800 - more flexibility, fun with the looper and a smoother sound. Better treatment of the single harmony above the lead.

I'v posted a few pix to show the layout I'm using. I sometimes need my laptop for DJ trax, so I have a custom rack that hold both the TC and the Laptop. For most of my summer work, I don't need the computer, so I use a simple mounting stick that fellow member Ron Glass made me years ago.

I'll post more later, but for now - the Yamaha has given me an interim tool till something comes out that I want, and I enjoy using the bread and butter, generic styles for a host of tunes that were not as readily accessible on the Korg.

Stay tuned ...

Hi Dave,

Interesting setup and some interesting choices. I'm curious about the Bose Compact. Aren't you supposed to position the unit slightly behind you to not only project to the crowd but also to assist with monitoring? Why rely on the keyboard only monitoring system when you can leverage the Bose?

Also, how are you using those pedals? I'm trying to figure out from the photos what is controlling what, but I can't connect the dots.

Thanks and regards,

Interesting setup, Dave. Too many pedals for this old man, and I would have placed the Bose L1 Compact to the rear and off to one side for better monitoring. I've used it when placed in front and the problem I encountered was that I wasn't hearing what the audience was hearing. It was much lounder to them than I was hearing, thus creating a problem for both myself and the audience when it came to volume levels.

Good Luck,

Gary

My guess..Dave is trying to reduce feedback from the mic and harmonizer..by placing the Bose towards the front of the keyboard , away from the mic..(and guitar)

OK, two good responses - I'll address both.
First, This is a new setup, and I am not ruling out any options just yet, so I have added a few extra footswitches for a while. The right foot has sustain and page advance (for reading the odd text file. With no laptop, I lost my ability to call up a lyric every so often.)The left foot is the stock pedal that TC sells (actually, it's a digitech, but works the same and gives me more foot room) that pedal is (from left to right)Harm, favorites and loop.

In my old rig, I only used the 2 pedals on the right, and one was sustain, the other harmony. Lately, I've been getting a numbness in my left leg from leaning on it so much of the night, so I figured that if I share the weight load (and it's alot! lol) I might be able to get rid of the "sleeping thigh" syndrome. So far, the extra buttons are not important, and it's likely that by next week, I will be back to only the 2. I'll have to separate them, and alternate left and right positions for leg comfort. Easy fix.

Second - as to monitoring from behind the Bose - It's almost the same thing as being in front of it, and it feeds into the mic less, so the harmonies don't get confused as often. The only drawback I have with the Bose is it's uncanny ability to be everywhere at the same time ... and sometimes that makes the harmonizer work overtime. Since my priority is always the vocals - the harmony has to be pristine.
To be very honest - I notice almost no difference where I put the Bose ... it always sounds fantastic. My summer jobs are very low key, and low volume is paramount, so as long as I can hear the mix, I'm good to go. really, most of the time all I need is a little more bass and some extra coverage up top ... the Compact does that in it's sleep.

With all that said - there are a few things I still wish I could change:

1. I will always hate the key feel and key size of the Yamahas, but I'm dealing with it for now, because of the ease of use and the simple, effective OS that is very intuitive on the fly. I always liked that about Yamaha.
2. This new rig is lighter and smaller - 2 good things.
3. I can now monitor (albeit, more quietly) my guitar, voice, trax and live play all through the KB speakers. The guitar plugs right into the TC unit, as well as an iPod (for backup). The s910 responds very well to the midi commands from the Parker MidiFly, and I can control a tone and the chord changes with ease ... same as on the PA800. I expected as much - this Parker is a wonderful instrument, and the MIDI implementation in keyboards has been very good for a long time now.
4. Being able to rearrange, edit, load etc styles are a plus. The Korg architecture is so much deeper and it's harder to facilitate quick changes, like adding or moving one style to a new location.
5. I really have to "punch up"
the drums and EQ the high end to get them to sizzle like they should, but all the mixing options are there and easy to get to, so it's really a mute point - just one more step out of the box. The Korg drum sound spoiled me. I've said this before, but it's bears repeating: Yamaha drums are Ringo Starr, and Korg is Steve Gadd. Both awesome, but Ringo is easier to dance to.
6. I wish I could leave the USB drive in the kb during transport, but it sticks out from the back. I bought a PNY drive that's less than a 1/2 inch extrusion, but i still feel shaking about packing this thing with it still inside. The Korg has a nice, safe hideaway for it.
7. My concentration lately is to provide the right mix at the right time and sell it as well as I can. I've been doing alot more guitar these days, because any time you add a real instrument to a midi rig - it adds realism to the entire mix. Even a live shaker or tambourine can spice up a mix by a lot! The s910 will do this for a while ... but I am ready to audition the new PA3x as soon as one drops in the store nearby. Who knows, maybe by then - I'll have become more comfortable with this rig? It sound very good, and each week I make improvements that please me more and more. I wish the made a high end keyboard that wasn't the size of a football field and had speakers. Tyros4S perhaps? (kidding ... don't start speculating!) LOL
8. Do I miss the Korg? Yes ... and no. I miss the puchy drums and the on board harmonizer, the loud, powerful speakers and the terrific dual MPS/SMF player. (Yamaha has two separate players for each file format, and only the SMF has the "next" feature ... if you select an MP3 while one is playing, it's switched immediately. I miss the option to preselect to avoid lag time. I don't miss the extra weight (partly, the cases fault, but that phat sound comes at a heavier price) I miss the placement of the USB drive (small potatoes in this challenge), and I miss the big, stereo, monitor sound that was always right in my face. After laborday, my outside work slows down and school tasks pickup, so if I can stay happy for about 6 more weeks, I'm doing pretty well.

Thanx for reading - always glad to share a secret that works or a gear suggestion with my pals here at the zone.

All in all - I'm happy to have a decent rig to tide me over and when the time comes to make another move, I'll tell you all about it. Maybe this can help someone else make their own decisions about gear.

P.S. I forgot to mention that the little travel shave kit stuck in the middle of the X stand houses all the AC supplies and cables that come out pre-measured to fit right into the proper spot. It keeps everything neat and reduces the chance of forgetting something, or a plug falling out ... I hate clutter on the floor. It also make setup time minimal!
For those that don't know me - my mic stand is also mounted on the end of the top tube, as well as the mount for the TC voicelive touch. I carry ONE stand. This setup, as you see it - all comes in carry bags, gets brought in in 2 trips with no dolly, and all the bags stuff into the kb case for easy, neat storage during the job. They are all soft cases, and many places have little or no room for extra baggage, so this is a joy to work with. The case can slide under a banquet table of go in most closets with ease.

UD,

That KB is not going to sound the same in Mono, when you play a hammond sound hows it going to spin left to right.

That setup is OK for domestic home use but is it any good in a big room with sound absorbing sufaces.

I don't think that you can play a KB in mono it will sound dead.

Why did Yamaha put two speakers inside the KB , why not one right in the middle.

Tony

Dave, how about that infamously well known "effects phase cancellation" phenomonem that occurs when Yamaha stereo sampled voices are mixed down to one mono Bose Compact unit, of which I've found sounds thin, harsh and unsatisfactory. Imho, going out stereo to two discrete Bose units is pretty much neccesary to preserve the full and rich sound, especially with Yamaha arrnagers.

Also, because I realize how much you enjoy playing LH bass lines, while trriggering auto accomp chord recognition with your RH, I'm curious how you're going tolerate not being able to do this on the S910, or on anyother Yamaha arranger model for that matters.

Scott

UD,

I have just noticed you must have to stand up to play the KB there is too much stuff on the floor to get your legs under the KB. I am too old to be standing of a long time playing, was this just the setup for the photo shoot.

Tony

Im in my phone, so I'll keep this short.
1. The placement of the Bose moves all the time, depending in the room.
2. Mono is not a problem when the system us tweaked to overcome the Yamaha shortcomings.
3. I don't need RH accpmt when playing live bass ... that is only important when the KB links the harmony to the chord section. The outboard harmony unit makes it unnecessary for the arranger to be on, when I play lb bass.

I hate typing on this phone!!! Grrr.
More later

Tony, I always stand for performances. Better visual, better vocal control.