Miki....Awesome post and So true, I would even offer the KMA at it price point into comparison as to what your saying. Pros have different needs & less fluff. Lots of food for thought in what your saying....
Thanx for the wake up to reality!!

Hi Dnj.

I still like these instrumet,but if we are talking about money than it's different for me what is good and what is bad.

I don't know guys...I'm pretty sure my Tyros4 blows away the BK-5 in pretty well every category.

Is it worth 4X more?

It is to my ears, and to my fingers. I know what I want to hear coming out of my speakers, and it isn't the Roland BK-5, as good as it is for the little money it costs.

I think most users of Korg PA3X feel much the same way, but I can't speak for them...only for me. I do however, think the PA3X's allegedly difficult OS is worth learning, as the instrument is deep and vast and will give the user back as much as they put into it.

When I play those great SA/SA2 voices, and hear those really versatile and detailed mega-voiced styles, I know I've made the right decision, and my hard earned money was well spent.

A BK-5 will never give me anywhere near what I get from my Tyros4...and if it did, then bravo for Roland and shame on Yamaha. But that's not the case.

However, it still is bravo for Roland in that they made such a fine instrument at a pretty good price point, but I'm afraid these ears and fingers (and my audience) are destined for better things with the Tyros4.

Again...my opinion.

Ian

Is the BK 5 really cheap? I don't think so. It has no sequencer, no touch screen, no sampler, no sound editing, no weighted keys etc. The Korg pa500 is cheaper and has all these things except weighted keys and sampler. The Yamaha psr s710 is almost the same price and does have an onboard sequencer as far as I know. Just my thinking.

Leaving off the midi sequencer was a very bad move, in my opinion.

Many people want to record their own SMF, and it would be nice if they could do it on the same instrument they were being played back on.

Yes it has an audio recorder...but you can't record more than one track, and it doesn't allow for recording left and right hand separately and/or overdubbing.

Ian

I totally agree Ian.I don't think this would change anything in the price,maybe some.
But I still believe it is a good instrument for the money.
But, it's got one thing that every arranger should have and none of our Yamaha's don't.Full blown STYLE CREATOR.
Because that is one of the most important thing to have in ARRANGER which it is.
Yes,we can connect it to PC end edit,but if we are gonna do that we might as well opet Cubase,or Sonar or my favorite Studio One from Presonus.And that is a sequencer.

Yes, I agree...the BK-5 is a good instrument for the money.

I'm pretty content with the T4's style creator...it does what I need, and is very easy to use.

I suppose it's what you get used to, and I've got so many other pluses with the Yamaha, like tons of terrific third party styles and Yamaha's own excellent Premium styles.

I like the easy to use OS, the SA/SA2 sounds are killer and respond to real time control in a very intuitive way, the keyboard is super deluxe feeling and responsive...it's a "player's" more than a "tweaker's" instrument.

Voice editing on-board is basic, but extremely servicable...attack/decay/filtering...basic but very effective. It is good enough to "fix" any sounds that I want to personalize to suit my style, and I can always use the PC editor for anything major.

I like to play...it's number one for me...tweaking and fiddling...not so much.

That's what drew me to Yamaha arrangers in the first place.

I was a die hard Roland E-series user for some time, but with the Yamaha PSR-8000, I finally felt Yamaha had a legitimate "professional" arranger that was a joy to play.

I still love the sound.

The BK-5 is a pretty darn good instrument for the money, but it can't hope to ever replace my Tyros4.

Ian

That is what I am saying..I have T4 too.I will sell it because I think it is not made for professional.Sure you can use it as I have used it for live.
But for a professional instrument that cost an arm and a leg not to have simple stuff that I already said above is inexcusable.YAMAHA is dumbing us down by saying we don't need those things and guess what,we are helping them .In 4k and more instrument we should have those things without any exceptions.I am not comparing bk5 to T4.I am just saying it gives you much more for the money.

Nah, the Tyros4 still sounds far better than BK-5. It literally blows it away. No comparison.

Sound is what is most important to a professional, not features that they would hardly ever use, if at all.

I'm a professional...I've been playing pro since I was 15, and I'm 62 now.

Why would I want to play an inferior sounding instrument just to save a few bucks and get features that mean very little to me?

If you like the sound of BK-5 better than your Tyros4, then by all means get one.

Complaining about what the Tyros4 allegedly lacks is rather silly...you bought it!

If it is that much of a dumbed down instrument, why did you waste your money on it?

You personally, might gain one or two things that you would use, with a BK-5, but it is going to sound pretty lame compared to the mighty Tyros4; but, that may not matter all that much to you.

I'm a player first, and a tweaker a distant second...the Tyros4 is first, and foremost, a player's instrument...any pro who has one will tell you the same thing...it is a dream to play. It is an extremely expressive instrument.

I hope you do well with the BK-5, should you decide to get one.

Happy playing,

Ian

PS...Listen to music made by SZ members Telmo and Joost, and by Yamaha artists like Martin Harris and Peter Baartmans. Think a BK-5 will ever sound that good?

Compare with this for the sounds.