Stay tuned - I'm using the s950 tonight with the new HK system - I'll post a report when I get in!

I just spent some time with Dave, and his new toys..The Yamaha did sound decent...and the harmonizer sure is better than the older model...I still don't like the keybed..

The new sound system seems to have merit..sounds great..now to see how it works out with a audience..

Daves Korg PA3x looks to be gathering dust..

Where's Dave playing?
One of these days...I'm off on a road trip to the Philly area.

Damn, Uncle Dave! Thought you were going to do some Herbie Hancock from the post title...!

Good luck Dave.........!

I noticed on another post that Yamaha released an update for the s950....bug fixes...

There is an issue on the s950 that has to be attended to...No sustain for a lot of tones..especially strings...I am thinking that the sample is so short that Yamaha does not want strings to hold via pedal....maybe a loop problem?..

Do the string tones sustain with the pedal on Tyros4....if so maybe I could be close to accurate.

It would be nice if Yamaha allowed the option of going to a variation without a fill..it appears that a fill will always proceed the new variation...

Also most organs are recorded with a leslie active....not allowing an insert effect "leslie" properly used..The flute organ does allow this...I also did not see a ramp speed control for the lelie..

This was just a quick observation....by the way...did I mention how much I hate the keybed..

I have mixed feelings about the audio drums...it sounds like they were recorded with effects..and there are some annoying bass drums because of this...Too bad they did not allow for insert effects on audio drums instead of recorded processing..Overall the drums seem to sound better than previous models, but not there..yet...Audio drums have potential, if they change some recording methods..as in dry...on the negative, no way to balance audio drum kits...you get what you get...

Fran thanx for the review.....I hope they fix the bugs down the road......don't want them being an issue in the T5 also.....good observations...

Variation to Variation can be accomplished with or without a fill by using a dedicated "Auto fill-in on/off" panel switch...on the S950 it is to the immediate right of the OTS Link button.

You can also individually by-pass a fill by pressing the Variation button you want to go to twice quickly...very clever, and very useful.

Sustain characteristics for string voices vary...some (SA, Live!, Sweet!) are meant to decay slowly (fade) when held with a sustain pedal (infinite sustain with key held down), and others, mainly in the SA2 and GM/XG sections, have infinite hold when using a pedal. This also applies to various organ, brass, pads, synths and wind tones. Quite frankly, it is nice to have the choice.

Preset SA/Cool! organ sounds are usually programmed with slow rotary, (some also have very realistic Hammond style Chorus Vibrato) which can be changed to fast rotary by using the mod wheel. The drawbar samples (Organ Flutes section), however are recorded sans rotary and you can choose from several Leslie types as well as Normal and Vintage tone wheel simulation. Ramp speed is adjustable. Leslie types include those that used guitar amps (usually Marshall or Hiwatt) in place of the stock amplifier.

Other brand arrangers offer a similar setup.

It is hardly unusual to see OS updates to fix minor bugs and glitches...very few new instruments from the major arranger manufacturers (Korg and Yamaha)manage to get by without one or more OS upgrades...thankfully they are usually prompt in making them available.

Ian

I was about to address Fran's critique, but Ian beat me to it. It's hard to be familiar with a new product and how it works without spending more than a few minutes with it!
DonM

Don, you are right...I only spent about a half hour or so.....but these points were brought to my attention by Dave...and he has had it a while