I'm expecting my s950 to arrive any minute now. Unlike Gary, I'm not as much of an editor and will probably only tweak some EQ before using it Thursday afternoon. Then I'm gone for a week before I can get to it. I'm sure I will be spending my down time to read up on new features in the manual and check SZ for more updates from Gary. Surprisingly, I've rediscovered the PSRTUTORIAL site and have started going thru their related pages. Thanks, Gary and Donny for all your helpful info. I look forward to loving this s950 as much as I did the s910.

UPDATE: In an attempt to clear myself of all unnecessary equipment, I am still attempting to sell my Roland BK-5. Make me an offer I can't refuse.

WOW, as I am finishing up this post, the s950 has arrived via UPS. Gotta go, talk to you all soon...

Best of luck and fun with it Cass ...

Cass, Have fun with your new toy!!

good luck Cass you made a very wise choice .....

You're gonna love what you hear, Cass.

Gary

Just ran thru some stuff for about an hour - lovin' it. The internal bass response is much stronger; will that transfer over when I connect it to the Compact? I know I'm semi-stupid, but where in creation is the brightness control? I'm liking the new styles I've tried; very useful stuff. I'm looking forward to Friday when I'll have a chance to really give it a workout and figure what tweaks I want to make.

Thanks everyone for leading me to this upgrade decision.

Still selling the BK-5. Someone's got to want this little cutie... Taking offers.

You MIGHT want to hang on to the BK-5 just a BIT longer... The BK-9's new OS just added a boatload of new features, and maybe some of them will trickle down to the BK-5/3...

No guarantees, but worth the wait, if you can afford it.

Yes, Gary’s observations are insightful and helpful. However, my major wishes are that the vocal section of the S950 was of higher quality and that it included some of the vocal styles and voices of the Tyros 4. I’m content with all the S950 styles and, basically, everything else. Not asking for much---just a wee bit more than what’s there. I’ve even learned to live with the black face and dark buttons. Just memorized their locations in low-light situations and go by “feel”. Maybe the upgrade to the Tyros 4 (whenever) will be appealing to S950 owners. Just make it lighter, include onboard speakers and add $1,000 to the price. I’d bite.

J. Larry, no problem reading the white print above the buttons on a black background, but keep in mind that my console lights the entire top of the keyboard with a soft, white light so that's not a problem.

For me, the vocal voices in the T4 are more gimmicky than useful during live performances, but I guess if they're used sparingly they could provide some pizazz to a few songs during a performance.

I just began working with the mic/vocal harmony section of the S-950, and I sincerely believe with some tuning, those harmonies could be pretty darned good sounding. I'm not convinced they will be as good as the TC Helicon Harmony-M, but if properly used, they could end up being a close second.

Someone posted something about the lack of a brightness and contrast control for the display - there is none on the S-950, but this particular type of display really doesn't require one. However, if you are sitting lower than normal in a chair and playing, they you may have some difficulty seeing the tabs on secondary screens. Other than that, the display is quite brilliant, far better than anything Yamaha has utilized in the past.

One of the things I've noticed is they have a VU-meter on the left side of the main screen display for the mic, something that I really like. You know immediately if you are over-driving, or under-driving your vocals, which is really important when trying to achieve a good balance between the vocals and accompaniment.

I just tried out the onboard audio recorder a few minutes ago and recorded a song that is really popular down in Don Mason's and Paul's part of the world - Amarillo In The Morning. I only spent a brief period of time with the mic/vocal harmony page, and this is just a one-shot recording, no different as if I were on stage. No backing tracks, no special effects other than some reverb on the mic settings - that's it.

Gary

Amarillo In The Morning

Sounds good Gary. Maybe back off the reverb just a bit. The name of it is Amarillo By Morning. What are you a Yankee or somethin'?
DonM