Just got back from the Spine Doctor. Looks like I'm in for another cervical spine surgery. The worst part of this is I will no longer be able to safely carry around my Tyros 4 for my gigs. No, it is not for sale!. Darn, just sold my S950.

So here is my question to each of you. If you had to lighten your load for gigs which of these options would you consider and why?
Please, no pissing contests here. I need some serious advice.

1. Korg PA900
2. Korg PA600
3. Roland BK-9
4. Roland BK-5
5.. Dan's vArranger - which I do own.

Notice I did not include the Yamaha S950. When I had mine I really was not all that impressed with the overall sound as compared to my Tyros 4 and the audio styles were not all that useful in that they could not be saved to an external device.

Thanks guys in advance for you input.

Deane

For the money, your best choice is pa600.It does everything pa900 do.Only if you need more space for samples than pa900.
I really liked bk 5-9, the way they sound but everything else was too much for me, or not enough for me.

I needed to lighten my load, since I had chronic lower back pain, and chose the Pa900; my pain has largely gone!

Note that thePa900 has the voice processor which the Pa600 does not. I love the Korg songbook and custom list features for what I do, and I think the internal speakers are excellent (I think they are a notch up on the Pa600 but check with Tony). In smaller rooms it really is all you need. In larger settings I supplement it with an additional speaker.

vA2.....based on why I know so far...
All you need is a light MIDI kbd, a laptop or all in one.
Maybe a Korgcontrol 2 depending of which MIDI KBD you get.
Oh...If you get a Novation SL61 II...Dan's SW will even give feedback to switches/LEDs.

Should be a very light load.

I will know more once my Ketron SD-1000 gets here.

If you have not heard all the SD-1000 demos from Dan...they start here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNJyKyR-8v4

Just one idea for you.

I love the PA900. It has made my load considerably lighter.

I certainly appreciate the lighter weight and smaller footprint of the Pa900 ... and the board sounds GREAT - according to my wife and my customers - who are the most important judges - ...

If you don't need the on board VH, go with the Pa600 ...

I never had a chance to A/B the Pa600/Pa900, but the Pa900 speakers are good for small rooms ...

If it was me, and if I wanted to stay with Yamaha, I'd be looking at a PSR-S910...lots of styles available for it at PSR Tutorial, including those from CVP and Tyros2/3/4.

Like you, I found the S950's audio based styles a waste...same as Tyros5's. If I didn't have my Tyros4, I would have picked up an S910...even lighter than an S950 BTW.

If you want to buy new, the PSR-S750 is essentially an S910 minus the Vocal Harmony/Mic Input.

Our buddy Bernie (Bernie9) is using an S910 as a more lightweight alternative to his Audya, so perhaps he can fill you in a bit more.

I hope things go well with your back, Deane, I've had issues with mine (old Martial Arts injuries), although not as serious as yours.

In any case, regarding keyboards, you'll get good advice here.

Ian

Hi Deane,

Sorry to hear about your misfortune, hope things will work out well soon. As to your query, forget abour Roland, of all folks you should know that by now
I'd say it is a toss up between the PA900 and the PA600. I presume the PA600 is ligther, it is only half the price of the PA900, but then of course it cannot do all the tricks the PA900 can, as Don will confirm.
Good luck on both counts,

regards,
John

Varranger on a microsoft 3 tablet with the ultra light and cheap casio stagepiano which even works on batteries... You could even add an ultra light midi controller and a ketron sd1000 at no extra weight....


Maybe someone knows some ultra light speaker system for the ultimate ultralight setup..

It might be interesting to consider a Roland FA-06 together with Varranger or with a BK-7m. The FA-06 has a fantastic low weight of 5.7 kilograms! Or, better, a MoXF (7.2 kg) plus BK-7m. In both cases you get large complementary soundsets, more than one mid-range arranger would offer. (FA-06 with free EXP expansions offers different sounds compared to BK-7m). And the total weight remains lower than that of a PA-900 or BK-9 (BK-7m is only 1.7 kg). Disadvantages of BK-7m are quite weak acoustic guitars (also in styles) and lacking convenience when editing things.

Here's a few other things the 900 has over the 600.

Semi Weighted keys, aftertouch, the ability to use an sd card in the rear just like a usb thumb drive but having it inside where folks can't get to it.

The 600 has the sd slot but only used as a unlock port for the international styles and sounds Korg sells on their websites.

The 900 has the dual song player with crossfade the 600 has one song player.

There are additional knobs which are programmable on the 900 and the 900 has dedicated style category buttons on the front panel and on the 600 you have to call up the categories on the touch screen only.

The 900 has a built in video out jack and you cannot do this on a 600.

The speakers are20 watts each and there are 2 woofers and 2 tweeters on the 900 and the 600 has 15watts per side and no tweeters. There are more sounds and styles on the 900.

These are just a few of the differences.

Midjay Plus or Midjay Pro at 7 lbs. and a lightweight controller ...
Ciao,
Jerry

Deane, glad you sold the S-950, and sorry to hear you're going for surgery. I've had back surgery twice, it's not fun, recovery takes forever, and I was much younger then. Today, I don't know if I would opt to undergo it again. AS I've stated many, many times, gettin old ain't fer wimps and sissies.

Good luck with the surgery and subsequent recovery,

Gary

Deane
Since you have had Yamaha, I would agree with Ian and pick up an S910. It Is light and easy to play. It may not be a Tyros, but it sure sounds good to me and my audience for grab and go jobs, and much cheaper than the S950.

Thanks to everyone for their input. And thanks to everyone for staying on point.
I'll take each post into consideration. Please keep them coming.
Seems like in todays arranger world there are not many choices anymore.


Deane

Sorry to hear about your spine problem Deane. Hope you feel better soon.

You might consider a good priced PA800. That is an awesome machine that is closest (IMO) to the PA3X. I had the 900 and thought it was a lot of corner cutting in comparison to the 800.

The 3x is big, but I'd rather have a 'slim' footprint. Even with 76 keys, I find it easy to tote around vs the smaller, bulkier units.

76 keys is the ticket and DON'T forget about the tilt screen. That is worth the money for my neck issues.

The PA800 weighs so much more than the PA900 and the key feel to most players feels more like playing on a low priced keyboard where the PA900 feels like the PA3X. The sounds in the PA900 are much more realistic compared to the PA800.

Deane,

I think you have already owned each those keyboards at least once. For sure the Pa900 will give you the most bang for the buck and is light enough for your back.

Sorry to hear you need more surgery!

Good luck and a speedy recover.

Bill G

Yes Bill, I did own both the PA900 and the BK-9. I sold them because I simply liked my
Tyros 4 better. I also just sold my S950 thinking I would buy another T4 as a backup then got word on my spine problem. Now I simply have to choice - I must lighten the load or give it up. I wanted to hear others opinion to see if they supported my thinking.

Deane

I thought I would get back to this thread and report what I finally have done. I spoke with several folks about the PA900, BK-9 and read all the posts here. I thought about what was the main problem with a heavy keyboard and that was setting up and taking down at my house every day. So, Sunday I will pick up my 2nd Tyros 4 from a very good friend and have one that will never leave my house and one that will always stay in the gig bag. I think this will help a lot and hope for the best.

Thanks to everyone for your input, including those who took the time to send emails. Your input has helped.

Deane