I had a little window of opportunity to go into my local dealer and have a brief play on a SX 900. I took a USB stick along to see how well my Tyros 3 registrations and midi files sounded.

All midi files sounded fine. All embedded voice selections worked. Lyric display fine.

All registrations loaded and operated as expected.

I don't use styles so cannot comment on how compatible they are.

More generally...

Sounds pretty good through the internal speakers and the Yamaha recommended subwoofer. The stereo sound field was very nice.

I found menu navigation pretty easy.

The keybed is definitely a Firmed up PSR type and not a budget FSX but feels fine to me. Nevertheless if you don't like the old PSR keybed I don't think this would change your opinion.

As reported elsewhere using the fast / slow rotary effect switch produces an abrupt change for a lot of the organ patches, although not for organ flute patches. I commented on this to a passing member of staff who advised that this is due to the speed change being implemented by switching sample sets rather than using the inbuilt rotary effect. Sounds like a good explanation to me but that doesn't stop it sounding a bit naff! The organ flute patches tend to use an effect block for the rotary speaker and so do not hiccup. The change didn't seem as a abrupt if you use the joystick.

I could see the entire screen easily from a standard seated position, I'm just under 6 feet. It did not seem washed out of seriously degraded when K moved from standing to seated. I could easily see the bottom line of the screen when seated.

Some of the text is rather small.

A pleasant bonus - I say that because I couldn't find this specific setting in the reference manual - is that you can assign "Show Lyrics" "Show score" and "Show text" to the assignable buttons.

In summary I'd be happy to take this keyboard and my usb stick to a gig with minimal preparation and he confident that it would do a really good job. Obviously optimising my registrations and midi files for the new keyboard would make things even better. The only thing I'd miss is the sliders but the touch screen mixer is pretty usable.

Thanks to Hamiltons (Preston UK) for letting me play on the keyboard for a while without being in my face trying to sell things. They were not aware that I would be posting this summary nor that I would mention them in it.

John thanx for the review,...good luck if you buy a sx900
would like to hear more of your experiences using only SMF vs styles
after your purchase for sure,...the small TEXT font size
and abrupt Rotary Leslie FX (which to be honest is also on Genos),
no Sliders, coupled with the same old VH2 harmonizer tracking quirks were probably the SX900 deal breakers for me
..which led me to Genos which I am so glad I did...
How good any keyboard is only comes when it is heard by others...your ears don't lie.

Happy Holidays.

John...Seems very clear the SX-900 is a super PSR Arranger Keyboard. Everyone who Purchased one, it is really covering their needs Very WELL! ALL POSITIVE...Out of the Box it is ready to go to WORK. That's Important. With The Excellent Speakers and sound plus all Improvements It's a Winner. I don't even own one...Got to give credit where it's Due. Sincerely Harold

Nice review John! Spot on with all your comments! The Organ Flutes rotary effects are nicely implemented. Also agree the text could be larger. Wondering if maybe downstream in a Firmware upgrade they may offer a couple different options for the display (less info and larger text)? Something to help keep the programmers busy in their cubicles. HA HA. Thanks for the review. If you end up w/an SX900 I predict you will be very happy.

Hi John,
helpful review for those considering a psr sx as their next keyboard.

Even though you mentioned you don’t you Styles, the majority of tyros 3 thru to tyros 5 play well on the SX900.
Also Genos and Sx900 have a lot of the styles in common.

Good to hear Hamilton’s gave you the chance to try out the sx without being pushy.

Thanks, John... for your extensive review. It sure makes me want one but the 970 is probably going to be the last PSR Unit I'll own. With the 970 I have enjoyed the styles and instruments (mainly piano and guitar choices) but have been baffled by the complexity of the vocal harmony and vocal effects. I'm gradually narrowing down the settings that seem to suit my vocals but it varies from style to style... and genre to genre.

If I were younger, I would purchase a stand-alone harmonizer like those Donny and Don Mason have discussed with us many times.

Anyway, thanks for taking the time to share this information with us. Who knows, I may win the lottery... or have the good fortune to have one of my songs picked up by Willie Nelson or George Strait. (Highly doubtful!)

Regards,

----Dave

Dave - Never say "Never" - you just might be surprised in any or all cases! The S970 is a wonderful board for sure. If it weren't for trying to keep up w/my dear friend Stephen, I might still be playing the S970 - in which case I would still be very content!

So keep enjoying the wonderful S970 - and if, by change downstream, you get the opportunity to board the SX900 train, you will be a happy traveler with that instrument too!

John,


Good review! You took the words out of my mouth. I play styles, they all sound excellent. I do use a few midi files and I like what I hear when playing them back. I just picked my SX900 yesterday and am very impressed with the keyboard, the keybed is a step up too. I love the way it mimics the Genos OS.


Dave, I second what Randy wrote. The s970 is one fine arranger, this SX900 takes it up a few notches.