Hi,
just wondering if the hassles that some of the new PSRS900 owners are having is confined to USA oners , or are owners from other parts of the world having similar problems??

I've been toying with the idea of upgrading my psr1500 to a PSRS900, but don't really want the problems associated with faulty equipment.


best wishes
Rikki

It does look a bit like it Rikki.. almost all of the users in the U.K. on the Yamaha Club forum seem to rave about the instrument and there don't seem to be anything like the same number of problems you seem to be having with quality "Over There".

No problems have been reported in Canada.

Ian

My advice to anyone wanting to buy an S900 would be to either wait and see what happens in the next couple of months or save your money and buy a Tyros.

It might very well be that the first batch had some issues.

But if that is not the case , then keep what you have.

Further reports about the S900 for bound to surface , be they good or bad.

So holding off on the S900 at this point might be the safe thing to do.

Gary

Meanwhile, we Canadians will continue to buy S900s and enjoy them.

I have 34 new clients with S900 in Eastern Canada alone, that I do on-line clinics with...no issues, just complete satisfaction.

Ian

Ian,
If that's the case why doesn't Yamaha pull all the US ones and distribute the others. Meanwhile check out the questionable units one by one.
This can't be doing their reputation any good.
I've been waiting over a year for the s900 and now I'm thinking of going with another brand, I'm losing faith that Yamaha is willing or able to correct these problems.

The answer is simple stop selling that batch, that container that shipload whatever recall them.

No doubt that Yamaha is trying to fix the issue, Mike, and it's probably complicated by the tracking down of which batch had defects.

From what I understand, not all USA dealers are having problems.

Perhaps our buddy, George Kaye, could shed some light on his experiences.

Products already in Canada will be sold here as the demand/sales for the S900 has already far outstripped supply and dealers are already experiencing shortage.

It's a shame that this situation arose, as the S900 is a remarkable instrument.

My advice...people in USA should buy from a dealer and have them un-box and check the instrument before shipping or pick up.

Ian

Rikki,

I was about to buy an \S700 but I think I should wait awhile and make sure that model is not suffering from assembled too early syndrome!

Linda a very wise move

Wow...........I've sold dozens of PSR700's and 900's and I've only been aware of 1 major problem and this was probably due to the keyboard taking a large bang by Fed Ex in shipping to Don Mason. Don called me immediately and told me there was a hairline crack in the back of the keyboard. He was offered to return it for replacement or if he would like to keep it at a better price if he could live with the slight crack. After a few days Don decided to keep it because it seemed to be working fine. Now, this problem of the pitch changing started and Yamaha suspects that a circuit board might be cracked because of the blow it must have taken which cracked the outside casing. So, Don has been shipped a new one from me two days ago and he will return the bad one which I will return to Yamaha for replacement.
The only other minor problems has been one keyboard had a loose screw in one of the speaker housings which the customer took care of himself by removing the wooden bottom cover and finding the loose screw and the other was a loose connecting cable from the key bed to the main board which arrived that way to my customer, he returned it, I opened it up and found the connector cable partially out of it's socket, plugged it all the way back in and it's been sold and is just fine.
That's it from here. My cusotmers are loving their 900's.
I really don't think there is an issue with US shippments. I think it's just been a case of bad luck for a few.


------------------
George Kaye
Kaye's Music Scene
Reseda, California
818-881-5566
www.kayesmusicscene.com

That's what I was trying to say, here: http://www.synthzone.com/ubbs/Forum37/HTML/016342.html

P.S. George, can you email tracking number?
Thanks,
DonM

George,

Glad to hear things are well with you.

The reason I guessed it was confined to the USA is that most(except for one) of the complaints on the forums were from USA buyers.

I received this from Yamaha Canada Head office.... "we have not had a single complaint and no service bulletin was issued from Japan".

All the best,

Ian





[This message has been edited by ianmcnll (edited 10-05-2007).]

Hello:

Even do I no longer put hours at the Phoenix music store, I still have ties to it, and have been taking customers to buy arrangers, and many including myself, have a S900 and NO one had a problem...is most likely a coinsidental abuse/bad and or accidents in the transportation from and to...perhaps in the same music stores storage/handling?

Mine has no signs of any problem, and so the ones I sold or Juan Miguel too, no body we sold had issues with it.

to be totally honest ian, and i mean this with greatest respect, imo, you really should'nt be commenting as you are a yamaha employee, and would have to toe the company line and ergo, be restricted in the veracity of your opinions...i mean , its not like you can REALLY criticise your own product, you must maintain the positive spin.

I have also contacted Yamaha about the quality of their packaging within the outer box. I suggested using more absorbing packing material which can handle hard transporting, something which both UPS and FEDEX are known for!


------------------
George Kaye
Kaye's Music Scene
Reseda, California
818-881-5566
www.kayesmusicscene.com

Miden,

Hopefully, you are not questioning my integrity?

I am a member of this forum, and like you, I am free to comment as I please, as long as it does not consist of personal attacks, or contain foul or derogatory remarks.

My comments about Yamaha would be the same if I worked for them or not.

My posts are meant to inform, not promote...just like the music dealers who frequent this site.


Just skip over my posts if they bother you...I don't mind...I still think you're a nice guy.

Ian

hi ian,
no, no, not at all!!...no question of integrity, that is not in question at all...i thought as an employee maybe taking a back seat on this thread might be the way to go, but look, if you say you have got no issue with posting a frank comment without "company influence" then that's fine with me...not that you need my approval LOL
cheers
dennis

Thanks Dennis.

My input on this thread was to try an narrow down the locations of these defective instruments, and to assure my fellow Canucks that all is right here in Canada...

I just want them to know they can purchase with confidence.

Whatever the cause of the instrument problems, whether it be an issue with the factory in Indonesia, or a shipment that was handled incorrectly, I'm sure the lads (and lassies) at Yamaha are scurrying to rectify a situation that could easily cause undue panic and besmirch their normally fine reputation.

Thanks again, for understanding my position.

Ian

no probs,
cheers m8

Let's just simmer down a little here... It seems to me you guys are a little premature in saying that Yamaha is unable to deal with these problems. We've sold hundreds of these keyboards since June. Until last monthe we had zero complaints of this type. Help me with the math if I'm wrong:

Beakybird had two had two (Problem solved)
DonM had one (In transit)
Timcoaster had one (In transit)
Falberto had one (I'm sure Sam Ash is going to call me any second)
The one on Ebay (Which I can't take care of until somebody calls me.)
And George had a couple more with minor problem (1 probably unrelated)

Am I missing anybody? If I am, please let me know.

Even if we had sold only 300, that would be about a 2% failure ratio. (I can't tell you how many we've sold, but it's been more than that.) Now, I'm not going to brag about a 2% ratio, but were not discussing a recall yet either.

I don't like this any better than you guys do, but you're making more of this than the situation calls for. We have recieved exactly 3 calls about this (two from beakybird, one from George, and I initiated one of the calls from beakybird). I've had tougher problems than this. My guess is that some bonehead in one of our warehouses did something stupid with a pallet full of them, and didn't tell anybody. Most likely we're going to get a couple more calls, and then it's going to dry up. I notified Japan about this, as soon as it showed up on the radar. They've had zero complaints other than our few.

Buy with confidence! And buy from a dealer that will stand with you if you have a problem. I've been watching this from the start. This isn't going to slip through my fingers. If anybody has an outstanding issue, an uncooperative dealer, anything you think I ought know, call me. I'm at 714.522.9000

------------------
Yamaha Customer Support
YCASupport@yamaha.com
714.522.9000

I have my Yamaha S900 since Monday, October 1. I play it every day –no problems.

I just shipped a keyboard to California – Bubble wrap, pop corn, and extra support in side the carton. I was surprised, when I got my S900 the packing protect was a little below acceptable, I don’t know how it got to me without any damage. This could possibly be what has been causing the problems.

Over 17 keyboards have been shipped to me in the past years, this was the worst packing job yet. My Tyros 2 was packed like a tank.
John C.

Hi YamahaUS1 ,

I have been looking at the `S900 and had a chance to try 2.

The first one the rubber buttons would stick and the second one the rubber buttons worked , but had very little tactile feedback.

It truly is the best " bang for your buck " as far as A/KB`s go.

I have also played your new Motif XS6 , and found it to be of very high quality , with very good action.

So my question , if I may , is :

Why not build an A/KB with the keybed of the Tyros / Motif with real button switches with plastic coverings like the Motif and Tyros ?

Yamaha sells the `S900 for X amount , I for one would gladly pay the price of a Motif XS6 for the S900 if it had the same quality ( ie: plastic buttons / with switches & FSX keybed )

To me that would be the perfect keyboard , not too big , but quality , something you could play without worrying your going to break something.

The Y2K thru Y3K all had plastic buttons covering a membrane contact surface , bad idea , but that is history.

Yamaha can`t change the S900 now , I realize that , however is there any hope in getting an all-in-one arranger keyboard like i mentioned.

Thank you for your time.
Gary

I am grateful that Steve Demming is addressing this issue here on the forum. I am extremely satisfied with how my problems were resolved. Sweetwater let me keep my defective keyboard beyond the 30 day return (I was able to gig with it despite the problem with the Data Select Wheel), because there was a delay in their second shipment. And Yamaha accepted a return that I had scratched instead of telling me to get it repaired under warranty.

The 2-3% of unhappy owners sure make a lot of noise. Enough noise that I think it would be in Yamaha's interest to test these keyboards more thoroughly before they go out.

It is unfortunate that these many keyboards are defective, but I don't think it's a reason to stay away from this remarkable keyboard.

I have heard of two or three Europeans with defective PSR-S900s on the PK Owner forum, but the vast majority of owners are without problems.

The PSR-S900 really is creme de la creme. I am getting a fantastic response at my gigs. I think that it would be misguided to get a lesser instrument because of the fear of getting a defective PSR-S900. The two units that I am playing now - one for gigging and one for practice/studio - are very stable. No glitches whatsoever.

I am really surprised that the amount of PSR-S900s sold in the USA are in the hundreds - apparently less than 500. That's less than 10 for every state in the union! Of course, the keyboard has only been out for a little over a month, but that's really little. Yamaha being the most popular brand, it makes me wonder how many Ketron's sell here.

Beakybird

Thanks Everyone,
I'm in Australia not the USA, hence the reason for asking if the problems were mainly confined to the USA.

I have a dealer about an hour away, so I'd be picking up.

Thanks Steve & George, sounds like someone has mishandled the faulty ones prior to the owners receiving them, rather than any manufacturing problems etc.

Makes me feel way more confident.

best wishes
Rikki

[QUOTE]Originally posted by rikkisbears:
[B]

That was only conjecture on Steve Deming's part although it may have indeed happened.

Steve is saying to go ahead and buy with confidence but I can understand why some people may be hesitant to do so. I myself can't think another recent arranger product by Yamaha that has had this many issues this quickly. Most places do have a 30 day return/exchange policy so if you don't mind the possible hassle and loss of time with boxing back up a bad one and either shipping it back for a refund or replacement or driving to the location you purchased it from to do likewise then go ahead and buy with confidence.

When the S500/700/900 first came out and I was able to demo them in person that was one of the first points I made about them was they looked and felt kind of shoddy in workmanship and materials compared to the PSR 3000, or the PSR 2000 for that matter. Mind you, that's an observation on the outside of the keyboard but if the outside happens to be suspect (at least that's what I thought from my initial observation anyway) then something may be going on with the innards too. Kind of like where there's smoke there's ... God forbid, right? And it's interesting if they are made in China because China has for the last year or so experienced massive quality control issues on manufactured products. Could that be where the real problem lies? Instead of that bonehead in Yammie's warehouse?

Although for Yamaha's sake I hope that it is only relegated to a small internal issue that is of limited scope.

You're rolling the dice somewhat but I would estimate that 9 times out of 10 or better you're going to come out a winner. And those are fantastic odds really. Although I myself am personally not a gambling man the analogy is still a valid one in my opinion. So all things considered I am with Steve on this one. Go ahead and buy with confidence. >> Be advised though that I am in no way liable if after taking my advice someone happens to get stuck with a lemon. But with all things considered the chances of that happening are very slim in my opinion. And if there is something bigger going on then Yamaha will waste no time in getting to the bottom of it and rectifying it asap. You can count on that. Their name is at stake and they don't want any kind of black eye out of this that's for sure. Nuf said..

Mike