Latest arranger keyboard always the best ?

[beykock]

Hi,

I wonder why one wants to own the latest/newest arranger keyboard.

Questionnaire
01.Not happy with her/his present instrument ?
02.Does one believe the newest keyboard is
      much better than its predecessor ?
03.Does one want to have the latest technology ?
04.Does one think/hope he/she will become a better player ?
05.Another reason why to upgrade ?

Babette

[Toril S]

I think it is yes on all four😀

[BogdanH]

After a long break I decided to buy keyboard again. I had an idea of what is "good enough for me" and so, my friend Youtube convinced me to get PSR-S670. The fact, that S670 is bottom of the line Yamaha arranger, didn't bother me at all -I'm not a snob and price was just perfect. Yes, I was very happy with S670 capabilities and quality. Still, just after few months I decided to buy S775... because display on S670 is just darn too small. And also having such low resolution, it's almost unusable for working (arranging) with it. Yeah, nobody mentioned that important fact on web.
Almost double priced S775 however, has great display.. But all buttons are made of rubber (imagine $130 Casio) -because of that, buttons "wobble" freely when pressed. And because there's no "click", it can (and does) happen, keyboard recognizes single push as pushed twice. Rubber is also harder to clean, though. S670 is premium keyboard in this regard.

Ok, why newest (better) keyboard?
Because there might be things we just can't live with (see above) or, when we exploited capabilities of keyboard we currently have. In both cases, when looking after successor, we pay most attention to avoid "flaws" our current keyboard has. Again, usually we get the best we can afford.

Yes, Genos has "real" buttons, however it has another flaw: too expensive for me
On the other hand, when Genos II arises, some current Genos owners will say "At last -that's the keyboard I was after since my birth" 

[Toril S]

I also really hate rhose rubber buttons!

[beykock]

It looks new upgrades like e.g. S775 and S975 are not always such a commercial success.

It seems the present features of both
new arranger keyboards do not convince S770 and S970 players enough to upgrade.

As far as I know present S770 and S970 owners prefer to wait for the new S775 and S975 successor.
They are expecting more Genos features ( e.g. a better sound etc. ), I have been told.

Apparently the Genos is a commercial success for Yamaha.
Most Genos customers are ex Tyros players.

The present Genos owners seem to be very happy with their upgrade due to a better sound, a touch screen,  the larger internal memory, the colour and the weight of the Genos.
Even the new Genos price has convinced many players to upgrade, I guess.

Like before, I believe the Genos2 will first of all be bought by present Genos owners and probably also by Tyros owners.
I also expect Korg PA4X owners might come to the Yamaha fold.

As usual, I will not be surprised future Genos2 owners will tell the world the Genos2 is so much better than the Genos.
A very natural reaction, I guess.😉

Bye for now,
Babette

[Gunnar Jonny]

I wonder why one wants to own the latest/newest arranger keyboard.......

Questionnaire replied with my very personal point of view.

01.Not happy with her/his present instrument ?
        I've always been very happy with my keyboards, but there often was some new things it would be 'nice to have'.

02.Does one believe the newest keyboard is much better than its predecessor ?
        Yes, in many ways, and I believe there is new sounds, new styles and updated technology.

03.Does one want to have the latest technology ?
        YESS! So fun and interesting to explore the progress and what it has to give in addition to what's already there.

04.Does one think/hope he/she will become a better player ?
        Not at all, but when time goes by, I get more experience and added hours of learning and practise that make me better. Hopefully.

05.Another reason why to upgrade ?
        Exitement, and the hunger to try new stuff.
        (Even if my bankaccount advice me that there maybe is better things to spend the money at that have less economic loss.) 

[mikf]

Many people - I would even say most people - buying a new arranger are not upgrading from the predecessor. They may be upgrading from a much lower grade or older keyboard, changing brands, entering the arranger market for the first time, re-entering the market after a gap, or even replacing a worn or damaged instrument. We dont have much information on the proportion of single model upgrades to overall sales, but my suspicion is that it's not huge on average. There are a couple of releases which may have generated more of a stir than most, but even then I doubt single step upgrades from the predecessor are a big proportion of the total.
There is always a lot of discussion on forums whether the latest model is sufficiently improved to be worth upgrading and that gives the very misleading impression that single model upgrades from the predecessor are the main driver for sales. The facts are that even on a forum of enthusiasts like this, only a tiny proportion of people buy every new model when it is released.
Mike

[DrakeM]

The REAL answer is you CAN'T PURCHASE an old model once the new one comes out. 

If you are just trading in your old one (PSR, Tyros) for the newest model, then you just have extra cash on hand. It's like cars, some folks can afford to change  while other (as I) keep the one we got until the wheels fall off it (a couple of times). 

BTW always pay cash and purchase the car based on Mileage and not the Year.

Buying a used Yamaha keyboard is like playing the lottery (don't do it).

[Toril S]

I just bought a used T5. So far, so good. I had my PSR 2100 in 14 (!) years before upgrading to an S970, that broke down after 10 months. The main reason for moving up was the floppy disk system and the bad screen on the 2100. As for sounds I will tell you a secret, I still prefer the sound of my 2100 to my newer models! The newer models of course have more realistic sounds, but the 2100 has the stable sounds that go good with my ears.
Many of the features on the PSR S975 and T5 i will never use. But the USB and color screens won me over

[beykock]

Like to thank you all for your feedback.👍
Very interesting and different inputs. 😀

Babette

[panos]

I also think Babette that when a new model comes in town it is not targeting to sell to those who have the previous one.
It is just that technology over the years make huge steps and everyone who is selling technology products got to follow.
The s775 & s975 released for those who would buy the s770-970 instead.
They just added some new features,changed some things and sell them at the same price.

Newer keyboards have always advantage of the older ones.
Someone may not find a big difference in sounds or styles between an older and a newer model and  there are new features he is not using or care about but for others these things are crucial like connectivity to PC programs,apps,creating and adding new voices and packs etc.

For example,buy for me or a tyros 4 user all the expansions packs from all style/voice creators.
Thanks for the present but sorry I cannot use them

The other day I asked my keyboard to play some arpeggios and the answer was:
-What is that? 

[ton37]

Hi, the opposite is also possible, I guess ;-)) . I 'downgraded' my keyboard. After 10 years keyboardless and for my own pleasure  I started keyboarding again. I liked the Tyros5 . Bought it,  played it, sold it and swapped to the Genos. Played it for some months, sold it too. Why? They were not the best keyboards FOR MY NEEDS. The price was not a reason at first. For my personal use the Tyros5 was much closer to my needs than the Genos was. WIth the Genos I realised that I didn't use more as 20 %!  of its technique/possibilties. So finally decided to buy a used S770, instead of returning to a T5. And I'm satisfied with this step and the S770.  I discovered that the s770 is a keyboard which has also lot of competence and possibilities. But I accept that as the Genos was 10 times more expensive. So I guess it is sooo personal .... and let it be ;-)
Regards Ton

[Joe H]

I upgraded from an S910 to the S970 for the arpeggiator, Live Control and expansion capability.  So for me it was new features.  But the next upgrade will be primarily for MORE expansion memory (I've run out of space for all my packs)

   

Joe H

[pjd]

FOR MY NEEDS.

Amen! There's "want" and there's "need."

The best keyboard is the one that helps you to meet your goals as a musician -- very personal.

Take care -- pj

[EileenL]

I have always updated my keyboards to the latest models right from my very first PSR6700. They have always had many more additions and improvements on them and I have never regretted doing this.
  Money wise you always get a very good price against the new one so don't have to find to much to change over. If you keep a keyboard for to long you lose a lot of money and it is harder to change to the new one. When Genos first came out over here all the shops were packed with second hand Tyros 5 keyboards and some shops had to turn away Part exchange deals. In fact most of the people I knew with Tyros 5 swapped to Genos very quickly and are very pleased they changed.
  We all know that having a new keyboard will not make you a better player but it dose encourage you to play it more as you explore all the new features.

[mikf]

And good luck to you if that is what you enjoy. Life is good when you can afford to do the things that matter to you. Especially in your later years.
Mike

[beykock]

 I agree with pj. 👍

Some people are always looking for the newest / latest arranger keyboard model.
I fully respect their choice.

But ... I wonder how an arranger keyboard will look like in 5 -10 years from now.

Will it look like a laptop / a tablet / a smart phone ?
Will an arranger keyboard still be called a " music instrument " ?

Time will tell if the future keyboard player will be called a musician or a dj.🐸

Babette

[mikf]

You still need to have the keyboard, so it won't look very different. The stuff from 10 years ago is hardly different at all.  The latest have some more features, bit better sound, - but overall not that much different. 10 years is not long. The PSR 3000 is way more than 10 years old and many people still play and even gig with them.

[hammer]

I started out with the PSR3000, then I got the Tyros 3, then I went to the Tyros 4.
I also bought the Tyros 5 and the Genos but sold both after about a month with each.  Today I own the PSR S975 which in my opinion is not near the keyboard my PSR S950 was.  I also often wish I had just kept my Tyros 4 because I believe it truly was the best of the lot. 

To put this in perspective. I also have owned and gigged with The Roland E50, E80, The Korg Micro-Arranger, Korg PA1000, and Korg PA4X.  Today my go-to arranger is from Ketron - the SD40 module - I previously used the Ketron SD7. 

I still think the Tyros 4 was at the top of the list.  Perhaps this is only the opinion of one person but I believe Yamaha has added many features to the Genos that most players don't use or want that it has driven up the price beyond what is reasonable.  It will be interesting to see what the next Yamaha arranger will offer.

Deane

[Gunnar Jonny]

....It will be interesting to see what the next Yamaha arranger will offer.

+1 , and also what others there will show up in the TOTL arrangers series.
It's been a exciting ride since jumped on the arranger journey middle of the 80's.. 

[Joe H]

... Will it look like a laptop / a tablet / a smart phone ? ...

Yamaha been there and done that...

https://www.ebay.com/itm/YAMAHA-QY100-MIDI-128-PRESET-LCD-MULTI-EFFECTS-PORTABLE-MUSIC-SEQUENCER/202612377761?hash=item2f2ca388a1:g:9woAAOSwHxxcefGi:rk:1:pf:1&frcectupt=true

Joe H

[Patrick]

   Hi all, my S970 is at the repair shop since yesterday; it stop suddenly during playing and it start again and stop on the Yamaha logo! Nothing to do! It's my fist problem with a keyboard from Yamaha and it seems that the new keyboards are not as strong as before! More feature but no more quality made! just plastic; my PSQR S2100 was much better! The buttons on the S970 is like a ordinary toy coming from China! I'll perhaps not buy a new PSR Yamaha but an old Tyros 4 or 5; Well luky i'm buck on my guitars, all the best Patrick

[beykock]

In the near future we may expect an S775, S975 and a Genos
successor, I guess.

Perhaps in 2020/2021 ?
Only Yamaha can answer that question but there is no doubt successors will follow, as usual.

Again new features and gadgets, updated and new voices and styles etc. will be installed or added, as usual.

Once again we will hear the new arranger keyboards will be so much better than ever before.

Most music instruments are/were made for a lifetime.

It looks like synths and arranger keyboards are made for a few years only.
Their age and lifetime depend completely and entirely on the computer technology, IMHO.

Maybe synths and arranger keyboards should no longer be called " music instruments " but " digital machines to make music ".

The show must go on and will never end.
There is no business like show business.😸

Babette

[Toril S]

My deepest sympathy, Patrick. I also had an S970 that broke down.

[EileenL]

Keyboards will always remain Keyboards. They may change colour from time to time and the facia's may look different. People will always want different things from there keyboards so there will always be plenty to choose from. Some functions will be used a lot and some will not but the variety is  there and the sky's the limit. One thing you must be prepared to do when getting a new keyboard is spend time exploring it and getting used to the new sounds it will produce. With Genos it has a lot of good features on it that allow you to make it your own. The assignable buttons make it so easy to find things instead of searching for them through pages. This makes it faster to operate. If you were used to using Music Finder many were always saying I wish you could save other setting and link other things. Well now with playlist you can do just that. Technology is always moving forward in all things from Phones and kitchen appliances TV's Cars so why not keyboards.

[Graham UK]

I'm still with the Tyros 2 + NP30 as Twinset. I play it everyday, I learnt to know it inside out and with tweaks it still sounds vibrant. I have the money to change if required...but why if my present setup is giving me daily enjoyment ?.

[Toril S]

Indeed, Eileen!

[mikf]

I would go a step further and say that it's not even necessary to know the keyboard inside out, just know how to do what you need to do for your specific needs. Likely there are going to be many things you never need to know.
Mike

[EileenL]

Yes the choice is yours to use what suits you best but it is nice to know that if you suddenly want to explore and do some different things they are there for you to learn how to.

[beykock]

Graham is right, Mike is right and Eileen is right.

Why should one kill a winning horse, why should one need features he/she will never use and it is absolutely a must one has to take all the time to explore a new arranger keyboard to find out which ( new ) features are better, more useful and needed.

Many musicians are " in love " with their instrument, know all the ins and outs very well and do not like/want to loose
" their baby ".

Other musicians prefer to follow the latest trends and buy the newest model. Why not if these musicians are happy.

IMHO it is wise to respect everybody's personal opinion, choice and decision.

To say the newest arranger keyboard is always " better " might be a bridge too far, I guess.

I am " in love " with my Tyros5/76 and up to now nobody can convince me to let it go.

I hope and pray I can keep my keyboard as long as possible.  This arranger offers me everything I need.🌹

Best regards, Babette