.

[madirv]

.

[BogdanH]

Nobody knows when and which keyboard will be released.. we can only speculate.

You say S975 was discontinued and replaced by SX900 shortly after you bough it. The thing is, S775 (which I had) and S975 were actually not new products: it was just a rebadge of older S770/S970. The only difference was, with S775/S975 you got few "free" expansion packs.

My opinion about your experience at that event... well, they try to push sales all the time, don't they? I can see, that right now, SX700/SX900 is in stock at most shops.. and stuff needs to be sold before Christmas, right? 

And if I may speculate.. no, I don't expect SX700/SX900 replacement very soon. Reason being: Genos is starting to show it's age and urgently needs a replacement. But there isn't even a rumor about "new" Genos yet... so next SX maybe in (let me check my crystall ball) 2 years. 

Bogdan

[BogdanH]

...
I'll stick with the S975 then----I'm sure its more than good enough for me!!!!

I'm sure you know your S975 pretty good by now, and if you don't miss something particular, then you should really keep it. As I mentioned, I had S775 before (almost equal to S975) and I bough SX700 mainly because of touch screen. Obviously, I didn't become better musician because of that, but I really enjoy that feature.

Best wishes,
Bogdan

[Toril S]

I have the S975, and is very satisfied with it.it is a well balanced keyboard. The SX900 has more memory, 3 right hand voices and a touch screen. It also has scat voices, and I like that. The speakers are also better. But I like my S975, and stuck with it. To be fair I have the Genos too, but it is the S975 I use on gigs.

[DrakeM]

Without seeing the actual price you were quoted by the store, I can't really know if you were actually offered a knocked down price. You see Yamaha will not allow the stores and online dealers to advertise anything lower than $2300 new.

But if you contact the dealers directly you can get a MUCH better price than that. Even starting with DAY ONE of the product being made available.

 

[EileenL]

That sounds like a reasonable deal.

[DrakeM]

The discount price is just the "real" normal price I would expect to pay (not the full price).

$1738 is what I would expect for an asking price of $2594.  The dealer has knocked off $49 extra is sounds like.

[DrakeM]

But you can do a lot better on your trade in offer. Use EBAY to unload it if you have to.

[DrakeM]

Is it worth it?

Most likely not as the keyboards since the S950 seem to sound the same. All the SX900 and Genos styles work in my S950 with just bit of tweaking. Of course there are new features but nothing outstanding. But I intended to purchase a new keyboard when my S950 turned 10 years old (which it has). If something would go wrong with the keyboard I believe it would not be fixable.

When I upgraded from my PSR2000 keyboard to the S950, I went from using disks to a hard drive and from the VH1 to the new and improved VH2. Also the mega guitar voices were nice but not really useful for creating my own styles. The S. Art and Live voices were a great upgrade.

But since then to now nothing would be a noticeable change to my listeners. 

[EileenL]

I did find an improvement in sound and the speakers which now sound from all angles and not just the front. It is also nice having three right hand voices so that you can produce some really nice rich Big Band set ups as well as using individually.
  There are also some very nice new styles, and the OTS has improved a lot to.
It also has a 1Gb memory for sound and style packs which are now free from Yamaha.
  I enjoy playing mine.

[BogdanH]

...It is also nice having three right hand voices...

-totally agree on that!
..now i wish having two voices on left hand 

Bogdan

[mikf]

I dont think being a pro or a hobby player makes a difference on deciding to ugrade to the latest model. A pro can play good music on an old PSR3000 that is hardly distinguishable in sound from the very latest models, but each model incorporates some new features. Whether they are worth the extra money depends on how important those extra features are to you. Many people just like to buy the latest.  Its like buying a new car when your old one is only 3 or 4 years old with less than 30k miles on the clock. There usually isn't much difference, but many people do it anyway. Including me BTW. 
I guess we all change them sometime, so why not now if the cash is available and it doesn't cause WW3 at home! At least thats my very shaky rationale. 
Mike

[BogdanH]

...I rarely use their voices (perhaps my taste in music is weird!!!!) as they just seem to use the same formula...

I know what you mean and I agree -not about you having weird music taste, though.. maybe "unique music taste" 
It's impossible to decide about keyboard in shop, if staff is too much concentrated on selling (instead listening to customer).

As I said in previous post, don't buy if you see no benefits for you. Yes, SX900 is better than S975, but only if owner uses (or need) those benefits. In general, differences aren't huge, though. As we use to say, it's the musician who makes the difference, not the instrument.
On the other hand, some new features, can be very tempting... and at some point we just empty our wallet 

Bogdan

[EileenL]

Hello Irene,
  I don't think we will see a new SX keyboard for at least another couple of years.
There are some very good country styles on the SX900. Will the shop not let you try this keyboard for yourself. Always a good thing to do.

[mikf]

Books are OK for learning music basics, but to improve your playing its mostly practice and/or lessons. Books will not help much. Improving your knowledge of chords - very important on an arranger - and how easily you can play them all all in the different keys, is mostly just practice. As far as melody is concerned, I usually tell people to try to play how you might sing it, ie hear it in phrases. And learning how to play harmony with your RH as well. But having an experienced player/teacher listen and guide you is best overall.
As far as the keyboard operation, that part is easy. Just decide what you you would like to do and ask here.
Mike

[mikf]

Irene
Don't be shy about posting even the simplest questions on keyboard operation. I assure you that the majority of arranger players only concern themselves with the simple stuff that lets them play. That is what the site was set up to do, although sometimes it doesnt seem that way, because the 'deep guru users' can start to dominate the posts. I agree with you that many of the discussions can become very esoteric, but its actually a very small proportion of members that involve themselves in this. So post your questions please!
Mike

[EileenL]

Hello Irene,
  I am self-taught and have seen the Karen Ramirez's video's although I live in the UK.
  There are a few on here that can not answer a simple question without they blind you with science and a lot of the time it is not right anyway. Please don't be put off by this.  Ask your questions and someone will always do their best to answer them.

[mikf]

Irene
Actually the best players might be least likely to blind you with technical jargon.
Mike

[Toril S]

Hello Irene. 32 years ago I decided I wanted a keyboard. I got a PSR-47, went home, and rattled it around untill some sound came out of it.  When I heard a sound I liked I repeated it. I am a happy amateur, and now have several keyboards. Am I a big musician? NO. Do I have fun. YEEEEES!!!! I have received much help here on the forum, and try to help if I can. These keyboards are so fun, you can just play them, OR you can dive into all the complicated stuff. The main thing is that we use them and have a good time doing it

[EileenL]

I have to agree with you there Mike. Players are most likely to use there keyboards and get to know them much more than people who use a lot of add on's to produce music.