Search for a Keyboard, Part IV

[Jay B.]

Hello Yamaha Arranger / Workstation Users + Fans,

So after a lot of consideration, thinking, trying different things out, reading a lot of "PSR Tutorial" posts, opinions (some brilliant, some pathetic), I made a decision. I purchased a PSR-S970!! I got a very good price on a new unit - Yamaha lowered it to ~$1800, Amazon gave me a 10% off coupon for the 970 + accessories, and I get an extra 10% off that for putting it on an Amazon CC. I have been playing it and playing around with it for 3 weeks now. It has great sounds, I have gotten used to the keybed, and am beginning to learn how arrangers work.

I have thought seriously about a TOTL arranger and spent time comparing the Korg Pa4x vs Genos. I also compared the PA1000 vs the s975 vs the s970 vs Roland, etc. I read many opinions and reviewed hours upon hours of YT videos to arrive at this place. I have always favored Yamaha's sound over Korg and continue to do so. Truth be told, up until today I was still considering a Genos, but decided to keep the 970. Here's why:

• I have been out of music for so long I need to I have to start from the beginning with new keyboard OS
• Spending time recovering my playing is as important learning the tech
• I can definitely hear the difference in the Genos, even though I have only heard it on YT, but the 970 still sounds superior to my old keyboards
• Genos requires 3-4X the investment of the 970 at this time
• There is more to learn about the 970 - I have only scratched the surface
• S970 is self-contained for practice, very versatile, good enough to play on a gig (IMO)
• While I miss having 76-88 keys sometimes, 61 keys is an acceptable compromise at this point.

It is time to continue developing playing, learn the instrument, learn how to use its capabilities, set up a casual concert, gig or two, and most of all, have fun. I'm sure I will be annoying everyone here asking questions, etc. Thank you to all that helped me with this!!

Jay B.

[EB5AGV]

Congratulations to have arrived to a buying decision and being happy with it!

I am on a similar process right now, but some notches below your level. I am considering the PSR-S670, so I joined this Forum.

Now It is time for me to read and learn 

BTW, I have just found that you started with a SY77. I did also... but just some months ago!. And I keep it along a DGX660 I bought later. Now I look for a more portable keyboard 

Regards,

Jose

[Toril S]

Congratulations! Wise desicion! We are many with the S970 here😀

[panos]

If you like the keyboard after 3 weeks you are playing with it , then it seems that you have made the right choise for your needs and budget,Jay B .
So there will not be a "Search for a Keyboard, Part V"


Wellcome to the forum Jose.

[Denn]

Hello Jose, for my opinion the PSR S970 is the same as a Tyros5 except for only having two voices instead of three which is not really a problem. Advantage over the T5 is that it is self-contained, plug and play; easy to carry and is still open ended where you can load lots of extra styles and voices. As for "better sounds" - sounds, like taste and colors are a personal thing. Plug in the B & O A9 speaker system and everyone will drool. I have a T4 and a PSR S770 and, like I have said before, if someone wanted my T4 they would have to prise it out of my cold dead fingers!! The S970 is probably the best value for money.
Now you have to get two large bins, one on either side of you for when you tear your hair out on your learning curve. 
Regards, Denn. 

[Jay B.]

...of the nice, music-loving people that inhabit this Forum. Your thoughts and feedback were of great help to me - hopefully soon, I will be able to return the favor to others.

Jay B.

[JohnS (Ugawoga)]

No pockets in shrouds .

It has got to be the GENOS

[Lloyd E]

A very wise and excellent choice for a keyboard.  The Genos will be there when you are ready for it.  Yes, the price is high and the 970 will give you good service. Time will tell if you still are interested in music.  I wish you the very best,  Lloyd

[markstyles]

Congratulation Jay B.

There is a satisfaction, of having gone thru the studying, logic, decision making, then purchasing the right instrument for your particular needs.

[Pianoman]

Congratulation Jay B.

There is a satisfaction, of having gone thru the studying, logic, decision making, then purchasing the right instrument for your particular needs.

Well said Mark, I totally agree..

And congratulations Jay.

Best Regards.
Abby.

[alanclare]

Congratulation Jay B.

There is a satisfaction, of having gone thru the studying, logic, decision making, then purchasing the right instrument for your particular needs.

Spot on Mark. The 970 is a "sound" choice, Jay, and there's more than sufficient tech content in it to keep your mind busy for many a year - and this forum is a wonderful resource, as you've already discovered.

Alan

[markstyles]

My first arranger keyboard was a Tyros 3, many years back now,  however I was not as successful as you in getting there.   I had used Band In a Box for quite a long time, (since the early 90's)  I had a job where I had to do 20 nursery rhymes, with singers, and each song in a different style within one month.  Band In a Box was a life saver.. Some of it's styles were OK, but not real 'stand out'. But it would very quickly 'flesh' out a song for me. and give a 'framework' to work the song. I used it with a huge collection of hardware synths. So I really liked the premise of what it did, I just wanted something more professional sounding

I had never looked at an 'arranger kbd' before.  The Tyros 3 was great, but way to expensive in my mind.  I bought a Motif XS rack, with all their arpeggios, because the store dealer implied, it was real easy to create songs that way.  While I liked the Motif, but the ability to quickly build a song was not what it was designed for. . Next I bought a Korg M3 with it's built in Karma software.. The Karma software is impressive, like super arpeggios on steroids. But extremely complex, I couldn't get it to do exactly what I wanted.

My intention was I wanted to quickly get a good foundation of a song, then modify from there. The old method was a recording studio, where you have to record the song, with at least 4 - 6 parts to get a decent reference if you got it right. Then you might decide to rewrite some chords, change key, tempo etc.  So finding just the right 'version' of the song, could be a considerable amount of time. So it was very laborious and time consuming to get the song right.

So after two expensive false starts with the , I bought the Tyros 3..  Only one store carried them in NYC, and they could not be demo'd.. You had to buy it sight unseen.  After scouring the internet, in spite of the $$$ I bought it.  The store here in NYC, had a 30 day no questions asked return policy.. So I wasn't at risk.. 10 minutes after I turned on the T3, I was totally in love with it.

One of Yamaha's real strengths, is their 'voicing' of an instrument.. That is, while there are some great instrument patches, There are few real 'punch you in the eye' sounds. But their choice of sounds is very carefully designed so that you know, any combination of instruments, will fit together, 'homogenize' together real well. Just pulling up a style and playing, gives you the expertise experience of 10 years of recording engineering.  The blending of the sounds, and it's compressor, gives you a 1st rate mixing/engineered sound.

Since then it has been a much easier process for me to buy a new piece of hardware.  You did it right the first time.. Great..  You are going to have many, many hours of happy playing..