Replacement for PSR 730

[dlbeaty]

For several years now I have been using my PSR 730 for song writing, and home studio recording. I am not a keyboard player but I have learned how to make good use of the styles and voices in this older keyboard. It seems to be working fine, but some of the voices and styles are dated, and I am thinking about branching out and working on music for others.

One of the important features I have been using is the ability to mute some of the voices when playing the styles, and unmute them on the fly to build the song. I have some cool software called One Man Band that allows customization of a style, but it is slower. I should mention that I also have a Motif 6 keyboard that I can interface the software for better voices. With this I have been trying styles I have downloaded, but it is not as convenient as the PSR.

My recording software is old too, but works for me. It is Cubase VST. I can send MIDI files to the 730 to trigger the styles and record the performance as a MIDI or wave file.

From pictures I can see that some of the current keyboards like the s670 have the 16 buttons under the screen to mute the voices being played in the styles but others like the sx700 and sx900 do not that I can tell, unless they are a touch screen system. I do not even know what that feature is called if I was to download the manuals, so I was hoping for some advice here.

Will the s670 be worthwhile upgrade from my PSR 730, or should I go for the sx700 which is my price limit? I could not find any s910 models on the used market, but that one sounds like it would be worth the added expense in the long run.

Or is there a software option like One Man Band that might fill the bill?

Thanks in advance,
Dan

[DerekA]

The SX700 - along with all the newer arrangers - does have this function. It's part of the Mixer. As you said, SX700 uses a touch screen system which is pretty effective.

Within the Mixer you can change many things about the style on the fly - which parts are on/off, their volumes, pan position, reverb depth etc.

I would recommend SX700 over S670.

SX700 doesn't have vocal harmony, which is really the only thing S910 would offer, but I believe the SX700 is better than S910 in pretty much all other ways.

[dlbeaty]

The SX700 - along with all the newer arrangers - does have this function. It's part of the Mixer. As you said, SX700 uses a touch screen system which is pretty effective.

Within the Mixer you can change many things about the style on the fly - which parts are on/off, their volumes, pan position, reverb depth etc.

I would recommend SX700 over S670.

SX700 doesn't have vocal harmony, which is really the only thing S910 would offer, but I believe the SX700 is better than S910 in pretty much all other ways.

Thanks.

The vocal harmonizer is not something I need. I was wondering about the s770. How does it compare with the sx700? I realize that it would have to be used. But I could save some money, and still hopefully gain options over my PSR730

Dan

[DerekA]

S770 is also a great keyboard. I used to have one and was very fond of it.

SX700 adds the R3 voice layer, the touch screen and some newer voices.

The basic feature set between S770 and SX700 is very similar though. You can have literally thousands of styles available on USB, all of which load up in a couple of seconds. And the styles have 4 variations. And they are all free on this site!! You can have as many registration banks as will fit on the USB stick. Similarly for recording, you can save as many audio or MIDI files as will fit on the USB stick. With a 32GB stick you are not going to run out of space any time soon.

You might find you spend more time working on the keyboard itself rather than using Cubase, especially when just being creative, just because it's so convenient.

[EileenL]

I would defiantly go for the SX700 if you can as it is the latest in the medium range of keyboards and now gives you three right hand voices as well as new playlist system. Also 1 Gb of memory for new voice and style packs.

[dlbeaty]

S770 is also a great keyboard. I used to have one and was very fond of it.

SX700 adds the R3 voice layer, the touch screen and some newer voices.

The basic feature set between S770 and SX700 is very similar though. You can have literally thousands of styles available on USB, all of which load up in a couple of seconds. And the styles have 4 variations. And they are all free on this site!! You can have as many registration banks as will fit on the USB stick. Similarly for recording, you can save as many audio or MIDI files as will fit on the USB stick. With a 32GB stick you are not going to run out of space any time soon.

You might find you spend more time working on the keyboard itself rather than using Cubase, especially when just being creative, just because it's so convenient.

After reading up on the s770, I am getting more interested. I might decide to sell the Motif 6 if I find a good deal on the s770. The Motif 6 is great, but I am thinking that the voices might be even better with the s770, and the styles are what I need anyway. The guitar sounds have come a long way since 2001. Does that make sense?

[overover]

Hi Dan,

your thread "Major leaps forward with PSR keyboards" probably also deals with the question of which keyboard you should buy as a replacement for the PSR-730.

I answered you here:

https://www.psrtutorial.com/forum/index.php/topic,55519.msg432812.html#msg432812


Best regards,
Chris

[dlbeaty]

Thanks to everyone for the information. I found a new PSR s775 on Amazon and just ordered it. When considering the free returns and free 5 months to pay, close to my budget, I said what the heck?

Dan

[Toril S]

A good choice Dan!

[dlbeaty]

A good choice Dan!

To update, the s775 suits my needs very well. I had spent hours trying to add downloaded styles to the psr730 and matching the voices. With this newer one, it recognizes all of the styles I have downloaded and matches the voices automatically. Many of them are duplicates, but the variations could be useful over time.

Now to tackle the learning curve and the new features!

Dan