Has anyone heard of a faulty LCD screen on the EW425?

[jasonrohrer]

My son opened his birthday present a few weeks ago... a Yamaha PSR-E473.

When we plugged it in, my heart sunk:  it suffered from the "uneven contrast" LCD problem, right out of the box.  The problem is described here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xi2ycrz5FI

This makes the patch name difficult to read, along with several other elements in the display (the 6-track-enabling display for accompaniment is really difficult to see).

Yamaha agreed to replace it under warranty, so we sent it back to them.  They informed us that the problem has been fixed in manufacturing, and that newer models don't have this LCD defect.

After they received it, they informed us that the 473 is back-ordered, and we will need to wait 2-12 weeks for a replacement.  I wish they had told us that BEFORE we mailed it back!

So, my son is enjoying is AWOL birthday present...

And I'm nervous that we will get the run-around for many more than 12 weeks into the future...


I'm thinking about buying some other replacement, in the mean time.  I don't want to take a gamble on another 473, since I might get old stock with the same display issue.

What about the EW425?

Bigger and louder with higher-quality versions of a few sounds, but otherwise identical to the 473.


Has anyone heard of the display defect affecting the 425?

[SciNote]

To the best of my knowledge, this only affected the E473, and not the EW425.  But I may not have complete data.  The other thing I've heard is that this issue is something that is there right out of the box.  So, if you buy an EW425, make sure the salesman will allow you to open it in the store and power it up -- either before the purchase, or afterward.  And make sure that, if you have to do it after the purchase, that you can exchange it right there on the spot if you see it has a defective display.

[casiokid]

Yamaha really ought to have announced and organized a product re-call

[BogdanH]

Yes, display problem with PSR-E473 is quite known and waiting up to 3 months for repair is ___ (fill in). Anyway, so far I could read about this issue, nobody has reported about successful repair -it's mostly in the sense "is a bit better now".

You didn't mention the age of your son and his keyboard playing "ambitions", so it's hard to give an advice/opinion what you should do. But by assuming that your son is a young teenager, here's what I would probably do:

Option A:
I would buy Medeli AKX10, or it's rebranded brother:
https://www.thomann.de/intl/thomann_ak_x1100.htm
-which is actually Yamaha PSR-SX700 clone for a half of price! Needless to say that this is much better keyboard than PSR-E473 and so you just sell E473 when it comes back.

Option B:
Buy Casio CT-X5000, which you can get for under 400€. In general, this keyboard is comparable to E473 (at better price) and I could only find positive reviews. And when E473 comes back, you decide which to sell. At least you don't loose much money.

That is, I would not buy EW425, which is essentially an E473 with 76 keys. I mean, if you needed 76 keys, then you'd probably buy EW425 in first place... and so, why pay more for something you don't need.

Bogdan

[jasonrohrer]

We're actually not waiting for a "repair" but instead a "replacement," apparently.  Yamaha is waiting for a fresh batch of keyboards to be made and reach the US, so they can send us one...

My son recently turned 12.  He's a very casual keyboard user.  He has been using a Casio SA-76 toy keyboard daily for years, mostly just playing with it and having fun.  He has learned several theme songs to various TV shows and movies that he likes (Top Gun is the latest example).  He watches YouTube videos that teach him how to play these songs.

His biggest frustration with the SA-76 was "too few keys," because some of the songs he's trying to learn require more octaves.  Sound quality wasn't something that he complained about, hilariously.

Once he got his hands on the 473, he definitely enjoyed the better sound quality, and really liked exploring the 800+ voices that are on there.  He was also starting to mess with the drum kits.  And the accompaniments were wowing him a bit.  And he had just discovered the arpeggios too.  He was also appreciating touch sensitivity, and the pitch-bend wheel was fun.  And he was twiddling the knobs, too.  And using the sustain pedal.  These are all things that were missing from the toy SA-76.  The 473 has that "wow" factor.


All that said, he's an absolute beginner, and just a kid.  He's not going to dive deep into the manual, and explore all the customizationa that are possible.  He was able to figure out all kinds of things on the 473 just by exploring and messing around.


WHICH makes me worry about getting him anything more complicated than the 473.  Those "workstation" type keyboards have a full-color screen with loads of deep menus, etc.

I did look at the CT-X5000 pretty closely.... but the UI is supposed to be a "nightmare" of confusing complexity.  Jeremy See literally used the word "nightmare" in his comparison video

That said, the CT-X5000 is a much more powerful keyboard, with more features (like portamento, recorded track editing, etc.)  But I don't think he needs that stuff just yet.... ESPECIALLY if the trade-off is that it feels complicated and confusing,


The other one I've looked at is the Korg EK-50.... even SIMPLER to use than the 473, with a better build quality.  The only hesitation for me there is the lack of arpeggios.... those are SO MUCH FUN, especially for a beginner who just wants to mess around.


My main problem when doing research before buying was that I couldn't see either the Casio keyboard nor the Korg keyboard anywhere in person.  Most local keyboard shops sell Yamaha.

So it's really hard to just read reviews.... seeing/feeling/hearing/using a keyboard in person tells me a lot.  Like, maybe the CT-X5000 isn't that complicated for basic functions... but I'd have to fiddle with it myself to decide that.

I was able to play a 473 in person before buying.... and it felt like the perfect fit for my 12-y-o dabbling son.

I just wish I had bought the Floor Model with the working screen!

[BogdanH]

I can fully understand the disappointment and frustration you (and your son) are in right now. Of course, everything would be perfect, IF there wouldn't be bad luck with E473.. but now it is what it is.

I personally still think, that CT-X5000 is the best option (price & performance & purpose). Yes, I followed Jeremy See's reviews for a while... not that he's wrong, but he isn't that thorough in his reviews either -which reminds me, when he was comparing Yamaha SX900 and SX700... that is, don't let a single "review" to influence your decision too much.
EK-50... for many of us, Korg (or Yamaha) simply sounds better in our ears than "cheap" Casio -but that doesn't necessary tell which is actually better choice for our needs. Btw. Casio makes one of the best digital pianos on market -just saying.
What can I say... it's your call.
And finally, you can also wait for new E473 to come (I know, Christmas time is coming fast).

No matter what keyboard brand we buy, we can start playing as soon it's switched on. But if we want more, then we must be ready to learn how to use it. I wouldn't say one brand is more difficult to learn than another... it's just different. That's especially true for entry level home keyboards, which are made to be used easily.
And what's probably most important: buy what makes you feel comfortable -it's important that your son likes the keyboard, to have fun with it.

Bogdan

[jasonrohrer]

I have no problem at all with the "cheap" reputation or sound quality of Casio!

Yeah, I suppose it would be easy to get started with, you can turn it on and just play it, and use all the sounds, etc...

I just wonder, if he wants to do more than that, how hard it would be to figure out.

I also worry about it getting "stuck" in a weird state, if he gets into some menu that he doesn't understand, and enables something strange.  And then he can't figure out how to get it back to normal.

Looking at it a bit closer, the lack of knobs also seems like a limitation for a kid who just wants to mess around (I guess you can tweak the DSP filter settings through the menus?)

[pjd]

For many of us, Korg (or Yamaha) simply sounds better in our ears than "cheap" Casio -but that doesn't necessary tell which is actually better choice for our needs. Btw. Casio makes one of the best digital pianos on market -just saying.

And what's probably most important: buy what makes you feel comfortable -it's important that your son likes the keyboard, to have fun with it.

I've been satisfied with the Casio CT-S1000V: http://sandsoftwaresound.net/casio-ct-s1000v-first-impressions/
Although I generally prefer Yamaha, Casio have upped their game with newly sampled voices (piano, EP, strings come to mind). I prefer the CT-S1000V keybed over the E-series -- quite playable. Some of us feel like Yamaha has taken playability out of the E-series keybeds along with cost.

Bogdan is totally on point -- let's just have fun! 

-- pj

[jasonrohrer]

The CT-s1000v definitely looks fun!  That voice module is nuts!

I will look closer at it.... but does it have some of the other useful features that an "entertainer" keyboard could have, like:

--Ability to toggle parts on the accompaniments (turn drums off, turn bass on)

--Ability to record your own song with multiple tracks

--A bank of various arpeggios


It just has so few buttons on it...  I can't imagine it has....

Well... looking at the feature list... sounds like it has most of these things?

That's pretty wild.  I guess they are UI Wizards to be able to squeeze all of that into an interface with only 15 buttons, 2 knobs, and one dial.

Maybe the "nightmare ui" days of the CT-X series are in the past?


Do you have any thoughts on the deeper functions (like recording) and how easy they are to use with so few buttons?

[jasonrohrer]

 After finding a CT-S1000V that I could try in person, I was a believer!  I just bought one as a (temporary) replacement for the bad-LCD 473 for my son.

The build-quality is very nice, and I really liked the simplicity of the user-interface.  Lots of deep functions, but they're all pretty easy to find and figure out.

The voice feature is really something else....

And PORTAMENTO!  None of the PSR-E keyboards from Yamaha have that.... and it's so fun to play with.

One down-side:

--No way to disable individual tracks on the accompaniments.  Though you can just have the drums, and turn the instruments off, which is probably sufficient most of the time.

[pjd]

Hi Jason --

Glad to hear the news and I hope you enjoy the new keyboard.

The CT-S1000V auto-accompaniment features, etc. are "arranger LITE" when compared to the CTX series. It is a fun keyboard to play. I don't record the CT to itself, so I'm not the one to help you. There is a forum dedicated to Casio instruments and you should be able to ask questions there: https://www.casiomusicforums.com/

I wrote a few on-line articles while I got started with the CT-S1000V -- links below.

-- pj

http://sandsoftwaresound.net/casio-ct-s1000v-first-impressions/
http://sandsoftwaresound.net/casio-ct-s1000v-observations/
http://sandsoftwaresound.net/casio-ct-s1000v-quick-tips/
http://sandsoftwaresound.net/casio-ct-s1000v-more-tips/
http://sandsoftwaresound.net/casio-ct-s1000v-about-them-effects/
http://sandsoftwaresound.net/casio-ct-s1000v-free-registration-banks/