Extensive Test SX900

[ton37]

For any interested parties. I have found a (German) article in which the PSR SX900 is being tested.
You can also read it yourself and if you have Google translation enabled you can have it translated.I am already adding the conclusion in the text. The conclusion do you find herebelow. As attachements I have added downbelow the 3 PDF automatic translated to English.

Source: https://www.bonedo.de/artikel/einzelansicht/yamaha-psr-sx900-test.html
(You can hear sounddemo's and vid demoes on the Original site! and a demo of Chord Looper)

Conclusion:
The middle class of the entertainer keyboards has experienced a leap in quality. The Yamaha PSR-SX900 is damn close to the Genos! The very good operating and data concept, the improved sound and the new functions compared to the predecessor are a big step towards the upper class. The overall sound is great. If you look at some features of the Genos (another two sub-outputs, real Revo! Drums, large Live Control panel with separate display, larger 76er keyboard with aftertouch, second MIDI port, third USB device slot, XLR Microphone connection, etc.), you will have a lot of fun with the compact and lightweight PSR-SX900. With the Chord Looper (also in connection with the app 'Chord Tracker') and the Style Section Reset function he is even a bit ahead of his big brother. However, Yamaha Genos will probably donate these features soon, because at the last Upate it said: "The journey continues".

Pro:

Very good overall sound
User-friendly operation via touch screen
Very good sounding amplifier / speaker system
Compact and lightweight
Good playable keyboard
1 GB for new waveforms
3 Upper Parts
Chord Looper
Bluetooth audio

Contra

No voice creator in the device
Chord progression of the DJ styles can not be switched off
External power supply

For your convienience I have added the entire test in English (automatic translated): A=Details B=Practice (see also reply#3) C=Conclusion

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[rikkisbears]

Thank you Ton,
Will make interesting reading.

[DerekA]

B was going well until it reverted to German on page 9 

[ton37]

Hi DerekA: it seems that automatic translation has a maximum of 5000 words/signs: I have translated what's missing, but it is only text . But with the PDF I hope you can imagine what's about ;-))

++++++++++ ONLY TEXT (PDF B page 9 and further)  ++++++++
Chord Looper and Chord TrackerThis completely new feature on Yamaha Keybords was really overdue and very much welcomed by the user community. Korg has been on the "Chord Sequencer" feature list for several years now. Yamaha is using the "Chord Looper" an adequate function, but extends its functionality. In principle, you can record a harmony sequence while playing a style by pressing the REC / STOP button on the Chord Looper, and stop recording by pressing the same button again. If you now press ON / OFF, the chord loop is played in a loop. As a result, you do not have to concentrate on the chords anymore and can fully concentrate on the soloist playing of both hands. The ACMP button goes off, and the entire keyboard area is assigned to the three Upper Parts. With the left hand you can also use the joystick or the Live Control knobs to increase the musical expressiveness. Pressing the ON / OFF button again will turn off the chord looper and turn the chord recognition back on. The new Chord Looper is a true innovation in the PSR series.
What is new here is that you can store up to eight different chord progressions and combine them into a bank and save them. To do this, you fill fields in the touch display with the recorded chord progressions and can thus record a chord loop for the different parts of a song and simply switch between the chord progressions.Video example:

Chord LooperIn the following video I created and used two different patterns with the Chord Looper.Chord-Looper videoA particularly cool use of the Chord Looper is possible in conjunction with the free iOS app "Chord Tracker" from Yamaha. With this app for iPad or iPhone you can harmonically analyze pop music. If you select a song from your own library, this audio is automatically analyzed and the sequence of the piece is displayed as a chord scheme on the screen. Tempo and harmonies are detected quite reliably. You can now use these displayed chords to record the song z. B. on the PSR-SX900 with a suitable style copy the song.Incidentally, you can customize individual chords in the app, change and also transpose the entire song and make faster or slower. Practical is also a repeat function, with which you can run a part of the song in a loop. But now comes the trick: If you connect the iPad with the keyboard z. B. over Wi-Fi, so you can not only make the original song on the speakers of the instrument audible; You can also transfer the chord sequences of the different parts of the song one after the other to the Chord-Looper and save them. This gives you the opportunity to practice each part of the song on the keyboard, or you actually use the Chord Looper as a loop-based accompaniment. You can see the chords in the Chord Tracker on a keyboard, ...   

Registrations and PlaylistThe overall setting of the PSR-SX900 is stored in registrations, which in turn can be put together in playlists for a set. This kind of database has also proven itself in the genos. As mentioned above, Yamaha provides a bonus playlist on the download page, which can be loaded into the instrument via a USB stick. So you quickly have the right attitude for hundreds of well-known songs and can start playing immediately. Unlike the Genos, the PSR-SX900 does not have ten but only eight registrations per bank. The comfortable search function for registers.     

miscellaneousIn this test, I did not go into detail about functions that already existed in the previous model. So there are still the MIDI and audio recorder / player, Vocal Harmony and Synth Vocoder, an Arpeggio function, multi-pads with Audio Link and the popular Live Control controls, with which one DJ-like effects in the Can incorporate live performance. Even the DJ styles with a given chord progression are still available. Also the harmony teaching function CHORD TUTOR has been taken over from the predecessor. New is Bluetooth Audio.
+++++++ END OF TEXT ++++++++

[vbdx66]

Hi,

Thqnks for posting. Bonedo usually are making unbiased, independant, objective reviews of keyboards from all brands and all prices. I'd suggest anyone wicshing to buy a new keyboard would go there and check their reviews before buying anything.

Regards,

Vinciane

[pjd]

A small point, but the reviewer doesn't understand how DJ styles are constructed. The chord progressions are built into the DJ MAINs and FILLs in the same way that chord progressions are built into the more elaborate INTROs and ENDINGs of regular styles. It's like saying, "I wish that I could switch off the chord progression in INTRO3".

-- pj