Thoughts on PSR S975 Versus PSR SX700

[Kauaiguy]

Hi Guys!

I don't know if I should be upset or what and that's why I need your comments, please!

For the past month, I've been wanting to replace my Yamaha PSR S900 and being on a limited retirement budget have been looking into either S970, S775 and S975.

The problem is I live in the island of Kauai, Hawaii and the music stores around here (2) don't carry a lot of keyboards because mainly they sell Ukeleles and guitars.  And for sure they don't carry used keyboards, so I wound up searching the internet in what we refer to as the "Mainland"  Lower 48 states.

To make a long story short the shipment of bulky and heavy items from the mainland to here can get quite expensive.  The shipment on ebay can be anywhere from $250.00 and up.  Hard to justify the extra cost of shipping.

Tried to purchase a PSR S775 from Guitar center and ordered from one of their chat agents, but was canceled by one of the store managers because the items was used and broken.   After all the run around, I went to my local Music store.

Ordered a new Yamaha PSR S975 only to be told the following day that the Yamaha Sales rep didn't want to sell me one because the 975 has had a lot of problems and returns, and that Yamaha would not warranty the sale if I forced them to sell it to me.

I don't know if this is true or not but being stuck on an island, I was basically forced to purchase a new Yamaha PSR SX700.
I will say that I think I got a good price on it ...$1300 out the door.  Amazon even with their Free shipping would have charged me $1570.00

I guess I just want some re-assurance that I will be happy with this unit, because I'm not so sure that what they're telling me about the problems with the 975 is true or not.  I was also quoted a good price on the 975 New ... $1600.00.

Bottom line is, this is what I have to go through living on an island.  Your comments appreciated.

[rcpilot]

I think you did good to get the SX-700 as it is a new model....and I think you will like the keybed better too, than the 975.
No vocal harmonizer is one of the biggest negatives but only if you wanted it!
I have the SX-900 and I love it.
I think you will love the sound of the 700.

One reason I waited to get a keyboard was I did not like the keybed in the PSR's in general...the new one is very nice indeed...
Lee

[Toril S]

Hello from cold Norway! I envy you living on a tropical island😀 You did good. The S975 has outdated technology now and is discontinued. You will love the XS700.

[Brian 007]

Hi,

Love my sx700 your on a winner with it,

All the Best,  Brian007

[Bernie9]

I still have my PSR S970,but bought an SX900 because of all the good reviews.  The keybed feel,improved speaker sound,live sounding styles,and new OS blew me away.  In my opinion,there is nothing not to like.

Bernie

[Kauaiguy]

Thanks to all who have replied.  Not a single negative comment and I guess you told me what I wanted to hear ... LOL!

But I'll tell you that the Music store here in Kauai is not one that I would care to go to again.  For one thing, the owner is kinda rude in a sense and seems to be scattered brain.

He had NO CLUE about the PSR S models and he kept screwing it up.  He kept referring to the PSR SX975 and was totally confused.

But to make a long story short, his associate quoted me $1300 for the PSR SX700 and wrote up a new receipt for it.
But then a day later the owner calls me up and tells me that he won't make any profit if he sold it to me at that price.
He wanted $100 bucks more.  $1400.00.  I went for it but told him that any more delays and I will cancel my order and request for my $500 deposit back.

He hardly said anything and mumbled something and hunged up.  So I don't know if it still a go or what, but we'll find out sooner or later I guess.

I know that it was $170 less than Amazon, but maybe it would have been worth it without the hassle.  Now I wonder what happens if I get a defective unit.  Aaaargh!

[Toril S]

WHAT??? Is it possible?? Yamaha should be notified about this dealer, this is not the way to behave towards your costumers!!!
Hope you didn't pay in advance! Scatter brained, - I suspect the brain is gone completely, and his heart as well. You have my sympathy. Hang in there. All the best from Toril

[rikkisbears]

Hi ,
I agree, you should notify Yamaha . No way for a store owner to behave.

Have sx900 and very happy with it.

[rcpilot]

That's a pretty good price considering where your at....If you were here in lower 48...you could do a little better.
Hope you get it soon....it will be a lot of fun and a very good board IMHO.
Lee

[Kauaiguy]

There are only two music stores here in Kauai, and this is the only shop that sells instruments other than Ukeleles and guitars.

So I guess you can say he's the only game in town when it comes to Pianos and Keyboards.  It's a very small shop and the two keyboards that are there are probably less than $500.00.  In fact the One Costco store we have here sells Pianos and keyboards once in a while and they're better than the ones you can find in his shop.

I think that I can see why he upped his price, and my guess is that since he doesn't deal in bulk (ones and twos), he can't get a good deal from the manufacturer.  Not like the bigger music stores in the mainland and internet dealers like Sweetwater, Musicians Friend and Amazon.  The biggest problem is the shipping cost.

So I guess that if you're the only game in town, you can get away with most anything ... including being rude to your customers.

BTW:  Have been watching Youtube videos on the PSR SX models and it seems to me that there is a HUGE difference in the sound of the styles between these new models versus the S900.  The styles I hear on these new models sound more like an orchestra than just accompaniments.  Now I'm getting excited and crossing my fingers that I'll get my SX700 sooner than later.

Thanks for all your kind comments.

[rikkisbears]

Hi,
I had the s950, even with that I noticed a huge difference. I was really happy i upgraded.

[Kauaiguy]

Hi Boys and Ladies!

I finally got my PSR SX700 and I love it!  Tho, there a few differences between my ancient PSR S900 and this!

I'm still fumbling around trying to figure out how the playlist and the registration work!  BUTTONS, MISSING BUTTONS!

The side panel buttons marked A-J that I could use to change things around on the S900 are now missing!
Now I have this screen which is a SMUDGE magnet, and no matter how thoroughly I wash my hands, they still appear.
So now I'm using one of those stylus pens that are used on tablets and it works better.  LOL!

DA first day, I created a Register with 8 songs in it.  Then !  I took an MFD style file from a Genos (which I got somewhere but can't remember where), followed a YouTube instruction on how to import it in the SX700.

IT WORKED!  But then, panic set in ...!!! I lost my Register and all the imported files were all marked with a REG 1 on them.
So I figured I screwed something up ... cause ... I couldn't find my Register with 8 files in it.   Aaaargh!

To make matters worse ... having the panic set in, I went and in ONE FELL SWOOP deleted all the REG files... and guess what?
If my March 2020 Registry file (that I spent hours creating) wasn't lost ... It was NOW!  LOL!

After stewing and mulling it over for an entire day ... It dawned on me to look at the sample files ... and YEP ... they all had the REG1 labels in front of them.  So now I've deducted that the Filenames on the playlist are only a short cut (if you will) to the Registry files.  So when I deleted the Reg files, Of course it wiped out the user Registry.  Aaaargh ... and my March 2020 Reg flushed down to never, never land.

Btw:  Deleting the Registry files DOESN'T delete the titles in the playlist.    So selecting one of the styles in the playlist gets you nothing but a nasty message that the file is missing!  %#$@%$

Thank god that the Presets are protected from peeps like me ... or I would be in a pickle.  Can you see me trying to bring the Keyboard back to the dealer after what I went through!

Live and learn ... but ... I'm having fun at it.  But at 78, I still have a few screws left and I'm able to figure a few things out.

Thanks for all your help.

[Enildo]

Hi Boys and Ladies!

I finally got my PSR SX700 and I love it!  Tho, there a few differences between my ancient PSR S900 and this!

I'm still fumbling around trying to figure out how the playlist and the registration work!  BUTTONS, MISSING BUTTONS!

The side panel buttons marked A-J that I could use to change things around on the S900 are now missing!
Now I have this screen which is a SMUDGE magnet, and no matter how thoroughly I wash my hands, they still appear.
So now I'm using one of those stylus pens that are used on tablets and it works better.  LOL!

DA first day, I created a Register with 8 songs in it.  Then !  I took an MFD style file from a Genos (which I got somewhere but can't remember where), followed a YouTube instruction on how to import it in the SX700.

IT WORKED!  But then, panic set in ...!!! I lost my Register and all the imported files were all marked with a REG 1 on them.
So I figured I screwed something up ... cause ... I couldn't find my Register with 8 files in it.   Aaaargh!

To make matters worse ... having the panic set in, I went and in ONE SWOOP deleted all the reg files... and guess what?
If my March 2020 Registry file wasn't lost ... It was NOW!  LOL!

After stewing and mulling it over for an entire day ... It dawned on me to look at the sample files ... and YEP ... they all had the REG1 labels in front of them.  So now I've deducted that the Filenames on the playlist are only a short cut (if you will) to the Registry files.  So when I deleted the Reg files, Of course it affected my filename list.  Aaaargh ... and my March 2020 Reg.

Deleting the Registry files DOESN'T delete the playlist names.  So selecting one of the styles in the playlist gets you nothing but a nasty message that the file is missing!  %#$@%$

Thank god that the Presets are protected from peeps like me ... or I would be in a pickle.  Can you see me trying to bring the Keyboard back to the seller after what I went through!

Live and learn ... but ... I'm having fun at it.  But at 78, I still have a few screws left and I'm able to figure a few things out.

Thanks for all your help.

Congratulations and enjoy your new SX!

[Toril S]

Fun reading!! 

[EileenL]

Hi Enildo,
  The best way to go is make up your registrations as you normally would. Forget playlist for now.
Save them to user or USB. Determine what styles you are going to use. If third party ones put these all into a folder that you are not going to delete or alter and save these to where you are going to store your registrations either User or USB.
  Create the reg. as you want them. Now you can create your own playlist by just copying them in. You can have as many playlists as you like.

[beykock]

Hi K,

In a couple of weeks you are so used to the the touch screen you will really love it and never go back to the old screen.

Take care, Babette

[Kauaiguy]

Hi K,

In a couple of weeks you are so used to the the touch screen you will really love it and never go back to the old screen.

Take care, Babette

Thanks for the encouragement.

But not too sure, I have a touchpad which I have to clean every day!  I look at the screen on this X700 and it looks like it's covered with a mylar of some sort.  I just wonder how durable it is and whether it's prone to scratches.

Nevertheless, I will use the stylus as much as I can as it has a soft cloth-covered tip.
I just don't understand how smudges miraculously wind up on the screen on a daily basis.  LOL

[EileenL]

If you use it every day then your finger marks will appear every day. If you use aero spray then droplets will settle on it. I just use a micro soft cloth to wipe it down after use. Only takes seconds. 

[Toril S]

Same here.

[blackpool]

Plus I would bang in spare usb into slot 2 and save any of your work to that ...so if you foul up and delete anything accidentally you have a back up... Converted MF files from PSR/Tyros will only ever give you s single reg bank button lit..but great to edit and resave to the rest of the empty bank..a reg bank had to be created in order to provide playlist data ... delete the registration and the playlist has no brain to use but you can of course delete the converted playlist and the reg bank will still remain ..
Sure you will love it in time...it's a big step up from PSR/ tyros ... IMHO .... Keith

[Keyboard Master]

Totally Agree. And Congrats on your purchase I wish you lots of fun with the new features and sound quality.