Which PSR-S-Series Keyboard Is Your Favorite & Why?

[HighlandStudio91]

It's nice to have options(as Yamaha offers many....4 other keyboards,other than the S670)...but I find the array of choices very frustrating.The only upgrade from the 670 that even makes any real sense to me,would be the 975,as it's probably the closest thing to a desktop computer workstation(having the most ROM,internal memory and an external video monitor option.)
What bothers me about all of these different keyboards,is that there are 5 different models and ALL of them have the same key-bed(all 61 keys and synth action.)
Everything above the 670,ALL have 7 inch screens and they are ALL these models are black,with the same body style...why??
Every single model in the S-series seems to have the same sound engine quality(and that it is the amount of internal memory,that determines the level of voice quality,if the user wants to upgrade beyond the factory sounds)...because I noticed that not all of the expansion sets,are available for the 670.
In conclusion,it seems to me,that overall...there are mostly just incremental upgrades and it's just not enough incentive for me to go beyond the 670(especially since I really love the color scheme and design of the 670,including the bass ports located on the sides of the keyboard.)
As for the sequencer section,there does not seem to be any differences that I could find.For instance,I tried to find more details about the midi sequencer on the 670 model(such as whether or not there was a copy & paste function,for building tracks loop by loop and I also wanted know know how many insert effects there are.)
I looked at both PDF manuals on the 670 & 975 and I could be no differences in functionality between the two.I really wish that Yamaha would have just adhered to just one body design(the 670 motif) and then just have different size key-beds to choose from.
With regard to memory and voice upgrades,I would have loved if Yamaha went the Motif-series route,and allowed the user to purchase memory chips(rather than putting the prospective Yamaha PSR-S-series user through the agony of trying to determine which model to buy,based on the amount of internal memory it has.)
There are way too many models to choose from,which has probably made a lot of pre-purchase PSR candidates completely mental....but for me personally,the choice was made easy....due to the fact that I love the overall value and design of the 670.

 

[happyrat1]

I hate Yamaha keyboards.

Yamaha tech support is arrogant and refuses to support anything other than their own gear and sanctioned operating systems in a configuration.

The only Yamaha gear I own is a 16 channel mixer and an electronic kick drum pedal that I bought because it was the best deal for the money.

Other than those exceptions I absolutely refuse to spend a dime on any Yamaha keyboards and their xenophobic refusal to support Linux in any way shape or form. They will refuse to even speak to you if you tell them you have your keys hooked up to a Linux computer.

I deal with enough mindless robots reading tech support scripts on a daily basis but I sure as hell don't need to hear it from my instrument makers.

Gary

 

[SeaGtGruff]

I don't have a PSR-S keyboard, so I don't have a favorite as far as any personal experience with one. But if I had the money I would want to get the PSR-S975, because it has the most memory for expansion packs, the most onboard voices and styles, the "new" changes related to monophonic channel mode and portamento (which were previously available only on the best PSR-A models), and of course the Live Control knobs.

 

[Rayblewit]

Hi Thom,
I have only ever owned Yamaha's.
Previously were all E models.
Only one (my current one) being S series . . PSR S 650.

I love it! It is so good that I am reluctant to even upgrade. I know one day I wiil need to update/upgrade and I have my sights set on the PSR S 670.

What I like about the 650 is the DSP system. A lot of the sounds have the wow factor . .reverbs, echos, etc. .
Also it has built in speakers which give a high quality sound most suitable for home use. Also playing though headphones the sound is sensational. I don't play for other people so I do not need amplification or external speakers. High end models such as S 950 and TYROS would be wasted on me.

So it depends on personal circumstances as to what model best suits. Things to consider are . . Are you performing in public? Do you need the KB for a band? Are you supporting singers solo or a chorus? Are you just playing it at home or in a studio for self indulgence? Are you recording? Are you busking?

I recently saw a duet team playing keyboard and singing. The keys player had a kursweil linked up with a PSR S 950. I asked him why he uses that set up and he said the kursweil was for piano solos and the 950 had bass and drum backing which complemented the singer. Also the 950 has semi weighted keys which suited his playing style rather than light weighted. I asked him since he also plays with a band why he chose the 950 over a TYROS or other professional instrument, and he said the 950 is not so cumbersome as others and does all he needs it to do. The sound output (in a concert hall) was superb I might add.

So anyway horses for courses and I would suggest Thom, you buy the model you have your heart set on. You have been telling us how good the 670 is so obviously your mind is made up.

In my case, when I take the plunge to upgrade, I will be looking at other brands comparable to the 670. I have no allegiance to Yamaha but they have not faulted me so far. They have a great reputation for quality and reliability in my mind.

Ray

 

[HighlandStudio91]

I hate Yamaha keyboards.

Yamaha tech support is arrogant and refuses to support anything other than their own gear and sanctioned operating systems in a configuration.

The only Yamaha gear I own is a 16 channel mixer and an electronic kick drum pedal that I bought because it was the best deal for the money.

Other than those exceptions I absolutely refuse to spend a dime on any Yamaha keyboards and their xenophobic refusal to support Linux in any way shape or form. They will refuse to even speak to you if you tell them you have your keys hooked up to a Linux computer.

I deal with enough mindless robots reading tech support scripts on a daily basis but I sure as hell don't need to hear it from my instrument makers.

Gary

I am in complete agreement with you,in terms of Yamaha's useless support team.I once went head-to-head with a fellow who calls himself Bad Mister,when I was having trouble integrating my former MOX6,with the included Cubase program.It was such a convoluted mess and being brand new to Yamaha(as it were)...I could not believe how complicated it all was,being that the MOX6 was purported to be so intuitive.I mean...it's marketed as being very user friendly...but it was anything but.Bad Mister's advice to me,was that I had to think of the MOX and Cubase,as a professional studio set up and that I had to put more effort into "applying" myself.He basically accused me of being a slacker that wanted to be spoon-fed everything and I was so utterly livid at him,that I completely lost my sh*t.
Even one of the sound designers for the expansion packs for the Yamaha keyboards,strongly suggested to me to steer clear of Cubase,because of how counter-intuitive the program was(particularly with the integration with Yamaha keyboards.)
Aside from Yamaha,there are many companies that employ mindless robots(who really are just nothing more than telemarketers that read out of product manuals)....so that said,I cannot boycott every company that pisses me off,because...where will I be then?
Anyhow...one of the primary reasons for me reconsidering Yamaha again,is that with the PSR-S670,I don't have to be bothered with fussing over trying to integrate it,with Cubase,because the 670 has a very nifty WAV rendering feature!
Finally...Yamaha got things right this time,with their budget keyboards,because in the case of the 670,it's completely foolproof and plug and play(so far as I can ascertain)...and besides,I've never read any customer complaints,regarding it's level of usability.

 

[Biggles]

I am with Gary, I am no fan of Yamaha, the operating systems are poor and not user friendly with multiple keypresses being required for frequent tasks, the manuals are way, way the worst, there is very little video tutorial support out there to learn the functions, luckily I never had to telephone Yamaha but their could not care less attitude does seem to be worldwide.

When actually played back to back in store (as opposed to watching online reviews) then consistently the Yamaha comes out second best.

Certainly the S670 is bettered by the Roland BK5 and both are bettered by the Korg PA600.

Moving up the S970, is a good keyboard but switch from it to a Korg PA700 and the Yamaha then sounds like a beginner keyboard with quite poor onboard sound.

So you takes your money and buy anything other than a sub £1000 Yamaha.

From my take, the only good Yamaha is the vastly over priced Genos and even then I would rather have the Korg PA4X and a large wad of cash still in my back pocket.

 

[HighlandStudio91]

I don't have a PSR-S keyboard, so I don't have a favorite as far as any personal experience with one. But if I had the money I would want to get the PSR-S975, because it has the most memory for expansion packs, the most onboard voices and styles, the "new" changes related to monophonic channel mode and portamento (which were previously available only on the best PSR-A models), and of course the Live Control knobs.

I was a bit conflicted about whether or not I should make a big investment in the 975....but for $2,000....I think Yamaha should have made the 975 with 76 semi-weighted keys,with an upgraded speaker system and a more comprehensive sequencer.

 

[HighlandStudio91]

Hi Thom,
I have only ever owned Yamaha's.
Previously were all E models.
Only one (my current one) being S series . . PSR S 650.

I love it! It is so good that I am reluctant to even upgrade. I know one day I wiil need to update/upgrade and I have my sights set on the PSR S 670.

What I like about the 650 is the DSP system. A lot of the sounds have the wow factor . .reverbs, echos, etc. .
Also it has built in speakers which give a high quality sound most suitable for home use. Also playing though headphones the sound is sensational. I don't play for other people so I do not need amplification or external speakers. High end models such as S 950 and TYROS would be wasted on me.

So it depends on personal circumstances as to what model best suits. Things to consider are . . Are you performing in public? Do you need the KB for a band? Are you supporting singers solo or a chorus? Are you just playing it at home or in a studio for self indulgence? Are you recording? Are you busking?

I recently saw a duet team playing keyboard and singing. The keys player had a kursweil linked up with a PSR S 950. I asked him why he uses that set up and he said the kursweil was for piano solos and the 950 had bass and drum backing which complemented the singer. Also the 950 has semi weighted keys which suited his playing style rather than light weighted. I asked him since he also plays with a band why he chose the 950 over a TYROS or other professional instrument, and he said the 950 is not so cumbersome as others and does all he needs it to do. The sound output (in a concert hall) was superb I might add.

So anyway horses for courses and I would suggest Thom, you buy the model you have your heart set on. You have been telling us how good the 670 is so obviously your mind is made up.

In my case, when I take the plunge to upgrade, I will be looking at other brands comparable to the 670. I have no allegiance to Yamaha but they have not faulted me so far. They have a great reputation for quality and reliability in my mind.

Ray

Hey Ray,

No live playing or busking for me...as I am strictly a studio musician.However,I am an audiophile...when it comes to accuracy,clarity and just an over all flat response from an audio system,so that my mixes will translate well to other systems.
That said,once I get my hands on the 670 and my brain encapsulates all of the functionality of the sequencer section,I won't be doing any critical mixing on-board the 670...but rather,I will transfer my tracks via the WAV export,for further tweaking.
My reasons for wanting an arranger,is that it will provide that instantaneous and effortless means of diving right in,to conveying my ideas into a tangible form and using the 670's auto-accompaniments to spawn those ideas(during those times when I experience writer's block,which is often,for me.
If I were to ever do any critical mixing just on the 670 itself,I would be more inclined to plug the 670 into a pair of studio monitors.
I'm certain that the 670's on-board speakers are pleasant to listen to,when just fiddling around with the keyboard's sounds and such,but on-board keyboard speakers are never designed for the purpose of achieving refined and polished recordings.

Yes...I have already made up my mind about buying the 670,but I was curious as to what others thought,about the other PSR models.

-Thom

 

[HighlandStudio91]

I am with Gary, I am no fan of Yamaha, the operating systems are poor and not user friendly with multiple keypresses being required for frequent tasks, the manuals are way, way the worst, there is very little video tutorial support out there to learn the functions, luckily I never had to telephone Yamaha but their could not care less attitude does seem to be worldwide.

When actually played back to back in store (as opposed to watching online reviews) then consistently the Yamaha comes out second best.

Certainly the S670 is bettered by the Roland BK5 and both are bettered by the Korg PA600.

Moving up the S970, is a good keyboard but switch from it to a Korg PA700 and the Yamaha then sounds like a beginner keyboard with quite poor onboard sound.

So you takes your money and buy anything other than a sub £1000 Yamaha.

From my take, the only good Yamaha is the vastly over priced Genos and even then I would rather have the Korg PA4X and a large wad of cash still in my back pocket.

Curiously enough,I have been doing side by side comparisons of the Korg arrangers versus the Yamaha's on YouTube(among the videos that have good audio quality)....and though I absolutely love Korg's tiltable,full color screens...I tend to lean towards Yamaha's acoustic sounds.
I also love Yamah's DSP effects and arpeggios.Also...I find that Yamaha's guitars are much more realistic,than Korg's.
This is not to say that Korg doesn't have good acoustic sounds...but rather,unlike Yamaha,if you want great sounds from Korg,you have to at least purchase a mid-level keyboard from Korg,to get really usable sounds.
The only Korg keyboard that I truly loved(other than the Kronos's sounds)...was my former M3.Sadly though,the OS in the M3 was very underpowered and as I had mnetioned in another thread,my OS had crashed and the loading times were ridiculous,so I had become utterly fed up with it and had sold it.

 

[HighlandStudio91]

I am with Gary, I am no fan of Yamaha, the operating systems are poor and not user friendly with multiple keypresses being required for frequent tasks, the manuals are way, way the worst, there is very little video tutorial support out there to learn the functions, luckily I never had to telephone Yamaha but their could not care less attitude does seem to be worldwide.

When actually played back to back in store (as opposed to watching online reviews) then consistently the Yamaha comes out second best.

Certainly the S670 is bettered by the Roland BK5 and both are bettered by the Korg PA600.

Moving up the S970, is a good keyboard but switch from it to a Korg PA700 and the Yamaha then sounds like a beginner keyboard with quite poor onboard sound.

So you takes your money and buy anything other than a sub £1000 Yamaha.

From my take, the only good Yamaha is the vastly over priced Genos and even then I would rather have the Korg PA4X and a large wad of cash still in my back pocket.

Just some afterthoughts...having done more comparisons on YouTube between the 2 brands and having owned many Korgs over the years(including the Korg Kross 2)...I find your sound comparisons a bit harsh.
Apart from knowing Korg workstations pretty well(having owned several,including the M3,Krome and Kross 2)...as well as having owned the MOX and MOXF and having demo'd the Motif XS in-store...I must say,that I have been sorely disappointed with a lot of the sounds and effects of the Krome & Kross.
Perhaps the current array of Korg arrangers are notable upgrade from those budget Korg workstations,but to say that pretty much everything Yamaha makes is poor,in contrast to whatever Korg puts out and that one has to drop $5,500 on a Genos,just to not have toy sounds is ridiculous(especially since you own the Korg Kross 2.)
To be fair,the Kross 2 is considerably improved over the previous one(which is why I had bought it)...but still,in retrospect,my decision to buy the Kross was a bit impulsive(especially since I held onto it too long,for me to be able to return it.)
How could anyone spend $750 on a Kross 2,while at the same time,state that a keyboard that costs just $50 more,is just a toy keyboard?
A more appropriate comparison to PSR-S670,would of course,be the Korg PA300,since it is an arranger and is the exact same price.
Though you don't find online comparative listening very credible,I beg to differ...as I only judge the quality of the sounds,from videos where direct line recording was done(as supposed to someone recording the audio via a camcorder's microphones.)
Upon having a more in depth listen the the PA300,the only discernable difference I noticed(in favor of the Korg)...was the strings.
The Yamaha's electric guitars,are clearly better and Yamaha's acoustics sounds have always had many of the inflections in thier instruments(such as note-slides and other fret noises)...and having previously owned the MOX/XF keyboards,I have found the effects and e.guitars to be notably better(certainly,among the workstations.)

Honestly....if I had bothered to investigate Yamaha's new PSR line,I would have never even seriously considered buying a Korg Kross 2 to begin with.

As for the Roland BK5,I cannot believe you think that keyboard is even worthy of including,into this discussion.This demo is completely cringe-worthy;

Also...it doesn't appear to have any expandability and the on-board speakers look a like they are from a $300 Casio from 30 years ago.That video has been up for 4 years and there are only 12 comments(where most of the commenters are trashing the BK5 and rightly so.)
By the way,the BK5 is $200 more than the S670.
I am not trashing Roland as a company overall(as I do think the FA-series is probably the best value to date,in a workstation keyboard.)
With regard to customer grievances and poor product and lackluster customer support,Yamaha is not the only culprit...b-e-l-i-e-v-e me!
Prime example regarding Korg and their Krome keyboard...for several years,Korg has been using a very poor quality SD memory card for it's motherboard(which has caused fatal OS crashes and just very slow operation in general.
Mistakenly...I had bought a special edition version of a Krome(thinking that since the Krome had been in production for many years,that this issue would have been eradicated by now)...as I found out,it wasn't.This problem had gone viral on the Korg forums and I bought 2 of these Krome keyboards and in the space of just 2 weeks,both OS's in them crashed!
Apart from that,the only usable sounds of the Krome,were the drums,pianos & e.pianos.
Roland...as a company,really isn't any better...as they really screwed over their Fantom G customer base,by releasing a workstation that was replete with defects,seriously lacking in memory & processing power and for the most part,the majority of the G-series had a bunch of toy sounds(expressly for the purpose of extorting their customers,by charging $449 a piece,for their sound cards upgrades and each sound card,had only one category of sounds per card!
All that said,none of these companies are beyond reproach...as they all have their postivies and negatives.

 

[Biggles]

The only way anyone can compare sound quality between keyboards is to play them back to back in a Musical Instrument Store.

I am lucky in that I have some amazing and huge stores close to me, including one with 10,000 ft sq of sales area of which 1/3 is just keyboards, I spent a couple of hours a few months ago just going from keyboard to keyboard and my top of the wish list is a £3500 Nord which I cannot justify paying so much. Yamahas, Rolands, Korgs etc of all price ranges were played and there are some superb keyboards out there. That said, the main purpose of the visit was to check out the Kross2 and the Roland Juno, bang for bucks the Juno is awesome, and both these were listened to via top quality amps. It still took me a month and three more visits to my lical shop to decide on what to buy.

As I stated prior, I played a Korg PA700 back to back, in my local store with a S970 and it was like a £1000 keyboard against a beginner keyboard costing £100 the difference in sound quality was huge, the Yamaha sucked big time in comparision to the Korg.

This was after listening and watching to the Youtube videos, where the sounds the S970 seemed great and close to the PA700, sadly it did not meet expectations when actually played.

The only way to be sure if the poor Yamaha audio performance was due to the inbuilt amp and speakers would be to undertake the comparison again with the keyboards connected though the same PA system.

My critical comments are on the S970 and not on the S670, which is a good keyboard but again in my opinion it is not as good as the more expensive Korg PA600 or the Roland BK, but that is just my view and my own thoughts on the sound quality of these keyboards.

My advice would be to go to a Store and play your S670, then play others in your price range, if you then still prefer the Yamaha then that is all that matters.

I certainly would never buy any keyboard based on reviews and other peoples thoughts.

 

[HighlandStudio91]

The only way anyone can compare sound quality between keyboards is to play them back to back in a Musical Instrument Store.

I am lucky in that I have some amazing and huge stores close to me, including one with 10,000 ft sq of sales area of which 1/3 is just keyboards, I spent a couple of hours a few months ago just going from keyboard to keyboard and my top of the wish list is a £3500 Nord which I cannot justify paying so much. Yamahas, Rolands, Korgs etc of all price ranges were played and there are some superb keyboards out there. That said, the main purpose of the visit was to check out the Kross2 and the Roland Juno, bang for bucks the Juno is awesome, and both these were listened to via top quality amps. It still took me a month and three more visits to my lical shop to decide on what to buy.

As I stated prior, I played a Korg PA700 back to back, in my local store with a S970 and it was like a £1000 keyboard against a beginner keyboard costing £100 the difference in sound quality was huge, the Yamaha sucked big time in comparision to the Korg.

This was after listening and watching to the Youtube videos, where the sounds the S970 seemed great and close to the PA700, sadly it did not meet expectations when actually played.

The only way to be sure if the poor Yamaha audio performance was due to the inbuilt amp and speakers would be to undertake the comparison again with the keyboards connected though the same PA system.

My critical comments are on the S970 and not on the S670, which is a good keyboard but again in my opinion it is not as good as the more expensive Korg PA600 or the Roland BK, but that is just my view and my own thoughts on the sound quality of these keyboards.

My advice would be to go to a Store and play your S670, then play others in your price range, if you then still prefer the Yamaha then that is all that matters.

I certainly would never buy any keyboard based on reviews and other peoples thoughts.

Music stores are not always the ideal spots to assess a keyboard's sonic quality(they might be connected to some crap keyboard amp)...but no keyboard amps will have the same level of clarity as a decent pair of studio monitors(as keyboard amps are built to be sturdy and loud,rather than being finely adjusted for an honest representation of the audio.)
Also...there is usually a lot of ambient noise in music stores that can interfere with your listening experience.That being said,if a music retailer or one of the Yamaha reps on YouTube connects the S670 directly to a PC via an audio interface and makes an HD video out of it and I am listening to that video through my studio monitors(in a quiet and controlled environment)...why would this not be a fair representation of the keyboard's audio,to make a sound judgement??
If assessing a keyboard's audio is a poor way to make a determination, then why are their so many such videos on YouTube?
To each his own,but like I had said,I've owned both the MOX/XF and clearly,it is as plain as day and so blatantly obvious,that the sounds of the S670 are light years ahead of Yamaha's budget Motif line(& those keyboards were $400 more than the S670.)
By the way,the only music store there is that is reasonably close to me,is a GuitarCenter(which is 23.7 miles away and I do not have a car)...so I don't get a chance to go there very often and besides,that particular location,is a scaled down version of the normal GC's in N.J....so there keyboard room is tiny,so they do not have very many keyboards and I have never seen a PSR there...as of yet.
Honestly,it is a lot easier for me to just order a keyboard online,try it out and return it if I do not like it(at no cost to me)...and I always have 45 days to do so.
Of course,no keyboard is going to have stellar,or usable sounds across the board,but thus far,I have been very impressed with most of what I've heard and I am 98% certain,I will love and keep the S670.
By the way...my S670 is on the way and should arrive to me at any moment....

 

[happyrat1]

While I realize that you hold strong opinions about the "superiority" of Yamaha keyboards I would simply like to point out that every keyboard manufacturer has its strengths and weaknesses. Just as no one would enjoy sitting down to eat the same meal every single day of their lives keyboard players usually don't want to be pigeonholed into owning only one instrument in their lives.

Korgs are famous for their synth and new wave sounds. Yamahas have a somewhat dated reputation for "purer" acoustic sounds. For a lot of modern music it's the VA and Analog synths that steal the show. Roland's new Supernatural Synths blow Yamaha away in my opinion.

For most of the people in this thread, especially the pros, there is no "Swiss Army Knife" of arrangers or workstations that can handle every single task and do it well.

So my question that I put to you is whom are you trying to convince? Us or yourself that you made the right and "only" possible decision by purchasing your Yamaha arranger?

Personally I'm not a big fan of arrangers and the closest I have ever come to owning one is a couple of mid range Casios in years gone by.

I'm certain you'll be happy as a pig in slop with your new PSR whatever, but if you're trying to sell the rest of us one, then I have some swampland in Florida I'd like to trade you for it,

Gary

 

[HighlandStudio91]

While I realize that you hold strong opinions about the "superiority" of Yamaha keyboards I would simply like to point out that every keyboard manufacturer has its strengths and weaknesses. Just as no one would enjoy sitting down to eat the same meal every single day of their lives keyboard players usually don't want to be pigeonholed into owning only one instrument in their lives.

Korgs are famous for their synth and new wave sounds. Yamahas have a somewhat dated reputation for "purer" acoustic sounds. For a lot of modern music it's the VA and Analog synths that steal the show. Roland's new Supernatural Synths blow Yamaha away in my opinion.

For most of the people in this thread, especially the pros, there is no "Swiss Army Knife" of arrangers or workstations that can handle every single task and do it well.

So my question that I put to you is whom are you trying to convince? Us or yourself that you made the right and "only" possible decision by purchasing your Yamaha arranger?

Personally I'm not a big fan of arrangers and the closest I have ever come to owning one is a couple of mid range Casios in years gone by.

I'm certain you'll be happy as a pig in slop with your new PSR whatever, but if you're trying to sell the rest of us one, then I have some swampland in Florida I'd like to trade you for it,

Gary

No offense meant Gary,but you need to read through my posts again.Never did I claim Yamaha to be superior over the other brands in general,but only that I felt that Yamaha has the best offering for the price point of $799(in the budget arranger arena.)
Biggles has a major beef with Yamaha,as he boycotted Yamaha entirely and that's perfectly fine...but it seems to me,that his innate hatred has caused him not want to even acknowledge Yamaha's good points,in terms of voice quality.
I mean...to say that the Yamaha S970 is a toy,in contrast to the Korg PA700..is a bit harsh(of course he's entitled to have that opinion,but...it's a very odd one and in fact,one might misconstrue that his opinion may perhaps...be him trying to convince me,that Yamaha is the wrong choice?
That said,it would seem...that if Biggles has strong opinions,then that's totally rational,but if I have strong opinions,then I am trying to convince everyone that one brand is superior,to that of everything else out there?Really?Is that your honest impression of me?
Why are you telling me about each product's strengths and weaknesses,when that is e-x-a-c-t-l-y what I've been saying(except I worded it a bit differently?)
You also mentioned VA synths and Roland Supernatural synths...why?I wasn't comparing sample-based arrangers to VA synths,nor was I comparing budget arrangers to Roland's flagship synths.Also....I never said or implied,that the Yamaha PSR-S670 was the "Swiss army knife" of all keyboards.

I guess I spoke entirely too much about this keyboard and expressed too much enthusiasm over it.Pardon me...as it won't happen ever again.

 

[Biggles]

Since when do I have a hatred of Yamaha?

Precisely where in this thread have I stated that your beloved S670 is cr4p?

Its the 2x more expensive S970 that has cr4p sound quality when compared to the Korg PA700. I fail to understand how you can disregard someones opinion when they have played both keyboards in the same music store one after the other.

If you have not compared the S670 against its competition yourself via actually playing them then sorry but you are not in pocession of practical knowledge to argue against someone who has actually played the keyboards and hence listened to them with my own ears.

I have said that your intended S670 is a good keyboard, but for a bit more money there are better, but that is my opinion and again I have played it and its competitors.

Sound off Youtube will never match the sound you create inside a music store, the data rates of the encoded video are just not sufficient to produce anything other than mediocre sound quality.

If Music Stores used poor amps connected to workstations and synths then they would not sell many keyboards.

Online reviews have a place and are no doubt usefull in getting a feel for what reviewers are trying to convey, but no amount of online research will EVER be a substitute for a keyboard player getting off their ass or high horse and going to a music store and playing the keyboard and its competition, if there is only choice of one then you could very well be pleasantly surprized in just playing a different keyboard, just try something like a Casio CT X5000 and you many find that of superior sound quality.

Positively my last significant comment on this thread.

 

[Doug Lanier]

I just bought a Korg PA1000 and (in my humble opinion) it sounds like a toy compared to my Roland workstations.
This is my first Arranger Keyboard, which I bought to speed up my sequencing/backing track times, and to use live in my Duo gig 3-4 days a week,(on the weekends I use my Fantoms, etc.) The PA1000 piano and brass patches sound like a $200 toy keyboard on a quality sound system. BUT, it sounds great on the internal speakers. I just assumed that was what it was designed for, but for $2000, it should sound better in a live setting.

 

[Biggles]

I just bought a Korg PA1000 and (in my humble opinion) it sounds like a toy compared to my Roland workstations.
This is my first Arranger Keyboard, which I bought to speed up my sequencing/backing track times, and to use live in my Duo gig 3-4 days a week,(on the weekends I use my Fantoms, etc.) The PA1000 piano and brass patches sound like a $200 toy keyboard on a quality sound system. BUT, it sounds great on the internal speakers. I just assumed that was what it was designed for, but for $2000, it should sound better in a live setting.

To me the PA1000 is in no mans land, I would bypass it totally as it is basically a PA700 with extra instrument voices, styles and Vocoder, it is not worth its price yet the 700 is far better than its competitors in its price point.

I went to a demo evening where the 700, 1000 and PA4X were put through their paces by a pro keyboard player. Not much difference in sound quality between the 700 and 1000 but a major leap with the 4X, all three were put through the music stores PA system hence a direct comparison was possible and with no instrument demo’d did any keyboard sound poor.

So its strange that your 1000 does not sound good through your sound system.

If you think that the 1000 is poor then next time you are in a music store try out the Yamaha S770 and S970 then you will hear poor.

 

[Doug Lanier]

Biggles, not so strange if you think about it... I really believe a lot of this is by design, geared to the most probable buyer. Most of the PA1000 patches have a wide stereo mix, which is perfect for listening with the internal speakers, but sounds terrible through a mono PA. Part of this is also marketing trick, because they will sound great in the store, or on headphones.
Roland, on the other hand, plans for this, and has lots of patches with a mono or narrow stereo mix, or even the same exact sound with more effects on the Right output, which makes them sound great mono.

 

[Biggles]

I have connected my 700 up to my own cheap Behringer PA system and it sounds great as it does when I connect my Kross 2 up to the PA system.

Horses for courses, to each their own.

Personally I would not buy an Arranger again I would get a workstation.

 

[Doug Lanier]

Biggles, I probably just have “Trailer Park Taste”, caused by 45+ years of standing too close to loud guitar players, and drummers nicknamed “BamBam” for good reason... hahahaha