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Régis « A $2000 Bontempi »
Published on 01/25/13 at 12:11
Value For Money :
Excellent
Low-end arranger keyboard? But sold as a high-end product by the manufacturer.
Forget the super articulation, it's just a marketing gimmick. On this model!
The samples are not the same as on the tyros and other motifs.
61 dynamic-note piano
• 5.7" TFT color screen
• 1564 sounds and 408 styles
• 25 audio styles
• Super articulation
• Extension packs
• Audio recording via USB & mp3 playback
• Advanced audio functions
• Mic input & vocal harmonizer
• 2 x 15 W
Composite video output
61 toy-like keys. they are not micro-keys, but they aren't like those of a roland or other synths, they are smaller, without spring, not as wide nor long, without aftertouch. Hardly one velocity
It has an effects section, a sequencer to record audio (MP3 or Wav)
usb A B
midi in midi out
External power supply... That says it all
Headphone output on the front, instrument/mic input on the rear
R/L line output that doesn't mute the internal speakers
400+ styles and 1000+ sounds, according to the manufacturer.
Don't be fooled by the audio styles. It's just smoke and mirrors, marketing. You can find better ones among the normal styles. Certain styles. Dance has drums and sound effects, but they are sampled analog drum machines!
It's nice to have an audio style with drums, but why resample the drums of an analog drum machine?
To add a used-vinyl effect?
If this is your first arranger, take a look at the Korg PA600, which is less expensive and all right. Its value for money is way better. Think secondhand. If the price is an important factor,
look somewhere else, the psr s 950 isn't for you.
Guitars are unplayable once you try to play some arpeggios.
The pianos are very poor, the clavinets acceptable, the organs decent
The access to the drawbars is exasperating
5 or 6 usable styles. Out of 400.
It has more than 1000 sounds. Right... Even with 2500 sounds, it wouldn't change anything.
UTILIZATION
It is crammed with buttons, like all their pianos. Black on black.
You need some light to be able to operate it.
The psr8000 is easier to use. The buttons are less tactile
Yes, you can modify sounds, but they are very poor from the start. You can't do much about it.
The screen is not touchscreen, but it has a good enough resolution for what it's needed for
It's far behind the tyros, even from tyros 3.
All in all, it's user-friendly, it's still a yamaha
The manual is superficial, which fits the product! Superficial.
OVERALL OPINION
I just received it. I was really excited about playing a yamaha arranger
I used to have a psr8000 (I sold it 2 years ago). I bought it back in '96 or '97, and it never disappointed me. I always had a blast with it until the day I sold it. The sounds remained always relevant (in terms of realism and playability), nothing to envy the newest products for.
I then switched to an akai MPK88 master keyboard and a Motif XS rack, a must-have
Both together are really pro. It's playing with the big boys. 88-weighted keys and the sounds of the motifs XS, it's a real delight whenever you press the keys.
And then I got the PSR S 950, it's a toy! It isn't even worth $800.
The sounds are very average.
It's still on the trial period, so I will obviously return it (I'll send it back to the store).
Regardless of whether I use headphones, my tascam monitors or the built-in speakers,
the sounds are shitty. They have no power, nor dynamics. It's a Bontempi.
But the worst is the keyboard itself, the size of the keys and their exasperating width!
I played in vain all evening long. Tomorrow it will be packed in its box and on its way back. Gone.
Korg and other brands offer better keyboards on their arrangers, plus they don't take their users as fools and offer plenty of free styles.
The s750 is much more worth it and it has the same sounds and keyboard as the s950. For a lower price. A rational buy.
The marketing gimmicks around the s950 do not justify its purchase.
Forget the super articulation, it's just a marketing gimmick. On this model!
The samples are not the same as on the tyros and other motifs.
61 dynamic-note piano
• 5.7" TFT color screen
• 1564 sounds and 408 styles
• 25 audio styles
• Super articulation
• Extension packs
• Audio recording via USB & mp3 playback
• Advanced audio functions
• Mic input & vocal harmonizer
• 2 x 15 W
Composite video output
61 toy-like keys. they are not micro-keys, but they aren't like those of a roland or other synths, they are smaller, without spring, not as wide nor long, without aftertouch. Hardly one velocity
It has an effects section, a sequencer to record audio (MP3 or Wav)
usb A B
midi in midi out
External power supply... That says it all
Headphone output on the front, instrument/mic input on the rear
R/L line output that doesn't mute the internal speakers
400+ styles and 1000+ sounds, according to the manufacturer.
Don't be fooled by the audio styles. It's just smoke and mirrors, marketing. You can find better ones among the normal styles. Certain styles. Dance has drums and sound effects, but they are sampled analog drum machines!
It's nice to have an audio style with drums, but why resample the drums of an analog drum machine?
To add a used-vinyl effect?
If this is your first arranger, take a look at the Korg PA600, which is less expensive and all right. Its value for money is way better. Think secondhand. If the price is an important factor,
look somewhere else, the psr s 950 isn't for you.
Guitars are unplayable once you try to play some arpeggios.
The pianos are very poor, the clavinets acceptable, the organs decent
The access to the drawbars is exasperating
5 or 6 usable styles. Out of 400.
It has more than 1000 sounds. Right... Even with 2500 sounds, it wouldn't change anything.
UTILIZATION
It is crammed with buttons, like all their pianos. Black on black.
You need some light to be able to operate it.
The psr8000 is easier to use. The buttons are less tactile
Yes, you can modify sounds, but they are very poor from the start. You can't do much about it.
The screen is not touchscreen, but it has a good enough resolution for what it's needed for
It's far behind the tyros, even from tyros 3.
All in all, it's user-friendly, it's still a yamaha
The manual is superficial, which fits the product! Superficial.
OVERALL OPINION
I just received it. I was really excited about playing a yamaha arranger
I used to have a psr8000 (I sold it 2 years ago). I bought it back in '96 or '97, and it never disappointed me. I always had a blast with it until the day I sold it. The sounds remained always relevant (in terms of realism and playability), nothing to envy the newest products for.
I then switched to an akai MPK88 master keyboard and a Motif XS rack, a must-have
Both together are really pro. It's playing with the big boys. 88-weighted keys and the sounds of the motifs XS, it's a real delight whenever you press the keys.
And then I got the PSR S 950, it's a toy! It isn't even worth $800.
The sounds are very average.
It's still on the trial period, so I will obviously return it (I'll send it back to the store).
Regardless of whether I use headphones, my tascam monitors or the built-in speakers,
the sounds are shitty. They have no power, nor dynamics. It's a Bontempi.
But the worst is the keyboard itself, the size of the keys and their exasperating width!
I played in vain all evening long. Tomorrow it will be packed in its box and on its way back. Gone.
Korg and other brands offer better keyboards on their arrangers, plus they don't take their users as fools and offer plenty of free styles.
The s750 is much more worth it and it has the same sounds and keyboard as the s950. For a lower price. A rational buy.
The marketing gimmicks around the s950 do not justify its purchase.