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Yamaha PSR-S950
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Yamaha PSR-S950

Keyboard Arranger from Yamaha belonging to the PSR series

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soundkid soundkid

« A good arranger keyboard at an affordable price »

Published on 02/02/13 at 11:16
• 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

UTILIZATION

I am here to "speak up for" the PSR S950, which comes out pretty bad in the previous review.

I bought it new for approximately $2200 in December 2012. I used to have a PSR 3000 and I can certify that Yamaha has introduced real improvements, both in terms of sounds and functions, on this instrument, including many of the Tyros 3, especially when it comes to sounds.
I am musically inclined towards commercial music (rock, folk and a bit of jazz-blues). I have no interest in electronic music so, consequently, Yamaha's more traditional styles and sounds suit me perfectly. One of the rare defects that can I point out is that it lacks "factory" accompaniment styles in 3/4, but it's not really a deal-breaker, because I can always create my own with the Style Creator. (In this regard, I think Roland is the one that sounds more European, but the pianos of the brand currently lag slightly behind the competition). Sigh! There's also Ketron, which is excellent…end very European, but it costs more or less the same as a Tyros 4!!
Let's focus now! I really like the sounds with super articulation: Their realism comes through very well, depending on the touch. By the way, I'd say the keyboard is all right, but nothing more.
The organs are also pretty good. I used to hate that my PSR 3000 didn't have any settings to resemble as closely as possible a Leslie speaker. Yamaha has solved that issue with the PSR.S950 which provides several parameters to emulate quite successfully the magical sound of a Hammond with Leslie.
I also like the Audio USB function, which allows you to listen to MP3 files, to play along and also to record a song (performance) in Wav format. This allows you to listen to it immediately on an MP3 player, for instance.
Learning to use it was pretty straightforward for me, because it is very similar to my PSR 3000. Besides, I had already tried a friend's Tyros 3 and, as I mentioned before, the PSR S950 has almost the same accompaniment styles. What's more, I "borrowed" from it the ones that the PSR S950 lacks, because it can read them perfectly.

OVERALL OPINION

I'm happy with the PSR S950, given its sounds and quality, especially considering the price. I nevertheless find regrettable Yamaha's unfortunate commercial approach, not being very generous with additional styles nor sounds, which you can nevertheless buy online from the manufacturer.
And one last remark: During the test, ask the shop assistant to connect it to a small PA system or two active speakers. The stereo image is superbly accomplished and the sonic performance is amazing. What I did is try it out with a set of 2x75 W speakers. It's a real delight to have at home a good, round low end, enveloping synth pads, etc.
However, the keyboard has two "bass reflex" built-in speakers that deliver 2x 15 watts, which is all right to cover a medium-sized room, office or similar.
I'll finish now with the vocal harmonizer, which allows you to sing with a choir, made up of...your own voice. My old PSR 3000 already had this feature. It's simply stunning!

I would buy it again without hesitation and I hope I could reassure those hesitating before buying the arranger. It's a good instrument aimed at amateur (but demanding) musicians.

Soundkid

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