In spite of the recent highly disappointing news that the PSR2000’s OS is not Flash Rom upgradable (as originally advertised), I still think it’s a terrific sounding keyboard and perfect size & weight for the one man band traveling musician and possibly the best arranger keyboard value available now. Still, there are a couple of things that must be implemented (via OS update) before I would consider the PSR2000 the idea keyboard for the traveling one man band show.

The arranger keyboard’s ‘registration memory’ feature is a critical feature for a ‘live’ performing musician because it enables you to store, in individual memory buttons, set ups for each section of a song (AABA etc ): instrument voices, style variation type, fill type, key & tempo changes . . . Yes, OTS is an alternative to ‘registration memory’ but unfortunately, it doesn’t support the number of setting parameters or the number of individual memory locations which ‘registration memory’ offers. The great thing about the registration feature is that you only need to remember to press a ‘single’ button or foot switch (registration memory increment (+)) at key song section transition points.

In contrast, without the registration memory feature, performing a set of songs can be a challenging task, because before every song, you need to remember to: select & load a new style, select a voice setup, tempo, intro & ending type, and during the song, you have to manually make all parameter changes (voice selection, style variation, fill type) at every song section transition. Though this certainly can be mastered, it ends up taking away from the primary focus: your ‘live’ keyboard playing & singing, and compromises both the quality of the performance and attention to your audience.

I was very happy to hear (as was reported by Carlos Rodrigues) that Yamaha (in OS 1.10) has added registration memory support for storing the ‘fingering mode’ as well as moving the ‘left voice’ storage location in ‘registration memory contents’ from the ‘style’ section to ‘voice’ section. This effectively (with the freeze button activated & voice parameter box checked) allows you to freely select different styles, yet maintain the main, layer & left voices. These improvements are a welcome addition, but there are still three more things which need to be supported in ‘registration memory’ before I would consider the 2000 the idea ‘live’ performer’s arranger board. These include registration memory support of:

1) Intro & Ending variation selection
2) Vocal harmonizer type selection
3) Mic volume/efx settings.

It would be greatly appreciated if people who have a PSR2000 with OS 1.20 (main program) could check to verify if any or all of the above ‘registration memory’ features have been implemented. Please also check (for Don Mason) to see if the vocal harmonizer has been updated to allow you to completely turn off the lead part on the Speedy Mouse & Karaoke Girl voice. Please report feedback and I will contact Yamaha to request yet another OS updated (via Eprom?! ) if needed. Thanks. – Scott