No way that the XS kits sound like the Tyros, unless of course the T3 has incorporated some of the samples and processing from the XS. It's not close at all. I can speak from a bit of experience on this, since I have the Motif ES and T2. I tend to doubt very much that the XS took a step backward from what the ES has in drum sounds.

You may not like the sound of the snares on either. That's fair enough, but just the amount of multisampling itself on the Motif ES kits makes a tremendous difference vs the T2, especially when you try playing either live or making a midi file that has some varying velocity dynamics.

Then there are the electronic kits. This is where the biggest difference occurs. Squeak has always lamented the lack of any substantial electronic drumsounds on the PSR / Tyros line, and for good reason. Save for a few very generic electro kits, on the T2 they are practically non existent. Not so on the ES and I have to believe that the XS stepped forward from the ES.

For my money, the T2 drums sound remarkably similar to the kits from my first PSR, the 530. I realize that memory tends to distort reality, but recordings I made with the 530 tell the story pretty well. Same as some of the old PA80 recordings I have vs the T2. Remarkably more life like for me, anyway, and the PA80 is approaching 9 yrs old.

With that in mind, I'm not going to waste my time traveling to see a T3. Though I'd like 76 keys, for me this is not a deal breaker, but Yamaha have proved to me that as time has passed, the arranger line is what it is, is not likely to change much from generation to generation, and it is obviously successful for them, in spite of what any of us might think. That said, very little that matters to me personally has changed over the years, other than a few megavoices and SA2 voices, some of which are quite good yet also somewhat limited vs other brands or sample sets. The styles are more life like, but the drums still sound very sterile, the harmonizer is still very limited after all these years, and editing or making user styles is a bear vs doing it on the ancient already PA80 for example, sound editing in real time is extremely limited vs anything else I've ever used, and I'm just not interested.

Of course, I could be proven wrong, and major improvements to some of the things I mentioned could be under the hood of the T3, but somehow, given what I've seen over the last 10 years or so, and based on what I am reading and hearing already, I very much doubt it

AJ




[This message has been edited by Bluezplayer (edited 09-15-2008).]