I received my first shipment of these arrangers last week and I've had a few days to play with one.
Unlike the PSRS500 from last year, this model allows you to record your own styles from scratch or from an existing style.
The sounds and styles in this model are from the Yamaha PSR700 but unlike the 700, the Interface is brought over from the YPG and DGX series.
Like the 700, there are 2 USB ports on the back. One to hook to a computer and the other for direct USB connection to a thumb drive, floppy drive, hard drive, etc.
You can play styles and Standard midi files directly from the USB drive. Lyrics and Score can be seen as well.
There are 3 intro's, 4 variations, 3 endings, just like the 700.
There are no Mega or SuperArticulation sounds but all the sweet, cool, and live sounds are here.
64 voice polyphony, 16 track sequencer, pitch bend wheel, multi effects, dedicated octave buttons, harmony button, dual and split modes are all included.
This model is also being advertised as a "world" keyboard and I am very impressed by the addition of several Arabic Drum kits, an India Drum Kit and a Chinese Drum Kit.
In addition to all the standard Yamaha great sounds, there are middle eastern sounds including Ouds, Neys, Arabic Strings, Mizmars, etc. and great India sounds including Tablas and Harmoniums.
I copied styles from my Yamaha PSR700oriental keyboard and all the factory middle eastern styles play in the PSRS550B keyboard.
Oh, did I mention this new model is Black and the built in speakers have a white cone woofer (like the old Yamaha NS10 studio monitors!).
For outputs to an amp, there is not a pair of stereo line outs, but rather a single stereo headphone/output 1/4" jack. I've put mine through a Yamaha Stagepas500 and it sounds great.
At first, I thought this was just another low end arranger without a lot of features, but now that i've got my hands on it and realize it's capabilities I'm very impressed.
When playing factory styles, you can adjust volumes, mute, pan, reverb and chorus parameters. If you want to change the voices, unlike the Roland GW8 which cannot do this at all, you must enter the Style Record mode and it's here that you can select new voices, volumes, etc. and then save as a new style.
This keyboard has a retail price of $999.00 and a MAP or street price of $749.00. A good value for many needing something in a programable full featured Arranger at a good price. It's also very light (although I don't have the weight available right now), and Yamaha is supporting this model by providing immediately, a free download on their music.yamaha web site when you register your keyboard.
Additional Russian, Polish, Arabic/Turkish, Slovak and other Ethnic styles are free to download and load into the user area or just play them direct from the USB flash drive.
I also forgot to mention that there is area inside for loading and keeping dozens of user styles for when you don't have your USB drive handy.
Let me know if you have any questions.



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George Kaye
Kaye's Music Scene
Reseda, California
818-881-5566
www.kayesmusicscene.com