Clearly you are operating on a production level that is quantum steps over that of a novice to intermediate level keyboard player. My point in my post about the Tyros 3 is that it's pretty simple to operate and you can from day 1 output some decent sounding music (assuming you know at least a few rudimentary chords and can either play by ear or read music).

So the end-user feedback from this instrument in my mind is immensely positive and rewarding. I've read some people's posts that suggest the Tyros 3 is an 'expensive toy' and nothing more. Well, even if it's true, it's a toy that no one is gonna throw rocks at on Christmas morning, I can tell you that!

The subtle nuances that are possible with and without the SA2 buttons are dazzling on several of the voices, notably the saxes, clarinet, harmonica and even the classical guitar (which I think is phenomenally great sounding).

If you tried to purchase all of the instruments that are contained in this one single unit, it would cost many times its price point, and you would have great difficulty properly playing instruments like the sax, clarinet, violin and even guitar if you were a keyboardist at heart.

Yes, I know there are samplers and modules and computer software solutions and yada yada, but if you just want to sit down, flip a couple of switches and produce great-sounding music in moments (not days), the Tyros 3 offers that kind of simple fulfillment.

Could you call up one of a thousand software programs, VSTi sounds, yada yada and make a 24-track production that sounds better than the Tyros? I betcha you could, yeah. Could you do all that in the few seconds it takes to turn on the Tyros 3, select a music style or locate an appropriate style family via music finder and begin playing nearly instantly? No, I really don't think so.

So, to each their own, based on their own skills and how demanding their ears and/or audience might or might not be.

There will always be a "better sounding" device, be it software, sampler, hardware module or hardware device. That's the nature of the musical beast, and the end result of the endless creativity of the men and women who build this stuff so that music junkies can realize some or all of their potential.

My point in writing about the S900/Tyros 3 is that both these instruments fill a niche in the marketplace and can give back some good times to those who invest in them.

I bought a pretty high end Gibson Les Paul guitar, yes, it sounded really nice. Compared to what the Tyros 3 can do for around the same price point, though, the Les Paul was a wrong purchase for me. Far too limited in terms of what I myself could create alone onstage with just a single instrument and amplifier. Even as a given that the guitar can have added effects (wah, fuz, chorus, yada yada) either by foot boxes or via 'modeling' amplifiers, still and all nowhere NEAR the amazing array of musical styles I can get out of either the S900 and/or the Tyros 3.

Still others have written the Tyros 3 isn't "that much" better than the Tyros 2, and I'm sure that's not altogether wrong.

Yet I'll venture a bet that many T2 owners would swap straight across for the T3 if Yamaha made an open offer to do so at no cost.

Just the convenience features of the sliders, the instant hard disk record, and the flexibility of the new Super-Articulation 2 voices would be enough for many to go that extra step to the T3.

Because it's so pricey though, many are holding back waiting for the next-generation to be released by Yami, Korg, or Roland.

Like cars, the upgrades are constant. What we're all waiting for is the "quantum leap" in quality, I alluded to the OASYS boards... yes, they're more flexible, can do more, yada yada, but they are about twice the price point.

So you pays your money and you takes your choice, no?

robert